The Definitive Guide to Cold Email Metrics and KPIs

This article consolidates all cold email metrics into a comprehensive reference.

Deliverability metrics

Inbox placement rate: Percentage of emails reaching the primary inbox. Target: above 85%. Bounce rate: Percentage of emails that bounce. Target: below 2%. Spam complaint rate: Percentage of recipients marking as spam. Target: below 0.1%. Blacklist status: Number of blacklists your domains appear on. Target: zero.

Engagement metrics

Open rate: Percentage of emails opened. Note: increasingly unreliable due to Apple MPP. Reply rate: Percentage of emails that receive any reply. Target: 3 to 8%. Positive reply rate: Percentage of emails receiving an interested reply. Target: 1.5 to 4%. Click rate (if tracking): Percentage of emails where links are clicked. Generally not tracked due to deliverability impact.

Conversion metrics

Meeting booking rate: Percentage of sends that convert to a booked meeting. Target: 1 to 3%. Meeting show rate: Percentage of booked meetings where the prospect attends. Target: above 70%. Opportunity creation rate: Percentage of meetings that convert to sales opportunities. Pipeline generated: Total dollar value of opportunities created from cold email. Revenue generated: Total closed revenue attributed to cold email.

Efficiency metrics

Cost per send: Total cold email costs divided by total sends. Cost per reply: Total costs divided by total replies. Cost per meeting: Total costs divided by meetings booked. Cost per opportunity: Total costs divided by opportunities created. CAC from cold email: Total costs divided by customers acquired. LTV:CAC ratio: Customer lifetime value divided by cold email CAC. Target: above 3:1.

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