The email click-through rate formula recommended by ActiveCampaign

An email ctr formula makes it easy for you to calculate the click-through rate for your email campaigns.

Email click-through rate is an effective indicator of email engagement.

How often have you opened an email without reading the email content, just to reduce that dreaded ‘Unread’ messages counter?

I can’t be the only one.

In fact, these days, it feels like the open rate is to emails what follower count is to social media accounts.

Nice to look at, but doesn’t always result in conversions.

This means email open rate — though important — may not be the most important metric to watch.

So what should you pay attention to instead?

Email click-through rate is a better indicator of your email performance.

What is email click-through rate?

Your email click-through rate is a measure of how many people click your email link (call to action button, image, or hyperlinked text).

It gives you a solid idea of how many of your readers are engaging with your content.

And engagement is one of the best metrics for determining the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns.

How to calculate email click-through rate

While there are several formulas for calculating email click-through rate, I’ll be sharing ActiveCampaign’s formula in this article.

ActiveCampaign’s email Click-Through Rate formula

Here’s how to use ActiveCampaign’s CTR formula for your email: 

Divide the total number of clicks by the number of delivered emails. Then multiply the result by 100.

(To calculate the number of delivered emails, subtract the number of bounced emails from the number of emails sent.)

Unique link clicks vs all link clicks

Some email marketers believe that the only thing that matters when it comes to CTR is unique clicks on a link.

So if an email recipient opens your email five times and clicks your call to action (CTA), they believe only one of those clicks should count.

Then other marketers believe that the total click-through rate (TCTR) is a valid metric.

These marketers believe it’s a good indicator of how popular an email is based on how many times the reader revisits the email to click that CTA.

How to improve your Click-Through Rate

Even though the open rate isn’t the holy grail of email metrics, there is still value in working to improve the percentage.

You can increase your email open rate by improving your subject lines or using DMARC authentication.

However, once you get subscribers to open your emails, the real work to improve your email conversion rate begins.

1 – Know your reader

Generic emails won’t convince your readers to claim your offer. Instead, they can come off sounding overly salezy and cheesy.

On the other hand, emails that emphasize the value you provide are very effective. But of course, this only works if you know who you’re speaking to.

2 – Segment your list

List segmentation is a key part of improving your email click-through rate.

By speaking to a segment of your audience, you can be more specific with your messaging.

This will get more readers connecting with your message and taking action.

3 – Speak to one reader

Yes, your email campaign is sent to an email list with multiple subscribers.

But that’s no reason to take an impersonal approach.

Speak directly to one reader and make them feel like the only subscriber in the world when they read your email.

That means avoiding general language like “Hi everyone” and choosing to personalize instead, where possible.

If you don’t have your subscriber’s first name, a powerful way to make your emails sound more personal is to use “you” in your copy.

(This rule works for all conversion copywriting.)

4 – Include trust signals in your emails

Trust signals are elements that help lower resistance and push your readers to take the desired action.

They work by boosting your credibility and proving to your email subscribers that they can trust you.

They include credibility boosters like testimonials, product reviews, logos of brands you’ve worked with, and guarantees.

5 – Use a single CTA

Using too many CTAs in your email may lead to choice paralysis and negatively impact your click-through rate.

One study on the Application of Decision Paralysis Analysis Syndrome in Consumer Decision Making found that customers are less likely to make a decision or take action when they’re presented with too many options.

“…when customers have more choices, they buy less…”

Rony Kuriena, Dr. Anil Rao Pailab, Dr. Asha Nagendrac – Procedia Economics and Finance

Need another example? Whirlpool increased their email CTR by 42% when they reduced the number of CTAs in an email from 4 to 1.

6 – Keep and use an email swipe file

When it comes to writing emails that convert, it’s a good idea to keep a swipe file of inspiring emails.

In this Tutorial Tuesdays video, Nikki Elbaz shares her tips for creating an effective swipe file.

Start working on your email click-through rate

Armed with these six tips, you’re ready to start making changes to your future campaigns and improve your email click-through rate and email conversions.

The Copyhackers free Conversion Copywriting 101 course covers most of the six tips in greater detail. You can enroll for free here.