BUY TARGETED EMAIL LISTS
Table of Contents
Email Marketing Statistics
There's no shortage of email marketing statistics available for companies to use to their advantage. Any business using an email marketing service will have access to their email marketing performance numbers, in a variety of categories. Two of the most important email marketing statistics, however, are:
This is the percentage of subscribers who open a specific email out of your total number of subscribers. According to
Smart Insights, the average overall email open rate as of early 2022 was 16.97% across all industries.
-
Email Marketing Conversion Rate
Email marketing conversion rate is the percentage of subscribers who complete an action (not just a purchase) after reading your email. A very important metric for email marketing, conversion rate demonstrates the effectiveness of your email marketing and also determines your ROI.
Barilliance calculated the average email conversion rate from 2021 to be 15.22% for those who clicked through; for all emails sent, that rate was 1.33%.
What Is a Good Conversion Rate for Email Marketing?
A good email marketing conversion rate varies by industry, so there's not a hard-and-fast number to target. As previously mentioned, 15.22% was the average email conversion rate (for those who clicked through) in 2021, so anything above that can be considered above-average.
The statistics fluctuate from year to year as well, something to take into consideration. For example, just a few years ago, Barilliance determined the average email conversion rate to be 18.49%, a number that hasn't been approached since. That year, the overall conversion rate was 1.63%, compared to 1.33% for 2021. The best approach to take is to simply keep improving upon your own email marketing conversion rate, year over year. Globally speaking, if your overall conversion rate is near 10%, congratulations--that's an elite number!
Email Marketing Conversion Rate by Industry
Given the nuances of email marketing, it's not a surprise that conversion rates and open rates vary by industry. As of
October 2022, some of the highest email open rates by industry were:
- Faith-Based Organizations: 43%
- Travel & Tourism: 39.92%
- Child Care Services: 38.59%
- Recreation, Sports & Entertainment: 38.34%
- Non-Profit Membership Organizations: 37.57%
- Non-Profit Services: 37.28%
- Home & Building Services: 36.88%
- Dining & Food Services: 36.23%
- Family & Social Services: 36.20%
- Education: 36.08%
Now, keep in mind that the average open rate across all industries from this source is 33.41%, which is far greater than the 16.97% figure published by Smart Insights, which suggests different data and calculation methods were used by each source. Regardless, the industries' open rates listed above are all above the 33.41% average across all industries.
Click rates also tend to vary by industry and don't necessarily correlate directly to that industry's open rate. Here are some of the latest click rates (clicks/delivered) by industry according to the same data:
- Faith-Based Organizations: 2.49%
- Technology Services: 2.36%
- Non-Profit Membership Organizations: 1.68%
- Independent Artists, Writers & Performers: 1.64%
- Administrative & Business Support Services: 1.62%
- Education: 1.60%
- Non-Profit Services: 1.59%
Across all industries, the average click rate was 1.46%, so all of these industries performed well above that rate. Notice that three of the highest performers by click rate were not even ranked among the top 10 industries in open rates. This likely reflects the quality of content within the emails of these industries.
How to Calculate Conversion Rate Email Marketing
The simple email marketing conversion rate formula is:
Email conversion rate = [# of conversions / # of successfully delivered emails] x 100
But there's more to it than a simple formula. First, figure out what a conversion means to your business. Is it a click? Is it a purchase? Is it someone subscribing to your email list? Establish a consistent definition for conversion (there's no right or wrong--it's simply what matters most for your business) and stick with it.
Second, determine whether to base your conversion rate on all emails that were successfully sent vs. emails that received a click through. Again, whichever you choose, stick with that figure. By using the total number of sent emails as your base, your data will be far more comprehensive and can help you tailor your email copy, subject lines, and deliverability. If you use emails clicked through, you'll move a level past the email itself and better understand the effectiveness of your message, offer, landing pages, and customer segmentation.
How to Increase Conversion Rate in Email Marketing
A seemingly simple question that has a wide range of answers. You'll need to carefully review your email metrics to determine areas of strength and those which could use some help. The tactics below, however, generally help increase conversion rates in email marketing.
-
Subject Lines
Subject lines essentially make or break open rates, so make them attractive to your audience through urgency, questions, personalization, and deals or offers that make it worth their while to check out.
-
Mobile-Friendliness (aka Responsive Design)
About half of all emails are opened on a phone or tablet, so if the design of the email isn't mobile-friendly, it's an immediate loss. Use responsive design to condense subject lines, make copy concise, provide a clear call to action (CTA), and optimize images to load more quickly.
-
Customer Segmentation
If your emails aren't being opened at your desired rate, take a step back and ask yourself…"Am I sending emails to the right people?" If not, start segmenting your recipients by purchase history, demographics, and browsing activity.
At Book Your Data, your company can
buy email lists of potential contacts and sales leads that are right for your business so that you can master your next email marketing campaign. Use our email list building tool to create a custom list and purchase.
-
Crystal-Clear CTAs
The entire message of your email goes to waste if you don't provide a clear CTA. Offering a good CTA will do wonders for your email conversion rates.
-
Follow the Funnel
Make sure you're tracking your customer through the sales journey and contacting them at the right points. For example, sending a welcome email after a new user subscribes to your email list; a post-purchase email after a customer completes a sale; and re-engagement emails if someone hasn't been to your site for a period of time.
-
Landing Pages
If your email recipient is intrigued by your message and CTA and clicks through, they're going to expect to quickly and easily find what they're looking for wherever they're sent. If your offer or message is muddied by a busy webpage or is difficult to find, they're going to bounce. Ensure your landing page prominently displays whatever message or offer is conveyed in the email so the customer has a seamless experience and is more willing to complete the sale.
-
Freebies and Rewards
Who doesn't enjoy a free…whatever? People love freebies and discounts. If your business has the ability to provide those, your conversion rates are more likely to increase. Mentioning “free" or “discount" or “coupon" in the subject line is also effective.
-
Make Checkout Smooth
If you've effectively tailored your message to the point where you're consistently getting more clicks, what happens after the click is paramount. So, if the intent of your email is for customers to make a purchase, be sure you're providing them with a fast, easy, and straightforward checkout process.
If, for some reason, the customer does leave their cart, follow up with an effective, personalized abandoned cart email; many people use that prompt to finish the purchase.
Does Email Marketing Increase Conversion Rate?
It certainly helps! The average ROI on email marketing is more than 40 times what you spend on email marketing, so it's a must for most businesses. Besides the robust ROI, email marketing is a way to build relationships and a customer base. It can help you nurture them through the buying journey, restore any lost confidence in your business, and create a loyal following.
Frequently Asked Questions About Email Marketing and Email Marketing Statistics
What Percentage of Emails Convert to Sales?
According to Barilliance, the average conversion rate of emails to sales was 1.22% in 2021. So, a little over one sale for every 100 emails sent. Don't underestimate that number though. Considering the ROI on email marketing, it's actually not bad.
What Are Conversions in Email Marketing?
We've covered aspects of email marketing conversions, but to review, email marketing conversion rate is the percentage of email recipients that complete a CTA (remember, this doesn't always have to be a sale…it's whatever action you're asking them to complete). To find out the conversion rate, simply divide the emails with performed actions by the total number of email recipients and multiply by 100 to find out your email marketing conversion rate.
Can Ready-Made Email Marketing Lists Help Conversion Rates?
They certainly provide your business with a good start! Bookyourdata.com's pre-made lists are our ready-to-download directories, full of the most useful contacts in many types of industries. You can find a wide variety of accurate, verified lists that will help you reach out to your target group. Explore our lists
here.
What's the Best Way to Engage My Prospects with Email Marketing?
Engaging your sales prospects through email will help you gain valuable insight into how they interact with your brand, content, and product. The key is to create effective emails that increase engagement and lead to conversions and/or sales.
Bookyourdata.com has a free download available to help you maximize your return on prospects by getting their attention, earning their trust, convincing them to purchase, and keep them coming back. Download our eBook -
Step-by-Step Guide to Using Email Marketing for Sales Prospecting.
Bookyourdata.com is the #1 site for accurate business-to-business (B2B) email lists. You get the verified contact information of those in your target industry so you can better zero in on your audience and email leads to make more deals and boost your sales. Choose from mailing lists that have been pre-made, or create your own marketing solution with our innovative online list-builder tool, an industry first. Have a question on how to get started? Send us a message through our
contact page.
Request a Consultation
