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14 Email Marketing KPIs for Success in 2023

The most important Email Marketing KPIs are:

1. Delivery Rate

The percentage of emails delivered, which indicates if your emails are reaching your recipients' inboxes or going to spam.

Example

If you sent 1,000 emails and 950 were successfully delivered, your delivery Rate would be 95% (950/1,000).

2. Open Rate

The percentage of recipients who open your emails, providing insight into the effectiveness of your subject lines and sender reputation.

Example

If you sent 1,000 emails and 200 recipients opened them, your open Rate would be 20% (200/1,000).

3. Click-through Rate (CTR)

The percentage of recipients who click on at least one link within the email, reflecting the strength of the email's content, messaging, or offers.

Example

If 200 recipients opened your email and 40 of them clicked on a link, your CTR would be 20% (40/200).

4. Bounce Rate

The percentage of messages rejected by the email client, which helps identify issues related to email deliverability and inbox placement.

Example:  

If you sent 1,000 emails and 50 were undeliverable, your bounce Rate would be 5% (50/1,000).

5. Conversion Rate

The percentage of recipients who complete the email's intended purpose (e.g., making a purchase, downloading content, or signing up for an event), which measures the ROI and effectiveness of your email campaigns.

Example

If 40 recipients clicked on a link in your email and 10 made a purchase, your conversion Rate would be 25% (10/40).

6. Unsubscribe Rate

The percentage of recipients who unsubscribe from your email list, giving insights into potential issues with targeting, frequency, messaging, or content.

Example

If 1,000 emails were sent and 10 recipients unsubscribed, your unsubscribe Rate would be 1% (10/1,000).

7. List Growth Rate

The Rate at which your subscriber list is growing, showing the effectiveness of your email sign-up CTAs and overall email marketing stRategy.

Example:

If you had 2,000 subscribers last month and 2,100 this month, your list growth Rate would be 5% ((2,100-2,000)/2,000).

8. Engagement Levels

Analyzing the most and least engaged subscribers can help identify high-value customers and those who may need re-targeting or removal from your email list.

Engagement levels can be classified into three main categories: high, medium, and low. Here's an example for each:

High Engagement:

A subscriber who consistently opens your emails, clicks on links, and even shares your content with others is considered highly engaged.

Medium Engagement:

A subscriber who opens and interacts with your emails occasionally demonstrates medium engagement. 

Low Engagement:

A subscriber with low engagement rarely opens your emails and seldom interacts with your content. 

9. Return on Investment (ROI)

The amount of revenue generated from your email marketing campaigns compared to the cost of running those campaigns, helping you understand the overall profitability of your email marketing efforts.

Example:

An email marketing campaign generates $5,000 in revenue with a total cost of $500, resulting in a 900% ROI (Return on Investment).

10. Clicks by Link/URL

Unique clicks on specific links within a single email or across multiple emails. This helps identify which content or calls-to-action are most engaging to your recipients.

Example

If your email has three different links and you receive 10 clicks on link A, 20 clicks on link B, and 30 clicks on link C, you can analyze the performance of each link within the email.

11. Forward Rate

The percentage of recipients who forward your email to others, indicating the shareability and viral potential of your content.

Example:  

If 200 recipients opened your email and 10 forwarded it to a friend, your forwarding Rate would be 5% (10/200).

12. List Churn Rate

The percentage of subscribers who leave your list (due to bounces, unsubscribes, or complaints) over a given period, which can help identify issues with list quality, targeting, or content relevance.

Example

If 2% of subscribers either unsubscribe or become inactive within a 30-day period, your list churn Rate is 2% per month..

13. Subscriber Lifetime Value

The estimated revenue a subscriber will generate over the entire duration of their relationship with your brand, helping you understand the long-term value of your email marketing efforts.

Example

If the total revenue generated by a subscriber during their time on your email list is $150, your subscriber lifetime value is $150 as well.

14. Event Lag

The average time that passes between the click and send time, helping you understand the effectiveness of your subject lines, preheaders, and email content in driving immediate engagement.

Example

If, on average, recipients took 3 hours from the time they received your email to click a link, your event lag would be 3 hours.

Use these KPIs for Email Marketing to drive more clicks to your campaigns and increase sales!

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like our articles on what an email KPI is and sales KPIs. We also recommend checking out our software for email reminders by clicking here.

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