Use These Two Metrics to Measure the Success of Email Blasts

By now we know email marketing has goals of creating more repeat business or leads. But how can the success of an email blast be measured?

The effectiveness of email marketing can be tracked in various metrics. The two most useful metrics are the open rate and number of clicks.

The Importance of Quality Lists

Before elaborating on how to use metrics to your advantage, it is important to note the quality of the recipient list. When uploading lists of recipients to your email marketing service, make sure the emails are entered correctly. Often emails are transcribed from handwriting, which leads to errors in reading poor penmanship and/or typing errors. Also, using old lists with outdated email addresses are not going to help your increase the open rate.

Basically, if you keep your lists up to date and add emails without errors, you are well on your way to creating a relevant reader base.

If you want an even better email list, segment your email list by additional variables to better target your audience. For example, send laser promotions to past clients with laser treatments. Or use a past list of people who claimed a spa promotion to send news about your latest spa products and events.

What is Open Rate?

Open rate is the number of emails opened divided by the total number of emails delivered. The higher your open rate the better your campaign is doing because you can assume your audience is opening the email to read your content.

What Affects Open Rate

1. Delivery: As mentioned above, having an email list with viable email addresses sets up email campaigns to be successfully delivered.
2. Avoid the Spam Folder: Spam filters are triggered by certain words and characters in subject lines like “FREE” and exclamation points. Don’t set your campaign up for doom by making a spammy subject line.
3. Effective Subject Line: Your subject line is fighting for attention in a cluttered inbox, make it creative and simple to grab the attention of your reader. Add a call to action, time constraint, or promotion to give your reader incentive to open the email. Here are some best practices for subject lines.

What is a Good Open Rate?

This is a great question and one that is difficult to assign a number to. Open rates are affected by many factors including list quality, subject line, or even the time of day when sent. Campaign Monitor said generally speaking, an open rate between 20-40% is average.

As you build your email lists and send campaigns regularly, you will develop a sense of what is a good open rate by comparing the metrics of past campaigns. Always aim to increase your open rate but understand fluctuations will happen.

What are Click Through Rates in Email Campaigns?

Sometimes links are included in emails for readers to learn more or complete an action. The number of clicks on a link in an email divided by the number of recipients is the click through rate. You are aiming for a high click through rate, but know that click through rate is typically going to be lower than your open rate. You won’t get every person who opens your email to also click a link. But, those who click a link are going to be your most valuable readers, if a click leads to an eventual purchase.

What Affects Click Through Rate

1. Promotions: If you have a monthly special and are advertising it through email, add a link to claim or register for the promotion. Also include the promotion in the subject line to encourage your readers to open the email to begin with. Sending promotions targeted to different email lists will also bring the most value to readers and increase clicks for your campaign.
2. Calls to Action: Be direct in what you want, ask your readers to sign up, register, or schedule their appointment. This will increase clicks and hopefully generate revenue if they buy products or services. Simply saying you are having a promotion for the month of November with a hyperlinked event title is not a call to action and will be missed by readers.
3. Link Placement: Always include an obvious link in a prominent place in your email. Avoid burying your links and calls to action at the bottom of a long email. Remember, this is the best chance for making money from an email- you can’t afford to not place your links strategically.

What is a Good Click Through Rate?

There is also no definitive percentage for a “good” click through rate. Depending on the quality of your list (are your links relevant to your list?), placement of links, calls to action, and content, your click through rate will vary. Aim to continually improve your own click through rate by experimenting with different variables. Over time, you will be able to establish rates that are a success to your campaign.

For questions about your email campaign metrics, contact your Rosemont Media consultant.