Email Marketing ROI: How to Calculate and Maximize Your Returns

Email marketing ROI averages $36-42 for every $1 spent—the highest of any marketing channel. But knowing the industry average doesn't help you measure or improve your own returns.

This guide shows you exactly how to calculate your email marketing ROI, benchmark against real data, and implement strategies that actually move the needle.

How to Calculate Email Marketing ROI

The Basic Formula

ROI = ((Revenue from Email - Cost of Email Marketing) / Cost of Email Marketing) × 100

Example:

• Revenue from email: $50,000
• Email marketing costs: $1,500
• ROI = (($50,000 - $1,500) / $1,500) × 100 = 3,233%

What to Include in Costs

Direct costs:

• Email platform subscription
• Design tools/software
• Copywriting (in-house time or freelance)
• List building/acquisition
• Integration costs

Often overlooked costs:

• Team time for strategy and execution
• Technical setup and maintenance
• A/B testing time
• Analytics and reporting time

What to Include in Revenue

Direct attribution:

• Purchases from email clicks (within attribution window)
• Conversions from email-driven signups
• Direct response to email campaigns

Assisted attribution:

• Revenue where email was in the customer journey
• Customers acquired via email nurture
• Email influence on other channel conversions

Email Marketing ROI Benchmarks

ROI by Industry

Industry	Average ROI	Top Performers
E-commerce	$45:$1	$70:$1+
SaaS/Tech	$40:$1	$60:$1+
Financial Services	$42:$1	$55:$1+
Healthcare	$38:$1	$50:$1+
Education	$36:$1	$48:$1+
Non-profit	$32:$1	$45:$1+
Real Estate	$36:$1	$50:$1+

ROI by Email Type

Email Type	Typical ROI	Notes
Welcome sequences	320% higher	vs. batch sends
Abandoned cart	20-30x return	Highest ROI email
Post-purchase	15-25x return	Second highest
Re-engagement	10-20x return	List maintenance
Newsletters	5-15x return	Relationship building
Promotional	8-20x return	Direct revenue

Performance Benchmarks

Metric	Average	Good	Excellent
Open rate	20%	25%	35%+
Click rate	2.5%	4%	6%+
Conversion rate	1%	2.5%	5%+
Revenue per email	$0.05	$0.15	$0.50+
Revenue per subscriber	$0.50/mo	$1/mo	$3/mo+

Strategies to Improve Email Marketing ROI

1. Fix Your Foundations First

Before advanced tactics, ensure basics are solid:

List hygiene:

• Remove inactive subscribers (saves money, improves deliverability)
• Regular bounce cleaning
• Engagement-based segmentation

Deliverability:

• Proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
• Reputation monitoring
• Inbox placement testing

Mobile optimization:

• 60%+ opens are mobile
• Mobile-broken emails = lost revenue

2. Implement Revenue-Driving Automations

The highest-ROI emails run automatically:

Welcome sequence (Must-have):

• 3-7 email series for new subscribers
• Drives 320% more revenue than single welcome
• See our welcome sequence guide

Abandoned cart (E-commerce essential):

• Trigger: Cart abandoned > 1 hour
• Average recovery: 10-15% of abandoned carts
• See our abandoned cart guide

Browse abandonment:

• Trigger: Viewed product, didn't add to cart
• Lower intent but high volume
• Often 5-10% conversion rate

Post-purchase:

• Cross-sell and upsell
• Review requests
• Replenishment reminders

3. Segment for Relevance

Segmented campaigns drive 760% more revenue than non-segmented.

High-impact segments:

• Purchase history (buyers vs. browsers)
• Engagement level (active vs. dormant)
• Source (where they signed up)
• Behavior (what they click)
• Customer value (VIPs vs. average)

4. Optimize Subject Lines

Subject lines control open rates, which control everything downstream.

What works:

• Personalization (name, company, behavior)
• Specificity over vague promises
• Numbers and data
• Questions that create curiosity

A/B test relentlessly—small improvements compound significantly.

5. Reduce Time-to-Send

Every hour spent creating emails has a cost. Reducing creation time directly improves ROI.

Efficiency options:

• Use templates strategically
• Implement design systems
• Use AI tools like Brew to generate emails faster

With Brew, what takes hours in traditional platforms takes minutes—same quality, fraction of the time.

Measuring ROI Accurately

Set Up Proper Tracking

1. UTM parameters on all email links
2. Revenue tracking in your email platform
3. Attribution window defined (7-30 days typical)
4. Multi-touch attribution if possible

Account for Time Costs

Most ROI calculations ignore the biggest cost: time.

Example:

• Team spends 10 hours/campaign
• Effective hourly cost: $50
• Labor cost per campaign: $500

If platform costs $200/month but team spends 40 hours/month on email, true cost is $2,200.

This is why AI tools that reduce creation time can dramatically improve ROI even if they cost more than basic platforms.

Attribution Windows

How long after an email click do you attribute revenue?

Window	Pros	Cons
1 day	Conservative, clear causation	Misses delayed purchases
7 days	Balanced	Industry standard
30 days	Captures long cycles	May over-credit

Choose based on your typical purchase cycle.

Common ROI Killers

1. Buying Email Lists

• 0% ROI (often negative)
• Destroys deliverability for everything else
• Legal risks (GDPR, CAN-SPAM fines)
• Never recovers the cost

2. Sending to Inactive Subscribers

• Each inactive subscriber costs money
• Hurts deliverability for engaged subscribers
• Clean your list quarterly

3. Batch-and-Blast Approach

• Same email to everyone = poor relevance
• Low engagement hurts sender reputation
• Missing high-value automation opportunities

4. Neglecting Mobile

• 60%+ opens are mobile
• Desktop-designed emails break on mobile
• Lost clicks = lost revenue

5. No Testing

• Guessing instead of knowing
• Missing easy optimization wins
• Stagnant performance

ROI Improvement Action Plan

This Week

1. Calculate your current ROI (use formula above)
2. Identify your highest-performing email type
3. Check list hygiene (remove 6+ month inactive)

This Month

1. Implement one high-ROI automation (welcome or abandoned cart)
2. A/B test subject lines on 3 sends
3. Review mobile rendering

This Quarter

1. Build proper segmentation
2. Create full welcome sequence
3. Evaluate tools for efficiency (try Brew for AI-powered creation)

Brew's Impact on ROI

Traditional email marketing:

• Hours per email × team hourly rate = high cost per send
• Limited by team capacity
• Inconsistent quality

With Brew:

• Minutes per email with AI
• Higher volume possible
• Consistent on-brand quality

Pricing:

• Free: 200 credits
• Starter: $49/month (1,000 contacts, 500 credits)
• Pro: $199/month (10,000 contacts, 10,000 credits)

When you reduce time-to-send by 90%, you can send more campaigns, test more, and generate more revenue—dramatically improving ROI.

The Bottom Line

Email marketing ROI isn't magic—it's math. Track costs honestly, attribute revenue properly, and focus on high-leverage activities: automation, segmentation, and efficiency.

The teams seeing the highest ROI aren't spending more. They're sending more relevant emails, faster, with better targeting.

Ready to improve your email efficiency? Try Brew free and see how AI can reduce your time-to-send while maintaining quality.

Start improving your ROI →