10 Key Email Marketing Metrics

Email marketing is still considered one of the most effective types of digital marketing. According to research, the return on investment (ROI) of email campaigns reaches 122%. This is one of the best indicators among marketing channels. To use this tool effectively, you need to understand the key metrics for email marketing. With the right knowledge, you will be able to accurately and reliably evaluate the results of your campaigns and understand whether they are achieving their goals.

Open Rate is one of the simplest and, at the same time, most important email marketing metrics. It indicates the percentage of subscribers who opened the letter they received. With its help, you can determine the share of the active audience interacting with your mailings.

To calculate this metric, you need to divide the number of emails opened by the total number of emails sent during a particular campaign and then multiply this value by 100. For example, if you sent a total of 20,000 emails, of which 5,000 were opened, then the open rate for that campaign is 25%.

Open rate measures the popularity of emails and overall audience engagement. However, it is now considered an unreliable indicator for a number of reasons. For example, an email is considered open even if the recipient has not downloaded the images, videos, or other content contained in it.

Click-Through Rate is one of the important metrics for email marketing. It shows the percentage of subscribers who clicked on a link in your email. This versatile metric is widely used not only in email newsletters but also in other types of marketing campaigns.

To calculate the click-through rate, you need to divide the number of clicks on the link by the total number of delivered emails and then multiply the resulting value by 100. For example, if you sent 1,000 emails and recorded 100 clicks on the link, then the CTR of such a mailing will be 10%. As a rule, this metric is significantly lower than the open rate and is normally around 2%.

Click-through rate is extremely important for measuring the engagement of your target audience. To increase this rate, remember to include prominent links and calls to action (CTAs) in your emails and provide subscribers with the most relevant content.

Conversion Rate is an important indicator for Internet marketers and is among the top email marketing metrics. It indicates the percentage of users who opened the letter they received, followed the link in it, and then performed a certain target action. This could include registering on the site, purchasing goods, filling out a form, subscribing to a webinar, or any other intended goal of the email.

To calculate the conversion rate, you need to divide the number of users who performed the target action by the number of emails sent during a specific mailing and then multiply the result by 100. For example, if you sent 1,000 emails and received 120 actions, then the conversion rate of such a campaign is 12%.

This metric is important because it shows the effectiveness of your emails and helps you assess how effectively they are reaching your target audience.

Among email marketing performance metrics, the Bounce Rate deserves special attention. This parameter shows the percentage of subscribers from your base who did not receive the email you sent. The addresses included in this category are divided into two groups: soft bounces indicate temporary problems with email deliverability, while hard bounces indicate permanent problems such as invalid addresses.

To calculate the metric, divide the number of bounces by the total number of emails sent, then multiply the resulting value by 100. For example, if out of 5,000 emails sent, 200 did not reach their recipients, the bounce rate is 4%.

By regularly measuring your bounce rate, you can monitor the quality of your list and promptly remove inactive or invalid addresses. This way, you can improve other key metrics, increasing the effectiveness of your email campaigns.

As a reminder, you can update your mailing lists automatically. Set up integrations for Mailchimp, AWeber, GetResponse, and other email services to update mailing contacts in a database from third-party systems.

Unsubscribe Rate is one of the main metrics in email marketing. This indicator determines the share of subscribers who unsubscribed from your mailings after opening the next letter.

You can calculate the unsubscribe rate as an average for specific emails or the entire campaign by dividing the number of unsubscribe requests by the total number of recipients for a specific email or emails. Unsubscribe rates are easy to find in your email provider's dashboard or analytics panel.

A high unsubscribe rate may indicate that your newsletters are not meeting your audience's needs or preferences. Another reason is that you are sending your newsletters too frequently. To reduce this metric, we recommend that you segment your contact base more carefully and work harder to improve the quality and relevance of the content you send.

The List Growth Rate is one of the email marketing success metrics. It will help you track the growth dynamics of your audience. This is an extremely important indicator of the effectiveness of your mailings.

To calculate the growth rate, take the number of new subscribers over a given period of time and subtract the number of unsubscribes. Then divide that amount by the number of addresses on your email list and multiply the result by 100. For example, for a base of 10,000 addresses with 500 new and 100 unsubscribed contacts, the value of this metric is 4%.

Good subscriber growth dynamics indicate the success of your marketing campaigns. You are effectively attracting new subscribers and retaining the existing audience. If the growth rate is low, you should optimize your promotion strategy by using new topics, mailing formats, and other methods of engagement.

Return on Investment (ROI) is one of the key metrics in email marketing that should always be in the arsenal of an Internet marketer. Using this indicator, you can calculate the profit generated by investments in email marketing campaigns.

First, you need to subtract the cost of investing in the campaign from the revenue you received from the campaign to calculate your net profit. Then, you need to divide the net profit by the cost again and multiply by 100. For example, if the revenue you received from the campaign was $3,000 and the costs were $500, your net profit would be $2,500, and your ROI would be 500%.

Calculating ROI allows you to measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns in terms of the profits generated. It is a key metric not only for email campaigns but for marketing in general. Knowing the ROI of each campaign or channel will help you evaluate the effectiveness of your strategy and manage your budget wisely.

Among the popular email marketing metrics to track is the Spam Complaint Rate. This critical metric reflects the number of subscribers who perceive one of your emails as spam and send a corresponding complaint to the provider.

Some marketers ignore this metric. This is a fundamentally wrong decision. First of all, it helps to evaluate the quality and relevance of mailings and to understand how accurately they meet the expectations of your target audience. The lower the number of complaints, the more opens, clicks, and conversions; respectively, the higher the ROI level.

In addition, modern email providers are very strict about the quality of the emails they send out. A noticeable increase in the number of spam complaints from subscribers may result in a warning or even blocking of your account.

To calculate your spam complaint rate, divide the total number of spam complaints by the number of delivered emails. Then multiply the resulting sum by 100. For example, if you sent 10,000 emails and 5 recipients marked the email as spam, your SCR would be 0.05%.

A safe level is considered to be a rate not exceeding 0.1% (1 complaint for every 1,000 delivered emails). To reduce it, we recommend providing your audience with only useful and relevant content, monitoring the optimal frequency of mailings, and providing a convenient unsubscribe option.

Customer Acquisition Cost is one of the fundamental marketing email metrics. Regular measurement of this indicator is extremely important for assessing the cost-effectiveness of email newsletters and comparing it with other online marketing channels.

To calculate CAC, divide the total cost of sending emails (base and additional costs) by the number of new customers or leads acquired as a result of the campaigns. For example, if you spent $1,000 and received 400 leads, then the cost per lead is $2.50.

A low cost per acquisition is an indication that your email campaigns are performing well. By optimizing the quality of your marketing campaigns to lower your CAC, you will increase your return on investment (ROI).

Our review of key email marketing metrics is completed by the Engagement Rate. This basic indicator helps to evaluate the effectiveness of a specific mailing, campaign, or marketing strategy as a whole.

ER can be calculated in various ways depending on the actions being measured. Most often, it is done by the number of subscribers who interact with your emails in some way. When calculating the metric, you should take into account those actions of the audience that are considered signs of their engagement within the framework of the campaign. For example, the most converting actions are opening the email and clicking on the link placed in it.

Engagement rate is an indicator of how effectively your emails capture attention and encourage action. To optimize this metric, you need to personalize your content, use catchy subject lines, and segment your audience for relevant emails. It’s also a good idea to include clear and compelling calls to action (CTAs).

By using the email marketing campaign metrics described in our article, you will receive accurate and reliable information about the key indicators of not only specific mailings but also the marketing strategies underlying them. The data collected in this way provides marketers with valuable insights into the effectiveness of email promotion and the potential for improving its parameters. This helps specialists optimize the quality of campaigns and more effectively achieve their goals without overspending the budget.

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