To evaluate email marketing, you’ll need to look at revenue from email. You also need to look at list growth. How many subscribers do you acquire, how many of them convert into customers, etc? So that you can understand what you are doing right or wrong regarding list building.
Here are some key metrics you should track to measure email list growth:
If you’re curious about other email marketing metrics including revenue performance, deliverability, engagement, and retention, you can dive into those in my dedicated posts.1. New Subscribers Per Month
This metric tracks the number of new email subscribers your business acquires monthly.
Let's look at the following formula:
Revenue = Visitors × Conversion Rate × AOV
For email marketing, it becomes:
Email revenue = Email Subscribers × Conversion Rate × AOV
It's easy to think this way: the more subscribers you have, the higher your email revenue will be, right?
Not quite. This only holds if your subscribers are engaged, qualified, and interested in your products.
The reality: Quality > Quantity
A large number of new subscribers doesn’t automatically translate to higher revenue. Because:
Discount-driven signups: Many subscribers join your list just to grab a welcome discount but have yet to purchase. They’re motivated by the offer, not genuine interest in your brand.
Unengaged or unqualified subscribers: Some subscribers lose interest after visiting your website. Others may never have intended to buy—they were just curious. Not to mention, bots or spammers can inflate your list artificially.
List health impacts revenue: An oversized but disengaged list can harm your email performance. Poor engagement rates signal to email providers that your emails aren’t valuable, increasing the risk of being flagged as spam.
2. Engaged Subscribers Growth
Engaged subscribers are those who actively interact with your emails and website. They frequently open emails, click links, view products, place orders, or consume content like blog posts. These subscribers are the core of your email marketing success.
To define engaged subscribers, you can create a segment in Klaviyo using the following definitions:
Open rate: Subscribers who consistently open your emails.
Click rate: Subscribers who click on links in your emails.
Filter out false positives caused by bots or Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection (e.g., auto-opens or bot clicks).
Use behavioural actions like viewed product, viewed collection, add to cart, wishlist additions, or placed order.
Timeframes matter: Engagement levels vary depending on the timeframe you choose to evaluate. Common timeframes include:
14 days: Short-term engagement for recent campaigns.
30 days: Monthly insights into performance.
90–180 Days: Long-term trends and list health analysis.
3. Signup Rate
Signup rate (or submit rate) measures how effectively your website converts visitors into email subscribers.
Signup Rate = (Submitted Forms ÷ Viewed Forms) × 100%
4. Signup to Conversion
Many marketers focus heavily on maximising signup rates. Their strategies are to use giveaways, spin-to-win promotions, and discounts to gain as many new email subscribers as possible.
But here’s the truth: Signup rate ≠ conversion rate. A high signup rate doesn’t guarantee more revenue.
A better metric to look at is signup to conversion.
Signup to conversion measures the percentage of new email subscribers who make a purchase.
While each new subscriber represents an opportunity, success only comes when they’re converted into paying customers. By focusing on this metric, you’ll better understand the actual effectiveness of your email marketing efforts.
Final Thought
Metrics are undeniably crucial for evaluating the performance of your email marketing campaigns. They provide insights into what’s working, what needs improvement, and where opportunities lie. However, it’s important to remember that any metric can be misunderstood or misused.
Are you looking to refine your email marketing strategy or outsource the process to an expert? I can help. Book a free 30-minute discovery session with me, and let’s discuss how we can refine your email marketing to drive real results.
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