Email marketing is one of the most effective and budget-friendly ways to connect with your audience. However, only sending emails is not your whole job, it's just a part. After sending an email, you must monitor with email marketing metrics whether those emails are working for you.
To track your email performance, there are multiple email marketing metrics available. In this article, we will discuss those effective metrics that will help you monitor the performance and change your strategies accordingly.
15 Effective Email Marketing Metrics
Email marketing is an effective marketing strategy if used correctly. Here are the 15 most effective and used metrics for email marketing you can try out to measure your email marketing performance.
1. Open Rate
Open Rate tells you how many people actually opened your email out of everyone you sent it to. It’s one of the most basic and universally used ways to know if your email is catching attention.
Open rate gives you a clear idea of how appealing your subject line and sender name are. A higher open rate means your message stood out in crowded inboxes and caught the reader’s interest.
How to Calculate
Open Rate = (Number of Opens/Number of Emails Delivered)×100
Example: If 200 people received your email and 50 opened it, your open rate is:
(50÷200)×100 = 25%
Strategies For Achieving Better Results
If you want to increase your open rate, here are the strategies you have to follow.
-
Use short, catchy subject lines.
-
Personalize emails with the recipient’s name.
-
Avoid spam trigger words and symbols. These are common
-
Send emails at optimal times.
-
Remove inactive subscribers regularly.
-
Use a familiar and trusted sender name.
Related Read: Best Email Marketing Automation Software
2. Conversion Rate
Conversion rate tells you how many people did what you wanted them to do after interacting with your email.
This action could be anything, depending on your business, such as buying a product, signing up for a webinar, downloading a file, or filling out a form.
It’s not just about opening or clicking the email, rather, it’s about completing the goal you had in mind. A high conversion rate means your email content, design, and offer are working well together to move people to action.
How to Calculate
Conversion Rate = (Conversions/Emails Delivered)×100
Strategies For Achieving Better Results
To improve the conversion rate, you can try the following tips.
-
Create clear, compelling calls-to-action (CTAs).
-
Match email content with landing page content. To create an outstanding landing page, you can use a no-code AI platform like
-
Keep the email layout clean and focused.
-
Offer limited-time deals or bonuses.
-
Segment your audience for targeted messaging.
-
Follow the common and effective
Related Read: Best Email Marketing Strategy
3. Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Click-through rate (CTR) tells you how many people clicked on a link inside your email after receiving it. It shows how engaging and persuasive your email content is, especially your call-to-action (CTA).
The CTR indicates whether the content inside motivated them to take the next step. This step can be anything, including visiting your website, reading a blog, checking out a product, or filling out a form.
If your CTR is high, it means your message is clear, relevant, and compelling enough to drive action.
How to Calculate
CTR = (Number of Clicks/Emails Delivered)×100
Strategies For Achieving Better Results
To increase CTR, you have to:
-
Add a clear and action-oriented CTA.
-
Use buttons instead of plain text links.
-
Place links throughout the email where they’re easy to spot.
-
Keep content focused and relevant.
-
Make sure emails are mobile-friendly.
4. Bounce Rate
Bounce rate shows the percentage of emails that couldn’t be delivered to recipients’ inboxes. It helps you understand how healthy and accurate your email list is.
Related Read: How to Build an Email List
Your goal is to keep the bounce rate lower. A high bounce rate means many of your emails are going nowhere, either because the address is wrong, inactive, or blocked by the recipient’s server.
There are two types of bounces. A hard bounce happens when an email permanently fails to deliver. This usually means the email address is invalid, doesn’t exist, or the domain is wrong. These addresses should be removed from your list right away.
A soft bounce is a temporary delivery failure. It could happen if the recipient’s inbox is full, their server is down, or the email is too large. These can often be delivered if retried later.
How to Calculate
Bounce Rate = (Bounced Emails/ Total Emails Sent)×100
Strategies For Achieving Better Results
You can follow these strategies to decrease the bounce rate.
-
Regularly clean your email list.
-
Avoid buying email lists from third parties.
-
Use double opt-in for new subscribers.
-
Check for typos in email addresses.
-
Use a reliable email marketing platform.
-
Monitor and remove hard bounces.
5. List Growth Rate
List growth rate shows how fast your email subscriber list is growing over time. It helps you track whether your audience is expanding, staying the same, or shrinking. A healthy list growth rate means your marketing efforts are attracting new people consistently.
How to Calculate
List Growth Rate = ((New Subscribers−Unsubscribes)/Total Subscribers)×100
Strategies For Achieving Better Results
You can improve your list growth rate by following these tricks.
-
Add sign-up forms to your website and blog.
-
Offer incentives like discounts or free resources.
-
Use pop-ups or slide-ins on high-traffic pages.
-
Promote sign-ups through social media.
-
Host webinars or free events with registration.
-
Encourage sharing and referrals from current subscribers.
Related Read: What is an Email Blast?
6. Unsubscribes Rate
Unsubscribe rate shows the percentage of people who opted out of your email list after receiving a campaign. It tells you if your content, frequency, or targeting might be turning people away.
Although some unsubscribes are normal, a high rate signals a need for change in your email strategy.
How to Calculate
Unsubscribe Rate = (Number of Unsubscribes/Emails Delivered)×100
Strategies For Achieving Better Results
To lower the unsubscribe rate,
-
Send relevant and valuable content consistently.
-
Avoid emailing too frequently or too rarely.
-
Don’t use triggering words.
-
Keep your content clear and easy to read.
-
Make your subject lines honest and aligned with content.
-
Segment your list to target specific interests.
Related Read: Best Email Marketing Tools
7. Spam Complaints
Spam complaints show how many recipients marked your email as spam or junk. This metric is important because too many complaints can hurt your sender reputation and deliverability. People usually mark emails as spam when they’re irrelevant, too frequent, or unexpected.
How to Calculate
Spam Complaint Rate = (Spam Complaints/Emails Delivered)×100
Strategies For Achieving Better Results
To decrease spam complaints, you can follow the tips.
-
Only email people who’ve given clear permission.
-
Use double opt-in to confirm subscribers.
-
Set clear expectations about email content and frequency.
-
Make the unsubscribe link easy to find.
-
Avoid misleading subject lines or clickbait.
-
Regularly clean your list of inactive users.
8. Forwarding Rate/Email Sharing
Forwarding rate or email sharing rate shows how often recipients share your email content with others, by forwarding it or clicking a share button. It reflects how useful, interesting, or valuable your email is to your audience.
How to Calculate
Forwarding Rate = (Shares or Forwards/Emails Delivered)×100
Strategies For Achieving Better Results
If you want to increase the forwarding rate, follow these strategies.
-
Include easy-to-find “Forward to a Friend” or share buttons.
-
Create content that’s helpful, fun, or highly relevant.
-
Offer referral rewards or incentives for sharing.
-
Ask readers directly to share with others.
-
Make sure your emails look great on all devices.
-
Use catchy visuals or tips worth spreading.
Related Read: Email Marketing Mistakes
9. Overall ROI
Overall ROI, or Return on Investment, measures how much profit your email campaigns generate compared to what you spend. It tells you if your email marketing is worth the time, effort, and money. A positive ROI means your emails are driving real business results.
How to Calculate
ROI = ((Revenue−Cost)/Cost)×100
Revenue = The money you earned from the email campaign (e.g., product sales).
Cost = The total money you spent on that campaign (e.g., tools, design, time, etc.).
Strategies For Achieving Better Results
To improve overall ROI, you can take these measures below.
-
Promote your best-performing products or deals.
-
Send different emails to different groups based on interests.
-
Set up automatic emails for follow-ups and missed checkouts.
-
Try out different subject lines, layouts, and buttons.
-
Make your message clear and your call-to-action easy to follow.
-
Make the payment process more efficient.
10. Engagement Over Time
Engagement over time tracks how your audience interacts with your emails across days, weeks, or months. It helps you see patterns, like when people are most active, when interest drops, or which types of emails perform best long-term.
How to Calculate
There’s no single formula to calculate engagement over time. This metric is usually tracked through trends in open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates over a specific period. Most email platforms show this in reports or charts.
Strategies For Achieving Better Results
Strategies for improving engagement over time include,
-
Sending emails consistently on the best-performing days.
-
Monitoring trends and adjusting timing or frequency.
-
Refreshing content formats to keep things interesting.
-
Re-engaging inactive subscribers with special offers.
-
Using automation for timely, relevant follow-ups.
-
Tracking which topics or formats your audience prefers.
Related Read: How to Create a Business Email?
11. Mobile Open Rate
Mobile open rate shows the percentage of people who open your emails on mobile devices like smartphones or tablets. It helps you understand how mobile-friendly your campaigns need to be, since more people check emails on the go.
How to Calculate
Mobile Open Rate = (Opens on Mobile Devices/Total Email Opens)×100
Strategies For Achieving Better Results
You can follow some strategies to achieve better results in mobile open rate.
-
Use responsive, mobile-friendly email templates.
-
Keep subject lines short and attention-grabbing.
-
Use clear fonts and larger buttons for easy tapping.
-
Place key info and CTAs near the top.
-
Test emails on various screen sizes before sending.
-
Optimize image sizes to load quickly on mobile.
12. Mobile Click Rate
Mobile click rate measures how many users tapped on links or buttons in your email while viewing it on a mobile device. It shows how well your email drives action from mobile readers, who often make quick decisions.
How to Calculate
Mobile Click Rate = (Clicks from Mobile Devices/Total Mobile Opens)×100
Strategies For Achieving Better Results
If you want to increase the mobile click rate, follow the strategies below.
-
Use large, easy-to-tap buttons for CTAs.
-
Keep your layout clean with minimal scrolling.
-
Place your main CTA near the top.
-
Use short, focused content with clear action steps.
-
Test clickability and layout on different mobile devices.
-
Avoid small fonts and cluttered design.
Related Read: Welcome Email Examples
13. Domain Open Rate
Domain open rate tracks how many recipients opened your email, grouped by their email domain, like Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook. It helps you identify which domains engage most with your emails and spot any deliverability issues with specific providers.
How to Calculate
Domain Open Rate = (Opens from a Specific Domain/Emails Delivered to That Domain)×100
Strategies For Achieving Better Results
To increase this rate,
-
Monitor domain-level performance regularly.
-
Authenticate emails using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
-
Keep sender reputation strong with low bounce and spam rates.
-
Warm up new domains gradually before large sends.
-
Adjust content if one domain consistently underperforms.
14. Domain Click Rate
Domain click rate measures how many recipients from a specific email domain, like Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook, clicked on a link in your email. It helps you see how engaged users are by domain and spot where clicks are low due to deliverability or rendering issues.
How to Calculate
Domain Click Rate = (Clicks from a Specific Domain/Emails Delivered to That Domain)×100
Strategies For Achieving Better Results
If you want to increase the domain click rate, follow these strategies below.
-
Check how your emails render on major providers.
-
Optimize CTA placement and visibility across devices.
-
Personalize content for higher engagement.
-
Monitor and
-
Maintain a clean, active email list for better results.
15. Average Order Value
Average order value tells you how much, on average, customers spend each time they place an order through your email campaigns. It helps you understand buyer behavior and find ways to boost revenue per transaction.
How to Calculate
AOV = Total Revenue from Email Campaign/Number of Orders from Email Campaign
Strategies For Achieving Better Results
To increase average order value,
-
Suggest complementary or bundled products.
-
Offer free shipping on higher-value purchases.
-
Use limited-time upsell or cross-sell offers.
-
Highlight best-sellers or premium options.
-
Add “You may also like” sections in emails.
-
Create tiered discounts based on cart value.
FAQs
What are KPIs in email marketing?
KPIs or Key Performance Indicators in email marketing are measurable metrics that show how well your campaigns perform. Common KPIs include open rate, click-through rate, conversion rate, bounce rate, and ROI, which help you track success and make improvements.
What are the 4 P's of email marketing?
The 4 P’s, Product, Price, Place, and Promotion, guide email marketing strategy. Product is what you offer, Price reflects its value, Place is where you deliver the message (inbox), and Promotion covers how you market it through compelling email campaigns.
What is email marketing analytics?
Email marketing analytics involves measuring data from email campaigns, including opens, clicks, conversions, and user behavior. These insights help marketers assess performance, segment audiences, refine content, and make strategic decisions to boost engagement, sales, and return on investment.
Conclusion
Now that you know the most effective email marketing metrics, it will be easier for you to track your email performance. However, the tracking will be only fruitful when you can upgrade your rating and perform better.
Also, remember that you have to use multiple metrics to understand the overall performance. That’s all for now. Have a great day!
