Click-through rate (CTR)
Also known as: CTR
Click-through rate is the share of a newsletter's recipients who click a link in it — the most reliable measure of newsletter engagement now that open rates are distorted.
Why it matters for publishers
A click is a deliberate act, which makes CTR the most trustworthy measure of whether a newsletter is doing its job. For publishers it also predicts subscription conversion and retention better than opens, because clicking readers are the ones forming a habit.
How publishers use it in practice
- Report unique clicks divided by delivered emails, and keep the definition stable over time.
- Link position matters enormously — the first item usually takes the majority of clicks.
- Test one variable at a time: subject line, item order, number of links, description length.
- Track clicks per subscriber over 30 days as an engagement score to feed your paywall and retention work.
Frequently asked questions about click-through rate (ctr)
- What is a good click-through rate for a newsletter?
- For editorial newsletters, 3–8% of delivered emails is a common range; curated link newsletters can run higher, daily briefings lower.
- Why is my CTR falling while opens stay flat?
- Usually list fatigue or a mismatch between subject line and content. Check whether recent additions to the list are engaging at the same rate as older cohorts.