Tracking the right email marketing KPIs separates the experts from the amateurs. But with so many metrics, which ones should you focus on?
This guide explores the most crucial email marketing KPIs to monitor in 2025. Master these key metrics and unlock insights to take your email game to the next level.
What are Email Marketing KPIs?
Email marketing remains one of the most effective digital marketing channels. But how do you know if your email campaigns are actually working?
This is where email marketing KPIs (key performance indicators) come into play.
KPIs are metrics that allow you to track the performance of your email campaigns. By regularly monitoring your KPIs, you can gain valuable insights to refine your email strategy and boost results.
In other words, KPIs help you answer critical questions like:
- How well are my emails engaging my audience?
- Are my email campaigns converting subscribers into customers?
- How can I improve my email targeting and segmentation?
- What tweaks can I make to subject lines or content to get better results?
So email marketing KPIs essentially act like a “report card” for your campaigns, highlighting areas of success as well opportunities for improvement.
Why Track Email Marketing KPIs?
Here are some of the key reasons you should be tracking KPIs for your email campaigns:
- Measure campaign effectiveness: KPIs allow you to gauge metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates. This shows you how well your campaigns are performing.
- Identify issues: Declining open rates or high unsubscribe rates can act as “warning signs” that something needs fixing. KPIs help spot these problems areas.
- Inform future campaigns: By understanding which campaigns do well, you can replicate their success. KPIs guide data-driven decisions.
- Optimization: Testing changes to subject lines, content, timing etc. and tracking KPIs shows you what resonates best with your audience.
- Benchmarking: Compare your KPIs over time or against industry standards to access ongoing progress.
- Calculate ROI: KPIs like revenue metrics and conversion rates demonstrate the tangible monetary return from email.
Most Important Email Marketing KPIs
Dozens of metrics can be tracked for email campaigns. But some common KPIs you should always monitor include:
Engagement KPIs
- Open rate – Percentage of recipients opening your email
- Click-through rate (CTR) – Percentage that clicked on a link/CTA
- Conversion rate – Percentage that completed a desired action
List Growth KPIs
- List growth rate – Rate of increase in list size over time
- New subscriber rate – Percentage of new additions to your list
- Churn rate – Percentage that unsubscribe over a period
Deliverability KPIs
- Delivery rate – Percentage of emails delivered to the inbox
- Bounce rate – Percentages of emails bounced back
- Complaint rate – Percentage of emails reported as spam
Financial KPIs
- Return on investment (ROI) – Revenue earned per dollar spent
- Revenue per email – Average revenue generated per email
- Subscriber lifetime value – Revenue per subscriber over time
This covers some of the macro categories of email marketing KPIs. But dozens more niche metrics can be tracked based on your specific goals. For example, social sharing rates, mobile open %, peak sending times, links clicked, etc.
The key is to identify 4-5 KPIs that map closely to your desired email outcomes. Avoid “vanity metrics” like open rates that don’t have a direct tie to ROI.
How Are KPIs Calculated?
Most email service providers (ESPs) and marketing automation platforms make it easy to track core KPIs with pre-built reports and dashboards.
But understanding the formulas behind KPIs is still helpful for analysis. Here are some examples:
Open rate: (Unique opens / Total delivered) x 100
CTR: (Clicks / Delivered) x 100
Conversion rate: (Conversions / Delivered) x 100
Bounce rate: (Bounced emails / Total sent) x 100
Complaint rate: (Marked as spam / Delivered) x 100
ROI: (Revenue – Cost of campaign) / Cost of campaign
For metrics like growth rate and churn rate, the calculation involves comparing changes between time periods.
While formulas are useful, don’t get bogged down in the math. Focus on interpreting KPI results and making data-driven decisions.
Using KPIs to Improve Campaigns
Simply looking at email marketing KPIs isn’t enough. You need to take action on the insights gleaned.
Here are some examples of how monitoring KPIs can lead to optimizing your email campaigns:
- Low open rates → Try different subject lines, content formats
- High bounce rates → Clean your subscriber list
- Low CTR → Improve call-to-action placement
- Low conversion rates → Realign email content with offer
- High unsubscribe rate → Reduce email frequency or increase personalization
- Low sharing rate → Add social sharing buttons, create viral content
- Low mobile open % → Make emails mobile-responsive
By taking a “test and learn” approach, you can run A/B experiments and see which changes move the needle on your KPIs.
Email marketing KPIs are your compass for continuously improving performance. But you need to act on the signals.
Most Important Email Marketing Metrics to Track
Now that you know what email marketing KPIs are, let’s dive into the most crucial metrics you should be tracking for your campaigns.
While there are dozens of potential KPIs, focusing on 8-10 core metrics will give you an accurate picture of how your email program is performing.
We’ll break down key metrics across four categories:
Engagement KPIs
Engagement indicators show how well your emails capture attention and drive actions from subscribers. These include:
Open rate – This metric indicates the percentage of total recipients who opened your email. It’s calculated as:
(Unique opens / Total delivered) x 100
Open rate sheds light on how compelling your subject lines and sender information are.
But it has limits, as many email clients block images tracking opens. Still, it offers a baseline engagement metric to monitor.
Industry benchmarks:
- B2C: 15-25%
- B2B: 10-20%
Click-through rate – CTR shows the percentage of recipients who clicked on a link/CTA within your email. The formula is:
(Clicks / Delivered) x 100
CTR is a strong indicator of how relevant your content is. High CTR also suggests your CTAs are noticed.
Average CTR benchmark: 2-5%
Conversion rate – This metric measures the percentage of recipients who completed your desired goal action after receiving your email.
(Conversions / Delivered) x 100
Goals can include purchases, lead form submissions, content downloads, event signups etc. Conversion rate demonstrates tangible ROI from emails.
Benchmarks vary greatly based on industry and goals.
Click-to-open rate – CTOR divides unique clicks by unique opens. It shows engagement levels of those who do open:
(Unique clicks / Unique opens) x 100
This accounts for flaws in open tracking. High CTOR indicates compelling content and CTAs inside your emails.
Average CTOR benchmark: 10-30%
List Growth KPIs
These metrics focus on how well you’re expanding your subscriber list over time:
List growth rate – This shows the net percentage increase in your list size during a period:
((New subscribers – Unsubscribes) / Total subscribers) x 100
Faster list growth expands your audience reach and offsets natural churn over time.
New subscriber rate – What percentage of your list are fresh additions?
(New subscribers / Total subscribers) x 100
This helps gauge acquisition efforts. Expect lower rates for mature lists.
Churn rate – The inverse of growth, what percentage of your list unsubscribes over time?
(Unsubscribes / Total subscribers) x 100
Higher churn indicates dissatisfaction. Benchmark against industry averages.
Deliverability KPIs
These metrics track how reliably your emails reach inboxes:
Delivery rate – What percentage of your campaigns make it past spam filters into subscriber inboxes?
(Successfully delivered / Total sent) x 100
High delivery boosts open and click rates. A rate below 90% calls for optimization.
Bounce rate – What percentage of emails bounce back due to invalid addresses, full inboxes etc?
(Bounced / Total sent) x 100
High bouncing hurts sender reputation. Maintain bounce rate below 2%.
Complaint rate – What percentage of recipients take the extra step of reporting your email as spam?
(Marked as spam / Total delivered) x 100
Too many complaints can cause blocklisting. Keep complaints below 0.1%.
Financial KPIs
These metrics make the money case for your email program:
Return on investment – The bottom line: How much revenue is generated per dollar spent on email?
(Revenue – Cost of campaign) / Cost of campaign
Aim for at least $30-$40 ROI for every $1 spent.
Revenue per email – On average, how much revenue does each campaign bring in?
(Total revenue / Emails sent)
Improving email targeting and conversions grows this metric.
Subscriber lifetime value – Over the subscriber lifecycle, what’s the average value of each list member?
(Avg. value per subscriber * Avg. subscriber lifespan)
Higher CLV allows for more spending on subscriber acquisition costs.
Other Notable Email Marketing Metrics
Along with the categories above, some other KPIs that provide valuable insights include:
- Send time optimization – What day/time gets best engagement?
- Email sharing rate – How often are your emails forwarded?
- Social sharing rate – How much are emails shared on social media?
- Email read rate – How many subscribers scroll through your full email?
- Mobile open % – What percent of opens occur on mobile devices?
- Peak sending times – When do most subscribers engage with your emails?
- Links clicked – Which links get the most interest?
- Email marketing costs – What’s your spend on creation, tools, etc.?
- Contact acquisition costs – What’s your spend to acquire newsletter subscribers?
Track a few secondary metrics relevant to your goals. But keep the focus on your core KPIs for optimization.
And remember – no metric is an “island”. Look at KPI trends together to spot opportunities. For example, low click-through rates on mobile could inform changes to mobile optimization.
Now that you know what to track, dive into the email marketing metrics that matter most for your business!
How to Calculate Key Email Marketing KPIs
Now that we’ve covered the most crucial email marketing KPIs to track, let’s look at the formulas and calculations behind them.
While most email service providers (ESPs) and marketing automation platforms will calculate these metrics for you, it’s helpful to understand what’s going on behind the scenes.
Knowing the math allows you to:
- Verify the accuracy of tool-generated reports
- Combine metrics for deeper insights
- Calculate KPIs manually if needed
- Explain KPIs to others on your team
So let’s explore formulas for some of the top email marketing KPIs:
Engagement KPI Formulas
Open rate:
(Unique opens / Total delivered) x 100
Say you sent a campaign to 500 subscribers and it had 125 unique opens.
(125 / 500) x 100 = 25% open rate
Click-through rate:
(Clicks / Total delivered) x 100
With 300 clicks out of 800 delivered:
(300 / 800) x 100 = 37.5% CTR
Conversion rate:
(Conversions / Total delivered) x 100
For 40 conversions from a 600 email send:
(40 / 600) x 100 = 6.67% conversion rate
Click-to-open rate:
(Unique clicks / Unique opens) x 100
With 150 clicks and 300 opens:
(150 / 300) x 100 = 50% CTOR
List Growth KPI Formulas
List growth rate:
((New subscribers – Unsubscribes) / Total list size) x 100
If you gained 500 new subscribers but lost 300 unsubs out of a 2000 person list:
((500 – 300) / 2000) x 100 = 10% list growth
New subscriber rate:
(New subscribers / Total list size) x 100
For 250 new subscribers on a 5000 person list:
(250 / 5000) x 100 = 5% new subscriber rate
Churn rate:
(Unsubscribes / Total list size) x 100
With 75 unsubscribes from a list of 1000:
(75 / 1000) x 100 = 7.5% churn rate
Deliverability Metric Formulas
Delivery rate:
(Successfully delivered / Total sent) x 100
If 920 out of 1000 emails sent were delivered:
(920 / 1000) x 100 = 92% delivery rate
Bounce rate:
(Bounced emails / Total sent) x 100
For 65 bounces out of 850 emails:
(65 / 850) x 100 = 7.65% bounce rate
Complaint rate:
(Marked as spam / Total delivered) x 100
With 15 spam complaints out of 625 successfully delivered:
(15 / 625) x 100 = 2.4% complaint rate
Financial KPI Formulas
Return on investment:
(Revenue – Campaign cost) / Campaign cost
If a campaign generated $5000 revenue with a $500 spend:
($5000 – $500) / $500 = 9 or 900% ROI
Revenue per email:
(Total revenue / Emails sent)
For $3000 revenue from 600 email sends:
($3000 / 600) = $5 revenue per email
Subscriber lifetime value:
(Revenue per subscriber * Subscriber lifetime)
If subscribers average $75 value over a 15 month lifespan:
($75 * 15 months) = $1125 subscriber LTV
These examples cover some of the most common email KPIs – but you can apply similar logic to calculate any metric based on your specific goals.
The important thing is to actually monitor and act on your KPIs frequently. As the saying goes:
What gets measured gets managed.
So don’t let your reports sit idle! Use KPIs as the compass to guide your email marketing optimization journey.
Tips to Improve Your Email Marketing KPIs
Tracking email marketing KPIs provides little value unless you use the insights to optimize your campaigns.
Let’s explore some proven techniques you can use to give your key metrics a boost.
Optimize Subject Lines
Your subject line is the first impression recipients have of your email. So it greatly impacts open and click-through rates.
Follow these tips to craft compelling subject lines:
Keep it short – Subject lines over 50 characters get truncated on mobile. Shoot for under 30 characters.
Add urgency – Phrases like “ends soon” and “last chance” tap into reader FOMO.
Use specificity – Subject lines with hard numbers/data can pique curiosity.
Leverage emojis – A single emoji can boost open rates while adding some personality.
Try brackets – Brackets around keywords like [ON SALE] draw the eye.
Ask questions – Pose an intriguing question to entice openers.
Test variations – A/B test 3-5 versions of subject lines to see what resonates most.
Personalize – Insert first names or trigger events to personalize.
Send time optimization – Certain days/times may perform best for your audience.
Avoid spam words – Stay away from spammy words like “free” or “$$$” that might trigger filters.
Watch trends – Keep an eye on viral topics/events you can tie into.
Subject line testing is key to finding the right balance of curiosity, urgency, and personalization for your subscribers.
Opt for List Segmentation
Treating your entire email list as one homogenous group is leaving opportunity on the table.
Use list segmentation to group subscribers by:
- Demographic data like job title, industry, location etc.
- Behavioral data like links clicked, pages visited, content downloads etc.
- Engagement data like open and click rates, conversion activity etc.
- Purchase history and customer lifetime value
Then you can tailor and personalize your email content specifically for each segment.
For example, an ecommerce retailer could segment their list by:
- New subscribers (welcome campaign)
- Online course purchasers (relevant upsell)
- High lifetime value (VIP offers)
- Cart abandoners (re-engagement)
- Holiday shoppers (seasonal promos)
- Low engaged (re-activation)
Proper segmentation allows you to send hyper-relevant emails, leading to higher engagement and lower opt-outs.
Increase Personalization
Along with segmentation, take personalization further by:
Using first names – This simple personalization can increase click-through rates.
Adding personal details – Insert subscriber-specific data like location or company name.
Trigger-based emails – Send based on events like cart abandonment or a missed call.
Dynamic content – Vary content blocks based on subscriber attributes.
Individualized subject lines – Tailor subject lines based on interests and behaviors.
New features announcement – Notify VIP users of new features before general list.
Birthday offers – Provide exclusive birthday promotions for a boost.
Trigger re-engagement – Remind inactive subscribers of your value proposition.
Recommendations – Products/content based on their unique preferences.
Progress trackers – Update subscribers on steps completed in conversion funnels.
Preference center – Allow subscribers to update profile and preferences.
Lifecycle-based – Layout welcome tracks and loyalty campaigns.
Done right, personalization makes every subscriber feel special. And it leads to measurable lifts in open rate, clicks, and conversions.
Take a Test and Iterate Approach
One of the best ways to improve email marketing KPIs is by constantly testing and iterating.
Some elements you can test include:
Subject lines – The backbone of your email. Test tone, length, emojis, urgency etc.
Send times – Find the optimal days/times for your audience.
Content formats – Compare different formats like text-focused, visual-focused, video emails etc.
CTAs – Evaluate different copy, placement, colors and see what converts best.
Email length – Test concise vs. longer form content.
Personalization – Try different personalization approaches.
List segments – Compare results across different segmented groups.
Offers – Will time-bound promos do better than drip content?
Landing pages – How do different post-click landing experiences perform?
A structured testing process allows you to double down on what works and eliminate what doesn’t. Over time, this compounds results.
Tools like A/B testing and multivariate testing make it easy to compare email variants. For subject lines, use preview text tools to gauge engagement before sending.
Experiment constantly, review metrics diligently, then scale up the winning combinations.
Optimize Your Email Content
Beyond how you target and test emails, the content itself also drives results.
Follow these tips to create compelling content:
Lead with value – Demonstrate upfront how your content benefits subscribers by solving their problem or satisfying their need.
Get visual – Break up text with relevant images, graphics, charts etc. But don’t let style trump substance.
Stay scannable – Use short paragraphs, bullet points, headings and bold font to improve skimmability.
Bring in variety – Mix up long form articles, short snippets, curated lists etc.
Leverage FOMO – Urgency and scarcity tactics can increase call-to-action clicks. But use them judiciously.
Share insider tips – Readers love actionable advice they can immediately apply to get results.
Curate user-generated content – Features like testimonials and user reviews add authenticity.
Ask questions – Pose intriguing questions in the copy or email polls to spark engagement.
Educate – How-to’s, guides, and thought leadership establish your expertise.
Tell stories – Anecdotes make content relatable and memorable.
Promote engagement – Insert clicks in copy to lead readers along rather than big blocks of text.
Bring in humor – A bit of lightheartedness helps content go down smooth.
Add value consistently – The path to subscriber loyalty is a steady stream of value.
Optimizing content takes testing and experience. Pay attention to engagement metrics on each email to see what resonates with your audience.
Manage Your Unsubscribes
A marginal unsubscribe rate is expected. But a spike can signal issues.
If your unsubscribes suddenly rise, assess whether it’s:
Content relevance – Are you straying from their expectations? Stick to your positioning.
Email frequency – Too many emails in a short time can cause fatigue. Spread out campaigns.
List health – Poor list hygiene like stale contacts hurts open rates and prompts unsubscribes. Keep your list clean.
Formatting – Hard-to-read emails lead subscribers to jump ship. Review mobile optimization and email layout.
Targeting – Bad segmentation means sending irrelevant content. Confirm your groups.
Offer mismatch – Make sure your email content and landing pages are aligned.
Bounce spikes – Delivery issues cause subscribers to give up. Address any technical bounce issues.
Unsubscribe placement – If unsubscribe links are too prominent, engagement may be mistaken for unsubscribes.
Monitor when unsubscribes happen – is it immediately after a send or a few days later? This timing can also provide clues.
Where possible, gently ask unsubscribes for feedback. This intelligence can inform positive changes.
A flexible “test and learn” approach is key to incrementally improving email performance over time. Stay diligent with your KPIs, keep optimizing, and your hard work will compound into results.
Tools to Track Your Email Marketing Performance
While you can manually calculate email marketing KPIs, using tools to automate tracking makes the process much easier.
Here are some of the top tools to monitor the metrics that matter:
Email Service Providers
Your email service provider (ESP) will be the foundation for tracking email performance. Leading options include:
Mailchimp – The popular ESP offers detailed analytics on opens, clicks, conversions, unsubscribes, sent/delivery times, locations, devices and more.
Sendinblue – Provides real-time statistics on all key metrics. Helps track ROI with conversion tracking andintegrations.
Constant Contact – Offers automated reports that can be scheduled and customized with 70+ metrics to choose from.
MailerLite – Tracks core KPIs and integrates with Google Analytics for deeper insights. Provides A/B testing.
GetResponse – Allows deep behavioral tracking with heatmaps and click tracking. Optimization tools help improve KPIs.
Campaign Monitor – Combines beautiful reports on audience engagement with easy A/B testing to optimize email performance.
Moosend – Has pre-built reports and customizable dashboards to track all metrics across devices, locations, links etc.
Setting KPI Benchmarks and Goals
Measuring your email marketing KPIs is just the first step. To extract maximum value, you need to:
- Benchmark KPIs against baseline averages.
- Establish your own KPI goals.
Let’s explore best practices for each approach.
Benchmark Your Email Marketing KPIs
Benchmarks allow you to gauge your performance against industry standards.
Some benchmark sources to utilize include:
- Your historic averages – Compare current KPIs versus your past averages to spot positive/negative momentum.
- Industry research – Analyst reports like Litmus and Optinmonster share overall industry KPI benchmarks segmented by business type.
- Email marketing platform benchmarks – ESPs like Mailchimp and Sendinblue publish aggregates of their customer data as benchmarks.
- Competitor analysis – Review competitor’s reported KPIs if publicly shared to get an idea of competitive performance.
- Your peers – Fellow email marketers in your network can anonymously share benchmark ranges.
While your focus should be on improving your own metrics, benchmarks provide an external yardstick to assess progress.
Some key benchmark KPIs to track include:
- Open rates
- Click-through rates
- Conversion rates
- Unsubscribe rates
- Complaint rates
- Email revenue
Monitor how your KPIs trend versus benchmarks over time. Exceeding averages indicates good messaging and execution. Lagging suggests areas to optimize.
Segment your list and analyze benchmarks for each audience group as well. For example, open rates for engaged subscribers should exceed unengaged groups.
Set Your Own Email KPI Goals
While external benchmarks provide a reference point, every business is ultimately different.
You need to establish your own internal KPI goals based on factors unique to your situation like:
- Industry dynamics
- Business model
- Target audience
- Email objectives
- Historical performance
- Growth trajectory
When setting goals, focus on one key question – “What KPI levels do we need to achieve our desired business outcomes?”.
For example, if you’re focused on driving online course sales, your revenue and conversion KPI goals would be paramount.
Some best practices when setting KPI targets:
- Align with leadership – Involve company leaders in goal-setting and secure their buy-in.
- Take a data-driven approach – Establish goals based on historical metrics, growth rates, regression analysis etc. rather than gut feel.
- Set staged targets – Have goals for short timeframes like monthly or quarterly as stepping stones to yearly targets.
- Be ambitious but realistic – Stretch goals help accelerate growth but avoid setting yourself up for failure with unrealistic targets.
- Tailor for each KPI – Open and CTR goals will likely be different from conversion or revenue goals.
- Monitor leading and lagging KPIs – Leading indicators (opens, CTR) influence lagging results (revenue).
- Assess on dual axes – Look at both absolute KPI values and growth rates/trends.
- Review regularly – Re-calibrate targets as needed based on changing business conditions.
KPI dashboards and goal tracking make it easy to monitor progress against your targets. Missing goals doesn’t necessarily indicate failure but rather helps prioritize areas for attention.
The combination of external benchmarking and internal goal-setting gives you a complete picture to gauge email program success.
Key Takeaways on Tracking Email Marketing KPIs
- Email marketing KPIs are critical metrics like open rate, CTR, conversion rate etc. that allow you to gauge campaign performance.
- Monitor KPIs consistently to identify issues early and inform email optimization.
- Focus on 4-5 core KPIs tied directly to your email program goals and business objectives.
- Know how to calculate KPIs manually even if your ESP provides the metrics.
- Use list segmentation, personalization, testing, content quality etc. to improve KPIs.
- Set internal target goals aligned with business growth plans beyond just looking at benchmarks.
- Actioning insights from KPIs is crucial – track metrics to make strategic decisions.
- Consider leveraging purpose-built tools like Mystrika to manage specialized email programs like cold outreach.
- Maintain a “test and learn” approach to continuously refine and progress your email marketing KPIs.
Consistent and thorough email marketing measurement provides the visibility needed to make smart optimizations. But don’t get lost in the metrics – keep the focus on acting on insights to boost performance.
With the right KPIs, discipline around tracking, and commitment to progress – your email marketing will thrive.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What are the most essential email marketing KPIs to track?
A: The most essential KPIs include open rate, click-through rate, conversion rate, revenue per email, and unsubscribe rate. These provide core engagement, financial, and list health metrics.
Q: How often should I check on my email marketing KPIs?
A: Checking your email marketing KPI dashboard on a daily basis allows you to catch trends quickly. Formal review on a weekly or monthly cadence lets you assess what’s working over longer periods.
Q: What tools do I need to track email marketing KPIs?
A: Most email service providers and marketing automation platforms provide robust email analytics dashboards. You can also use web analytics tools to track conversion events from emails.
Q: What is a good benchmark for email marketing metrics?
A: Benchmarks vary greatly by industry. General ranges are 15-25% open rate, 2-5% CTR, 0.1-0.3% unsubscribe rate. Use published benchmarks only as a guideline.
Q: How can I set goals for improving my email KPIs?
A: Set targets based on past performance, growth objectives, and competitive analysis. Focus on tangible goals aligned to business outcomes vs. arbitrary numbers.
Q: My open rates are low – how can I increase them?
A: Try different subject lines, optimize send times, clean your list, and ensure mobile responsiveness. Review your subject line approach and email preview text.
Q: What does a high unsubscribe rate indicate?
A: High unsubscribes can mean irrelevant content, overly promotional messaging, technical errors causing bounces, or over-emailing subscribers. Identify the cause before optimizing.
Q: Should I focus on open rate or click-through rate more?
A: Click-through rate is generally a stronger email engagement metric than open rate. But track both to get a complete picture.
Q: How often should I send emails to avoid unsubscribes?
A: 1-3 times per week is fairly standard for commercial content. Monitor unsubscribe rate closely and adjust frequency based on audience feedback.