When tracking email marketing campaigns, its easy to get caught up with numbers. some metrics look nice at a glance, but don’t really tell you much about how well your campaigns are truly performing.
What should truly matter to you are valuable numbers you can control and use to get better results from your email marketing strategy.
These actionable metrics that can help you understand whats working, what’s not, and what you can do to improve are exactly what we are about to show you.
Why It's Important To Track Email Marketing Metrics
Prove that your strategies actually work with data, not guesswork
Test email subject lines and copy
Send helpful content that your audience actually wants
Identify and replicate strategies that lead to more engagement and sales
Ensure every email contributes positively to your bottom line
Share progress and insights with your team
Actionable Email Marketing Metrics To Measure Campaign Success
We've broken down the key metrics into acquisition, engagement, and conversion categories, making it easier for you to understand where your campaigns excel and where they need improvement.
Acquisition Metrics
Number of Subscribers
The number of subscribers is how many people have signed up to receive your emails. It’s the size of your email list and a basic indicator of your potential reach.
Why does it matter? Well, a larger list means you have a broader audience, but it’s not just about the numbers. It’s about having an engaged audience that actually wants to hear from you.
To calculate it, just look at the total number of subscribers in your email marketing platform.
But, don’t just aim for more subscribers. Aim for quality. You want people who are genuinely interested in what you offer, not just random sign-ups.
Pro Tip: Regularly clean your list by removing inactive subscribers. It keeps your engagement rates high and your sender reputation intact.
To grow your list:
Make your signup form easy to find.
Offer something valuable in return, like a discount or exclusive content.
Promote it everywhere—on your website, social media, and even in your email signature.
List Growth Rate
We’ve always used this metric to understand how quickly our email lists are expanding, and it helps us maintain a balance between additions and losses. A growing list indicates that your email content is valuable and your audience is interested. If you're experiencing something different, you should consider changing your strategy.
here is a guide on how to create valuable email content
List Growth Rate = (New Subscribers - Unsubscribes + Spam Complaints) Divided by (Total Subscribers) X 100
For example, if you gained 200 new subscribers this month but lost 50 due to unsubscribes and spam complaints, and you started with 5,000 subscribers, your List Growth Rate would be:
(200−50) Divided by (5000) ×100 = 3%
A growth rate of 3% per month is generally considered healthy, depending on your industry.
To boost your List Growth Rate:
Place your signup form on important pages on your website.
Offer incentives like exclusive templates, ebooks, and discounts to encourage signups.
Reduce unsubscribes by sending content that matches your audience’s interests.
Promote your signup form beyond your website. Use social media and webinars.
Deliverability Rate
You would agree that, even the most amazing emails become useless if they don’t make it to the inbox. This is one metric that reflets your email sender reputation and quality of your email list.
It is calculated as the percentage of emails that successfully reach your subscriber’s inboxes.
Deliverability Rate = (Total Emails Sent − Bounced Emails) Divided by Total Emails Sent) ×100
For example, if you send out 10,000 emails and 200 of them bounce, your Deliverability Rate would be:
(10,000−200) Divided by 10,000) ×100 = 98%
Depending on your industry, a deliverability rate above 75% is generally considered good.
Pro Tip :
Regularly clean your email list to remove invalid or outdated addresses.
Use double opt-in to ensure subscribers genuinely want to receive your emails.
Monitor and maintain a healthy sender reputation by avoiding spammy practices, like using misleading subject lines or excessive punctuation.
Segment your audience to send more relevant content, which can reduce the chances of your emails being marked as spam.
Avoid buying email lists, as they often contain low-quality or unengaged contacts that can harm your deliverability.
Engagement Metrics
Open Rate
This is just the percentage of recipients who open your email out of the total number of emails delivered. It gives you a quick look at how well your subject lines and timing are performing.
While it's often seen as a vanity metric, it’s still important because, without an open, there can’t be any further engagement like clicks or conversions.
How to Calculate it?
Open Rate = ( Emails Opened/Emails Delivered) × 100
For example, if you send 5,000 emails and 1,000 are opened, your Open Rate would be:
(1,000/5,000) × 100 = 20%
From our experience, a good open rate should fall between 15% and 25%.
Pro Tip
Write compelling subject lines that grab attention and entice recipients to open your emails.
Personalize your subject lines with the recipient’s name or other relevant details.
Test different send times to determine when your audience is most likely to open emails.
Keep your list clean by regularly removing inactive subscribers who are unlikely to open your emails.
Clickthrough Rate (CTR)
CTR) is the percentage of email recipients who clicked on one or more links within your email. It shows how well your content and call-to-action (CTA) resonate with your audience. A higher CTR means that your email content is compelling enough to prompt recipients to take action, whether that’s reading more, making a purchase, or signing up for an event.
CTR = (Total Clicks) Divided by (Emails Delivered) x 100
For example, if you send 5,000 emails and receive 250 clicks, your CTR would be:
250/5,000 × 100 =5%
Depending on your industry, a CTR between 2% and 5% puts you in a good spot.
CTR Optimisation Tips
Make your CTA clear, compelling, and easy to find. It should stand out visually and communicate the value of clicking.
Tailor your emails to different segments of your audience to make the content more relevant, which can increase clicks.
Experiment with different email designs, copy, and CTAs to see what drives more clicks.
Don’t overwhelm your readers with too many links or competing CTAs. Focus on one main action you want them to take.
Learn more about how to increase your click-through rate
Unsubscribe Rate
For unsubscribe rates, you’re looking at the percentage of recipients who choose to opt out of your email list after receiving a particular email.
While losing subscribers is part of email marketing, a high Unsubscribe Rate can signal that your emails are missing the mark, so you should ask yourself these questions
Is my content relevant enough?
Are my emails too frequent?
Is there a disconnect between what was promised at sign up and what’s being delivered.
Unsubscribe Rate = (Total Unsubscribes) Divided By (Emails Delivered) ×100
For example, if you send 5,000 emails and 50 people unsubscribe your Unsubscribe Rate would be:
(50 / 5,000) × 100 = 1%
A rate between 0.2% and 0.5% is generally considered acceptable.
Best Tips
Test different frequencies to find what works best for your audience.
Ensure your emails match what subscribers expected when they signed up. If they signed up for discounts, don’t only send newsletters.
Provide an email preference center where subscribers can choose how often they hear from you, rather than opting out completely.
Use exit surveys to understand why people are unsubscribing and make adjustments based on their feedback.
Email Sharing/Forwarding Rate
This is about how often your readers think, “Hey, someone else might like this” and then click that share or forward button. It’s a nice way to measure just how valuable or interesting your content is, because if people are passing it along, you’re doing something right.
Email Sharing/Forwarding Rate = ( Shares or Forwards) Divided By (Emails Delivered) × 100
So, if you sent out 5,000 emails and 50 people shared or forwarded it, your sharing rate would be:
( 50 Divided By 5,000) × 100 = 1%
You should aim for a rate between 0.1% and 0.3%, but this can vary depending on your content and industry.
How to Get More Shares:
Make Sharing Easy by adding clear, easy-to-find share buttons in your emails.
Focus on delivering content that your readers will find genuinely good about passing on.
Don’t underestimate the power of a simple request. Encourage your readers to forward your email to friends or colleagues who might benefit from it.
Highlight what others are saying about your content or product. If your readers see others endorsing it, they’re more likely to share it themselves.
Conversion Metrics
Conversion Rate
High open and click rates are nice, but if people aren’t converting, you’re not getting the real results you need. This metric tells you if your email content, offer, and call-to-action (CTA) are compelling enough to move people from just reading to actually doing.
Conversion Rate = ( Number of Conversions / Total Emails Delivered ) × 100
Let’s say you sent out 1,000 emails, and 50 people completed the action you wanted them to. Your Conversion Rate would be:
( 50 / 1,000) × 100 = 5%
Anything between 2% to 5% is generally considered a solid conversion rate.
How to Boost Your Conversion Rate:
Make sure your email content flows naturally into your call to action.
Reduce the number of steps between your CTA and the conversion. If it’s too complicated, people might lose interest.
Your CTA should be clear, urgent, and tell people exactly what to do next. Think “Shop Now,” “Get Started,” or “Claim Your Discount.”
Tailor your emails to different segments of your audience based on their interests or behaviour. The more relevant the offer, the higher the conversion rate.
Read our insights on best practices for writing high-converting emails
Return on Investment (ROI)
This is the big picture metric that tells you whether all the time, effort, and money you’re putting into your email marketing is actually paying off.
ROI = ( Revenue Generated from Campaign − Campaign Cost) Divided By (Campaign Cost) × 100
For example, if you spent £1,000 on an email campaign and it brought in £5,000 in revenue, your ROI would be:
( £5,000 − £1,000) Divided By (£1,000) × 100 = 400%
A high ROI indicates that your campaign is profitable, which is, of course, what we all want.
Subscriber Lifetime Value (LTV)
Subscriber Lifetime Value (LTV) isnt just a fancy metric for big companies, it’s one of the most crucial metrics you can track, no matter your business size.
Why? Because it shows you how much revenue you can expect from a single subscriber over the course of their relationship with your brand. This isn’t just about the quick wins; it’s about understanding the long-term value each subscriber brings to your business.
If you know that the average subscriber is going to bring in, say, £200 over their lifetime, you can confidently spend more on acquisition, knowing you’ll see a return in the long run.
LTV = Average Purchase Value × Average Purchase Frequency × Customer Lifespan
For instance, if your average subscriber spends £50 per purchase, makes 4 purchases a year, and stays on your list for 3 years, your LTV would be:
£ 50 × 4 × 3 = £600
This means each subscriber is worth £600 to your business over their lifetime.
How can you boost your LTV?
Focus on retention strategies like consistent, high-quality content that keeps your subscribers engaged and looking forward to your emails.
Offer related products or services that enhance what they’ve already bought. The more value they see, the more they’re likely to spend.
Use what you know about your subscribers to tailor your offers and content. When emails feel personal, they’re more effective.
Reward repeat purchases or continued engagement with exclusive offers or discounts to keep your subscribers around longer.
Start Getting Results
You’ve seen how tracking the right email marketing metrics can make your campaigns successful. It can be a lot to manage on your own, but dont worry, we can help.
At Mira Marketing, we don’t just create email campaigns; we track and analyse all campaigns, which helps us focus on what really drives business growth.
Ready to see the impact? Get in touch with one of our email marketing experts today.