If you’re sending cold emails for sales, hiring, or partnerships, you’ve probably wondered if your messages are actually landing in inboxes—or just vanishing into the void. Tracking deliverability and response rates isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s basic survival if you want results (and you don’t enjoy wasting time).
This guide is for anyone using Hunter, whether you’re running solo campaigns or working with a team. I’ll walk through how to use Hunter’s analytics to spot what’s working, what’s broken, and what you can mostly ignore. No fluff, no pie-in-the-sky promises. Just practical steps to help you get more replies from real people.
Step 1: Understand What You Can (and Can’t) Track
Before you dive into the dashboard, it’s worth knowing what’s actually possible—and what’s mostly guesswork.
Hunter analytics tracks: - Deliverability: How many emails didn’t bounce (i.e., reached an inbox, spam folder, or promotions tab). - Opens: How many people opened your email (using tracking pixels—more on that below). - Replies: How many recipients actually responded. - Link clicks: If you use tracked links, you’ll see who clicked them.
Limitations to keep in mind: - Opens aren’t perfect: Some email clients block tracking pixels, so your open rates might be undercounted. - Deliverability ≠ inbox: A delivered email might be in spam or promotions, not the primary inbox. - Reply detection can miss some: If someone replies from a different address or strips the email thread, it might not count.
Hunter gives you the best data you’re likely to get without building your own email infrastructure, but don’t take every number as gospel. Look for trends, not absolute truth.
Step 2: Set Up Tracking in Hunter
You can’t track what you don’t set up. Here’s how to make sure Hunter is collecting the data you need.
- Connect your email account
- In Hunter, go to the Campaigns section and connect your Gmail, Outlook, or other provider. OAuth is safest—avoid using IMAP/SMTP logins if you can.
-
If you’re sending on behalf of a team, connect all relevant accounts, not just your own.
-
Enable tracking features
- When creating a campaign, make sure “Track opens” and “Track replies” are enabled. They usually are by default.
-
If you want to track link clicks, use Hunter’s link tracking toggle. Only use this for links you actually care about—over-tracking can turn off recipients or get flagged as spam.
-
Warm up your sending account
- If you’re brand new or haven’t sent cold emails before, use Hunter’s warm-up features or send low-volume, genuine emails for a week or two first. Blasting a hundred emails from a fresh account is a great way to get blocked.
Pro tip:
If you’re emailing a list you scraped or bought, your deliverability is going to be rough no matter what. Hunter can help you see the damage, but it won’t save you from landing in spam.
Step 3: Launch a Test Campaign (and Don’t Trust the First Numbers)
Once you’re set up, start with a small test. Send to 20–50 addresses you’re reasonably sure are good (use Hunter’s email verifier if you’re not sure). This lets you check your analytics setup and spot problems before burning your whole list.
What to look for: - Bounce rate under 5% is good. Over 10% means your list is pretty dirty. - Open rates: For cold outreach, 30–50% is typical; under 20% signals deliverability issues or a terrible subject line. - Reply rates: 5–10% is solid for cold emails. Under 2% probably means your message isn’t resonating, or you’re hitting spam.
Don’t panic over small numbers. If you only sent 20 emails and got 1 reply, that’s not enough data to draw real conclusions. Look for patterns as you scale.
Step 4: Read the Analytics Dashboard
Hunter’s analytics dashboard is mostly straightforward, but here’s what actually matters:
- Delivered: How many emails didn’t bounce. If this number is low, your list or domain is the problem.
- Opened: How many people opened your email. If this is much lower than delivered, your subject line or deliverability is off.
- Replied: How many replies you got. This is the real goal.
- Clicked: How many people clicked your links (if you’re tracking them).
What to ignore: - Tiny fluctuations: Open rates bouncing between 38% and 41% don’t mean much. Trends matter more than day-to-day changes. - “Best time to send” guesses: If your list is small, this is mostly noise. Test send times yourself if you really care.
Pro tip:
If your open rates suddenly drop and nothing else changed, your emails are probably getting flagged as spam. Change your template, check your sending domain’s reputation, and slow down sending.
Step 5: Diagnose Problems Using Hunter Data
Here’s how to spot common issues using the analytics data:
High Bounce Rate
- What it means: Your list has lots of invalid or dead emails.
- What to do:
- Run your list through Hunter’s verifier.
- Remove any “risky” or “unknown” addresses.
- Never buy lists from random sources.
Low Open Rate
- What it means: Poor deliverability, boring subject lines, or both.
- What to do:
- Check if your domain is on any blacklists (use MXToolbox or similar).
- Rewrite your subject line to be clear and human, not spammy.
- Avoid ALL CAPS and too many links.
Low Reply Rate
- What it means: Your message isn’t connecting, or it’s too generic.
- What to do:
- Personalize your emails—at least use the recipient’s name and a relevant hook.
- Shorten your message. Long cold emails rarely get replies.
- Test different templates; Hunter lets you A/B test, so use it.
Lots of Opens, No Replies
- What it means: People are curious but not motivated to respond.
- What to do:
- Make your call to action clear and low-pressure.
- Avoid asking for a 30-minute call right away.
- Try softer asks: “Would it make sense to chat?” or “Is this relevant?”
Step 6: Track Over Time and Iterate
Don’t just look at one campaign and call it done. Use Hunter analytics to spot trends:
- Are your bounce rates going down as you clean up your list?
- Is your open rate improving after tweaking subject lines?
- Are replies going up when you personalize more?
Export your campaign data if you want to slice and dice it yourself. If you’re running regular outreach, set a monthly reminder to review the numbers and tweak your approach.
Pro tip:
Ignore anyone promising “guaranteed” open or reply rates. There’s no magic formula—just steady improvement over time.
Step 7: Avoid Common Analytics Mistakes
A few traps to watch out for:
- Over-optimizing for opens. A 70% open rate is nice, but if no one replies, you’re just writing good subject lines.
- Chasing vanity metrics. Link clicks look great on a dashboard, but unless clicks actually lead to replies or deals, don’t get obsessed.
- Ignoring the reply quality. Ten “not interested” replies aren’t the same as one real lead. Qualitative feedback matters.
Step 8: Use What Works, Skip What Doesn’t
Hunter has a bunch of features—some are useful, some you can safely ignore:
Worth your time: - Campaign-level analytics for spotting trends - A/B testing subject lines and templates - Exporting data for your own tracking
Skip it if you’re busy: - Micro-analyzing open rates by hour/day (unless you’re sending thousands per week) - Over-complicating reports for small teams—just focus on what drives replies
Keep It Simple and Iterate
Tracking deliverability and response rates in Hunter isn’t rocket science. Set up tracking, send genuine emails, watch your numbers, and make small improvements. Don’t get stuck chasing perfect metrics or the latest “hack.” The best results come from steady, real outreach—and actually listening to the people who reply.
Keep things simple, stay skeptical of flashy features, and use the data to get better each week. That’s how you’ll actually see results.