This is the wrong way to measure e-mail success

Campaign Monitor explains how it selected its 20 top-performing e-mail messages:

With lists larger than 100,000 email subscribers and email campaigns that get more than 5% click-through rates (CTRs) or open rates exceeding 50%, our Top Performers are great examples of effective email strategy in action.

This assumes the purpose of an email campaign is to get an open or a click. In many cases, including for nearly all of those Campaign Monitor highlights, the goal is some further conversion like a sale. Opens and clicks are just the means to an end.

Just as you don’t measure the success of a store by how many people come in the door, you shouldn’t measure an e-mail campaign by how many people open or click.