Positive reply rate
Reviewed by the ThePod.fm team · Last reviewed 2 July 2026
Positive reply rate is the percentage of delivered outreach messages that receive a reply expressing genuine interest, as opposed to any-reply rates, which include declines, unsubscribes, and out-of-office responses. It is the honest engagement metric of an outbound campaign.
Why it matters
Headline reply rates flatter campaigns because rejection counts as engagement. Positive reply rate predicts meetings; total reply rate predicts nothing. Any outbound benchmark worth citing specifies which one it measures.
The number
The positive reply rate for podcast guest invitations is publishing in the ThePod.fm B2B Podcast ROI Benchmark Report, counted as interested replies over delivered invitations.
See the full benchmark, methodology, and counting rules →
How to calculate it
positive reply rate = (interested replies ÷ delivered messages) × 100
Delivered, not sent; declines, unsubscribes, and out-of-office responses are excluded from the numerator.
Common questions
What is the difference between reply rate and positive reply rate?
Reply rate counts everything that comes back, including declines and out-of-office. Positive reply rate counts only genuine interest, which is why it predicts meetings and the headline number does not. ThePod.fm's 18% invitation figure is an all-replies rate; the positive-only figure publishes separately.
Why do vendors quote total reply rates?
Because rejection counts as engagement in that number, so it flatters the campaign. Any benchmark worth citing states which rate it measures and what the denominator is (sent vs delivered).
Put it to work
Related terms
Want this run for you?
Everything on this page is the DIY version of how we work. ThePod.fm runs the full motion (guest sourcing, invitations, booking, interviews, follow-up) and gets paid on meetings delivered, not episodes shipped.
See how ThePod.fm runs this for clients →Questions? hello@thepod.fm · thepod.fm