Emails are one of the most important (not to mention high ROI) forms of digital marketing in the world. They’re cost-effective, personalized, and easy to automate. They give marketers access to a range of useful data that can inform other advertising campaigns too.
#1 Open rate
Perhaps the most important metric of all, this does exactly what it says on the tin! It measures how many people open your emails. While it might seem simple, it’s an important indicator of how effective your subject line is and even gives you an insight into your subscriber base. If your emails have a low open rate, then it might be time to change the way you approach subscribers or look at how much value your emails offer.
#2 Click rate
Quite simply, this means how many people click on the links in your email. You’ll likely have quite a few links in the body of the email, plus one or two in the signature. Tracking how many clicks these receive shows you how engaged your recipients are and the best ways to drive them to your website. It’s easy to make links trackable, and signature generating tools like rocketseed.com always include the tracking capability so that you know exactly how your links are performing.
#3 Bounce rate
Underrated but extremely important, the bounce rate shows how many emails didn’t reach their desired recipient. There can be a number of reasons for this, but if you’re getting a large number of bounces, then something could be wrong with your subscriber list. Emails might be out of date, contain mistakes, or even be fake. One way to reduce a high bounce rate is to require subscribers to confirm their email again when they sign up, thus eliminating the possibility of typos.
#4 Spam markers
This metric measures how often your emails are flagged up as spam and sent directly to junk mail. It can be dispiriting, but paying close attention to this means that you can make the appropriate adjustments. It could be an issue with your subject line or something in the body of the email that may have caused it to be flagged as spam. Whatever the reason, spam emails aren’t read, so it’s important to take action quickly.
#5 Mobile open rate
Mobile users check their emails more frequently than desktop devotees, so targeting the mobile market is vital. This metric shows how many of your emails are opened on a mobile device. If it’s poor, it might be worth undertaking some mobile optimization. This involves using responsive themes, cutting down on images, and even changing how you structure your emails so that they look better on a smartphone screen.
#6 Revenue
Last but far from least, tracking the revenue generated by individual emails not only gives you an idea of overall ROI, but over time it will help you understand the type of content that pays. All forms of marketing are, after all, an investment, and knowing what was lucrative in the past will inform your future decisions.