You're busy doing your best to improve your online campaign results. You run A/B tests, segment your lists, and try different approaches to connect with your audience.
While you're checking your analytics, you may be wondering – How do I stack up against others in my industry? What are the best practices I should follow to be more successful?
We've come to help. We've analyzed almost 2 billion emails sent by our customers from March to May 2017, in 126 countries across 19 industries.
Keep scrolling for loads of useful data on emails, marketing automation, webinars, and landing pages.
Can't find the data you're interested in? Just send us an email! We'd love to know what's important to our fellow marketers.
Average results by continent
Oceania
Open rate 28.02%
Click-through rate 3.30%
Click to open rate 11.78%
Unsubscribe rate 0.31%
Spam rate 0.02%
North America
Open rate 20.73%
Click-through rate 3.23%
Click to open rate 15.59%
Unsubscribe rate 0.21%
Spam rate 0.02%
Europe
Open rate 28.03%
Click-through rate 4.98%
Click to open rate 17.78%
Unsubscribe rate 0.26%
Spam rate 0.04%
Africa
Open rate 17.20%
Click-through rate 2.61%
Click to open rate 15.17%
Unsubscribe rate 0.14%
Spam rate 0.01%
Asia
Open rate 24.81%
Click-through rate 3.53%
Click to open rate 14.23%
Unsubscribe rate 0.15%
Spam rate 0.02%
South America
Open rate 25.02%
Click-through rate 3.46%
Click to open rate 13.85%
Unsubscribe rate 0.17%
Spam rate 0.01%
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Continent
Open rate
Click-through rate
Click to open rate
Unsubscribe rate
Spam rate
All
24.29%
3.90%
16.05%
0.22%
0.03%
Email marketing is huge in Europe, North America, and Asia, with over 80% of the world’s most powerful economies. While engagement is lower in North America, engaged European peers value quality in communication, reflected in the complaint and unsubscribe rates for that area.
Asia and South America demonstrate high email marketing engagement, too. This is reflected in open and click rates close to the average, and low unsubscribe rates. Africa, at the BoP, continues to climb the digital marketing ladder. While it’s still facing many digital infrastructure problems, growth is steady, compared to the 2015 numbers.
Average results by country
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Country
Open rate
Click-through rate
Click to open rate
Unsubscribe rate
Spam rate
Australia
28.21%
3.22%
11.41%
0.32%
0.02%
Belgium
20.66%
4.26%
20.61%
0.21%
0.01%
Brazil
26.86%
4.27%
15.90%
0.16%
0.01%
Canada
23.45%
4.18%
17.81%
0.24%
0.02%
Colombia
24.03%
2.96%
12.33%
0.17%
0.01%
France
39.82%
6.68%
16.78%
0.36%
0.02%
Germany
43.12%
7.69%
17.82%
0.43%
0.01%
Great Britain
22.37%
3.71%
16.58%
0.25%
0.02%
India
20.45%
3.59%
17.58%
0.18%
0.01%
Indonesia
26.10%
2.51%
9.61%
0.10%
0.01%
Israel
24.77%
3.73%
15.07%
0.25%
0.02%
Italy
27.16%
3.52%
12.96%
0.24%
0.01%
Malaysia
14.51%
2.16%
14.91%
0.10%
0.01%
Mexico
25.53%
3.67%
14.37%
0.11%
0.01%
Netherlands
42.11%
7.80%
18.53%
0.41%
0.01%
Peru
23.49%
2.25%
9.59%
0.21%
0.01%
Philippines
20.15%
3.08%
15.28%
0.15%
0.02%
Poland
23.11%
4.30%
18.58%
0.18%
0.01%
Romania
23.41%
3.23%
13.82%
0.19%
0.03%
Russia
27.99%
6.03%
21.55%
0.26%
0.11%
Singapore
21.63%
3.30%
15.26%
0.15%
0.02%
Spain
34.07%
4.94%
14.49%
0.23%
0.02%
Ukraine
32.99%
7.86%
23.81%
0.32%
0.09%
United States
19.99%
3.07%
15.37%
0.21%
0.02%
Vietnam
43.93%
6.08%
13.84%
0.14%
0.01%
All
24.29%
3.90%
16.08%
0.22%
0.03%
The world is diverse in terms of email marketing results. Consumer habits, legal environment, and the level of marketing expertise strongly influence average results in each country.
For example, in Germany, only the double opt-in subscription method is considered legal for list building, and open rates are typically high, compared to the rest of the world.
On the other hand, in Russia and Ukraine the level of complaints is typically higher than anywhere else, as it’s common for consumers to opt out by clicking the "this is spam" button.
Average results by industry
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Industry
Open rate
Click-through rate
Click to open rate
Unsubscribe rate
Spam rate
Agencies
26.64%
3.05%
11.46%
0.28%
0.03%
Arts & Entertainment
37.72%
6.66%
17.65%
0.28%
0.03%
Automotive
16.05%
2.72%
16.97%
0.22%
0.04%
Communications
21.76%
2.81%
12.91%
0.18%
0.02%
Education
31.79%
5.59%
17.57%
0.25%
0.04%
Financial Services
25.29%
4.70%
18.60%
0.27%
0.03%
Health & Beauty
27.07%
4.89%
18.06%
0.28%
0.05%
Health Care
38.05%
5.91%
15.54%
0.39%
0.03%
Internet Marketing
14.61%
2.52%
17.27%
0.20%
0.02%
Legal Services
29.70%
3.32%
11.18%
0.19%
0.03%
Non-profits
37.94%
5.36%
14.12%
0.20%
0.02%
Publishing
40.08%
9.15%
22.82%
0.20%
0.02%
Real Estate
32.01%
3.83%
11.97%
0.22%
0.03%
Restaurants & Food
35.68%
3.79%
10.62%
0.28%
0.03%
Retail
25.97%
3.79%
14.60%
0.22%
0.04%
Sports & Activities
31.77%
4.56%
14.34%
0.22%
0.02%
Technology & High Tech
27.26%
4.08%
14.98%
0.30%
0.02%
Travel
20.49%
2.79%
13.62%
0.19%
0.02%
All
24.29%
3.90%
16.05%
0.22%
0.03%
It’s natural that industries like healthcare and law get the highest open rates worldwide. These are specialized, narrow areas in which subscribers are much more involved, as they represent professional groups – lawyers or doctors. It also comes with volume: the more specialized a group is, the lower the volume and the higher the open rates.
For the same reason, internet marketing or the automotive industry get the lowest open and click rates. I mean, everyone likes to peek at a beautiful new car now and then, but how often do you buy one?
Landing page conversion by industry
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Industry
Average conversion rate
Agencies
8.66%
Arts & Entertainment
9.84%
Automotive
8.65%
Communications
7.51%
Education
8.46%
Financial Services
7.00%
Health & Beauty
8.31%
Health Care
8.48%
Internet Marketing
5.31%
Legal Services
12.92%
Non-profits
14.07%
Publishing
13.10%
Real Estate
4.80%
Restaurants & Food
6.96%
Retail
4.20%
Sports & Activities
11.82%
Technology & High Tech
5.83%
Travel
5.80%
All
7.11%
Average results by list size
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List size
Open rate
Click-through rate
Click to open rate
Unsubscribe rate
Spam rate
1,000 - 2,499
31.19%
5.22%
16.75%
0.33%
0.03%
2,500 - 4,999
25.92%
4.09%
15.77%
0.24%
0.03%
5,000 - 9,999
19.20%
3.28%
17.07%
0.17%
0.02%
10,000 - 24,999
18.58%
2.81%
15.12%
0.14%
0.02%
25,000 - 49,999
15.57%
2.10%
13.51%
0.11%
0.02%
50,000 - 99,999
12.42%
1.98%
15.96%
0.09%
0.02%
100,000+
8.15%
1.59%
19.52%
0.08%
0.02%
All
24.29%
3.90%
16.05%
0.22%
0.03%
Email marketers have long preached that the quality of a list beats the quantity. Now is that true? Without the information about overall conversions, it's hard to say for sure.
What we can see clearly, however, is that marketers with smaller lists are better at engaging their audience, and their messages tend to get higher open and click-through rates.
The lesson? When you're growing your lists, don't lose touch with your customers! Build relationships just like you would if you were running a store just around the corner. Your audience will appreciate it and pay you back with interest.
The lesson here? Be sure to compare your results to the market where you operate!
Average results by message type
Triggered
Open rate 57.67%
Click-through rate 14.99%
Click to open rate 25.99%
Unsubscribe rate 0.63%
Spam rate 0.10%
Autoresponder
Open rate 35.52%
Click-through rate 6.89%
Click to open rate 19.39%
Unsubscribe rate 0.36%
Spam rate 0.04%
Newsletter
Open rate 22.03%
Click-through rate 3.27%
Click to open rate 14.84%
Unsubscribe rate 0.19%
Spam rate 0.02%
RSS
Open rate 22.82%
Click-through rate 4.81%
Click to open rate 21.09%
Unsubscribe rate 0.11%
Spam rate 0.01%
Relevance is the key to high engagement (high open and click-through rates). And to be relevant, you need to know your audience. This is why marketing automation cycles bring the best results.
With marketing automation, you can collect important data along the customer journey and use it to segment your list and personalize marketing communication.
Results by hour of day
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Hour of day
Open rate
Click-through rate
Click to open rate
1 AM
16.55%
2.68%
16.22%
2 AM
13.56%
2.33%
17.19%
3 AM
15.41%
1.97%
12.76%
4 AM
20.70%
2.64%
12.74%
5 AM
22.62%
3.79%
16.74%
6 AM
21.19%
3.17%
14.96%
7 AM
20.32%
3.18%
15.66%
8 AM
21.07%
3.23%
15.31%
9 AM
22.80%
3.47%
15.23%
10 AM
23.44%
3.40%
14.50%
11 AM
23.87%
3.52%
14.76%
12 AM
22.77%
3.37%
14.80%
1 PM
23.23%
3.39%
14.59%
2 PM
23.02%
3.16%
13.74%
3 PM
24.44%
3.46%
14.16%
4 PM
25.13%
3.82%
15.19%
5 PM
23.35%
3.59%
15.36%
6 PM
21.38%
3.16%
14.76%
7 PM
20.75%
3.71%
17.88%
8 PM
21.08%
3.07%
14.55%
9 PM
22.33%
3.18%
14.23%
10 PM
18.00%
2.59%
14.37%
11 PM
17.10%
2.23%
13.06%
12 PM
20.76%
2.30%
11.06%
What's the best time to send your emails to get the highest engagement? According to our study, if you send your messages from 9 to 11 AM and from 3 to 5 PM, you'll get the highest open and click-through rates. This makes sense, as people usually read their emails just as they walk in and before they leave their office. There’s also one more peak later in the evening, around 7 PM, so around the time most of us have just returned home and finished dinner.
Don't forget, every audience is different! You can find out the best time to contact your email subscribers by checking your email analytics or using the Perfect Timing or Time Travel features.
Results by day of week
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Day of week
% of messages
Open rate
Click-through rate
Click to open rate
Monday
14.97%
22.83%
3.32%
14.53%
Tuesday
17.26%
23.03%
3.42%
14.84%
Wednesday
18.09%
22.47%
3.43%
15.26%
Thursday
16.84%
23.13%
3.52%
15.22%
Friday
15.45%
22.70%
3.22%
14.18%
Saturday
8.95%
18.46%
2.81%
15.24%
Sunday
8.45%
18.58%
2.72%
14.63%
Number of newsletters per week
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# of newsletters
Open rate
Click-through rate
Click to open rate
1
37.08%
5.58%
15.05%
2
29.35%
4.07%
13.87%
3
24.37%
3.23%
13.27%
4
22.55%
3.24%
14.38%
5
21.47%
2.98%
13.86%
6
19.64%
2.66%
13.54%
7
19.68%
2.61%
13.24%
8
19.25%
2.73%
14.20%
9
16.41%
1.82%
11.07%
10
18.88%
2.40%
12.69%
11
17.35%
2.39%
13.76%
12
16.98%
2.23%
13.13%
13
14.74%
2.04%
13.86%
14
9.90%
1.32%
13.34%
15
13.10%
2.16%
16.46%
There’s no gold standard as to how often you should send emails. It depends on your industry and buyer personas. But here’s a rule of thumb: minimum once a month, maximum once a day. Most marketers go for a weekly newsletter, which returns the highest open and click-through rates.
Number of autoresponders in a cycle
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# of messages
% of cycles
Open rate
Click-through rate
Click to open rate
Unsubscribe rate
Spam rate
1
27.28%
89.12%
26.90%
30.18%
0.81%
0.13%
2
9.58%
71.52%
18.65%
26.07%
0.71%
0.10%
3
7.72%
65.26%
18.44%
28.26%
0.76%
0.09%
4
6.78%
61.14%
13.48%
22.04%
0.67%
0.08%
5
6.59%
55.38%
11.73%
21.18%
0.63%
0.08%
6
4.92%
51.15%
11.78%
23.02%
0.60%
0.09%
7
4.20%
51.52%
11.24%
21.81%
0.57%
0.07%
8
3.79%
55.20%
12.89%
23.36%
0.45%
0.06%
9
3.66%
44.65%
9.65%
21.62%
0.41%
0.08%
10
3.16%
53.55%
11.78%
22.00%
0.38%
0.04%
11
2.57%
40.29%
9.71%
24.10%
0.42%
0.04%
12
1.85%
41.19%
6.58%
15.97%
0.37%
0.06%
13
2.53%
38.18%
7.34%
19.23%
0.39%
0.06%
14
1.40%
36.20%
7.59%
20.97%
0.37%
0.06%
15
1.40%
44.21%
10.41%
23.55%
0.36%
0.05%
16
1.90%
29.99%
5.73%
19.10%
0.28%
0.06%
17
1.81%
30.08%
5.37%
17.84%
0.30%
0.04%
18
1.08%
50.42%
10.41%
20.65%
0.36%
0.05%
Shorter cycles tend to produce better results. But it’s not really about length – it’s all about delivering value. You can easily run engaging long-term campaigns if your emails remain useful to your subscribers.
The trick is to understand the customer journey and match content to context at every stage. For example, B2B sales cycles are usually complex and might sometimes extend into years. They require long email cycles, and create great opportunities to address your target audience’s information needs.
Use of video
Open rate 31.90%
Click-through rate 5.56%
Unsubscribe rate 0.24%
Spam rate 0.04%
Open rate 47.35%
Click-through rate 12.50%
Unsubscribe rate 0.35%
Spam rate 0.02%
Open rate 19.80%
Click-through rate 5.14%
Unsubscribe rate 0.21%
Spam rate 0.06%
Open rate 10.92%
Click-through rate 1.77%
Unsubscribe rate 0.15%
Spam rate 0.02%
Other / None
Open rate 23.71%
Click-through rate 3.79%
Unsubscribe rate 0.22%
Spam rate 0.02%
The use of embedded videos in emails is not a common practice yet. The reason? Technology. As of today, only a couple of internet service providers (responsible for hosting email accounts) are compatible with this functionality. Therefore, it is much more common to use animated GIFs or thumbnails linking to the video.
It’s also no surprise that YouTube is the most popular hosting platform. They dominate video, and not just in email marketing.
However, my opinion on the future of email marketing is that this is one of the main directions the industry will go. So be sure not to miss out when this technology spreads
Number of characters in email subject lines
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Subject line length
Open rate
Click-through rate
240 - 249
23.31%
2.74%
230 - 239
27.46%
5.59%
220 - 229
25.57%
3.93%
210 - 219
30.62%
5.36%
200 - 209
25.47%
4.51%
190 - 199
24.69%
4.55%
180 - 189
24.94%
5.40%
170 - 179
24.73%
4.17%
160 - 169
26.11%
4.90%
150 - 159
26.05%
5.18%
140 - 149
25.86%
4.94%
130 - 139
26.95%
5.43%
120 - 129
27.70%
5.15%
110 - 119
28.35%
5.01%
100 - 109
28.93%
5.90%
90 - 99
29.10%
5.05%
80 - 89
27.29%
4.76%
70 - 79
26.18%
4.48%
60 - 69
25.78%
4.31%
50 - 59
24.75%
3.87%
40 - 49
24.33%
3.81%
30 - 39
22.54%
3.64%
20 - 29
21.56%
2.99%
10 - 19
20.21%
2.70%
1 - 9
22.99%
6.65%
Your subject lines need to be compelling enough to get people to open the email. So it’s not about the length of the subject line but about conveying the message.
The title of the email should give the reader an idea of what’s inside. If the content is relevant to your audience, it's easy to come up with a subject line that results in a high open rate.
Emoji in email subject lines
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Emoji
% of messages
Open rate
YES
7.69%
26.67%
NO
92.31%
24.07%
Personalization in email subject lines
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Personalized?
% of messages
Open rate
YES
9.73%
28.46%
NO
90.27%
23.82%
The use of personalization and emoji in subject lines is not very popular among marketers, even though personalized subject lines return a 4% higher open rate. Emoji in subject lines perform slightly better, too.
Preheader
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Preheader?
% of messages
Open rate
Click-through rate
Click to open rate
YES
11.57%
28.98%
5.03%
17.34%
NO
88.43%
23.66%
3.77%
15.92%
Use a preheader as an extension of the subject line, and you’ll increase the chances of getting your email opened.
In fact, you should make use of all the elements that subscribers see in the inbox before they open the email. Used well, the so-called envelope (sender, subject line, and preheader) can make a difference.
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