Why are my email open rates lower with CharityEngine than with other email software? 

It’s easy to panic when you switch from software like MailChimp or Constant Contact to CharityEngine and see your open rates decline. But is panic necessary? 

Not really! When you are comparing one solution to another, the view rate – or the open rate – isn't the best way for an apples-to-apples checklist. 

First, the way the view rate is calculated varies from vendor to vendor, so you can only trust the accuracy of one method of calculation. Beyond that, sometimes things happen at the Email Service Provider level (ESP) that prevent us from tracking views, such as if a recipient opts against downloading images when receiving emails. So view rates aren’t highly reliable. 

A more accurate metric to measure is response rates. This measures how well your email performs, which is, of course, your goal. A high response rate indicates more than a high open or view rate, it means your email works! 

Another point to consider is that a switch from one domain to another—such as from a dedicated domain to a shared domain—often triggers a brief and temporary uptick in spam reports. If you’re following CAN-SPAM best practices, just remind your users to mark your emails as “not spam” and the problem should subside.  

As you’re considering your email list and optimizing deliverability, there are some things you can do to help make sure your donors are getting the important communications your organization is sending. Take a look at this helpful resource that explores best practices for email deliverability and offers guidance so you can monitor performance and manage your email list. 

So don’t panic! We recommend giving it some time, asking your users for help in unchecking the emails from spam, and measuring response rates rather than view rates if you want an accurate look at how an email campaign is performing. 

• List Management: How to Create an Opt-In List
• Creating Emails for Email Blasting
• Web Forms: Using Email Auto Responders with Forms
• Web Forms: Using the WYSIWYG Editor for Forms and Emails
• Peer-To-Peer Dashboard: Emails
• Email Blast: How to Configure a Sender Override
• Assigning Groups, Tags, and Opt- In Lists Through Importer
• Queries: What Can I Do With Queries - Resend Initiatives to Contacts Who Have Not Opened Them
• Web Forms: How to Add an Email Opt-In List
• Sending Email Campaigns from the Contact Listing Screen
• Landing Page URL
• Email Campaigns & Web Forms: How to Add System/Global Tokens and Conditional Blocks
• Email Campaign: How to Create a Simple Email
• Email Campaign: How to use A/B Email Testing
• Email Campaign: How to Schedule an Email
• Email Campaign: Basic Email Checklist
• Email Campaigns: How to Test Emails
• Email Campaign: How to Send an Email using a List
• Email Campaigns: How to Leverage Email Analytics
• Email User Guide
• Contact Emails
• Leveraging Internal (Carbon Copy) for notification of donations
• Contacts: How to Manually Validate Email Addresses.
• Sending Your First Email Campaign
• Shared email domain
• Selecting Email Audience
• Why did my email test go to my SPAM folder?
• Sending Tracked Emails
• Campaigns & Marketing: Creating and Managing a Communication Series
• Advocacy: Display Vanity URLs/ Domain as Default
• Advocacy: How to create an advocacy message that is only partially editable by advocates
• Advocacy: How to manage the auto-response email from advocacy action alerts
• Outlook Connector
• Events & Volunteers : Registrations
• Campaigns: Widget Generator
• Email Deliverability Best Practices
• Spam Removal: Provider Recommended Actions
• Bounce and Failure Code Quick Reference Guide
• Contacts: Adding Contacts to an Email List
• Exporting Data: How To Export Data from a Query