How to Measure Email Marketing Success

Attention, email marketers!

Are you sick of sending emails that disappear into the depths of the spam folder, never to be seen again? Do you feel like your email marketing efforts are falling short with a low return on investment?

It's time to ditch the guesswork and start tracking the right metrics and KPIs to measure the success of your email marketing efforts.

Don't let mediocre email marketing hold you back any longer - start measuring your success and watch your business soar!

Also Read: How Does Email Domain Warm Up Work?

Email marketing metrics

There are several key metrics to track when it comes to email marketing, which can help you understand how your emails are performing and identify areas for improvement.

Some of the most important email metrics to consider include:

Number of emails sent and delivered

The number of emails sent tells you how many people you're reaching with your message, while the number of emails delivered gives you an idea of how many people are actually receiving your emails (as opposed to them being blocked by spam filters or bouncing back).

Open rate

This is the percentage of people who opened your email out of the total number of people who received it. A high open rate indicates that your subject lines and sender name are resonating with people and are effective at getting people to open your emails.

To calculate the open rate, divide the number of unique opens by the number of emails delivered, and multiply by 100. For example, if you sent out an email to 1000 people and 200 of them opened it, your open rate would be 20%.

Conversion rate

This metric gives you a sense of how effectively your emails drive sales or other desired actions.

Conversion rate measures the percentage of people who take the desired action (such as making a purchase or filling out a form) after clicking on a link in your email.

Click-through rate (CTR)

This is the percentage of people who clicked a link in your email out of the total number of people who opened it. A high CTR indicates that your email content is compelling and relevant to your audience.

To calculate the CTR, divide the number of clicks by the number of unique opens, and multiply by 100. For example, if 200 people opened your email and 50 of them clicked a link, your CTR would be 25%. The difference between CTR and conversion rate is that conversion rate measures how many people clicked on your main call-to-action and CTR measure how many clicked any link in your email.

Unsubscribe rate and spam complaint rate

These metrics give you an idea of how well your emails are resonating with your audience.

This is the percentage of people who unsubscribed from your email list after receiving one of your emails while the spam complaint rate measures the percentage of people who mark your emails as spam.

High rates for either of these metrics can indicate that your emails are not relevant or engaging for your audience, and may require some adjustments to your email marketing strategy.

To calculate the unsubscribe rate, divide the number of unsubscribes by the number of emails delivered, and multiply by 100. For example, if you sent out an email to 1000 people and 50 of them unsubscribed, your unsubscribe rate would be 5%.

Bounce rate

This is the percentage of emails that could not be delivered to their intended recipients.

There are two types of bounces:

1. Hard bounces

2. Soft bounces

Hard bounces occur when an email is permanently undeliverable (e.g. because the email address is invalid), while soft bounces occur when an email is temporarily undeliverable (e.g. because the recipient's mailbox is full).

A high bounce rate can be a sign that you have outdated or incorrect email addresses on your list, or that your emails are being flagged as spam.

To calculate the bounce rate, divide the number of bounces by the number of emails delivered, and multiply by 100. For example, if you sent out an email to 1000 people and 50 of them bounced, your bounce rate would be 5%.

 To calculate these metrics, you'll need to use email marketing software that tracks opens, clicks, and bounces. Many email marketing platforms, such as Mailchimp and Constant Contact, provide these metrics automatically.

 Email Campaign Metrics

In addition to tracking overall email marketing metrics, it's also important to track specific metrics for individual email marketing campaigns. This can help you understand the performance of specific campaigns and identify areas for improvement.

Some of the key email marketing campaign metrics to track include:

Number of new subscribers and active subscribers

These metrics show how well your email marketing efforts are growing your subscriber list and retaining existing subscribers.

New subscribers have recently signed up to receive your emails, while active subscribers have opened or clicked on an email in the past month.

Subscriber lifetime value (LTV) and customer lifetime value (CLV)

These metrics help you understand the long-term value of your email marketing efforts.

Subscriber LTV measures the total revenue generated from a single subscriber over the course of their relationship with your business, while CLV measures the total revenue generated from a single customer over their lifetime.

Both of these metrics can help you understand the value of your email marketing efforts and identify opportunities for upselling and cross-selling.

Average click-through rate (CTR) and conversion rate across campaigns

These metrics give you an idea of how well your email marketing campaigns are performing overall.

Average CTR measures the average percentage of people who click on a link in your emails across all campaigns, while average conversion rate measures the average percentage of people who take the desired action after clicking on a link.

Comparing these metrics across campaigns can help you identify which campaigns are performing well and which may need some improvement.

Spam folder placement and sender reputation

These metrics help you understand how well your emails are being delivered to your audience.

Spam folder placement measures the percentage of your emails that end up in recipients' spam folders, while sender reputation measures the perceived quality of your emails based on various factors such as spam complaint rate, bounce rate, and email content.

Both of these metrics can impact the deliverability of your emails, so it's important to track them and take steps to improve them if necessary.

To calculate your spam complaint rate, you need to divide the number of reports by the number of emails sent. For example, if you sent 200,000 campaigns and received 500 complaints, your rate would be 0.25%.

Pro Tip: Avoid using spammy words, sending messages to the wrong audience, or using an IP address that has been used for spamming to make sure that your audience won't report you!

If you want to step up your game and stay away from the spam folder, make sure you get an email warm-up tool that can help your email marketing efforts be more successful.

Mobile device and email client usage

It's important to understand how your emails are being viewed and interacted with on different devices and email clients.

Tracking the percentage of your emails that are opened on mobile devices or specific email clients (such as Gmail or Outlook) can help you optimize your emails for different platforms and ensure that they're being properly displayed.

Email Service Provider (ESP) metrics

If you're using an email service provider (ESP) to send and track your emails, it's important to understand the metrics and features provided by your ESP.

Some common metrics and features provided by email service providers (ESPs) include:

Deliverability rate and spam folder placement

These metrics measure the percentage of your emails that are successfully delivered to recipients' inboxes, as well as the percentage that ends up in spam folders.

If you want to avoid the spam folder, GoCustomer can ensure more of your emails land in the Priority Inbox by warming up your email domain.

Open and click tracking

Most ESPs provide tracking for opens (when an email is viewed) and clicks (when a link in an email is clicked).

This can help you understand how well your emails are performing and identify areas for improvement.

A/B testing and automation features

Many ESPs offer tools for A/B testing, which allows you to send different versions of an email to a small group of recipients and compare the results.

This can help you optimize your emails for maximum engagement. Automation features allow you to set up automated email campaigns based on specific triggers or actions.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Email Marketing

In addition to tracking specific email marketing metrics, it's also important to define and track key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the overall success of your email marketing efforts.

Some common marketing KPIs include:

Monthly revenue from email marketing efforts

This KPI measures the amount of revenue generated from your email marketing campaigns over a specific period of time.

Tracking this important metric can help you understand the ROI of your email marketing efforts and identify opportunities for growth.

Number of paying customers acquired through email marketing

This KPI measures the number of customers who have made a purchase as a result of your email marketing campaigns.

Tracking this metric can help you understand the effectiveness of your email marketing efforts at driving sales.

Return on investment (ROI) of email marketing efforts

This KPI measures the profitability of your email marketing efforts by dividing the revenue generated from email marketing by the cost of those efforts.

A high ROI indicates that your email marketing efforts are providing a good return on investment.

Subscriber list growth and retention rate

These KPIs measure the growth and retention of your email marketing subscriber list.

Subscriber list growth measures the number of new subscribers you've gained over a specific period of time, while retention rate measures the percentage of subscribers who remain on your list over time.

Both of these KPIs can help you understand the effectiveness of your email marketing efforts in attracting and retaining subscribers.

Best practices for measuring email marketing success

Now that we've covered the key metrics and marketing KPIs to track, let's discuss some best practices for measuring and analyzing email marketing success.

Set clear goals and objectives

Before you begin any email marketing campaign, it's important to have clear goals and objectives in mind. This could include things like increasing website traffic, driving sales, or building brand awareness.

By setting clear goals, you'll have a better sense of what metrics and KPIs are most important to track and how to measure the success of your email marketing efforts.

Identify and target the right audience

One of the key benefits of email marketing is the ability to segment and target specific groups of people. By identifying and targeting the right audience for your emails, you'll be more likely to see high levels of engagement and conversion.

Optimize subject lines, content, and calls to action

The subject line, content, and call to action (CTA) of your emails are critical factors in determining their success.

Make sure to spend time crafting compelling subject lines and creating relevant and engaging content that aligns with your goals and objectives.

Also, be sure to include clear and actionable CTAs that encourage recipients to take the next step.

Regularly track and analyze your metrics and KPIs

To truly understand the success of your email marketing efforts, it's important to track and analyze your metrics and KPIs on a regular basis.

This will allow you to identify trends and patterns, as well as identify areas for improvement.

Email marketing metric best practices

Now that you have an idea of which metrics to track, how do you make the most of them?

Here are a few best practices to keep in mind:

Define your goals

Before you start tracking any metrics, it's important to know what you want to achieve with your email marketing.

Are you trying to generate more revenue? Increase customer acquisition? Improve customer retention?

Having clear goals will help you focus on the metrics that matter most and measure your progress.

A/B test

A/B testing is the process of comparing two versions of an email to see which performs better. You can A/B test things like subject lines, email content, and calls to action to see what works best for your audience.

Use data to inform your strategy

Once you've been tracking your email marketing metrics for a while, you'll have a wealth of data at your fingertips.

Use this data to inform your email marketing strategy and make informed decisions about what works and what doesn't.

Segment your audience

Segmenting your email list into smaller groups based on shared characteristics (e.g. location, age, interests) can help you send more targeted and relevant emails.

This can lead to higher engagement and conversion rates. Many email marketing platforms provide tools for segmenting your list based on various criteria.

Personalize your emails

Personalized emails are more likely to be opened and clicked than generic ones.

You can personalize your emails by using the recipient's name in the subject line, tailoring the content to their interests and needs, and using dynamic content that changes based on the recipient's behavior or characteristics.

Many email marketing platforms provide tools for personalizing your emails. 

Conclusion

In this blog post, we've covered the key metrics and KPIs to measure email marketing success, as well as best practices for tracking and analyzing these metrics to improve the performance and ROI of your email marketing campaigns. Some of the key metrics and KPIs to track include:

• Number of emails sent, delivered, and opened

• Click-through rate (CTR) and click-to-open rate (CTOR)

• Conversion rate and revenue per email

• Unsubscribe rate and spam complaint rate

• Bounce rate and hard bounces

In addition to these metrics, it's also important to track specific email marketing campaign metrics, such as

• the number of new subscribers and active subscribers

• subscriber lifetime value (LTV) and customer lifetime value (CLV)

• average click-through rate (CTR) and conversion rate across campaigns

• spam folder placement and sender reputation

• mobile device and email client usage

Key performance indicators (KPIs) for email marketing include:

• Monthly or annual revenue from email marketing efforts

• Number of paying customers acquired through email marketing

• Return on investment (ROI) of email marketing efforts

• Subscriber list growth and retention rate

To ensure the success of your email marketing efforts, it's important to set clear goals and objectives, identify and target the right audience, optimize subject lines, content and calls to action, and regularly track and analyze your metrics and KPIs.

As the world of email marketing continues to evolve, it's important to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and best practices.

Some of the key trends to watch for in the future include the continued growth of mobile email usage, the increasing importance of personalization and automation, and the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to optimize email campaigns.

By staying on top of these trends and staying focused on tracking and analyzing the right metrics and KPIs, you'll be well-positioned to drive success with your email marketing efforts.