Why Most Businesses Track the Wrong Email Metrics
Email marketing delivers an average return of $36 for every $1 invested, making it the highest-ROI digital marketing channel available. Yet most businesses only look at open rates and call it analysis.
The problem? Open rates alone tell you almost nothing about revenue impact. A 45% open rate means nothing if nobody clicks, and high clicks mean nothing if nobody converts.
This guide covers the 8 metrics that connect your email campaigns to actual business outcomes — with formulas, industry benchmarks, and actionable improvement strategies for each.
1. Revenue Per Email (RPE)
This is the single most important metric most email marketers ignore.
Revenue Per Email tells you exactly how much money each sent email generates. It's the clearest line between effort and outcome.
Formula:
Revenue Per Email = Total Email Revenue ÷ Total Emails Delivered
Example: If a campaign generates $5,000 from 10,000 delivered emails, your RPE is $0.50.
Industry benchmarks:
- E-commerce: $0.08-$0.15 per email
- SaaS/Software: $0.15-$0.40 per email
- Professional services: $0.20-$0.60 per email
How to improve RPE:
- Segment your list so each email reaches the most relevant audience
- Send behavior-triggered emails (abandoned cart, browse abandonment) which have 3-5x higher RPE than broadcast emails
- Test different offer types — free trials, limited-time discounts, exclusive access
Pro Tip: Calculate RPE separately for automated flows vs. broadcast campaigns. Automated sequences almost always outperform broadcasts — knowing the gap helps you prioritize.
2. Revenue Per Subscriber (RPS)
While RPE measures campaign efficiency, Revenue Per Subscriber shows how much each person on your list is worth over time.
Formula:
Revenue Per Subscriber = Total Email Revenue (Monthly) ÷ Total Active Subscribers
Why this matters: RPS determines how much you can afford to spend acquiring new subscribers while still being profitable. If your RPS is $2/month, spending $5 to acquire a subscriber pays back in 2.5 months.
How to improve RPS:
- Clean inactive subscribers quarterly — they drag down your averages and hurt deliverability
- Create targeted segments based on purchase history and engagement level
- Build post-purchase email sequences that encourage repeat buying
3. Click-Through Rate (CTR)
CTR measures the percentage of recipients who clicked at least one link in your email. Unlike open rates (which are increasingly unreliable due to Apple Mail Privacy Protection), CTR represents genuine engagement.
Formula:
Click-Through Rate = (Unique Clicks ÷ Emails Delivered) × 100
Industry benchmarks (2026):
- Overall average: 2.5-3.5%
- E-commerce: 2.0-3.0%
- SaaS: 3.0-5.0%
- B2B services: 2.5-4.0%
How to improve CTR:
- Use a single, focused call-to-action — emails with one CTA have 371% higher click rates than those with multiple competing links
- Place your primary CTA above the fold (visible without scrolling)
- Use button-style CTAs instead of text links — buttons get 28% more clicks on average
- Personalize beyond the first name — reference the subscriber's industry, company size, or past behavior
Pro Tip: Track Click-to-Open Rate (CTOR) alongside CTR. CTOR = Unique Clicks ÷ Unique Opens × 100. This tells you how compelling your email content was for people who actually opened it, isolating content quality from subject line performance.
4. Conversion Rate
Conversion rate tracks how many email recipients completed a desired action — making a purchase, starting a free trial, booking a demo, or downloading a resource.
Formula:
Conversion Rate = (Conversions from Email ÷ Total Emails Delivered) × 100
Industry benchmarks:
- E-commerce purchase: 1.0-3.0%
- SaaS free trial signup: 2.0-5.0%
- Lead magnet download: 5.0-15.0%
- Webinar registration: 3.0-8.0%
How to improve conversion rate:
- Ensure landing pages match the email's promise exactly — any disconnect kills conversions
- Reduce friction: fewer form fields, pre-filled data, one-click actions
- Add urgency with genuine deadlines (not fake countdown timers)
- Use dedicated landing pages for email traffic instead of sending to your homepage
5. List Growth Rate
Your email list naturally decays at 25-30% per year through unsubscribes, bounces, and inactive addresses. If you're not growing faster than you're shrinking, your channel is dying.
Formula:
List Growth Rate = ((New Subscribers - Unsubscribes - Bounces) ÷ Total List Size) × 100
Healthy benchmarks:
- Monthly growth rate: 2-5%
- Annual net growth: 15-40%
- Anything below 0% means your list is shrinking — urgent action needed
How to improve list growth:
- Add email capture to your highest-traffic pages (not just the homepage)
- Offer genuine value in exchange for an email — checklists, templates, and exclusive data outperform generic "subscribe to our newsletter" by 5-10x
- Use exit-intent popups strategically (once per session, with a compelling offer)
6. Email Deliverability Rate
Deliverability measures whether your emails actually reach inboxes — not just avoid hard bounces, but avoid spam folders entirely.
Formula:
Deliverability Rate = ((Emails Sent - Bounces - Spam Complaints) ÷ Emails Sent) × 100
Targets:
- Excellent: 98%+
- Acceptable: 95-98%
- Problem: Below 95% — investigate immediately
How to improve deliverability:
- Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication (non-negotiable in 2026)
- Remove subscribers who haven't opened in 90+ days — they signal to ISPs that your emails are unwanted
- Warm up new sending domains gradually — start with 100 emails/day and increase by 20% daily
- Monitor blacklist status at tools like MXToolbox
7. Unsubscribe Rate
Every email will produce some unsubscribes. The metric to watch is whether your rate is stable or trending upward.
Healthy benchmarks:
- Per campaign: 0.1-0.3%
- Warning: Above 0.5% per campaign
- Crisis: Above 1.0% per campaign — something is fundamentally wrong
What drives unsubscribes:
- Sending frequency too high for the audience's expectations
- Content doesn't match what was promised at signup
- Emails feel generic and impersonal
- Subscribers never asked to be on the list (purchased lists — never do this)
8. Customer Lifetime Value from Email (Email CLV)
This advanced metric connects your email channel to long-term business value, not just one-time conversions.
Formula:
Email CLV = Average Order Value × Purchase Frequency × Customer Lifespan × Email Attribution %
Example: A customer who spends $100/order, buys 4x/year, stays 3 years, and is 40% email-influenced = $100 × 4 × 3 × 0.4 = $480 Email CLV.
How to improve Email CLV:
- Build post-purchase nurture sequences that encourage repeat buying
- Create loyalty and VIP email segments with exclusive offers
- Use win-back campaigns before customers churn (typically 60-90 day inactivity trigger)
Common Mistakes That Destroy Email ROI
- Obsessing over open rates — With Apple MPP inflating numbers, open rates are increasingly unreliable. Focus on clicks and conversions instead.
- Sending to everyone, every time — Blast emails without segmentation train subscribers to ignore you.
- No clear attribution model — If you can't track which revenue came from email, you can't prove ROI or justify investment.
- Neglecting list hygiene — A 50,000-person list with 60% inactive contacts performs worse than a clean 20,000-person list.
- Treating email as a standalone channel — Email works best when integrated with your CRM, website analytics, and advertising platforms.
Recommended Email Marketing Platforms
The right platform makes tracking these metrics effortless. See our detailed comparisons:
- Best Email Marketing Platforms 2026 — Full comparison with pricing
- Mailchimp Alternatives 2026 — Options beyond the most popular choice
- ConvertKit Alternatives 2026 — Creator-focused platforms
Key Takeaway
Stop tracking vanity metrics and start measuring what generates revenue. The 8 metrics above — especially Revenue Per Email and Revenue Per Subscriber — transform email from a "we should probably do this" channel into a data-driven revenue engine.
Published: February 2026 by BizTechScout Editorial Team.
Overview
Learn which email marketing metrics actually matter for revenue. Covers ROI calculation formulas, benchmark data, and practical strategies to improve each metric.
This guide covers 3 leading tools in the email marketing space, with detailed analysis of features, pricing, and suitability for different business sizes.
Affiliate Disclosure: Some links in this article may be affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This does not influence our editorial recommendations.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | GetResponse | ActiveCampaign | Omnisend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | From $15/mo | From $29/mo | Free / $16/mo |
| Free Trial | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
GetResponse: Detailed Analysis
GetResponse is a Email Marketing solution designed to help businesses streamline their operations. Pricing starts at From $15/mo. Compare features, read user reviews, and see how GetResponse stacks up against alternatives.
Key Features of GetResponse
- E-commerce automation
- Abandoned cart emails
- Landing pages
- Shopify integration
Advantages of GetResponse
- ✅ Best for online stores
- ✅ AI product recommendations
GetResponse Pricing
GetResponse pricing: From $15/mo.
A free trial is offered so you can test the features before committing.
Pricing information is based on publicly available data. Visit GetResponse's website for the most current pricing.
Who Should Consider GetResponse
GetResponse is recommended for:
- Small to medium businesses looking for a reliable email marketing solution
- Teams that need e-commerce automation capabilities
- Organizations prioritizing abandoned cart emails
ActiveCampaign: Detailed Analysis
ActiveCampaign is a Email Marketing solution designed to help businesses streamline their operations. Pricing starts at From $29/mo. Compare features, read user reviews, and see how ActiveCampaign stacks up against alternatives.
Key Features of ActiveCampaign
- Advanced automation
- Behavior tracking
- Built-in CRM
- In-depth reporting
Advantages of ActiveCampaign
- ✅ Most powerful automation
- ✅ Great for personalization
ActiveCampaign Pricing
ActiveCampaign pricing: From $29/mo.
A free trial is offered so you can test the features before committing.
Pricing information is based on publicly available data. Visit ActiveCampaign's website for the most current pricing.
Who Should Consider ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is recommended for:
- Small to medium businesses looking for a reliable email marketing solution
- Teams that need advanced automation capabilities
- Organizations prioritizing behavior tracking
Omnisend: Detailed Analysis
Omnisend is a Email Marketing solution designed to help businesses streamline their operations. Pricing starts at Free / $16/mo. Compare features, read user reviews, and see how Omnisend stacks up against alternatives.
Key Features of Omnisend
- Built for e-commerce
- SMS + Email together
- Generous free tier
Advantages of Omnisend
- ✅ Made for Shopify
- ✅ Free tier available
Omnisend Pricing
Omnisend pricing: Free / $16/mo.
A free trial is offered so you can test the features before committing.
Pricing information is based on publicly available data. Visit Omnisend's website for the most current pricing.
Who Should Consider Omnisend
Omnisend is recommended for:
- Small to medium businesses looking for a reliable email marketing solution
- Teams that need built for e-commerce capabilities
- Organizations prioritizing sms + email together
How to Choose the Right Email Marketing Tool
When evaluating email marketing solutions, consider these key factors:
1. Business Size and Needs
Choose a tool that matches your current scale while allowing room to grow. Startups might prioritize affordability and ease of use, while enterprises need advanced customization and integrations.
2. Budget Considerations
Look beyond the sticker price. Consider:
- Per-user vs. flat-rate pricing
- Feature limitations on lower tiers
- Add-on costs for premium features
- Contract length discounts
3. Integration Requirements
Ensure the tool integrates with your existing technology stack. Key integrations to look for include:
- Email and calendar synchronization
- Accounting and billing software
- Communication tools (Slack, Teams)
- Marketing automation platforms
4. Support and Training
Evaluate the vendor's support options:
- 24/7 live support availability
- Knowledge base and documentation quality
- Onboarding assistance and training resources
- Community forums and user groups
5. Data Security and Compliance
For businesses handling sensitive data, verify:
- SOC 2 Type II compliance
- GDPR readiness
- Data encryption standards
- Regular security audits
Conclusion
The email marketing market offers diverse solutions for different business needs and budgets. Among the options analyzed — GetResponse, ActiveCampaign, Omnisend — each brings unique strengths.
We recommend:
- Define your requirements — List must-have vs. nice-to-have features
- Set a realistic budget — Factor in long-term costs, not just starting prices
- Try before you buy — Use free trials to evaluate the user experience
- Read recent reviews — Check G2 and Capterra for up-to-date user feedback
This analysis is based on publicly available information and official vendor documentation. Visit each vendor's website for the most current features and pricing.
Email Marketing Trends in 2026
- AI Personalization at Scale: Tools now offer real-time content personalization based on subscriber behavior, purchase history, and engagement patterns
- Interactive AMP Emails: Carousels, accordions, and forms directly inside emails are becoming mainstream
- Privacy-Friendly Tracking: With Apple MPP and Gmail's new privacy features, open rate tracking is unreliable — click and conversion metrics matter more
- Predictive Send Time: AI-optimized delivery windows that maximize open rates per subscriber
- Compliance Automation: Built-in GDPR, CAN-SPAM, and CASL compliance tools reduce legal risk
Cost Analysis: What to Expect in 2026
Understanding the true cost of email marketing software goes beyond the listed price. Here's a comprehensive breakdown:
Pricing Tiers Comparison
| Tier | Typical Price Range | Best For | Key Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/month | Solo users, testing | Limited features, branding, user caps |
| Starter | $10-30/user/month | Small teams (2-10) | Basic automation, limited integrations |
| Professional | $30-80/user/month | Growing businesses | Advanced features, API access |
| Enterprise | $80-200+/user/month | Large organizations | Custom SLAs, dedicated support, SSO |
Hidden Costs to Watch For
- Implementation fees: Some vendors charge $500-5,000+ for onboarding and setup
- Data migration: Moving from an existing tool can cost time and money
- Training: Factor in 2-4 weeks of reduced productivity during adoption
- Add-ons and plugins: Core features may require additional paid modules
- Overage charges: API calls, storage, or contact limits that incur extra fees
How to Maximize Your ROI
- Start with annual billing: Most vendors offer 15-25% savings over monthly plans
- Negotiate: Enterprise plans are almost always negotiable, especially at quarter-end
- Use free trials strategically: Test with real workflows, not just demo data
- Bundle services: Some vendors discount when you purchase multiple products together
Implementation Roadmap
Successfully deploying email marketing software requires a structured approach. Follow this proven 30-day plan:
Week 1: Foundation
- Day 1-2: Define success metrics and KPIs
- Day 3-4: Configure core settings and import existing data
- Day 5: Set up user accounts and permission levels
Week 2: Customization
- Day 6-8: Configure workflows and automation rules
- Day 9-10: Set up integrations with existing tools (email, calendar, Slack, etc.)
Week 3: Training & Adoption
- Day 11-13: Train power users who will champion the tool
- Day 14-15: Create internal documentation and quick-reference guides
Week 4: Optimization
- Day 16-20: Refine workflows based on initial feedback
- Day 21+: Establish regular review cadence (weekly check-ins → monthly reviews)
Common Implementation Mistakes to Avoid
- Trying to do everything at once — Start with core use cases, expand gradually
- Skipping data cleanup — Import clean, deduplicated data from day one
- Ignoring mobile — Ensure your team can access the tool on phones and tablets
- No executive sponsor — Get leadership buy-in to drive team-wide adoption
- Forgetting to measure — Track adoption rates, time saved, and ROI from the start
Attribution Windows: Measuring Email's True Revenue Impact
Most email platforms default to a 5-day attribution window, crediting email for any purchase made within five days of an email click. This setting significantly impacts reported ROI. Shorter attribution windows (1-2 days) provide conservative estimates that isolate email's direct impact, while longer windows (7-14 days) capture purchases influenced by email but completed through other channels. Choose your attribution window based on your typical purchase consideration timeline and keep it consistent across all reporting periods to enable meaningful performance comparisons over time.