Revenue Per Email

Definition

Revenue per email measures the average revenue generated by each email sent in a campaign or over a period. It is one of the most important business metrics for email marketing because it ties campaign performance directly to revenue.

Unlike open rate and click rate, which measure engagement, revenue per email measures actual business impact. It is the metric that connects email marketing activity to the bottom line.

Formula

Revenue per email is calculated by dividing total attributed revenue by total emails sent.

Revenue Per Email = Total Attributed Revenue / Total Emails Sent

For more granular analysis, you can calculate:

Revenue Per Delivered Email = Total Attributed Revenue / Total Delivered Emails

Variable	Description
Total Attributed Revenue	Revenue generated from email campaign conversions
Total Emails Sent	Number of emails sent in the campaign
Total Delivered Emails	Emails sent minus bounces

Average Benchmark

Revenue per email benchmarks vary widely by industry and email type.

Email Type	Average Revenue Per Email
Broadcast promotional	$0.05 - $0.15
Abandoned cart	$0.50 - $1.50
Product recommendation	$0.20 - $0.60
Welcome series	$0.30 - $0.80
Re-engagement campaign	$0.10 - $0.30
Transactional	$0.02 - $0.10

These numbers vary significantly based on average order value, margin, and attribution window.

How to Improve Revenue Per Email

• Target high-intent segments: Subscribers who have recently purchased or browsed specific products are more likely to convert. Focus promotional emails on engaged segments.
• Personalise product recommendations: Use purchase history and browsing data to recommend relevant products. Personalised recommendations consistently outperform generic promotions.
• Optimise send timing: Test different send times to find when your audience is most likely to purchase. Revenue per email varies significantly by day and time.
• Improve email-to-purchase attribution: Ensure your tracking captures all conversions from email, including delayed purchases. Use an attribution window of at least 7 days.
• Segment by customer value: Send higher-value offers to your best customers and lower-cost offers to newer or less engaged subscribers.
• Test offer types: Experiment with percentage discounts, fixed amount discounts, free shipping, and exclusive access to see which produces the highest revenue per email.

Example Calculation

If you send a campaign to 50,000 subscribers and the campaign generates $4,250 in attributed revenue:

Revenue Per Email = $4,250 / 50,000 = $0.085

This means each email sent generated approximately $0.085 (8.5 cents). To increase this, you could target the offer to a more relevant segment or improve the conversion rate of the landing page.

Related Tools

• Revenue Per Email Calculator: Calculate revenue per email at revenue per email calculator
• Revenue Per Subscriber Calculator: Measure subscriber lifetime value at revenue per subscriber calculator
• Email ROI Calculator: Calculate overall email ROI at email ROI calculator

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good revenue per email?

A good revenue per email depends on your industry, average order value, and email type. For ecommerce, $0.08-$0.15 per email is typical for promotional campaigns. Abandoned cart emails often generate $0.50 or more per email. Focus on improving your own benchmark rather than comparing to averages across different business models.

How is revenue per email different from ROI?

Revenue per email is a raw revenue metric — how much money each email generates. ROI (return on investment) accounts for the cost of sending emails, including platform fees, content creation, and staff time. Revenue per email feeds into ROI calculation but does not account for costs.

How do I track revenue per email accurately?

Use UTM parameters on all email links and track conversions in your analytics platform. Connect your email platform to your ecommerce system to capture attributed revenue. Set up conversion tracking with an appropriate attribution window (7-30 days depending on your sales cycle).