Your email conversion rate is an excellent way to track your audience’s level of engagement with your email campaigns.
Data shows that more than one-third of marketing leaders cite the conversion rate as the most important performance indicator they track.
In this post, let’s discuss everything you should know about email conversion rates as well as data-backed strategies to optimize your conversion rates so your email marketing efforts don’t go wasted.
What is an email conversion rate and why is it important?
In marketing, a “conversion” happens whenever someone responds to a call to action (CTA). In email marketing campaigns, the conversion rate refers to the percentage of recipients who complete the desired action after opening your email.
Examples of the desired action include:
- Making a purchase
- Entering a giveaway
- Downloading a resource
- Signing up for a newsletter
- Filling out a registration form
- Clicking through to a landing page
The higher your conversion rate for email marketing, the more effective your email content is at driving action. This is because each conversion moves a prospect closer to becoming a paying customer. That’s why you want to create email campaigns that inspire as many conversions as possible.
Knowing your conversion rate allows you to fine-tune your email marketing strategy, making adjustments based on data rather than guesswork. It helps you measure your performance against industry benchmarks or competitors, giving you a clearer sense of where you stand and how you can improve.
What is a good email marketing conversion rate?
Research from FirstPageSage shows that on average, B2C brands see a conversion rate of about 2.8%, while B2B companies see a rate of 2.4% with email marketing.
But what is considered a good conversion rate? An average conversion rate falls between 2% and 5%, while anything between 6% and 9% is above average, and 10% or higher is excellent.
Data shows that average conversion rates also vary greatly by industry. For example, in 2021, the average email conversion rate for the B2B services industry was 5.7% while that for real estate was 1.4%.
Instead of comparing yourself with the global average email conversion rate, it’s a better idea to look at industry-specific rates.
How do you calculate the average email conversion rate?
To calculate email conversion rate, find the number of people who took the desired action after interacting with your emails and divide it by the total number of emails you sent.
Here is the email conversion rate formula:
For example, let’s say you sent out an email campaign announcing the release of your new product to 10,000 previous customers. Out of those 10,000 recipients, 500 clicked through and signed up for the pre-order.
To calculate your conversion rate, you would divide 500 (the number of conversions) by 10,000 (the number of emails delivered). That gives you 0.05—multiply this by 100 and you get a 5% conversion rate.
How to optimize email conversion rate?
Your email design and copy make a significant impact on your conversion rates. Here are three tried-and-tested tips for optimizing email marketing conversion rates:
1. Create a powerful CTA
A compelling CTA is the key driver behind turning your email recipients into active customers. Databox found that email CTAs have an average click-through rate of about 3-5%.
Whether it’s getting readers to purchase a product, sign up for a webinar, or download a resource, the CTA is what influences customer behavior. Without a clear and compelling CTA, even the most beautifully designed email can fall flat.
Here’s how to create a powerful CTA:
Make your CTA stand out
Your CTA should be one of the most eye-catching elements of your email. Use contrasting colors or turn your CTA into a button to draw attention.
Look at the bright green call to action button above as an example.
Use action-oriented language
Your CTA should inspire immediate action. Use strong, clear verbs like “Shop Now,” “Get Your Discount,” or “Download Your Guide”.
Keep it short and sweet
CTAs should be concise—aim for five words or less. The goal is to make it easy for the reader to understand what you want them to do in a split second.
Limit the number of CTAs
Less is more when it comes to CTAs. Stick to one primary CTA to keep your email focused and your message clear.
Create a sense of urgency
Encourage immediate action by adding a sense of urgency to your CTA. Phrases like “Limited Time Offer” or “Claim Your Spot Now” can push recipients to act quickly, minimizing the risk of distraction.
The CTA above is a good example of how to create a sense of urgency.
Personalize your CTAs
Data shows that personalized CTAs perform 202% better than regular CTAs. If you know a particular list segment is interested in fitness, a CTA like “Start Your Fitness Journey Today” will resonate more than a generic “Learn More”.
Test and optimize
Test different placements, wordings, and designs to see which CTAs drive the most engagement. Sometimes, even small tweaks in your CTA can lead to significant improvements in conversion rates.
Optimize for mobile
A large percentage of emails are opened on mobile phones, making mobile optimization essential. You want to ensure your CTA looks just as eye-catching and well-placed on a mobile phone as it looks on a desktop.
Highlight the benefits
Clearly state the benefit of clicking the CTA—what’s in it for your readers?
In the example above, the CTA has a clear benefit (which is that the reader will get to drink good wine).
Use numbers
If possible, include numbers in your CTA—something like “Get $50 Off Now!”
2. Use personalization
Personalization is no longer just a buzzword—it’s a must for today’s email marketing.
This is because modern customers value experiences that feel personal and relevant to them. Crafting emails that cater to individual preferences, behaviors, and needs helps you improve customer satisfaction, boost conversions, and enjoy improved open and click-through rates.
But personalizing emails is more than just addressing recipients by their name—it’s about delivering content that resonates with each recipient. To achieve this, you want to segment your list and write subject lines that are specifically tailored to each group.
Segment your list
Segmentation is the key to a successful email marketing campaign. It involves dividing your email list into smaller, targeted groups based on criteria like geographic location, purchase history, and engagement levels.
By doing this, you can send emails that contain relevant content, increasing email engagement and improving your campaign performance.
For example, if you know that a particular segment of your audience frequently buys sports equipment, you can tailor your emails to highlight new arrivals in that category or offer exclusive discounts on related products.
Here is another example of location-based segmentation by Felix Gray.
By segmenting their email subscribers by geographic area, Felix Gray sends personalized emails to customers about new store openings nearby. They also include map instructions in the same email to guide recipients to the new locations, making visiting them easy.
On the flip side, poor segmentation can have the opposite effect. Imagine sending an email about the latest trends in teen clothing to a 40-something man with an office job. Not only is this irrelevant to his interests, but it also risks annoying the recipient, which can lead to unread emails and a higher unsubscribe rate.
If you’d like to send targeted emails to thoughtfully created email segments, use GetResponse’s email list builder to manage and grow your list and enjoy automatic segmentation for highly personalized email campaigns.
Write good subject lines
The subject line determines whether recipients will open your email or scroll past it. A compelling subject line leads to more opens, increasing the chances of a conversion.
To create subject lines that grab attention, focus on using actionable language that creates a sense of curiosity or urgency. For instance, instead of saying, “New Deals Inside,” you could say, “Exclusive Offers Just for You—Grab Them Before They’re Gone!”
Remember that most emails are viewed on a mobile device, so keep them short and sweet. You want to aim for 30 to 50 characters. You can also take a look at how open rate is influenced by subject line length here:
GetResponse offers a built-in email subject line generator powered by ChatGPT to help you create attention-grabbing subject lines in seconds.
Just input a few keywords and your industry and you’ll get plenty of subject line options to pick from. The best part? You don’t need an OpenAI account. This feature is available to all paid users, with free accounts getting three uses per month.
3. Test and tweak
Improving your email marketing conversion rates doesn’t have to be a guessing game. A/B testing is an objective method to help you make data-driven decisions about your emailing practices.
Also called split testing, A/B testing involves comparing two versions of your email to determine which one leads to more conversions.
For example, if you’re concerned your email subject line isn’t catchy enough, you can conduct an A/B test by segmenting your email audience into two. One half will get the old subject line and the other half will get the newer, catchier one. You can then compare results to check whether this change affects your email open and conversion rates.
You can test multiple email elements including, the copy, CTA, email format, and sending time. The key is to test one element at a time, so you know exactly what’s driving the results.
Of course, A/B testing is much easier when automated. That’s where GetResponse’s A/B testing feature comes in. It helps you:
- Create A/B tests for both email subject lines and content to find what works best
- Test up to five versions to identify the highest-performing option
- Configure testing by setting your testing group size, winning criteria, and test duration
- Track performance through open rates, click rates, and overall engagement for each variant
Read our A/B testing guide for a deeper understanding of the process.
Email conversion rate optimization simplified
Optimizing your email conversion is all about tweaking your emails to determine what works best. It involves a lot of A/B testing and experimentation, which is why it’s a good idea to use a dedicated digital marketing platform like GetResponse.
GetReponse helps you boost your conversion rate in multiple ways. You get automatic list segmentation (which lets you send relevant content), an AI subject line generator (to craft catchy subject lines), and automatic A/B testing (which helps you save time on experimentation).Sign up today and get 30 days of free access to experience the power of these features.