5 Key Insights from the 2023 Email Marketing Benchmarks Report

Email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to reach and engage customers. But with so many emails competing for attention, it's more important than ever to get your emails opened and clicked on.

The 2023 Email Marketing Benchmarks Report from GetResponse provides valuable insights into how email marketers perform across various metrics. Here are five key takeaways from the report:

The average email open rate increased in 2022.

The average email open rate in 2022 was 26.8%, up from 19.66% in 2021. This is likely due to Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) feature, which makes it more difficult for senders to track email opens. MPP prevents senders from seeing if an email has been opened by hiding the recipient's IP address. This means that senders can no longer rely on open rates as a reliable measure of email engagement.

Undeterred, senders are focusing on creating more engaging subject lines and email content that will encourage recipients to open their emails, even if they can't be tracked. This is likely to lead to even higher open rates in the future.

The average click-through rate (CTR) decreased in 2022.

The average CTR in 2022 was 2.17%, down from 2.3% in 2021. This may be due to a number of factors, including the increasing use of spam filters and the declining attention spans of email recipients.

Spam filters are becoming more sophisticated and better at identifying and filtering out spam emails. This means that fewer emails are making it through to the recipient's inbox, which can lead to lower CTRs.

In addition, people are becoming more accustomed to receiving emails and are more likely to skim through them or delete them without reading them. This can also lead to lower CTRs.

The unsubscribe rate remained relatively stable in 2022.

The unsubscribe rate in 2022 was 0.18%, which is about the same as it has been in previous years. This suggests that most email recipients still find value in their emails.

However, it's essential to monitor your unsubscribe rate and ensure it doesn't start to increase. If your unsubscribe rate does begin to increase, it's a sign that you need to improve your email marketing campaigns.

Here are a few things you can do to reduce your unsubscribe rate:

• Make sure your emails are relevant to your recipient's interests.
• Don't send too many emails.
• Give your recipients an easy way to unsubscribe (counterintuitive, perhaps, but it seems to work).
  

The bounce rate increased slightly in 2022.

The bounce rate in 2022 was 2.17%, up from 1.9% in 2021. This may be due to a number of factors, including the increasing use of spam filters and the declining quality of email lists.

As mentioned earlier, spam filters are becoming more sophisticated and better at identifying and filtering out spam emails. This means that more emails are being bounced back as spam, which can lead to higher bounce rates.

In addition, email lists can become outdated over time. If you're not regularly cleaning your email list, you may send emails to people who have moved, changed their email address, or are no longer interested in your products or services. This can also lead to higher bounce rates.

The spam complaint rate remained very low in 2022.

The spam complaint rate in 2022 was 0.003%, which is about the same as it has been in previous years. Few people go to the bother of making a formal complaint, but if they do, the results can be far reaching, not only damaging your sender reputation and making reaching your target audience more difficult, but also affecting your ability to send day-to-day operational emails.

Here are a few tips for avoiding spammy emails and eliciting a complaint:

• Only send emails to people who have opted-in to receive them.
• Make sure your emails are relevant to the recipient's interests.
• Don't use misleading subject lines or headers.
• Don't send too many emails.
• Give your recipients an easy way to unsubscribe.

Overall, the 2023 Email Marketing Benchmarks Report provides a positive outlook for email marketing. While there are some areas where marketers can improve, the overall performance of email marketing campaigns is still strong.

If you're looking to improve your email marketing results, here are a few tips:

• Use a strong subject line that will grab your recipients' attention. Your subject line is the first thing your recipients will see, so it's important to make it count. Use strong verbs, keywords, and numbers to create a subject line that will make your recipient want to open your email.
• Personalise your emails to make them more relevant to your recipient. Use the recipient's name, location, or interests to personalise your emails. This will show your recipient that you're paying attention to them and that you're not just sending out mass emails.
• Use clear and concise calls to action. Tell your recipient what you want them to do, whether it's clicking on a link, visiting your website, or making a purchase. Make sure your call to action is clear and easy to understand.
• Send high-quality content that your recipient will find valuable. Don't just send out promotional emails. Instead, send emails that offer your recipient something of value, such as educational content, exclusive discounts, or behind-the-scenes looks at your business.
• Segment your email list so you can send targeted messages to different groups of recipients. Not all your recipients are the same. Some may be more interested in your products, while others may be more interested in your services. By segmenting your email list, you can send more targeted messages that are more likely to be opened and clicked on.
• A/B test your emails to see what works best for your audience. There's no one-size-fits-all approach to email marketing. What works for one business may not work for another. By A/B testing your emails, you can see what works best for your audience and make changes to your campaigns accordingly.
• Track your results so you can see what's working and what's not. It's essential to track your results to see how your email marketing campaigns are performing. This will help you identify areas where you can improve and make changes to your campaigns accordingly.

By following these tips, you can improve your email marketing results and reach more of your target audience.

In addition to the tips mentioned above, here are a few other things you can do to improve your email marketing campaigns:

• Use a professional email marketing service. A good email marketing service will provide you with the tools and features you need to create and send effective email campaigns.
• Use an email marketing automation platform. An email marketing automation platform can help you automate your email marketing campaigns, so you can save time and focus on other tasks.
• Use email marketing analytics to track your results. Email marketing analytics can help you track your open rates, click-through rates, unsubscribe rates, and other important metrics.
• Keep your email list clean. A clean email list is essential for email marketing success. Make sure to remove inactive subscribers from your list regularly.
• Stay up-to-date on email marketing trends. The email marketing landscape is constantly changing, so staying current on the latest trends is crucial. This will help you create more effective email campaigns.

By following these tips, you can improve your email marketing campaigns and reach more of your target audience.