I have an email list that delivers updates and summaries of things that have occurred online (forums, but other related sources)... and experiences an open rate that Sendgrid reports as being above 100% (people open it more than once?! probably).
The way I do this:
1. Enthusiastic opt-in... it's not even advertised (only 65K members), and you get it on via receiving more transactional updates from a few forum and a footer link gives you the option to receive a broader summary too. It's very strongly interest aligned, and by the time someone discovers this it's niche and highly relevant.
2. Least tracking possible + simplest HTML possible (easy to read, accessible, easy to open links even if you aggressively adblock / trackblock).
3. Trivial opt-out as I don't want to send to anyone not interested in it (it costs me money to send).
4. Time. Building an audience like this just takes a long long time (12 years now).
The way I do this:
1. Enthusiastic opt-in... it's not even advertised (only 65K members), and you get it on via receiving more transactional updates from a few forum and a footer link gives you the option to receive a broader summary too. It's very strongly interest aligned, and by the time someone discovers this it's niche and highly relevant.
2. Least tracking possible + simplest HTML possible (easy to read, accessible, easy to open links even if you aggressively adblock / trackblock).
3. Trivial opt-out as I don't want to send to anyone not interested in it (it costs me money to send).
4. Time. Building an audience like this just takes a long long time (12 years now).