There are things you do have control over that can help you increase your email open rate: including the from field and the subject line.

1. Customise your from field for maximum recognition

Take advantage of the customisable from field in most email delivery systems and make it work for you. Here are some tips:

a. Got a brand? Use it. Will the recipient recognise the name in the from field? It may be the only name they see in their inbox, so do not send your newsletter from sales@mycompany. If you work for a company with a great brand name, consider using the company name to leverage that brand. If your readers are people with whom you have a more personal relationship, consider using a persons name.

b. Keep the from field the same over time.

c. Know what is happening in the spam world. Right now a lot of spam comes from female names - usually just a first name, no last name. People often delete email from unknown women more quickly than any other mail.

d. Customise the from address, not just the name.

2. Personalise Your Emails

Organisations that use email personalisation techniques achieve 57% higher average order values than those who send generic emails to everyone on their mailing list, according to a study carried out by research company The Aberdeen Group. These personalised emails incorporate customer profile information, segmentation or demographic behaviour, channel behaviour, purchase history, personalised product or service recommendations, online activity and other attributes from customer databases.
The study, Email Marketing: Get Personal With Your Customers, revealed companies that personalise email messages are more than twice as likely to target small customer segments using data collected about customers. Campaigns that use segmentation techniques allow companies to improve customer retention rates by 5% and opt-in rates by a healthy 18%.

3. Personalise The Email Subject Line

Writing personalised subject lines (which use the name of the recipient) almost doubles the likelihood of your email being opened, according to a study carried out by marketing research company MarketingSherpa.

Internet Marketer Derek Gehl says sending out an email with a personalised subject line is the equivalent of calling someones name in a crowd: it has that same power to grab their attention.
One survey showed that 35% of people cited the subject line as the main factor in determining whether they would open the email. It makes sense: other than the from name, the subject line is often the only thing people see in their inbox.

4. Experiment with your subject line

Try different subject lines and see what works best. Some experts recommend using numbers in the subject line to increase readership and response rates.
Consider putting a common element in all your subject lines. It is another way to be recognised - not all readers start with the from field, and when they are flying through their emails, deleting all the junk mail, they may delete yours accidentally if they do not see a word that is familiar.

5. Avoid promotional words or phrases

Special offer, Free, Limited time, Buy now - these are certain to get trapped by a spam filter or deleted by the reader (accidentally or not) along with all the real junk mail with those words in the subject line.