Email List Growth Rate
Rate at which the marketing email subscriber list is growing
What is Email List Growth Rate?
Email list growth rate is the net percentage change in the size of an email list over a period. It takes the new subscribers gained and subtracts those lost to unsubscribes, expressing the difference as a proportion of the starting list.
It shows whether an owned audience is growing or shrinking. Because email is a channel a business controls, a growing list is a valuable asset and a leading indicator of future reach.
How this KPI is measured
- Function
- Marketing
- Sub-function
- Email Marketing
- Industry
- All Industries
- Type
- Leading
- Impact
- Operational
- Unit
- %
- Measurement frequency
- Monthly
- Formula
- ((New subscribers − Unsubscribes) / Total subscribers at start) × 100
How to calculate it
Subtract unsubscribes from new subscribers, divide by the list size at the start of the period, and multiply by 100.
For example, if a list started the month with 20,000 subscribers, gained 800 and lost 200, the growth rate is ((800 - 200) / 20,000) x 100 = 3%.
Count only genuine subscribers. Bounced and inactive addresses can inflate the list, so consider removing them or reporting on active subscribers.
Where it is used
Tracking owned audience
Monitor whether the base of people you can reach directly is expanding.
Evaluating sign-up sources
See which forms, offers and channels bring in the most new subscribers.
Planning email revenue
Estimate future reach and results from the trend in list size.
How to improve it
Tips and common mistakes
- Quality matters more than size. A smaller engaged list often outperforms a large stale one.
- Avoid buying lists. It damages deliverability and breaches many data protection rules.
- Report net growth, not just new sign-ups, so losses are visible.
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