Silverpop has released results from its 2012 Email Marketing Metrics Benchmark study, which examined email messages sent in 2011 and the first quarter of 2012 from over 1000 brands.

Perhaps the most interesting data in the report concerns open rates and click-through rates. The bad news is that open rates keep falling – from an average of 21.3 percent in2009 to 19.9 percent through the first quarter of this year. The good news, and yes, there is good news, is that click-through rates are rising – averaging 5.4 percent in 2011 and 2012 which is up from an average of 4.5 percent in 2009. There is an immense amount of data, useful to those in the report including the following statistics:

- ‘Computer Software” was the only industry that ranked among the top three verticals for open-rate, click-through rate and clicks per clicker.

- Companies in the top quartile generated click-through rates three times higher (16.6 percent) than the average (5.2 percent).

- Unsubscribe rates for the bottom-quartile companies were three times the average and 50 times that of top-performing companies.

"These findings confirm that response rates vary widely based on the approach that is taken and the content that is delivered," said Loren McDonald, vice president of industry relations for Silverpop. "Companies that focus on helping recipients by providing behavior-based content that is meaningful, personal and relevant rather than just firing off one-size-fits-all promotions are far more likely to find themselves in the top quartile."