Statistics – how well are my newsletters performing?
You already know what a unique open rate is, what the term effective click-through rate means, or how soft bounces differ from hard bounces, but you’d like to know whether your numbers are actually good? Let’s take a closer look.
Click here to learn more about these terms.
What is a good open rate?
The open rate is arguably the most important metric. It indicates how well you’ve chosen the subject line of a mailing and whether it piqued the interest of your subscribers. It also reflects whether your past content has met readers’ expectations. If your unique open rate is on average between 25–35%, your newsletter is doing well. If it’s below 25%, consider making improvements. A compelling subject line is key, and the offered content and appealing design of your newsletter also influence the open rate.
Find more tips on crafting compelling subject lines here.
The metrics for total opens show how many times subscribers opened your mailing overall. If this figure differs significantly from your unique open rate, it could indicate that subscribers found your content interesting and might have saved it for later reading.
It’s important to note that these values are general benchmarks. Depending on your target audience and distribution size, the achieved values may vary widely. The larger your subscriber pool grows, the lower your open rate may become. In the B2B sector, newsletters tend to have higher open rates than in B2C. Your industry also impacts the open rate.
What does the click rate tell about my mailing?
The first click by a subscriber in the newsletter is referred to as the unique click rate. Figures around 3.5% represent an average unique click rate and relate to all deliveries.
The “effective click rate” is particularly interesting for your statistics. It indicates how many openers were genuinely interested in your topics and clicked on further landing pages. Here, the average is about 15%.
If the total click rate is higher than the unique click rate, it means that multiple elements of your newsletter interested the subscribers.
If your click rate consistently falls below the average values, review your content and the newsletter design. Are your contents truly relevant to subscribers, are the texts concise and engaging? Are the links to further information clear? Have you used “call-to-action” links to prompt subscribers to “do something”?
Hard and soft bounces – undeliverable emails
The average rate for undeliverable emails is about 3%, depending on the industry. If your figures are consistently higher, you should clean up your lists. Even though MAILINGWORK automatically excludes hard bounces after three failed delivery attempts, it’s a good idea to regularly delete hard bounces to keep your subscriber list current.
What is a typical unsubscription rate?
Your unsubscription rate should be below 1%. If it’s higher, consider revising the frequency of your mailings and perhaps conducting a voluntary survey to understand the reasons behind the unsubscriptions.