Email Analytics: Metrics You Should Be Tracking

What is email analytics?

Email analytics is the analysis of data points and metrics that reveal how an audience engages with a business’s marketing emails. Examples of these metrics include email open rate, bounce rate, click-through rate (CTR) and conversion rate. By monitoring and analyzing these metrics regularly, you can optimize your email marketing campaigns for better engagement and a higher return on investment (ROI).  

While metrics provide raw data, key performance indicators (KPIs) highlight the metrics that matter most to your business goals. For example, CTR is an essential KPI if your goal is to increase website traffic. By identifying and focusing on specific KPIs, you can measure the success of your campaign, improve and refine your strategies, and ensure that your email marketing efforts help you meet your short- and long-term objectives.

Email metrics to track

The most important email metrics for your business will depend on its stage and objectives. However, these standard email metrics are a good starting point to help you understand and improve your campaign’s performance.

Bounce rate

Bounce rate measures the percentage of emails that aren’t delivered to a subscriber’s inbox. “Hard” bounces occur when you send messages to invalid email addresses or domains, while “soft” bounces typically result from temporary issues, such as full inboxes or server problems.

A high bounce rate may prompt your email provider to ban your domain from sending emails. To reduce your email bounce rate, update your email list regularly, use a double-opt-in process and avoid purchasing lists. Tools such as email validation software and trusted providers can help you maintain a healthy subscriber list.

Click-through rate 

CTR is the percentage of users who click a link in an email. It measures how effectively content drives engagement. Many marketers believe CTR is a crucial metric to track for email campaigns.

“Whether you want them to buy a new product, learn about a new service, engage with a new feature of your product, or speak to a member of your sales team, [your] click-through rate is the most important metric to help you determine if your message was engaging enough to the reader to make them … [follow] a call to action,” explained Alex Schwartz, marketing manager at Signature Systems Inc.

Businesses can boost their email marketing CTR by including compelling calls to action (CTAs), segmenting their audience for more targeted messaging, and optimizing emails for all platforms, including mobile devices. Other strategies for improving your CTR include scheduling emails for peak engagement times and including elements tailored to your target audience.

Conversion rate

The email conversion rate measures the percentage of subscribers who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a webinar. According to Alison Hoffman, senior email marketing manager at SBG Funding, conversion rates can help you gauge marketing effectiveness and customer satisfaction, which, in turn, can help you understand your strengths and areas for improvement. 

You can increase your conversion rate by creating content tailored to your audience, using clear and persuasive CTAs, and ensuring a seamless user experience on your landing pages. Improving page load speed and ensuring responsive web design (so your site looks equally good on mobile devices) are also essential ways to boost successful lead conversions.

Cost per lead 

Cost per lead (CPL) is calculated by dividing the total spend by the number of new leads acquired. For example, if you spend $500 on an email campaign and acquire 100 new leads, your CPL is $5. 

A lower CPL is ideal because it means your email marketing efforts are more effective at bringing in new business. You can reduce your CPL by refining your targeting strategies and creating high-quality content that attracts the right audience. Experiment with A/B testing on email elements such as subject lines, visuals and CTAs to identify what drives higher engagement and conversions.

Deliverability

Deliverability measures the percentage of emails that successfully reach subscribers’ inboxes. Factors such as incorrect email addresses, spam filters and blocked IPs can affect this metric, and a low deliverability rate can hurt your sender reputation.

“You need to ensure that your mass emails are reaching users’ inboxes,” said Alexandra Tachalova, founder and chief marketing officer at Digital Olympus. “Proactively removing bounced emails from your lists is essential, as bounced emails can negatively impact your overall email deliverability.”

In addition to maintaining a clean email marketing list, you can improve your overall deliverability by using reputable email platforms, proactively monitoring your sender reputation, and setting up email authentication protocols, like SPF, DKIM and DMARC.

Forwarding rate

Your forwarding rate measures the percentage of recipients who share your email with others. This metric helps you gauge your content’s value. Increase your forwarding rate by including shareable content, such as valuable resources or exclusive offers, and adding social sharing buttons. You can further improve this metric and expand your reach by directly encouraging subscribers to share your emails with their network.

List growth rate

List growth rate measures the increase in your subscriber base over time. A high list growth rate month over month means your content is compelling enough for new audiences to opt in and engage with your brand. 

Offering valuable lead magnets like e-books or discounts in exchange for email sign-ups can help you steadily grow your email list. Don’t forget to promote your email sign-up forms on other marketing channels to attract new subscribers from various platforms.

Open rate

Your open rate is the percentage of emails your subscribers open. This metric serves as your baseline for engagement and is the entry point for all other actions a subscriber may take on your emails.

“If you didn’t get an open rate north of 15 to 20 percent, you may want to try adjusting your email headlines to be more engaging or take a hard look at your contact list,” Schwartz advised. 

You can further improve open rates by segmenting your audience and sending emails at optimal times. Email personalization, such as using a recipient’s name in the subject line or preview text, can also entice subscribers to open your emails.

Return on investment 

ROI measures the profitability of your email campaigns by comparing the total revenue generated to the cost of creating and running them. If you spend more on your email marketing efforts than you earn in sales from subscribers — or just break even — you should focus on improving your ROI.

By running targeted campaigns, automating email workflows, and continuously testing elements such as subject lines, CTAs and email layouts, you can make adjustments that yield a greater ROI.

Unsubscribe rate

Your unsubscribe rate measures the percentage of subscribers who opt out of receiving future emails from you. High unsubscribe rates indicate subscriber dissatisfaction and may lead your domain to be flagged or blocked from sending emails, so it’s important to keep this metric low.

To reduce your unsubscribe rate, segment your lists and send targeted messages to ensure your content is truly relevant and valuable to your audience. Avoid bombarding your subscribers with daily emails, and allow them to select the types and frequency of emails they want to receive. 

Why is it important to analyze your email campaigns?

Accurate monitoring of your email marketing campaigns can help you understand how to increase your success metrics and ultimately improve your marketing ROI. 

“Open rates, click-through rates and conversion rates aren’t just numbers — they’re the key to understanding what’s working and what’s not,” said Robin Dimond, CEO and founder of Fifth & Cor. “Ignoring these metrics means you’re wasting time and money on emails that aren’t driving results.”

Here’s how tracking your email analytics can help you improve your campaigns and customer satisfaction.

Email analytics show you what works and what doesn’t.

Email analytics can tell you which campaign elements engage your readers so you can build on those areas and focus less on others. For instance, your click-through rate shows the percentage of recipients who engage with your content by clicking embedded links. 

Other ways to increase engagement include making your emails more interactive and measuring their impact. 

“I typically … check open rates, click-throughs and conversions to see what content really connects,” Hoffman said. “I use [this] information to segment lists and send more personalized, relevant emails to different groups.” 

Hoffman advised experimenting with new subject lines, email formats and timing to see what boosts engagement. “And don’t forget to watch unsubscribe and bounce rates, as these can reveal what’s not hitting the mark,” Hoffman added.

Email analytics help you improve messaging for specific audiences.

Schwartz noted that email analytics can show you who benefits most from your content so you can determine where to improve your messaging.

“If people are opening your email at a higher rate but not taking the action you intended, you may want to think about what content you can fit inside the email that will get them to take the intended action,” Schwartz said. “Don’t overcook it, though; too much text or too much to scroll-through on a marketing email may mean that fewer readers ever make it to the intended call to action.”

Understand the demographics of your most loyal readers to identify your target audience, and focus your efforts on crafting content that resonates with them.

Email analytics can inform better overall marketing strategies and business decisions.

A solid understanding of how your audience engages with your business can help you make broader decisions about marketing efforts to attract more customers. Tachalova recommended segmenting your lists based on how users interact with your website. “Tools like GetResponse allow you to follow up with users who abandoned their carts or visited a specific page on your site,” Tachalova noted.

Tachalova also advised creating funnels based on how users engage with your emails. For example, if users have checked out the offers from your last two email campaigns, these recipients can be sent into a sales funnel that delivers a promotional code that expires in 48 hours.

How to measure engagement in email marketing campaigns

Although you’ll set unique goals for your campaigns’ success, it can be helpful to compare your metrics against industry benchmarks. WebFX’s 2024 email marketing benchmark data includes these benchmarks:

Results vary by country and industry, so you may wish to explore more specific benchmarks based on those factors for greater accuracy.

Email analytics tools

These are some tools for tracking KPIs and metrics on your email campaigns:

• Email marketing software: Email marketing platforms make email analytics effortless. To learn about some top options, read our Campaigner review and our monday review.
• Google Analytics: You can gain valuable insight by tracking email campaigns in Google Analytics, but it needs to be set up. Visit Google’s Developer site for step-by-step instructions on using this powerful tool.
• Salesforce Marketing Cloud: This data-first platform is equipped with marketing tools to improve customer relationships. The Salesforce platform focuses on creating effective email campaigns through a streamlined, data-driven process to help companies improve their marketing strategies. Read our comprehensive review of Salesforce Marketing Cloud for more information.

No matter which metrics you choose to track, it’s essential to implement a strategy and choose the right tools. 

“Not tracking properly means missing opportunities to optimize your campaigns and increase revenue,” Dimond cautioned. “If you’re not paying attention to your email performance, you’re letting your competition steal your customers.”

Sean Peak contributed to this article.