Key metrics for newsletters - how to optimize your mailings

Newsletters are one of the most powerful tools for reaching out to customers and building relationships. To really get the most out of your mailings, you need to know what in them works - and what doesn't. In this article, we'll look at the most important newsletter metrics and how to optimize them.

Opening rate - how many opened

The Open Rate is one of the most basic metrics when it comes to newsletters. It shows how well your subject line and sender are performing, and the rate is calculated by dividing the number of opens by the number of sends. Getting your recipients to open your newsletter is crucial because it doesn't matter how good your content is if your mailing isn't opened anyway.

So how can you improve the open rate? Try to make the subject line more personal and appealing. For example, use direct you-speak, or create a sense of urgency or exclusivity. Also try to optimize the timing of the mailing - maybe there are specific times when your customers are more active in their inbox?

🔸 Benchmark: An average opening rate is around 20-25%*

Click-through rate - how many people clicked

The click-through rate (CTR) measures how many of those who receive your newsletter actually click on one of the links in it. CTR is a key factor in measuring engagement and is calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the number of mailings sent. If your click-through rate is low, it could be because your content is not relevant enough or your CTAs are not clear enough.

To increase click-through rates, you can try making your CTAs more personal. Instead of using classic "Read more", try more specific and engaging options such as "Take me to the offer" or "Yes, I want to sign up". Also, make sure that the content you link to is truly relevant and valuable to your target audience.

🔸Target: An average click-through rate is between 2 and 5%*

Deregistrations - how many lost interest

Unsubscribers show how many of your recipients choose to unsubscribe from your newsletter, and are calculated by dividing the number of unsubscribers by the number of mailings. Perhaps the content is not interesting enough, or they feel they are receiving too many emails? Whatever the reason, it is important to keep track of how many people leave your mailing list.

To reduce unsubscriptions, it is important to be transparent about what recipients can expect from your mailings, and to give them the opportunity to customize their preferences. Some may only want newsletters about product news, while others are also interested in offers and inspiration. If recipients can choose the types of mailings they receive, they are more likely to stick around.

🔸Benchmark: An average deregistration rate is around 0.1-0.5%*

Conversions - how many took action

Opens and clicks are important metrics, but ultimately you want to know if your newsletters actually lead to tangible results - like purchases, downloads or completed forms. The Conversion Rate measures how many people completed an action after clicking on the newsletter, the rate is calculated by dividing the number of conversions by the total number of clicks.

To make it easier to track whether it was the mailing that led to the conversion, you can use UTM links in your CTA buttons. UTM links are tags that you add to URLs to track where the visitor came from and which campaign drove the traffic.

🔸Target: An average conversion rate is between 1 and 3%*

Bounce rate - how many mailings bounced

The bounce rate is an important indicator of how well your email delivery is working. It shows how many of your emails could not be delivered to the recipient's inbox and the rate is calculated by dividing the number of bounces by the total number of emails.

If you have a high bounce rate, you risk your mailings ending up in the spam filter or your email address being flagged as unreliable. To reduce the bounce rate, it is important to keep your recipient list up-to-date and free of invalid or inactive addresses. Regularly clean out addresses that are not valid or that have not engaged for a long time.

🔸Benchmark: An average rejection rate is around 2%*

Measure right - optimize your strategy

To understand what works and what needs to be improved, it is important to regularly analyze your emails. By focusing on these metrics, you can gain a better understanding of how to optimize your emails and make them more relevant to your recipients.

So next time you send a newsletter, think about these metrics and make sure you are constantly tweaking and improving your mailings. Newsletters are all about creating value for your subscribers and making them want to open, click and take advantage of offers.

*Source: https://www.mailmunch.com/blog/email-marketing-benchmarks-for-2025