Content Recommendation Email Benchmarks
Content recommendation emails use subscriber behaviour (past clicks, purchases, browsing) to suggest relevant content, products, or resources. They are a key personalisation tactic for maintaining engagement between major campaigns.
| Metric | Average | Above Average | Excellent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Rate | 25-40% | 42%+ | 50%+ |
| Click-Through Rate | 5-15% | 18%+ | 25%+ |
| Click-to-Open Rate | 20-35% | 38%+ | 45%+ |
| Recommendation Relevance Rate | 40-60% | 65%+ | 75%+ |
Why These Benchmarks Matter
Personalised content recommendations generate 2-5x higher click rates than non-personalised alternatives. They keep subscribers engaged between promotional campaigns and deepen their relationship with your brand.
Content Recommendation by Industry
| Industry | Open Rate | Click Rate | Lift vs Non-Personalised |
|---|---|---|---|
| Media / Publishing | 28-42% | 6-16% | +40-80% |
| Ecommerce | 22-35% | 5-12% | +30-60% |
| SaaS / Software | 25-38% | 5-14% | +30-50% |
Best Practices
- Use behavioural data: Recommendations based on past behaviour outperform demographic-based recommendations by 40-80%.
- Show variety: Offer 3-5 recommendations covering different topics or categories to increase the chance of a relevant match.
- Explain the recommendation: "Based on your interest in deliverability" gives context that increases click-through.
- Refresh recommendations regularly: Stale recommendations reduce relevance. Update recommendation data at least weekly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
5-15% is typical. Above 18% is excellent. This compares very favourably to standard newsletter click rates of 2-5%.
3-5 recommendations per email is optimal. Fewer than 3 limits the chance of relevance. More than 5 can cause choice paralysis.