Ask Devin

Email open rates are SUCH a big part of how we measure success as internal communicators, that I totally understand the frustration (and honestly, the pain) of wanting to get this right. And you’ve already started in the right places by looking at subject lines and preview text, timing, formatting, and design. Those are all important levers, and I’d encourage anyone reading this to start there too.

But if you’ve done all of that and things still feel flat, I think it’s worth zooming out and looking at the content itself. Ask yourself: is this net-new information? Is this the first time employees are hearing it? Or are you reinforcing something they’ve already heard in a town hall, a department meeting, or an All Hands? When you start thinking about comms as layered, it often becomes clear that some messages don’t actually need to live in email at all.

In some cases, that update might work better as a quick Slack recap. In others, it might be something that’s reinforced live and then documented on the intranet or company homepage for reference. Not everything needs to be pushed to the inbox to be effective, even if the information is important.

Another thing I’d look at is send size and segmentation. Smaller, more targeted sends almost always perform better than broad, all-company emails. If everyone is getting every message, even when only part of it applies to them, it trains people to skim or skip altogether. Segmenting by role, team, or location can make email feel more relevant and intentional, even if you’re technically sending more messages overall.

This is also where it helps to look beyond email open rates as your primary measure of success. Email is just one metric in a much larger communications ecosystem. Maybe your intranet adoption is strong and employees are actually going there when they need information. Maybe attendance at All Hands or company events is high, whether those are in person, hybrid, or virtual. Those signals matter, too.

I’m also a big fan of being really explicit about how email fits in after live moments. A simple “We’ll send a recap after this” or “Check your inbox later today for next steps” helps reset expectations and gives email a clear job to do. When employees understand why they’re opening an email, they’re much more likely to actually open it.

I’ll always encourage internal communicators to prioritize listening. Listening to learn and listening to inform your strategy. It’s possible that the goals you’ve set for email are just a little too high, or that employees are experiencing message fatigue in ways that aren’t obvious from the numbers alone. Surveys, listening sessions, or even informal conversations can help you understand whether this is really an email problem or more of an engagement and trust issue.

Ultimately, diagnosing this takes some trial and error, and that’s okay. Giving yourself a bit of grace and looking at engagement more holistically will help you make smarter decisions about where email fits and where it doesn’t.