Definition of Click Through Rate
Click Through Rate (CTR) is the percentage of subscribers who click on any link in your email. Unlike its sketchy cousin Open Rate, CTR measures actual, intentional engagement. That's someone making a conscious choice to interact with your content.
Why you should care
CTR directly shows reader interest and content effectiveness. When someone clicks, they're raising their hand saying "yes, I want more of this!" This translates to measurable progress in engagement that actually matters.
But here's the real secret. Focus on unique click through rate (the percentage of subscribers who clicked at least once) rather than total clicks.
Why? Because one super-fan clicking ten times looks great for total CTR but doesn't tell you how many different people found your content valuable.
Unique CTR gives you the true picture of audience engagement breadth.
The path from clicks to cash is surprisingly direct. Higher unique CTR means more subscribers taking meaningful action, which drives website traffic, product trials, and ultimately revenue.
Some resources we rely on
Ask Claude for help with Click Through Rate
Copy and paste this prompt into Claude or the AI of your choice. Be sure to tweak the context for your situation.
<goal>
Identify and implement the single most effective change to boost your newsletter's unique click rate
</goal>
<context>
* My current unique CTR is [X]% (people who clicked at least once)
* My newsletter focuses on [TOPIC/INDUSTRY]
* Here's my most recent email: [PASTE YOUR EMAIL]
* I want to see measurable improvement within [TIMEFRAME]
</context>
<output>
Please provide:
* ONE high-impact change to implement in my next send with detailed reasoning
* Research or case studies supporting why this specific change works
* A clear A/B testing framework to measure the results accurately
* Expected outcome based on industry benchmarks
</output>
<example>
Strategic link placement recommendation:
Moving your primary CTA link to appear within the first 100 words can increase CTR by 25-40% according to Email Geeks Collective research. This works because 90% of readers who open never scroll beyond this point, meaning your most important link is invisible to most of your audience.
</example>
<guardrails>
* Focus solely on the highest-impact change rather than a list of options
* Base recommendations on proven research, not assumptions
* Keep the implementation simple enough for me to execute immediately
* Consider my specific newsletter format and audience
</guardrails>