Are You Tracking The Right Email Metrics? What Do They Mean?

If you’ve been around here any amount of time, you know my jam is discussing storytelling and how to better connect with your email list. But an oft-overlooked but equally important (and, let’s be honest, sometimes overwhelming) piece is all those metrics your email software collects.

These numbers tell you how your campaigns are performing and provide insights into how you can improve. In this post, we’ll dive deep into the key email marketing metrics, why they matter, and how you can boost them to enhance your email marketing strategy.

Key Email Marketing Metrics

Before we can improve our metrics, we need to understand what they are. Here are the key email marketing metrics you should be tracking:

1. Open Rate: This is the percentage of recipients who open your email. It’s a key indicator of how well your subject line is working.
2. Click-Through Rate (CTR): This is the percentage of recipients who click on a link in your email. It shows how effective your email content is at encouraging action. But sometimes, you just wanna share a story. If there aren’t links, the CTR will be 0. And that’s okay! It’s all contextual
3. Conversion Rate: This is the percentage of recipients who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a webinar. It’s a direct indicator of your email’s effectiveness in driving business results.
4. Bounce Rate: This is the percentage of emails that couldn’t be delivered. A high bounce rate can harm your sender reputation. Definitely want to pay attention to this in your list management process.
5. Unsubscribe Rate: This is the percentage of recipients who opt out of your emails. It’s a key metric to monitor to ensure your content is resonating with your audience.

The Importance of Each Metric

Each of these metrics provides a unique insight into your email marketing performance. Open rates can tell you if your subject lines are compelling enough. Click-through rates can indicate whether your email content is engaging. Conversion rates show if your emails are driving the desired actions. Bounce rates can alert you to potential issues with your email list, and unsubscribe rates can indicate whether your content is resonating with your audience.

How to Measure Each Metric

Most email marketing services, like Mailchimp or Constant Contact, provide these metrics in their reporting dashboard. You can usually find them in the campaign report section of your account.

How to Improve Each Metric

Improving these metrics involves various strategies, from tweaking your subject lines to improve open rates, to refining your email content to boost click-through and conversion rates. Reducing your bounce rate might involve cleaning up your email list, and lowering your unsubscribe rate could require adjusting the frequency of your emails or improving your content.

Email Metrics In Real Life

Let’s look at some real-life examples. Sendlane has compiled a list of 6 Email Marketing Case Studies for eCommerce in 2023. These case studies showcase various businesses that were struggling with different aspects of their email marketing. By understanding and improving their email marketing metrics, these businesses were able to significantly enhance their email marketing campaigns, leading to increased open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates.

Understanding your email marketing metrics is crucial for improving your email marketing strategy. By tracking these key metrics and making necessary adjustments, you can increase engagement, drive conversions, and ultimately, grow your business.

Do you have any experiences or questions about email marketing metrics? Leave a comment below. And don’t forget to follow for more email marketing tips and strategies. Happy emailing!