Email marketing is still one of the most effective tools for startups in 2025. But success depends on tracking the right metrics. Here are the 10 key email metrics every startup should monitor to improve engagement, optimize campaigns, and drive growth:
- Email Open Rate: Measures how many recipients open your email. Focus on subject lines, timing, and sender name to improve this.
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): Tracks how many recipients click links in your email. Optimize CTAs, design, and content for better results.
- Email Conversion Rate: Shows how many recipients complete a desired action after clicking. Match email content with landing pages to boost conversions.
- Bounce Rate: Indicates how many emails fail to reach inboxes. Clean your email list and fix technical issues to lower this rate.
- Unsubscribe Rate: Tracks how many people leave your list. Segment audiences and send relevant content to reduce churn.
- Delivery Rate: Measures the percentage of emails that successfully land in inboxes. Maintain a clean list and follow best practices for sender reputation.
- List Growth Rate: Tracks how fast your email list is growing. Focus on retaining subscribers while attracting new ones.
- Click-to-Open Rate (CTOR): Compares clicks to opens, showing how engaging your content is. Ensure your email matches reader expectations.
- Email Marketing ROI: Calculates the revenue generated per dollar spent on email campaigns. Focus on cost-effective strategies and clear CTAs.
- Spam Report Rate: Monitors how often emails are marked as spam. Use permission-based lists and provide clear unsubscribe options to avoid this.
Why These Metrics Matter
Tracking these metrics helps startups:
- Identify what’s working and where to improve.
- Optimize campaigns for better engagement and conversions.
- Maintain strong email deliverability and sender reputation.
By focusing on these metrics, startups can create effective email strategies that support growth and build stronger customer relationships.
Email Marketing Metrics You Should Be Tracking in 2024
1. Email Open Rate
Email open rate shows the percentage of recipients who open your emails. In today’s crowded inboxes, it’s a good indicator of how well your subject lines perform and whether your emails are reaching their intended audience.
How to Calculate:
Open Rate = (Number of Opened Emails ÷ Number of Delivered Emails) × 100
While benchmarks differ by industry, keeping an eye on this metric helps fine-tune your email campaigns.
Key Factors That Influence Open Rates
- Subject Line Quality: Keep subject lines short and engaging. Use personalization, urgency, or highlight clear benefits to grab attention.
- Timing: Send emails when your subscribers are most likely to check their inbox. Test various days and times to find the sweet spot.
- Sender Name: A consistent and recognizable sender name builds trust. Using a format like "Sarah from CompanyX" adds a personal touch while maintaining professionalism.
Tips for Boosting Open Rates
- Clean up your email list by removing inactive subscribers and verifying email addresses.
- Segment your audience and tailor content to their interests.
- Stay aware of privacy changes, like Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection, which can impact open rate tracking. Pair this metric with others for a more accurate view of engagement.
Next, let’s dive into click-through rate to analyze deeper engagement.
2. Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Click-Through Rate (CTR) measures how engaging your email content is. It shows the percentage of recipients who click on links in your emails, offering a clear picture of how well your content and calls-to-action (CTAs) are working.
How to Calculate:
CTR = (Number of Clicks ÷ Number of Delivered Emails) × 100
Key Factors Influencing CTR
Several elements play a role in determining your CTR:
- CTA Design: Make your buttons or links visually distinct and ensure they clearly communicate value.
- Content Alignment: Your email content should match the interests of your audience.
- Link Placement: Place links where they’re easy to find and click.
- Mobile Usability: Ensure links and buttons are easy to tap on mobile devices.
Boosting Your CTR
Here are some actionable tips to improve your click-through rates:
-
Optimize CTA Placement
Place your main CTA above the fold, surround it with white space to make it pop, and limit the number of CTAs to avoid overwhelming readers. -
Enhance Content
Use persuasive, benefit-driven language. Focus on action-oriented phrasing and ensure your content delivers on the promise of your subject line. -
Design for Interaction
Design emails that are mobile-friendly, use contrasting colors to highlight CTAs, and stick with consistent branding.
Testing and Fine-Tuning
To refine your CTR, try:
- Running A/B tests on CTA designs and locations.
- Testing different content formats to see what resonates.
- Using click maps to analyze user behavior.
- Comparing mobile and desktop performance.
Tracking Progress
Instead of focusing on single campaigns, monitor CTR trends over time. Pay attention to:
- Which days of the week perform best.
- The types of content generating the most clicks.
- Engagement levels across different audience segments.
- Differences between mobile and desktop interactions.
CTR works hand-in-hand with conversion rates, which we’ll explore in the next section.
3. Email Conversion Rate
Email conversion rate measures the percentage of recipients who complete a specific action after clicking through your email.
How to Calculate:
Conversion Rate = (Number of Completed Actions ÷ Number of Email Clicks) × 100
Types of Conversions
The type of conversion depends on your campaign goals. Common examples include:
- Product purchases
- Free trial sign-ups
- Newsletter subscriptions
- Downloading resources
- Filling out forms
Improving Your Conversion Funnel
To boost conversions, make sure your email’s content matches the landing page. Use clear, benefit-driven copy that encourages action, add social proof to build trust, and remove any extra steps from the conversion process.
Testing Strategies
- Set benchmarks by analyzing current conversion rates for different audience segments.
- Experiment with layouts, copy, and CTAs to see what resonates most.
- Track patterns in conversions to fine-tune your targeting.
By continuously testing and tweaking, you can improve your results over time.
Key Metrics to Monitor
| Metric | What It Reveals |
|---|---|
| Time to Convert | How quickly users act after opening the email |
| Page Abandonment | Where users exit before completing an action |
| Device Performance | Desktop vs. mobile conversion rates |
| Campaign Type ROI | Which email campaigns generate the best results |
Tips for Better Conversions
- Design emails with mobile users in mind for a smooth experience.
- Use clear, action-driven CTAs that encourage urgency.
- Simplify forms with progressive profiling to reduce friction.
- Ensure all pages and forms load quickly.
- Experiment with offers or incentives to encourage action.
4. Email Bounce Rate
Email bounce rate shows the percentage of emails that fail to land in recipients’ inboxes. A high bounce rate can harm your sender reputation and make it harder for your emails to reach their audience. Startups should keep a close eye on this metric to avoid deliverability issues.
How to Calculate:
Bounce Rate = (Number of Bounced Emails ÷ Total Emails Sent) × 100
Types of Bounces
Hard Bounces
- These are permanent failures, like sending to invalid or non-existent email addresses.
- Remove these addresses from your list immediately to avoid further issues.
Soft Bounces
- These are temporary problems, such as full inboxes or server downtime.
- These often fix themselves on retry but should be monitored if they happen repeatedly.
Tips to Lower Your Bounce Rate
Clean Your Email List
- Use double opt-in for new signups.
- Remove subscribers who’ve been inactive for 6–12 months.
- Verify email addresses when collecting them.
- Use email validation tools to catch errors before sending.
Set Up Your Email System Properly
- Configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC settings.
- Keep an eye on your sender reputation.
- Warm up new IP addresses gradually.
- Segment your email list based on how users engage with your content.
Optimize Your Content
- Avoid words that might trigger spam filters.
- Keep your sending volume consistent.
- Test your emails before sending them to large groups.
- Balance your email’s HTML and plain text content.
From here, it’s a good idea to also analyze your unsubscribe rate to fine-tune your email strategy further.
5. Email Unsubscribe Rate
The unsubscribe rate shows the percentage of people who opt out of your email list after receiving a campaign. It’s a clear indicator of how well your content connects with your audience. If this rate starts climbing, it could mean your emails are missing the mark in terms of relevance, personalization, or timing.
How to Calculate:
Unsubscribe Rate = (Number of Unsubscribes ÷ Total Emails Delivered) × 100
Keeping an eye on this metric helps you refine your campaigns to better match your audience’s needs. When evaluating unsubscribe rates, think about factors like how relevant and personalized your messages are, whether your value proposition is clear, and if the design is user-friendly. Also, consider how often you’re sending emails and whether they’re timed well for your audience.
Tips to Lower Unsubscribe Rates:
-
Set Clear Expectations:
Let subscribers know upfront how often they’ll hear from you and the kind of content they’ll receive. Also, give them control by offering options to manage their preferences. -
Segment Your List:
Group your audience based on their interests or engagement levels. Tailor your content and email frequency to match each group’s preferences. -
Gather Feedback:
Add an optional feedback form to your unsubscribe page. Use this input to spot patterns and improve your strategy.
Delivering content that’s valuable and respecting subscriber preferences can help you keep your audience engaged and reduce churn.
Next, let’s dive into email delivery rates to ensure your messages actually reach inboxes.
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6. Email Delivery Rate
The email delivery rate shows the percentage of emails that successfully land in inboxes. It’s a direct measure of how well your campaigns are performing and whether your email system is functioning properly. A low delivery rate means fewer customers see your emails, which can hurt your campaign’s success.
How to Calculate:
Delivery Rate = (Number of Emails Delivered ÷ Total Emails Sent) × 100
Key Factors That Impact Delivery Rate
-
Sender Reputation
Think of your sender reputation like a credit score for email marketing. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) rely on it to decide if your messages should go to the inbox or spam. To maintain a strong reputation:- Keep your email list clean and up-to-date.
- Stick to a consistent sending schedule.
- Use authenticated domains for sending.
- Minimize spam complaints.
-
Technical Setup
Proper technical configuration ensures your emails are trusted by ISPs. Make sure to include:- SPF (Sender Policy Framework) records.
- DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) authentication.
- A DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication) policy.
-
List Quality
A high-quality email list is crucial for good deliverability. Focus on:- Regularly cleaning your list to remove invalid addresses.
- Collecting emails with proper permission.
- Quickly removing hard bounces.
- Segmenting your list based on engagement levels.
Tips to Boost Your Email Delivery Rate
- Gradually increase sending volume for new IP addresses over 4-6 weeks to "warm them up."
- Track engagement metrics like open and click-through rates to spot potential issues.
- Use double opt-in methods to confirm email addresses are valid.
- Remove inactive subscribers who haven’t engaged in 6-12 months.
7. Email List Growth
Email list growth shows how well your startup is bringing in and keeping subscribers. To get a clear view of your list’s health, subtract unsubscribes and bounces from your new sign-ups. Here’s the formula for calculating your List Growth Rate:
List Growth Rate = [(New Subscribers – Unsubscribes – Bounces) ÷ Total Subscribers] × 100
For instance, if you have 1,000 total subscribers, gain 100 new sign-ups, and lose 20 to unsubscribes and 5 to bounces, your monthly growth rate would be:
[(100 – 20 – 5) ÷ 1,000] × 100 = 7.5%.
By tracking this net change, you can see how your email list is evolving over time.
Up next, we’ll explore how click-to-open rates can reveal more about how engaged your subscribers are.
8. Click-to-Open Rate (CTOR)
Click-to-Open Rate (CTOR) shows how many people who opened your email went on to click a link. Unlike Click-Through Rate (CTR), which compares clicks to all recipients, CTOR focuses only on those who opened the email.
Here’s the formula to calculate CTOR:
CTOR = (Number of Unique Clicks ÷ Number of Unique Opens) × 100
For example, if 500 people open your email and 150 of them click a link, the CTOR would be: (150 ÷ 500) × 100 = 30%.
A strong CTOR suggests your email content resonates with your audience. This metric is especially helpful for startups to gauge if their email strategy is engaging enough for their target readers.
To boost your CTOR, try these tips:
- Make sure your subject line matches the email content.
- Use audience segmentation for more personalized messaging.
- Place call-to-action (CTA) buttons or links where they’re easy to find.
- Test different layouts, visuals, and copy to see what works best.
Combine CTOR tracking with other metrics to refine your email marketing efforts.
Next, explore how to measure Email Marketing ROI to evaluate its financial impact.
9. Email Marketing ROI
Email Marketing ROI calculates how much revenue is generated for every dollar spent on email campaigns.
ROI Formula:
ROI = [(Revenue from Email – Cost of Email Campaign) ÷ Cost of Email Campaign] × 100
For example, if a $1,000 campaign generates $5,000 in revenue, the ROI would be:
(($5,000 – $1,000) ÷ $1,000) × 100 = 400%.
Key Cost Factors to Track
To measure your email marketing ROI accurately, consider these cost components:
| Cost Component | Examples |
|---|---|
| Direct Costs | Email platform fees, design tools, stock images |
| Labor Costs | Writing, campaign management, performance analysis |
| Technical Costs | Automation software, integration tools, testing platforms |
Tips to Improve Email Marketing ROI
- Create strong sales funnels: Use clear calls-to-action (CTAs) and well-optimized landing pages to guide users toward conversions.
- Test your content: Run A/B tests on subject lines, email copy, and CTAs to see what works best for your audience.
- Automate workflows: Set up automated series for tasks like welcome emails, abandoned cart reminders, and post-purchase follow-ups to save time and increase efficiency.
- Segment your audience: Send personalized content to different customer groups to boost engagement and conversions.
M Accelerator provides customized support for startups, helping them design better funnels, improve messaging, and implement automation tools to drive measurable results.
Tracking Revenue and Performance
Track both immediate sales and the long-term value of customers using tracking parameters and proper attribution methods. By isolating revenue driven by email campaigns, you can better understand their impact. A well-planned strategy focused on delivering relevant, engaging content to your audience – while continuously testing and improving – can yield impressive results.
Next, we’ll examine how Spam Report Rate affects email deliverability.
10. Spam Report Rate
Keeping your spam report rate low is key to maintaining a good sender reputation and improving your email campaign results. This rate shows the percentage of recipients who mark your emails as spam.
Why Spam Reports Matter
Spam reports can seriously impact your email performance. When someone flags your email as spam, it can lead to:
| Area Affected | Impact |
|---|---|
| Sender Reputation | Email providers may lose trust in you |
| Deliverability | Fewer emails make it to the inbox |
| Blacklist Risk | Higher chance of being blacklisted |
| List Quality | Signals poor engagement from recipients |
How to Calculate Spam Report Rate
Use this formula to figure out your spam report rate:
Spam Report Rate = (Spam Reports ÷ Emails Delivered) × 100
For example, if 8 recipients mark your email as spam out of 10,000 emails delivered, your rate is 0.08%.
Tips to Reduce Spam Reports
- Use Permission-Based Lists: Require double opt-ins and make your subscription process clear.
- Keep Your List Clean: Remove users who mark emails as spam and keep an eye on engagement trends.
- Monitor Engagement: Watch how subscribers interact with your emails and run re-engagement campaigns for inactive users.
Early Warning Signs
Pay attention to sudden changes in open rates, unsubscribe rates, or bounce rates. These could signal an increase in spam reports.
Technical Steps to Protect Your Campaigns
- Authenticate your emails using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
- Include clear unsubscribe links in every email.
- Regularly check if your domain is blacklisted.
- Test your emails across different email clients to ensure proper display.
Conclusion
Tracking email performance is a key part of startup success in 2025. Monitoring these 10 metrics can help startups grow and improve audience engagement effectively.
How Email Metrics Drive Business Growth
| Metric Category | Business Impact | Strategic Value |
|---|---|---|
| Engagement Metrics | Shows how content resonates with users | Helps improve content strategies |
| Deliverability Metrics | Indicates email system health | Ensures consistent communication |
| Growth Metrics | Tracks progress over time | Supports scalable growth |
| ROI Metrics | Evaluates financial returns | Validates marketing investments |
These metrics provide more than just numbers – they offer actionable insights to improve strategies.
Turning Metrics Into Actionable Steps
Metrics are only useful if you act on them. M Accelerator offers a framework to help startups use these insights to create, execute, and refine email campaigns tailored to their goals.
"After this startup program, I have a lot more clarity in which direction we should take, which tools we can use, and how we can go about it. — Distributing your value proposition in a way that is economical. That was something new for me. So often, we tend to design solutions that outcompete your competitors in all aspects instead of focusing on the factor that has the most impact."
- Melissa Kariuki, Founder at Whip Music Africa, Product Manager at Google, MA Startup 2019
Building an Email Strategy That Works
To make the most of your email campaigns, focus on what drives results. With help from M Accelerator, startups can:
- Use metric insights to craft targeted email campaigns and sales funnels
- Develop automated systems to support growth at scale
- Test and fine-tune messaging to align with market needs
What Lies Ahead
By leveraging these insights, startups can tackle future challenges with confidence. As email marketing evolves, understanding and acting on performance data will set successful startups apart from the rest, ensuring steady growth well beyond 2025.
