When you run an email campaign it is easy to focus on open rates and clicks but before any of that matters you need to know one thing. How many people actually received your email in their inbox. That is what total reach tells you. It is not about how many emails you sent—it is about how many landed where they were supposed to.
What Is Total Reach in Email Marketing
Total reach means the number of real people who actually received your email. Not just the number of emails you hit send on. Because some bounce. Some go to invalid addresses. Some never reach a human inbox. So if you are not calculating reach properly you are probably overestimating the impact of your campaigns.
How to Calculate It
It is simple. Use this formula:
Total Reach = Emails Sent – Bounced Emails
Let us say you sent 5000 emails. 300 of them bounced.
Your total reach is 4700. That is how many inboxes you actually reached. Not necessarily opened or clicked—but reached.
Why Total Reach Matters
If your email never lands in someone’s inbox they cannot open it. They cannot click it. They cannot convert. So your open rate and click-through rate depend on your total reach. And if your bounce rate is high your email reputation suffers which means fewer inboxes next time.
How to Improve Your Total Reach
Now that you know how to calculate reach let us talk about how to grow it.
Clean your list regularly
Remove invalid emails inactive subscribers and people who have not opened anything in months. A smaller cleaner list is better than a large dead one.
Use double opt-in
People confirm their email before joining your list. That means they actually want to hear from you and your bounce rate stays low.
Authenticate your domain
Use SPF DKIM and DMARC to tell email providers your messages are legit. This helps your emails land in the inbox instead of spam.
Write better subject lines
Avoid spammy language like free money or act now. Keep it relevant. Make it personal. Good subject lines mean better delivery and better open rates.
Use a reputable email service provider
Tools like HubSpot Mailchimp ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign already have strong deliverability rates. If your tool is weak your emails suffer even if your content is great.
Check before you send
Use tools like Mail Tester or Litmus to preview how your email will perform. They will show you if something in your message might trigger spam filters.
Track every campaign
Look at your delivery rate and bounce rate after every campaign. If your reach drops investigate it. Was your list outdated Did the content have issues Did you get marked as spam
Total Reach vs Open Rate vs Click Rate
Here is how they are different:
- Total reach is how many inboxes you land in
- Open rate is how many people open your email out of those you reached
- Click rate is how many clicked a link after opening
All three matter. But reach is your foundation. Without it you are shouting into the void.
Example
You send 10000 emails. 800 bounce. So your reach is 9200. If 2000 people open the email that is a 21.7% open rate. If 500 click that is a 5.4% click rate. All of those numbers depend on starting with a clean reachable list.
The Real Goal
Your goal is not just to send more emails. It is to reach the right people. The more clean targeted and verified your list is the higher your reach and the better your results.
Final Word
Most marketers focus on the flashy numbers—opens clicks conversions. But if your reach is low none of that will matter. Keep your list clean authenticate your emails and use tools that support high deliverability.
If you want help improving your reach and running better email campaigns book a free strategy call with us at inboundmarketer.co. We will show you what is holding you back and how to fix it fast.
You do not need a bigger list. You need a better one. Let us help you build it.