What the email numbers mean, and how fresh they are

#Open rate and click rate

Open rate is unique opens divided by recipients, across all campaigns in the window. Click rate is unique clicks divided by recipients. A contact who opens three times counts once.

Opens include the automatic opens Apple Mail records, so an open rate can run high without anyone reading. Clicks are the firmer signal.

#Why a campaign's numbers keep growing

A campaign's opens and clicks keep climbing for days after it goes out. The next read picks them up.

#How often each platform is read

Mailchimp: read when you open the Email tab, then held for up to 15 minutes.

Klaviyo: read when you open the Email tab, then held for up to an hour, because Klaviyo allows only a few reporting calls a minute and a limited number a day.

ActiveCampaign: read live, with a fresh pull in the background when the saved numbers are more than five minutes old.

#When a number is missing

If a platform cannot be read, its section says Could not read with the reason. It never shows zero in place of a number it could not get.