Ever wonder what happens to your emails after you hit “send”? If you’re using email for anything important—product updates, newsletters, onboarding—you need real answers. Not just “sent” or “delivered,” but are people actually opening, clicking, or just trashing your messages?
That’s where email engagement metrics come in. This guide is for anyone who uses the Mailgun dashboard and wants to get real insight into what’s working (and what’s not) with their emails—without wading through marketing fluff or sales pitches. You’ll get straight-up steps for tracking and analyzing engagement, plus a few honest takes on what matters and what you can safely ignore.
1. What Email Engagement Metrics Actually Matter?
Before you even open the dashboard, let’s cut through the noise. Mailgun tracks a lot of stuff, but only a handful of metrics actually help you figure out if your emails are any good:
- Delivered: Did the email actually land in inboxes?
- Opens: Did someone open it? (Not perfect, but useful.)
- Clicks: Did anyone click a link?
- Unsubscribes: Did your email make someone bail?
- Spam Complaints: Did someone hit “Report Spam”?
There are others (bounces, failures, etc.), but these five give you most of what you need to know. Don’t get distracted by vanity metrics—focus on what drives your goals, whether that’s sales, signups, or just getting read.
2. Getting Into the Mailgun Dashboard
If you’re already sending emails through Mailgun, you should have access to their dashboard. Here’s how to get started:
- Log in: Go to your Mailgun account and log in.
- Pick your domain: If you send from more than one domain, pick the right one from the left sidebar.
- Find “Analytics” or “Logs”: The exact menu item can change, but look for “Analytics,” “Statistics,” or just “Logs.” If you don’t see those, you might have to click into a specific domain first.
Pro tip: If you can’t find what you need, Mailgun’s interface sometimes buries things. Use the search or poke around—most of the good stuff is under “Logs” and “Analytics.”
3. Tracking Core Engagement Metrics
Let’s walk through each metric and how to actually track it.
Delivered
- Where to find it: In the dashboard, look for “Delivered” counts under Analytics or Statistics.
- What it means: Your message reached the recipient’s server. It doesn’t mean it hit the inbox (could still be spam or “Promotions”).
- What to watch for: Low delivery rates usually mean bad email addresses, sending reputation issues, or technical problems.
Opens
- Where to find it: Mailgun shows “Opens” in Analytics and sometimes in the Events log.
- How it works: Mailgun (like everyone else) tracks opens by embedding a tiny, invisible image in your emails. When the email client loads it, that’s an “open.”
- Limitations: Opens are... squishy. If images are turned off, or if privacy features (like Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection) are active, opens might be over- or under-counted. Don’t obsess over this number.
- What matters: Trendlines. If opens drop off a cliff, worry. If they’re steady, you’re fine.
Clicks
- Where to find it: Look for “Clicks” in the Analytics section.
- How it works: Mailgun rewrites your links to track when someone clicks them.
- What to watch for: If you’re getting opens but zero clicks, your content or call-to-action probably isn’t working. Or, your links look sketchy (Mailgun tracking links aren’t always pretty).
Unsubscribes
- Where to find it: Unsubscribes are tracked as events. You’ll see counts in Analytics or in the event logs.
- What it means: People are actively opting out. Some is normal. Sudden spikes mean something’s off—maybe you’re sending too often or your content isn’t relevant.
- Pro tip: Always include a clear unsubscribe link. It keeps you compliant and lets unhappy folks leave quietly (better than a spam complaint).
Spam Complaints
- Where to find it: Also in events/logs.
- What it means: Someone marked your email as spam. Too many of these, and your deliverability tanks.
- What to watch for: A few complaints are normal. If you see more than 0.1-0.3%, revisit your list hygiene and content.
4. Using Mailgun’s Analytics Features
Mailgun’s dashboard isn’t as slick as some “marketing automation” tools, but it covers the basics well enough. Here’s how to get the most out of it:
a. Filtering and Segmenting
- By Time: Narrow down to see last 24 hours, 7 days, or custom ranges. Useful for tracking the performance of a specific campaign or newsletter.
- By Tag: If you tag your emails (e.g., “welcome,” “promo,” “weekly-update”), you can filter engagement by tag.
- By Recipient: Search for specific recipients to troubleshoot issues or check if VIPs are engaging.
b. Viewing Events
- Event Logs: The “Logs” or “Events” tab shows every action—delivered, opened, clicked, bounced, unsubscribed, complained.
- Exporting: Download this data as CSV/JSON for deeper analysis in Excel, Google Sheets, or your own dashboard.
- What to Ignore: Don’t waste time on “accepted” events—they just mean Mailgun got your send request, not that anything reached the user.
c. Setting Up Notifications
If you want alerts when things go off the rails (sudden bounce spike, lots of complaints), set up Webhooks in Mailgun. This is a bit technical, but it’s worth it if you’re sending at scale or need to react quickly.
5. Analyzing Your Results (Without Losing Your Mind)
Now that you’ve got the data, what do you actually do with it? Here’s the honest approach:
- Track trends, not single numbers. One bad send isn’t a crisis. Look for patterns over time.
- Compare campaigns. If your open rates tanked on one email, what was different? Subject line, send time, audience segment?
- Don’t chase perfection. Open and click rates are never 100%. If you’re in the ballpark (20-40% opens, 1-5% clicks for most newsletters), you’re doing fine.
- Unsubs and complaints are healthy, up to a point. If you never get any, you’re probably not sending enough.
- Clean your list. Prune out bounces and unengaged addresses every few months. It helps your reputation and your metrics.
Pro tip: Ignore bots and weird spikes. Sometimes opens/clicks come from security scanners, not real people. If you see tons of opens but zero clicks, or “opens” seconds after sending, it’s probably a bot.
6. What Mailgun Doesn’t Track (And What to Do About It)
Mailgun gives you the basics, but it’s not a full marketing analytics suite. Here’s what it can’t tell you:
- What happens after the click. Did they buy? Sign up? For that, you’ll need UTM parameters on your links and something like Google Analytics.
- User-level reporting out-of-the-box. Mailgun focuses on events, not pretty dashboards of individual users.
- A/B testing. You can do this manually by splitting your list and tracking tags, but Mailgun doesn’t have built-in A/B testing tools.
If you need more, consider exporting your Mailgun events and combining them with data from your website or product. But don’t overcomplicate things too soon—most small teams get plenty of value from just tracking opens, clicks, and complaints.
7. Quick Troubleshooting: When Your Metrics Look Weird
- Open rate drops suddenly: Check your subject line, sending reputation, and whether your emails are landing in spam. Also, see if Apple or Gmail privacy changes are inflating/deflating your numbers.
- Clicks are low: Are your links obvious? Is your call-to-action clear? Try sending to yourself—would you click?
- High bounces: Clean your list. Make sure you’re not sending to old, invalid, or mistyped addresses.
- Spam complaints spike: Pause sending. Figure out if you’re sending to the wrong people, or if your copy is getting too aggressive.
8. Keep It Simple—Iterate as You Go
You don’t need fancy charts or a marketing degree to get real value out of Mailgun’s engagement metrics. Focus on what matters: delivered, opened, clicked, unsubscribed, and complained. Watch your trends, fix obvious issues, and don’t worry about getting every number “perfect.”
Email isn’t magic—improvement comes from small tweaks and watching what happens next. Keep it simple, check your numbers regularly, and make changes bit by bit. That’s how you get better results, without losing your mind (or your weekends).
Useful links:
- Mailgun documentation (for the extra-deep dives)
- Google’s guide to UTM parameters (for post-click tracking)
- Understanding Apple Mail Privacy Protection
Now, go look at your numbers—and don’t let the dashboard intimidate you. You’ve got this.