You know that email metrics tell a story. But are you reading the right chapters?
Open and click rates get all the attention. They’re the metrics marketers talk about most—and for good reason. They’re shiny, easy to track, and they tell you if your audience is, at least partially, paying attention.
But here’s the catch: they’re squishy. Open rates can lie. Click rates can mislead. And while they’re helpful for spotting trends, they won’t tell you who’s quietly slipping away or what’s hurting your deliverability.
If you want to protect your list health and your relationships (especially with paying customers), you need to look deeper. Here’s what really matters.
Open and Click Rates: The Surface-Level Signals
Open and click rates are like the movie trailers of email metrics. They give you a glimpse, a sneak peek. But they don’t tell the whole story.
What They Show: Open rates tell you someone saw your email—maybe. Click rates show they were curious enough to act.
Why They Matter: If these numbers drop, it’s a sign your emails aren't getting into inboxes or that your audience isn’t as engaged as they used to be.
The Catch:
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Privacy settings (like Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection) can inflate open rates.
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Corporate firewalls often “click” links to scan for threats, skewing click data.
What to Do: Use open and click rates as directional signals, but don’t make decisions based solely on them.
Unsubscribes: Feedback You Can’t Ignore
Unsubscribes aren’t the enemy. In fact, they’re a good thing...up to a point.
What They Show: When someone unsubscribes, they’re telling you something’s off. Your content, frequency, or targeting isn’t working for them.
Why They Matter: A small number of unsubscribes (less than 0.25%) per email is normal, even healthy. But if that number climbs? It’s time to dig deeper.
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Are you emailing too often?
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Did your recent content miss the mark?
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Are you attracting the wrong audience?
What to Do: Monitor your unsubscribe rate regularly. Treat it as feedback, not failure.
Bounces: The Silent Red Flags
Most marketers treat bounces as a minor annoyance. Don’t make that mistake.
What They Show: Bounces happen when your email can’t be delivered.
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Soft bounces: Temporary issues like full inboxes.
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Hard bounces: Permanent issues like invalid or abandoned addresses.
Why They Matter:
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Hard bounces harm your sender reputation
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Persistent soft bounces can signal that a B2B subscriber has left the company—or that a Gmail user has abandoned their account.
What to Do: Regularly clean your list of hard bounces and track repeated soft bounces as potential risks.
Spam Complaints: The Invisible Metric
Spam complaints are reputation killers—and they’re harder to track than you think.
What They Show: Spam complaints occur when someone actively marks your email as spam.
Why They Matter: Inbox providers weigh spam complaints heavily. Most ESP dashboards only show spam complaints reported directly to them. Gmail complaints? Those are invisible unless you’re using Google Postmaster Tools.
What to Do:
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Make unsubscribing easy.
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Check Google Postmaster Tools regularly if you send to Gmail users.
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If spam complaints rise, review your targeting, frequency, and opt-in process to make sure you’re meeting expectations.
Why These Metrics Are Critical for Paid Programs
Now let’s talk about the people who matter most: your paying customers.
For memberships, cohorts, or ongoing programs, unsubscribes, bounces, and spam complaints aren’t just metrics. They’re warnings that something is about to go very wrong.
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Unsubscribes: A paying customer who unsubscribes might miss renewal reminders or program updates—leading to churn or confusion.
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Bounces: A bounced payment reminder or renewal email could mean lost revenue or a chargeback.
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Spam Complaints: Frequent complaints damage your reputation, making it harder to reach even your engaged customers.
How to Monitor These Metrics
Set Up Alerts for Key Signals
Your ESP isn’t going to send you a notification when a paying customer unsubscribes or their email bounces. But you can set one up. Use tools like Zapier or Airtable to automate alerts.
Collect Backup Contact Info
• For B2B customers: Ask for a personal email during sign-up.
• For B2C customers: Request a phone number for emergency communication.
Check Your Metrics Weekly
Don’t let these issues snowball. Review bounce reports, unsubscribe lists, and spam complaints weekly.
Real-World Examples
Case Study 1: The Nonprofit That Fixed Its Dropout Problem
A nonprofit client running a 9-month cohort struggled with participants disappearing after changing jobs. The fix? Collecting personal email addresses during sign-up and setting up alerts for bounces. Result: Improved retention and fewer mid-cohort dropouts.
Case Study 2: The Membership That Saved Its Customers
For a membership client, we set up Airtable as the data hub and used it to track ConvertKit subscription statuses. Alerts for bounces and unsubscribes helped them act quickly, preventing churn and keeping paying customers happy.
Your Metrics Are Telling a Story. Are You Listening?
Open and click rates show engagement trends, but unsubscribes, bounces, and spam complaints reveal the health of your list and the strength of your relationships.
If you’re not tracking these signals, you’re leaving your list health—and your revenue—at risk.
Ready to fix it? Whether you need help setting up alerts or optimizing your metrics strategy, we're here to help. Let’s talk.
