Did you know that Email marketing has a Return on Investment (ROI) of 3,800%? That’s $38 gained for every $1 spent on this area of marketing!
That would make your Email campaign kind of a BIG DEAL.
Of course, you may not see those numbers right away—or at all. If that’s the case, then it’s time to start paying attention to your Email marketing metrics.
Email marketing is more than just sending digital letters to digital inboxes. It’s about attracting new leads, keeping your customer base informed, and actively engaging and piquing interest.
There are a large number of Email metrics that you can use to measure the success of your campaigns. But, there are only a few Email marketing metrics that matter.
It’s time to learn them…
The Email Marketing Metrics that Matter the Most
Marketing metrics are what you use to measure the effectiveness of all your digital campaigns. Without them, it’s impossible to know what kind of impact your marketing has on your audience.
There are four Email marketing metrics that are effective measurements across the board—despite certain factors. Those factors are the size of your Email list, the products or services you’re offering, and the platform you use to send out your e-mails. These factors don’t make much of a difference if your Email performance is lacking.
It is crucial that you learn these email marketing metrics as they are considered best practices. What’s more important is that you apply them to each and every email that you send.
Why is this important?— Because each of these four metrics correlates with a key part of every Email in your campaign. Reviewing each metric separately will help you understand what’s working and which areas need work.
So here it is—the Email marketing metrics that matter the most:
#1 Deliverability aka Delivery Rate
Deliverability (also referred to as delivery rate) tells you the exact percentage of Emails that make it directly to your audience’s inboxes. In essence, it’s the number of people who actually receive your Emails.
To figure out your delivery rate, all you have to do is divide the number of delivered Emails by the number of sent Emails.
If you take a look at your own digital mailbox, you’ll see that there are plenty of Emails that are sent straight to the junk box. This metric will determine if your Emails are being flagged as spam.
If you find that you have a low deliverability rate, it means that you are most likely using “flagged” words and phrases (i.e., “no money down”). This is the type of language that Email service providers filter for.
Ideally, you want your Email campaigns to have a 90 percent delivery rate. (Or at least, close to it!)
#2 Open Rate
So your Emails are bypassing the spam folder—this is good news.
Now it’s time to evaluate your open rate. Your open rate tells you how many people are actually reading your Emails. (Or at least the first few words). To get your open rate, you just divide the number of opened Emails by the number of received Emails.
This is one of the most popular Email marketing metrics for two reasons:
- It determines how many people take the step to open your Emails—showing a piqued interest
- It shows how effective the words in your subject line are
You have a limited number of characters in a subject line. Your words are the difference between 100 eyes and 1,000 eyes reading your Emails. Your open rate is the measure of how well your brand or message resonates with your audience.
If your open rate is low, then it’s time to rethink your subject lines.
#3 Click-Through rate
Just because your Emails are being opened, doesn’t mean they’re getting read. That’s why your click-through rate is not only one of the four Email marketing metrics that matter but also doubles as one of your Email engagement metrics.
Your click-through rate will show you how many people are reading through your Email and actually engaging. In other words, you’ve piqued interest and people are clicking on your links to get to your website for more information.
To determine this rate you just divide the number of “clicks” by the number of “opens”. This rate is very important because it shows you how well your sales funnel methods are doing. The more people that click on the links in your Emails, the more website visits you get which ultimately leads to sales.
Your Email campaign is typically the first step to driving people down your sales funnel. It’s what gets people over to your website to see if you have a solution to their problem.
If your click-through rate is low, it’s an indication that your Call to Action (CTA) is unclear, or ineffective—as is the rest of your Email copy. Make sure your focus is on getting people to click on the link rather than over-selling your products or services.
#4 Disengagement Rate
Sadly, there will be people who dislike your Emails. This number is referred to as your disengagement rate, and it measures the likeliness of how many people will fall into this category.
To get this rate you will need to add your “spam complaints” to your “unsubscribes”. Then, divide the total by your “opens”.
Your disengagement rate will allow you to see what messages don’t work. Your average rate should be at 15 percent or lower—otherwise, your deliverability rate will drop as well.
It’s very important to keep an eye on your disengagement. It’s normal to lose a few people along the way. However, you want the majority of your subscription list to like what you’re saying—and what you’re selling.
Not all Emails are Created Equally
Knowing the necessary metrics and applying them are different animals. First of all, there are are two different types of Emails: Broadcast and automated. Second of all, When applying these metrics, it has nothing to do with the content of each Email but everything to do with how the Emails are sent.
Broadcast Emails
Broadcast Emails are set up manually and scheduled via the software of your choice to a large number of people. In other words, they’re mass communication Emails. (kind of like a sales alert from Bed Bath & Beyond).
Evaluating the metrics of broadcast Emails are easier to evaluate since they’re all sent out at the same time. This allows your software to collect data all in one shot. Although, you may have to do some of the calculations on your own based on the data collected.
Automated Emails
Automated Emails are much more personalized. They are tailored to the specific recipient, involving customized details to pique the individual’s interest. These types of Emails are sent out based on certain actions of each individual.
For example, if an individual fills out a form or purchases a product or service, they may receive an Email enticing them with a similar product or service to try.
Automated Emails have a better performance rate than broadcast Emails. However, they are a little trickier to evaluate. You’d have to compare each individual report since the data cannot be collected all at once.
Conducting Email Marketing Tracking
If you’re just starting out with Email marketing metrics, it’s a good idea to spend some time learning Google Analytics. It’s a free tool which allows you to set up event tracking and reports on Email opens.
If you have extra money to burn, you may want to try a platform like Email on Acid. With a little HTML work added to your Emails, this program will collect and analyze the data from all your Emails.
Once you are able to evaluate both types of Emails and their success side by side, you can play around with them. If your broadcast Emails are proving more successful, you can pick and choose which ones to automate and personalize for more successful individual campaigns.
No More Guess Work
Now you have a better understanding of which Email marketing metrics need to be put into place. Remember, your Email campaign can make or break the number of eyes that end up on your website. This ultimately affects the number of leads you are able to convert into buyers.
So, go forth and Email wisely!
If you found this article helpful or interesting, there’s plenty more where that came from. Check back with us daily for new articles and information regarding digital marketing.