Dwell Time

What is Email Dwell Time?

Email dwell time is the amount of time a recipient spends actively reading or viewing an email after opening it. It's a powerful engagement signal that indicates genuine interest beyond just the open.

Dwell Time Tiers:

Duration	Indication
Under 2 seconds	Likely accidental open or immediate rejection
2-5 seconds	Scanning, low engagement
5-15 seconds	Reading with moderate interest
15-30 seconds	Genuine engagement, reading content
30+ seconds	High interest, likely sharing or discussing

How It's Measured: Email clients and tracking tools measure dwell time by tracking when the email is opened and when the user navigates away or closes it.

Why Dwell Time Matters

While open rates have become less reliable due to privacy protections, dwell time remains a valuable indicator of genuine engagement.

Why It's Important:

• Algorithm Signal: Email providers use dwell time as an engagement signal
• Content Quality: Longer dwell indicates your content resonates
• Interest Level: Shows prospect is actually reading, not just opening
• A/B Testing: Compare content performance beyond opens
• Lead Scoring: Dwell time can indicate buying intent
• Deliverability: Positive engagement signals improve inbox placement

The Engagement Hierarchy: Click > Reply > Forward > Long Dwell > Open > Delivered. Dwell time sits between surface metrics (opens) and active engagement (clicks).

Benchmarks

Email Type	Average Dwell Time	Good Dwell Time
Marketing Newsletter	5-10 seconds	15+ seconds
Cold Outreach	3-7 seconds	10+ seconds
Transactional	5-15 seconds	20+ seconds
Content-Heavy	15-30 seconds	45+ seconds

Performance Indicators:

• Under 3 seconds: Content not resonating or wrong audience
• 3-10 seconds: Normal for scanning behavior
• 10-30 seconds: Good engagement, content is being read
• 30+ seconds: High interest, likely qualified prospect

Best Practices

1. Write Scannable Subject Lines: Set accurate expectations for content
2. Front-Load Value: Put most important content above the fold
3. Use Clear Structure: Headers, bullets, and short paragraphs aid reading
4. Match Content to Promise: Deliver what subject line suggests
5. Optimize Length: Right length for content type (not too long/short)
6. Include Visual Cues: Images and formatting encourage longer viewing
7. Test Variations: A/B test different content structures
8. Correlate with Actions: Longer dwell should correlate with more clicks

Common Mistakes

• Optimizing for dwell time at expense of clicks (reading but not acting)
• Misleading subject lines (high open, short dwell = angry prospect)
• Content too long (dwell time but no completion)
• Not measuring dwell time at all (missing engagement signal)
• Confusing dwell time with open rate (different metrics)
• Walls of text (shorter dwell due to poor formatting)
• Not optimizing for mobile (harder to read = shorter dwell)

Key Takeaways

• Dwell time measures how long recipients spend reading your emails
• It's a stronger engagement signal than open rate alone
• 5-15 seconds is average; 30+ seconds indicates high interest
• Email providers use dwell time as an engagement signal
• Front-load value and use scannable formatting to increase dwell
• Correlate dwell time with clicks and replies for full picture
• Misleading subject lines cause high opens but short dwell
• Use dwell time alongside other metrics to assess content performance

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Sources:

• Key Email Engagement Rate Benchmarks - Emarsys
• Email Marketing Benchmarks by Industry 2024 - Klaviyo