215 Association Email Marketing Benchmark Report
Table of Contents 2 Introduction 13 Results by Number of Recipients 3 Email Marketing Metrics, Defined 14 Results by Time of Day 4 Executive Summary 15 5 Trending Now 16 Results by Day of Week Results by Subject Line Length 7 Benchmark Data and Key Findings 17 Open Duration Results 18 8 Mobile Opens vs. Desktop Overall Email Metrics Opens for Weekdays 9 Results by Frequency 19 Mobile and Desktop Open Duration Comparison 1 Results by Country of Sender 2 Email Client Preference and Open Rate 11 Results by Email Client Type 21 Open Results by Email Client (Detailed) 12 Results by Number of Links 22 About Informz 1
Introduction We ve performed a study on our association client base to provide email marketers from associations benchmarking information for their email marketing programs. This report includes a summary of email marketing metrics from over 1 billion emails sent in 214 by associations located in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom. This report is designed for email marketers from associations. The data shared will help you understand what metrics to analyze, what goals to set, and how your email marketing program is performing in comparison to your peers. Always keep in mind that these are averages from your peers. New this year, trending topics that impact email marketing data have been included on pages 5-7. This is the fifth consecutive year we ve reported on association email marketing benchmark data and the sixth association email marketing benchmark report we ve produced. 2
Email Marketing Metrics, Defined Four key metrics are used in this report: delivery, open, click and unsubscribe rates. Delivery rate is the percentage of emails that were not reported back to Informz as bounced or blocked. Open rate is the percentage of delivered emails that were reported back to Informz as having been opened. If the text version of an email is read, it is not counted. Likewise, if an HTML email is read with the images turned off, it is not counted. However, if an email is opened with images off, but a link is clicked, the email is counted as being opened. Open rate only includes unique subscribers. Multiple opens by one subscriber only count once. Click rate is the percentage of opened emails clicked by the recipient. Clicking a link in a text email is not counted as a click. Click rate only includes unique subscribers. Multiple clicks by one subscriber only count once. Unsubscribe rate is the percentage of recipients who unsubscribed from a particular mailing. 3
Executive Summary The key performance indicators that defined the success of Informz client email programs over the past year. Delivery rate remained consistent at 98% year over year. Email volume rose by 12.14% compared to the volume of email sent in 213. Click rates were overall lower in 214 compared to 213. Click Rates are influenced by the relevancy of the message, the creative layout, and the placement and size of call-to-action links. Open rates increased by 4.25%, from 34.4% to 35.49%. Unsubscribe rates remained favorable at.5% for 214. 4
Trending Now: Testing on the Rise Simply having your message reach a subscriber s inbox is not the whole story. Everyone has asked themselves questions like why did this email perform so much lower than others? or are our messages standing out in the inbox? and what can I do to increase our reach and get our content seen? To begin to answer these questions, the answer is simple: test. Testing is no longer an option; it is a must. into what types of messages resonate with their audience and deliver those messages at the most optimal time. Forward-thinking marketers know that testing is a key component to successful email marketing programs. In 214 we have seen subject line testing among clients increase by 26.3% and send time optimization usage increase by 24.5%. Open rates have increased as clients gain insight While subject line testing is most common, testing is also being performed on the friendly from, preheader text, call-to-action, creative layout, and time and day of send. Every test is an opportunity to gain insight and increase engagement metrics. 5
Trending Now: Email Cadence and Frequency Email frequency is a popular topic for many organizations that wonder whether they are sending too many emails. The 214 email marketing benchmark data shows that 72% of email subscribers were sent five or less emails each month. Subscribers that were sent 6-1 emails a month had slightly higher open and click rates than those receiving five emails or less. We have also seen strong engagement metrics from subscribers that receive 2+ emails a month. While email volume is a component in subscriber engagement metrics, the single most important engagement factor is still relevancy. That being said, it is important to have an accurate assessment of email volume, frequency and engagement rates for your audience. The first step to answer the email frequency question is to perform a data analysis. The objective of the analysis is to know: The number of emails subscribers receive in a month (broken down by volume thresholds such as 1-5, 6-1, 11-15, etc.) The correlation between open rates and email volume. The correlation between email volume and unsubscribes. The results of the data analysis will determine what the appropriate next steps should be. As a best practice, preference forms are an effective way to manage email cadence and relevancy. Preference forms are a good alternative option for subscribers that might otherwise choose to click the unsubscribe link. 6
Benchmark Data and Key Findings
Overall Email Metrics 1. Overall Email Metrics The average email metrics for associations include a 98.34% delivery rate, 35.49% open rate, and 15.87% click rate. 1% 98.34% 8 6 4 35.49% 2 15.87% Delivery Rate Open Rate Click Rate 8
Results by Frequency 72% of email subscribers were sent 1-5 emails per month. However, subscribers that were sent 6-1 emails had slightly 2a. Results higher by Frequency open and click rates. 16 2 Emails Sent 2.37% 11 15 Emails Sent 6.15% 21 25 Emails Sent 2.% 26 5 Emails Sent 2.68% 6 1 Emails Sent 15.17% 1 5 Emails Sent 71.63% 2b. Results by Frequency 25 Click Rate 23.34% 22.63% Open Rate 21.68% 2 2.2% 17.4% 15.88% 15 1 11.6% 11.22% 1.59% 1.55% 11.87% 12.69% 5 1 5 6 1 11 15 16 2 21 25 26 5 Number of Emails 9
Results by Country of Sender Average open rates ranged from 42.55% in the United Kingdom to 29.12% in New Zealand. Click rates were lower in the US and Australia and highest in the United Kingdom. Delivery rates did not fluctuate between countries, but the unsubscribe rate in Australia was double the unsubscribe rate of the US and New Zealand. 3. Results by Country of Sender 5% Click Rate Open Rate 4 4.87% 39.1% 42.55% 34.25% 3 29.12% 24.21% 25.13% 2 14.7% 15.79% 18.% 1 US Canada Australia UK New Zealand Country 1
Results by Email Client Type Mobile usage has dropped slightly and desktop usage has returned to the most frequently used 4. email Results client by Email type. Client Type Unknown 6.19% Web 16.2% Mobile 38.7% Desktop 39.72% 11
Results by Number of Links 5. Emails Results containing by Number of 1-15 Links links had click rates lower than the click rate benchmark of 15.87%. Messages with 51-7 links had the highest average click rates at 21.17%. 25% 2 19.6% 21.17% 19.56% Click Rate 15 1 15.12% 13.55% 15.7% 15.85% 15.64% 16.43% 5 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 15 16 3 31 5 51 7 Over 7 Number of Links 12
Results by Number of Recipients 6. Engagement Results by Number rates of decrease Recipients as mailing size increases. Mailings sent to less than 5 people had open rates 34% higher than the industry benchmark. 5% 47.68% 44.14% Click Rate Open Rate 4 39.8% 36.3% 3 31.22% 27.28% 2 19.7% 23.9% 2.26% 18.5% 22.59% 2.4% 17.89% 14.39% 1 12.18% 9.98% 1.3% 11.7% 9.76% 3.85% <5 5 1 1 25 25 5 5 1K 1K 5K 5K 5K 5K 1K 1K 25K >25K Number of Recipients 13
Results by Time of Day Messages sent at night had the highest open rates and messages sent midday had the highest click rates. 7. Results by Time of Day Click Rate 4% 35 32.74% 35.21% 36.69% 38.6% Open Rate 3 25 2 15 15.37% 16.44% 16.25% 15.9% 1 5 Morning Midday Late Afternoon Night Time of Day 14
Results by Day of Week The day of week had very little influence on open and click rates. Email volume was significantly smaller on weekends, but open rates rose slightly while click rates remained consistent. 8. Results by Day of Week Click Rate 5% Open Rate 4 38.47% 35.17% 35.1% 35.12% 34.5% 36.63% 4.42% 3 2 15.78% 16.12% 16.17% 16.6% 16.18% 1 12.58% 13.7% Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Day of Week 15
Results by Subject Line Length 9. Results by Subject Line Length Subject lines with fewer than 4 characters have open rates above the 35.49% open rate benchmark. 6% 5 53.95% 4 4.33% Open Rate 3 2 36.9% 36.21% 35.32% 34.57% 33.46% 31.56% 1 9 and less 1 19 2 29 3 39 4 49 5 59 6 69 7 and up Number of Characters 16
Open Duration Results 1. Open Duration Results Over 6% of emails that are opened are engaged with for more than 1 seconds. Open 25.89% (<3 seconds) Read 61.98% (>1 seconds) Skim 12.13% (3 1 seconds) 17
Mobile Opens vs. Desktop Opens for Weekdays Mobile opens exceed desktop opens during late afternoon and evening hours. 11. Mobile Opens vs. Desktop Opens for Weekdays 1% 9.57 9.5 9.34 9.7 Percent Opens Desktop Percent Opens Mobile 8.39 8.68 8.53 8.71 8 7.71 7.57 7.99 7.58 7.64 7.66 7.6 7.8 6.62 6 4.43 4.51 4.16 4 3.4 3.66 3.7 2.76 2.53 2.73 2 2.72.9 1.31 1.33 1.39 1.18 1.18 1.32 1.96 2.21 1.88 1.95 1.46 1.22 1.38 1.28 1.9 1.6.88.73.51.59 12am 1am 2am 3am 4am 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 1am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 1pm 11pm Time of Day 18
Mobile and Desktop Open Duration Comparison Mobile and desktop readers had very similar open duration results, with mobile skims slightly higher than desktop skims. 12. Mobile and Desktop Open Duration Comparison Skim (3 1 seconds) 8% Open (<3 seconds) Read (>1 seconds) 7 6 6.87% 59.16% 5 4 3 23.6% 23.79% 2 15.53% 17.5% 1 Desktop Open Desktop Read Desktop Skim Mobile Open Mobile Read Mobile Skim 19
Email Client Preference and Open Rate Over 78% of all opens were viewed just once on a mobile device, desktop or other client, while 22% of all opens were combinations of the three. More readers prefer to view on desktop only than any other email client. 13. Results by Email Client Preference 4% 35 36.17% 3 25 24.8% Open Rate 2 15 16.85% 1 8.85% 9.71% 5 14. Open Rate by Email Client Preference 1.95% 1.66% Just Desktop Just Mobile Just Other Desktop and Mobile Mobile and Other Desktop and Other All 3 Email Client Preference 8% Open Rate 7 6 5 4 3 52.52% 62.8% 57.9% 48.62% 2 1 Mobile Only Desktop Only Other Only Combination Open Rate by Preference 2
Open Results by Email Client (Detailed) n Results by Email Client, Detailed Over 4% of emails are read on iphones or in Outlook 21. The most-used email clients are iphones (mobile), Outlook 21 (desktop), and Gmail (web). 18. Open Results by Email Client, Detailed 25% 25% 21.65% 21.65% 2 18.56% 2 15 15 1 1 5 5 6.8% 1.42% 1.1% en Results by Email Client, Detailed iphone Outlook 21 17. Open Results by Email Client, Detailed iphone ipad Android Phone Android Tablet Highest Usage Highest Usage: Mobile 2% 18.56% 8% 7 7.39% 15 6 5 1 9.77% 4 5 6.92% 2.58% 3 2 1 2.4% 1.67% 1.7% Outlook 21 Outlook 2/23/Express Outlook 27 Highest Usage: Desktop Outlook 213 Gmail Yahoo Hotmail Highest Usage: Web AOL 21
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