Block rate is the proportion of people who block your number after receiving a message. It is the best indicator to predict whether your operation will continue functioning next month — and the one least discussed in campaign results conversations.
In this article
- The indicator Meta watches but almost no one tracks
- How to measure in practice
- What is a bad number
- Segmenting reduces more than just cutting volume
- The message text matters more than it seems
- The easy opt-out reduces blocking
- Cleaning the database is an investment
- Where to start
- Frequently Asked Questions
The indicator Meta watches but almost no one tracks
Block rate is the proportion of people who block your number after receiving a message. It is the number that best predicts whether your operation will continue functioning next month — and it is the one least mentioned in campaign result discussions.
While the team celebrates delivery and open rates, it is the blocking that silently determines the ceiling of what you will be able to send going forward.
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How to measure in practice
Compare, campaign by campaign, how many people stopped receiving or blocked relative to the total delivered. Even without an official number displayed, you can track the trend by the drop in delivery in subsequent sends to the same database.
What is a bad number
There is no published limit, and chasing a magic percentage is less useful than tracking your own trend. What matters is the direction: if it rose compared to recent campaigns, something changed — and it was almost always the list or the message text.
Segmenting reduces more than just cutting volume
Sending less to everyone keeps the same proportion of annoyed people. Sending to fewer people, chosen by recent interaction, changes the proportion. It’s the difference between reducing the problem and solving it.
The message text matters more than it seems
A message that doesn’t identify the company, overpromises, or feels like a collection notice causes immediate blocking, even on a good list. Changing the first line usually has a bigger effect than changing the entire list.
The easy opt-out reduces blocking
It seems counterintuitive, but offering a simple way to stop receiving messages reduces blocking, because those who no longer want to receive messages leave via the easy path instead of the costly one. Those who opt out by request don’t count against you; those who block do.
Cleaning the database is an investment
Contacts who haven’t interacted for many months deliver little and block a lot. Removing them from the list improves the ratio, reduces cost per conversation, and protects the number — three benefits from one decision.
Where to start
Record, over the next three campaigns, the total delivered and how many unsubscribed or blocked. Compare. If the line rises, cut the coldest part of the list before the next send — and observe the effect on the following campaign.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to reduce the block rate of campaigns?
By segmenting instead of just reducing volume: sending less to everyone keeps the same proportion of annoyed people, while sending to fewer people chosen by recent interaction changes the proportion. Add to this three text and process adjustments: identify the company in the first line, offer a simple way to stop receiving — those who opt out by request don’t count against you, those who block do — and clean the database of those who haven’t interacted for many months, who are precisely those who deliver little and block a lot.
Sending less to everyone keeps the same proportion of annoyed people.
In VeyloCRM you segment by recent interaction, track unsubscribes by campaign, and cut the cold part of the database before the next send.