
Email marketing metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are essential for evaluating the success of your email campaigns. Here are some important metrics to consider:
That’s an important note to consider. Using consistent measurement methods across your email marketing campaigns ensures accurate comparison and analysis of performance metrics. It’s also worth noting that some email marketing platforms may provide additional insights or variations in how they calculate certain metrics. So, it’s essential to familiarize yourself with the specific terminology and measurement methods used by your chosen email marketing service provider to make informed decisions and effectively optimize your campaigns.
- Open Rate: This metric measures the percentage of recipients who opened your email. A higher open rate indicates that your subject line and sender name were effective in capturing recipients’ attention.
Email open rate = (# of email opens / # of emails delivered) * 100%
How are email opens tracks?
Email open rates are monitored through the integration of a small, invisible image or a 1×1 pixel placed within the email content by email marketing software. When a recipient opens the email and permits image loading, their email client or browser sends a request to the hosting server to fetch the image. This request triggers the tracking process, indicating that the email has been opened.
However, achieving complete accuracy in open rate tracking can be challenging due to various factors. For instance, some recipients prefer viewing emails in plain text format, which doesn’t support image loading. Additionally, certain email clients or settings may automatically block images, thereby preventing the tracking pixel from being retrieved. Moreover, even if recipients open the email, if they choose not to download images, the open event may not be registered.
Despite these limitations, the use of image pixels remains a prevalent method employed by email marketers to gauge recipient engagement and evaluate the performance of their campaigns.
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): CTR measures the percentage of recipients who clicked on a link or CTA (Call to Action) within your email. It shows how engaging your content is and how effective your CTAs are in driving traffic to your website or landing page.
Email click-through rate = (# of email clicks / # of emails delivered ) * 100%
How is email click rate tracked?
Email marketing platforms commonly monitor the Click-Through Rate (CTR) using a dedicated tracking domain. This domain is automatically appended to any email containing a hyperlink. When a subscriber clicks on the link, they are directed to the tracking domain before being redirected to the intended destination URL. This process enables email marketers to accurately measure the CTR, providing valuable insights into recipient engagement and campaign effectiveness.
- Conversion Rate: Conversion rate measures the percentage of recipients who completed a desired action, such as making a purchase, signing up for a webinar, or downloading a resource, after clicking on a link in your email.
Conversion rate = (# of actions / # of emails delivered) * 100%
Why does conversion rate matter?
The conversion rate is a key metric for evaluating the effectiveness of your email marketing efforts because it directly reflects the success of your campaigns in driving desired actions from your recipients. However, defining what constitutes a conversion can vary widely depending on your specific goals and objectives, whether it’s making a purchase, signing up for a webinar, or completing a form on a landing page. Despite this variability, the conversion rate remains a critical measure for all businesses, as it provides valuable insights into the overall performance and impact of your email marketing initiatives.
- Bounce Rate: Bounce rate measures the percentage of emails that were not delivered to recipients’ inboxes due to various reasons, such as invalid email addresses or server issues. High bounce rates can negatively impact your sender reputation and deliverability.
Bounce rate = (# of bounces / # of attempted sends) * 100%
Bounces in email marketing are typically categorized into two types:
- Hard bounce: This occurs when an email is permanently rejected by the recipient’s server because the email address is invalid or non-existent. Hard bounces indicate that the email will never be successfully delivered to the intended recipient.
- Soft bounce: A soft bounce occurs when the email reaches the recipient’s server but is returned due to temporary issues, such as a full mailbox or a temporary server problem. Unlike hard bounces, soft bounces suggest that there is still a possibility for future emails to be delivered successfully.
A good bounce rate for email campaigns is typically as low as possible, ideally approaching 0%. However, achieving a completely zero bounce rate is often unrealistic due to factors beyond your control, such as recipient mail server issues or invalid email addresses.
There are instances where your bounce rate may increase unexpectedly. For example, when transitioning to a new email service provider without updating SPF and DKIM DNS records, or when sending a large volume of emails after a prolonged period of inactivity.
Bounce rates can also spike due to temporary technical issues with internet service providers or changes in recipient behavior.
It’s crucial to understand that internet service providers employ various anti-spam filters to protect users from unwanted emails. Your sender reputation and subscriber engagement play significant roles in email deliverability.
Consider your email signup processes, list hygiene practices (including how you handle bounced, unsubscribed, or inactive users), and the design and delivery of your campaigns. All of these factors can impact your bounce rate and overall email deliverability.
- Unsubscribe Rate: This metric measures the percentage of recipients who unsubscribed from your email list after receiving your email. It’s important to monitor unsubscribe rates to understand if your content is relevant and valuable to your audience.
Email unsubscribe rate = (# of unsubscribes / # of emails delivered) * 100%
Why does the unsubscribe rate matter?
The unsubscribe rate provides valuable insights into the performance of your email campaigns and the level of satisfaction among your contacts.
Some email marketing providers, like ClickDotEmail, offer an “exit survey” to gather feedback from subscribers who choose to unsubscribe. This survey can help you identify areas for improvement in your email sends and potentially retain customers for longer periods.
The survey options are:
Doesn’t apply to me
I didn’t give my permission
Too many emails sent from this list
Too many emails in general
Content is irrelevant
Other
- Spam complaint rate: Also known as an ‘abuse complaint’ or ‘spam complaint,’ this occurs when someone flags an email as spam. This can happen either by using the ‘mark as spam’ feature in their inbox or by directly contacting you to report the email as spam.
Complaint rate = (# of spam complaints / number of attempted sends) * 100%
What constitutes a good rate can vary depending on your industry or target audience.
Generally, the lower, the better. However, cultural differences and market norms can influence unsubscribe rates. Some regions may see higher rates due to a tendency to unsubscribe rather than ignore unwanted emails, while others may have more cautious subscribers who readily mark emails as spam. Regardless, actively managing your subscriber list and promptly removing disengaged contacts can help maintain a low unsubscribe rate, safeguarding your email reputation and deliverability.
- List Growth Rate: List growth rate measures the rate at which your email list is growing over time. It’s important to continuously grow your email list to reach new potential customers and offset natural attrition.
Signup rate = (# of email signups / # of total visitors) * 100%
Both factors can indeed influence your signup rate, so it’s essential to analyze and understand the dynamics behind your numbers. For instance, if you notice a low signup rate despite investing in a PPC campaign, it could indicate that the campaign is attracting leads that are not converting. This might be due to targeting the wrong audience or directing mobile visitors to a site that is not optimized for mobile devices.
Similarly, if you’re attracting the right audience but still experiencing a low signup rate, it could be because your landing page form is too lengthy or requests unnecessary information. By carefully evaluating these factors, you can identify areas for improvement and optimize your signup process to enhance your overall conversion performance.
- Email Deliverability: Deliverability measures the percentage of emails that successfully reached recipients’ inboxes. Monitoring deliverability metrics such as inbox placement rate and spam complaint rate is crucial for ensuring that your emails are being delivered and avoiding being marked as spam.
Delivery rate = (# of all sent messages – bounced messages)/# all sent messages) * 100%
- ROI (Return on Investment): ROI measures the overall effectiveness and profitability of your email marketing campaigns. It calculates the revenue generated from your email campaigns relative to the cost of running those campaigns.
Average revenue per email sent = total revenue generated by email / # of emails sent
Average revenue per email sent is a valuable metric to track in your email analytics reports as it provides actionable insights, particularly for ecommerce businesses looking to drive sales through their campaigns. However, it’s essential to recognize that not all emails are intended to directly generate revenue. For instance, welcome emails or retention emails may have different objectives.
While the average revenue per email sent metric can be useful, it should be interpreted carefully. Consistency in the data sets used for reporting is crucial, especially when presenting email-generated revenue to stakeholders. Additionally, it’s advisable to consider the context of each email campaign when analyzing this metric. Segmentation by campaign type can reveal valuable insights, such as the effectiveness of automated campaigns compared to promotional emails.
By tracking these email marketing metrics and KPIs, you can gain valuable insights into the performance of your campaigns, identify areas for improvement, and optimize your email marketing strategy for better results.