A national nonprofit had a year of email data across three audience segments with no way to know what was working. I pulled the metrics, benchmarked against industry averages, and turned the gaps into six clear next steps.
Six actions ranked by impact. The top three address problems that will get worse if left alone. The bottom three are optimizations that build on what's already working.
3.30% bounce rate is 3.3x the acceptable ceiling. Run a re-engagement campaign for inactive contacts before it damages deliverability across all segments.
Read rates dropped 20-43% while glance rates spiked up to 1,095%. Move to scannable formats: bullets, bold stats, single clear CTA above the fold.
16.75% open rate means 83% never see the content. Test personalization, urgency framing, and question-based subjects. Specificity outperforms generic framing.
2.10% click rate with 26.42% opens means content gets seen but doesn't drive action. Test button-style CTAs and reduce links per email.
0.65% unsubscribe rate (1.6-3.4x benchmark) suggests cadence fatigue. Consider lighter-touch frequency for low-engagement contacts.
Gamified subjects and resource-based content drove 14.97% CTOR (1.5x benchmark). Apply these patterns across underperforming segments.
Every metric compared against national nonprofit averages. The shaded bands show the benchmark range. Bars to the left of the band are underperforming; bars that reach into or past it are on track.
2024 vs 2025 vs benchmark (25-29%)
2024 vs 2025 vs benchmark (2.9-3.3%)
Of those who open, how many click?
Lower is better. Ceiling: bounce <1%, unsub <0.4%
Open rates climbed, but people stopped reading. Read rates collapsed 20-43% across every segment while glance rates spiked as high as 1,095%. People open emails but skim them. Long-form content isn't landing.
2024 vs 2025 across all segments
Green bars are improvements. Red bars are declines. For bounce and unsub rates, a decrease is an improvement.
Percentage change from 2024 to 2025
The best-performing send for each segment. These patterns are worth replicating.
Each metric rated against national nonprofit benchmarks. Above, Near, or Below.
| Metric | Benchmark | SQL | Status | Customers | Status | MQL | Status |
|---|
This analysis covers email sends from January 2024 through December 2025 across three audience segments. All metrics are weighted by send volume. Benchmarks are sourced from:
Client name and identifying details have been redacted for confidentiality. Segment labels (SQL, Customers, MQL) are generic substitutes.