What benchmarks should email marketers target and why?
Summary
What email marketers say14Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Email Geeks answers that the bottom line is to keep asking the question "how to make it 100%?" and Send less, earn more.
Email marketer from Constant Contact shares that a good click-through rate is generally between 2.5-5%. Click-through rate indicates how engaging your content is to your audience.
Email marketer from AWeber shares that A/B testing different elements of your email campaigns, such as subject lines and calls to action, can help you optimize your results. A/B testing allows you to see what resonates with your audience and make data-driven decisions.
Email marketer from Mailchimp explains that unsubscribe rates should be below 0.5%. A high unsubscribe rate can indicate that your content isn't relevant or that you're emailing too frequently.
Email marketer from Quora responds that email benchmarks can vary significantly depending on the industry. Researching benchmarks specific to your industry can provide more accurate targets.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that clients often want to compare themselves against industry benchmarks despite claiming their customers are unique. She started charting client's metrics against benchmark studies to illustrate how different the benchmarks are. She also tries to break up the client's sends into campaigns to illustrate that they should be creating their own metrics by campaign as each campaign will perform differently based on intent and audience. Looking at top line metrics can hide alot of sins.
Email marketer from SuperOffice explains that tracking your return on investment (ROI) is crucial to justify the expense of email marketing efforts. Understanding ROI helps you to see whether you're generating revenue to your investment.
Email marketer from Neil Patel explains that a good email open rate is between 15-25%. He shares that open rates vary depending on industry, but generally aim for above 20% to ensure your message is being seen.
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains why no ISP will ever say "n% is a good level": because anything under 100% is not optimal for them. If the sender has 25% very true open rate - although it may be higher than the "industry standard average" - it also means the MBP must process, transfer and store the other 75% not only with no hope of monetizing it in any way, but also knowing that this unwanted mail will hurt their revenue in the long run.
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that marketers should never target mythical "industry averages" on opens and clicks. He continues that a mailflow with a clear and visible CTA getting 3% click-to-open and a <1% conversion rate is cause for concern, not a sign of industry knowledge.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that open rates are influenced by factors like subject line, sender reputation, and timing of the email. He recommends testing different subject lines and sending emails at times when your audience is most likely to be online.
Email marketer from HubSpot explains that segmenting your email list based on demographics, behavior, and interests is essential for sending relevant content. Targeted emails have higher engagement rates and lower unsubscribe rates.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum responds that sending emails too frequently can lead to subscriber burnout and higher unsubscribe rates. He suggests finding a balance between staying top-of-mind and overwhelming your audience.
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor shares that personalizing emails with the recipient's name and other relevant information can improve engagement. Personalized emails stand out in the inbox and show that you value the recipient's time.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise answers that focusing on deliverability metrics such as inbox placement rate and sender reputation are key. She explains that these metrics provide insights into how mailbox providers view your mailings, directly impacting whether your messages reach the intended recipients.
Expert from Spam Resource shares that keeping your complaint rates low is vital. They indicate a good benchmark is under 0.1% as higher rates can negatively impact your sender reputation and lead to deliverability issues.
Expert from Email Geeks answers that the target should be "an improvement over our trailing 3, 6 and 12 month metrics" and to be your own competition. Trending metrics are the best way to measure progress over time and allow you a way to weather changes outside your control by giving you a way to compare before/after.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from Email on Acid answers that making emails accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities, is essential. Using alt text for images, proper heading structure, and sufficient color contrast will improve the user experience.
Documentation from Litmus shares that designing emails for mobile devices is crucial, as a majority of users now read emails on their phones. They explain that using responsive design ensures your email looks good on any device, improving engagement.
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools answers that maintaining a good sender reputation is crucial for email deliverability. Google uses sender reputation to determine whether to deliver emails to the inbox or spam folder.
Documentation from Microsoft shares that monitoring bounce rates is important for maintaining a healthy email list. A high bounce rate can indicate that your list is outdated or that you're sending to invalid email addresses.
Documentation from SendGrid answers that implementing email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is crucial for improving email deliverability. These protocols verify that the email is actually sent from the domain it claims to be from.