Email marketing is still an effective way to reach customers, clients and prospects, but if you aren’t measuring your campaigns’ performances, you may as well be sending emails out into the dark. Tracking key email marketing metrics will allow you to compare current campaigns with past ones to know whether your message is being received. Here are some email metrics, from the marketing pros at Hubspot, that will help you tweak your campaigns.
1. Bounce Rate: the percentage of emails that could not be delivered to a recipient’s inbox
The bounce rate can help you discover problems with your email list by tracking “hard” and “soft” bounces. Hard bounces indicate email addresses that are no longer functional, so they should be deleted from your list. Soft bounces are a result of a temporary problem with a valid email address – perhaps the recipient’s inbox is full, or there is an issue with their server. You should try to send these emails again later.
2. Delivery Rate: the percentage of emails that were actually delivered
To calculate the delivery rate, subtract the hard and soft bounces from the gross number of emails sent, and then divide that number by the gross number of emails sent.
You should aim for a delivery rate of 95% or higher. A delivery rate that falls over time may indicate problems with your list (see hard bounce above). One campaign with an especially low delivery rate means you should examine that message again for elements that may have been flagged as spam. The delivery rate sets the stage for your email campaign success because it shows you whether people are receiving your message at all.
3. List Growth Rate: how fast your email list is growing
To calculate list growth rate, subtract opt-outs and hard bounces from the number of new subscribers gained in a month, then divide that number by the original list size
You will naturally lose some of your subscribers due to people changing jobs, forgetting passwords and creating new accounts, etc. To keep your list refreshed, you need to continuously reach out to potential subscribers and keep that list growing.
4. Click-Through Rate (CTR): the proportion of an audience that clicked on one or more links in your email
To calculate CTR, divide unique clicks by the number of emails delivered.
This one is huge because the CTR indicates whether your message was relevant and the call-to-action effective. Because CTRs can vary according to the type of message sent (newsletter, promotion, etc.), it’s a good idea to track CTRs based on each type.
5. Email Sharing: the percentage of recipients who forwarded the email to a friend or used share buttons to post it to a social network
When your email messages are shared, you increase your reach by tapping into your subscribers’ own networks. Shared content means your message was relevant and interesting enough to be passed on, so pay attention to the types of content being shared when planning for future campaigns.
6. Conversion Rate: the percentage of recipients who clicked a link and performed a desired action
Of all the email marketing metrics to track, this one may be the most important. An effective email message compels the recipient to take action, whether it’s clicking on a link or making a purchase. To accurately track this metric, you’ll need to create unique tracking URLs for your email links to identify where campaign clicks are coming from.
7. Revenue Per Email Sent: the ROI of your email campaign
To calculate your ROI, divide the total revenue generated from the campaign by the number of emails sent.
If you use email marketing to sell products, then this metric is for you. Simply put, it tells you how many sales resulted from your campaign. Be sure to integrate your email metrics with your ecommerce platform to get the full picture.
As with any marketing initiative, it’s important to measure performance to be sure you are reaching your goals. Try tracking these seven metrics for a clearer understanding of how well your email marketing campaigns are performing.
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