Whether you are a business owner or digital marketing enthusiast, you will know very well that email marketing is an extremely effective digital marketing tool that involves the targeted sending of email messages to a group of contacts (subscribers).
But do you really know all the metrics you need to monitor to make sure your email marketing strategy performs at its best?
In fact, what if I told you that focusing only on the number of final conversions is not enough?
The customer (or, in this case, subscriber) journey, i.e., the path that the subscriber to the newsletter must take before converting, is very complex and impervious.
There are many reasons why a user may not open the email, read it, or click on the possible link inside.
That is why it is essential to monitor each stage of this journey using the right metrics that can help us understand any weaknesses or flaws in the strategy.
In this article, we will look together at the top 9 email marketing metrics that you should monitor consistently and carefully to make sure you are maximizing the potential of your campaigns!
From sending the email to the subscriber‘s inbox: email marketing deliverability metrics
Everything is ready. You set up your email campaign, wrote the copy, inserted the graphics, and, after a quick check, sent it correctly to your contacts. Start monitoring!
But what exactly do we monitor at this stage?
After sending your email to your contacts you need to check deliverability.
What is it all about?
Deliverability refers to the ability of your emails to actually reach recipients’ inboxes without being blocked by spam filters or other technical issues.
In other words, how many total emails are able to reach your newsletter subscribers.
There are 3 email marketing deliverability metrics that you can analyze for this purpose. Each gives you specific insights that you can use to improve your strategy.
Let us analyze them together.
1.1 Deliverability Rate (Delivery Rate)
The deliverability rate measures the percentage of emails that were successfully delivered to recipients. This metric takes into account both emails delivered to the main inbox and those in junk mail filters.
To calculate the deliverability rate, use the following formula:
[Deliverability rate = (Number of emails successfully delivered / Number of emails sent) x 100]
A high deliverability rate is essential to ensure that your emails actually reach your intended audience.
To improve your deliverability rate, adhere to sending practice guidelines and regularly check your sending reputation.
1.2 BounceRate (Bounce Rate)
Bounce rate or bounce rate measures the percentage of emails that were not delivered to recipients due to technical problems or invalid email addresses.
There are two types of bounces: the “hard” bounce, which indicates an invalid or nonexistent email address, and the “soft” bounce, which indicates a temporary problem, such as a full mailbox.
To calculate the bounce rate, use the following formula:
[Bounce rate = (Number of undelivered emails/Number of sent emails) x 100]
A high bounce rate could compromise your sending reputation and negatively affect the deliverability of your emails.
Keeping your contact list clean and up-to-date by removing outdated and invalid addresses is essential to reducing bounce rates.
1.3 SpamComplaint Rate (Spam Complaint Rate)
The reporting rate as spam measures the percentage of recipients who reported your emails as spam.
When people flag your emails as spam, it can damage your sending reputation and affect the deliverability of future emails.
To calculate the reporting rate as spam, use the following formula:
[Report rate as spam = (Number of spam reports / Number of emails sent) x 100]
To reduce the rate of reporting as spam, send relevant and valuable content to your recipients. Also be sure to always include a clear and visible opt-out button in your emails so that users can unsubscribe easily instead of flagging your email as spam.
From subscriber inbox to conversion: “pure” email marketing metrics
The email arrived safely in the newsletter subscriber’s inbox. The moment of truth has come.
Will your campaign perform well? Will you achieve the intended goals?
These are not simple answers that require careful analysis of a number of marketing metrics of your email marketing strategy.
These, in fact, give you a detailed overview of the performance of your campaigns and reveal the engagement of your target audiences.
Ready to find out the main ones?
2.1 Open Rate (Open Rate)
Theopen rate (Open Rate) is one of the most important email marketing metrics to track.It measures the percentage of recipients who opened your emails compared to the total emails sent.
A high open rate indicates that your email items are intriguing and invite the recipient to open the message.
To calculate the opening rate, use the following formula:
[Open rate = (Number of emails opened / Number of emails sent) x 100]
It is essential to write eye-catching, personalized email subject lines that are relevant to the content of the email to increase the open rate.
Avoid using spam terms or excessively long items, as this may adversely affect your posting reputation.
2.2 Click-through Rate (CTR)
Click-through rate (CTR) is another crucial metric that measures how many recipients clicked on one or more links within your emails.
A high CTR indicates that the content of the email is engaging and has prompted the recipient to take a desired action.
To calculate the click-through rate, use the following formula:
[Click-through rate = (Number of clicks / Number of emails opened) x 100]
To increase CTR, be sure to include clear, prominent links within your content and use persuasive call-to-actions (CTAs) that encourage users to interact with your message.
Customizing links according to recipients’ preferences can further improve CTR performance.
2.3 Conversion rate
Conversion rate is the ultimate metric for evaluating the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns.
It measures the percentage of recipients who completed the desired action after clicking on a link in the email, such as purchasing a product or registering for an event.
To calculate the conversion rate, use the following formula:
[Conversion rate = (Number of conversions / Number of emails sent) x 100]
To improve the conversion rate, optimize your website or landing page to which you direct recipients, making sure they are in line with the goal of your campaign. It also uses elements of urgency and exclusive offers to push users to act immediately.
From conversion to overall campaign effectiveness: email marketing performance metrics
Your subscriber has completed the action you wanted him to take. He has, in other words, made the conversion and the ultimate goal has been achieved.
Monitoring, however, does not end there.
Indeed, it is essential to monitor performance metrics in email marketing.
These additional metrics play a crucial role in understanding the profitability of your campaigns, the ability to attract new leads, the satisfaction of your audience, and the effective delivery of your emails.
Let’s take a look at the most important ones.
3.1 ROI of email marketing
The ROI (Return on Investment) of email marketing is a critical indicator of the profitability of your campaigns.
It measures the ratio of the gain made to the cost of investment in your email marketing activities.
To calculate the ROI of email marketing, use the following formula:
[ROI of email marketing = [(Gained profit – Cost of investment) / Cost of investment] x 100]
A positive ROI indicates that your campaigns are profitable, while a negative ROI suggests that you may need to revise your strategy.
To improve ROI, reduce the cost of your campaigns without compromising quality and increase the effectiveness of your conversions.
3.2 Growth rate of the contact list
Contact list growth rate measures the rate at which new leads are acquired in your email list.
This metric helps you evaluate the effectiveness of your lead generation strategies.
To calculate the growth rate of the contact list, use the following formula:
[Contact list growth rate = [(Number of new leads – Number of unsubscribes) / Number of total contacts] x 100]
A positive growth rate indicates that you are acquiring new contacts faster than those leaving your list.
To increase the growth rate, offer incentives for users to sign up, such as discounts or exclusive content.
3.3Unsubscribe Rate (Unsubscribe Rate).
Unsubscribe rate measures the percentage of recipients who decide to unsubscribe from your list after receiving one of your emails.
A high unsubscribe rate could indicate problems with the content or frequency of your emails.
To calculate the unsubscribe rate, use the following formula:
[Unsubscribe rate = (Number of unsubscribes/Number of emails sent) x 100]
To reduce the unsubscribe rate, be sure to provide relevant and interesting content to your target audience.
Allowing users to choose how often they want to receive your emails can help keep unsubscribe rates low.
Summary table of the 9 most important Email Marketing Metrics.
Now you know all the top 9 email marketing metrics that need to be monitored to make sure your campaign performs at its best.
Below is a summary table to be used as an optimization vademecum:
| Metrics | Formula |
| Deliverability Rate (Delivery Rate) | (Number of emails successfully delivered / Number of emails sent) x 100 |
| Bounce Rate (Bounce Rate) | (Number of undelivered emails/Number of sent emails) x 100 |
| Spam Complaint Rate (Spam Complaint Rate) | (Number of spam reports/Number of emails sent) x 100 |
| Open Rate | (Number of emails opened/Number of emails sent) x 100 |
| Click-through rate (CTR) | (Number of clicks / Number of emails opened) x 100 |
| Conversion rate | (Number of conversions / Number of emails sent) x 100 |
| ROI of email marketing | [(Gained profit – Cost of investment) / Cost of investment] x 100 |
| Growth rate of the contact list | [(Number of new leads – Number of unsubscribes) / Number of total contacts] x 100 |
| Unsubscribe Rate (Unsubscribe Rate). | (Number of unsubscriptions/Number of emails sent) x 100 |
Conclusions
In this guide to the 9 email marketing metrics to track, we looked together at how marketing metrics are critical to measuring the success of your campaigns, understanding the importance of open rate, click-through rate, and conversion rate in assessing your audience’s engagement.
In addition, we unveiled how email marketing performance metrics, such as ROI, contact list growth rate, and unsubscribe rate, are essential for evaluating the overall effectiveness of your campaigns and ability to attract new potential customers.
Let’s also not forget the cruciality of deliverability, the rate at which your emails are delivered, which determines whether your message actually reaches your intended audience.
Remember, however, that in order to best optimize your campaigns, it is necessary not only to make the calculations, but also to interpret them based on what we have seen together.
In addition, constancy represents your best ally. Try to provide routines for monitoring metrics so that any issues or obstacles can be acted upon promptly.
If you are a business owner and want to make the most of the potential of email marketing for your business and want to achieve extraordinary results, Webgas.net can help you with this.
Request a free personalized consultation with our digital marketing experts and learn how to optimize your email marketing strategy to achieve success.
Article sources:
https://knowledge.hubspot.com/email/analyze-your-marketing-email-campaign-performance
https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/16288-email-marketing-metrics.html
https://mailchimp.com/it/resources/how-to-measure-your-email-marketing-success/
