Email marketing Campaigns - 8 Vital Metrics to Track
Cecily Giancaterino
Jun 29, 2023
∙
11 min read
CRM
Email marketing is one of the most effective ways of communicating with your prospects and customers - and can help you reach large audiences. Email marketing campaigns result in higher engagement and better customer satisfaction, while allowing marketers to find a lot of leads.
But even the most effective campaign is not used to the fullest if the right metrics aren't tracked. Every marketer knows that the key to running a successful email marketing campaign is tracking the vital metrics that will help you determine whether your campaign is on the right track or not.
Without this insight, how will you know how your camping is doing, and what needs to be improved?
In order to take your marketing game to the next level, you need to ensure you are keeping a check on imperative metrics that can help you understand the high points and low points of your campaign, in turn tweaking what isn't working.
Here are some of the most important metrics every marketer needs to track if they want to run successful email marketing campaigns.
Key Takeaways:
- Open Rate: Measure the percentage of recipients who open your email. A high open rate indicates an effective subject line and engaging content.
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): Track the percentage of recipients who click on links within your email. A higher CTR signifies compelling content and effective call-to-action.
- Conversion Rate: Monitor the percentage of recipients who take the desired action after clicking on your email. It could be making a purchase, filling out a form, or signing up for a webinar. A higher conversion rate indicates a successful email campaign.
- Bounce Rate: Keep an eye on the percentage of emails that fail to reach the recipient's inbox. A high bounce rate may indicate issues with email deliverability or the quality of your contact list.
- Unsubscribe Rate: Track the number of recipients who opt-out or unsubscribe from your email list. A high unsubscribe rate may suggest the need to refine your email content or targeting strategy.
- ROI (Return on Investment): Calculate the return on investment generated by your email campaigns. Consider the revenue generated versus the cost incurred to assess the effectiveness and profitability of your email marketing efforts.
- List Growth Rate: Measure the rate at which your email list is growing. A healthy list growth rate signifies effective lead generation and audience engagement strategies.
- Engagement Metrics: Evaluate metrics such as time spent reading emails, social media shares, and forward rates. These metrics provide insights into the level of audience engagement and the impact of your email content.
Table of Contents
Open Rate
The open rate is one of the first metrics every marketer looks at, since it simply means how many people have opened the emails you sent. The Open Rate observed across all industries is 24.88%, so if you think you're below that, it's time to change the way you write emails.
Try more interesting subject lines and change the tone and style of your content to match what your prospects are looking for instead. Try some A/B testing to properly know what you audience likes, and what they don't.
Unsubscribe Rate
Whenever we see emails in our inbox that don't seem to interest us, or we feel we haven't signed up for, we scroll to the bottom of the email and hit the 'unsubscribe' button. Tracking the unsubscribe rate means keeping an eye on how many people keep leaving your emailing lists.
The fact that someone is unsubscribing, means that they don't want to hear from you and aren't interested in the products and services you have to offer. With an industry average of 0.25%, your goal should be to keep it at a low minimum.
The best way to do that is to segment your audience and only send relevant information that each customer wants to get. Use simple opt-ins with multiple options to understand what your customer is looking for when they receive your emails.
Bounce Rate
When you email people, some emails sometimes "bounce" and don't get delivered to the recipient. There are 2 types of bounced emails - soft bounce and hard bounce.
Soft bounce is when your email was sent to an email id that is valid, but it was not delivered because of reasons such as a full inbox, the email was too large or the server was down. A hard bounce, on the other hand, is an email that bounces because it was sent to an invalid email id.
The average soft bounce rate is 0.63%, while the hard bounce rate is 0.44%. If you get a soft bounce from an email id, resending the email in a while can help it be delivered as the causes for the earlier bounce can change. But if you keep reaching a bounce from the same email id constantly, there could be another problem and you should cease emailing them.
With hard bounce rates, if you're above the average, it is time you look into your emailing lists and clean them up. Having too many invalid email ids on your emailing list can mean that you need to go through it and sort it out, while also changing the way you collect emails so incorrect emails aren't collected in the first place.
Spam Rate
Tracking this metric shows how many people have marked your email as spam in their inbox. The industry standard for this is very low at just about 0.02%, but the easiest way to keep it low is by only emailing people who are looking forward to receiving your emails.
Reusing old emailing lists or ones that have been bought will only increase your spam rate and unsubscribe rate. Keeping your database updated and clean at all times and removing unwanted email addresses can help keep it under control.
Opens Per Device
With new technology in hand, we rarely ever use our desktops and laptops to check emails, and smart phones are the popular way to go, due to their convenience. Since there are so many options for where to open an email, you must make sure your emails are properly optimized for all screen sizes.
The metric that tracks Opens Per Device, helps you understand what percentage of people open it from which device, so you can make sure they are getting emails that are perfectly fitted to the screen of their choice. On an average, 47% of all emails sent are read on mobile phones, which shows how important screen optimization is. Without it, the receiver will have to keep scrolling to even read one sentence.
Click Through Rate
Every email we send should have a clear Call To Action (or CTA) that compels the reader to click on a link or take the next step towards making a purchase from you. Click Through Rate means the percentage of people who clicked on this CTA.
With an industry average of 4.06%, which is already low, Click Through Rate is what lands the customer to the next step. If you're below average, you may want to look at your email content and see if there is a clear action for the reader to execute. Make sure your message is clear and your CTA is attention grabbing.
Click To Open Rate
This metric is important because it compares the number of people who 'clicked' your email to the number of people who 'opened' it. This percentage shows that your subject line was compelling enough to open the email but maybe the content in the email wasn't as compelling for them to click through to your CTA.
The industry average for Click To Open Rate is 16.31%, so to make sure you match it, work on the text of your email. If your subject lines are enough to get people to open your email, but your email isn't, make sure to work on that last step.
Delivery Rate
Simply put, Delivery Rate is the number of emails that were successfully delivered to the intended inbox. Many times emails are blocked from reaching a certain inbox and they bounce, as we discussed above.
In fact, nearly 20% of emails sent don't reach the inbox they are meant to, with the highest reason for this being internal email gateways blocking these emails. It is important to make sure to take precautions to not be considered as spam and to also minimize your bounce rate.
With the number of email users growing everyday steadily, it is impossible to deny that email marketing is a simple and straightforward way to get in touch with leads and customers, without being too invasive. Making sure you analyze and measure each of these metrics is the key to success and growing.
Conclusion
In conclusion, tracking the vital metrics discussed in this blog is crucial for the success of your email marketing campaigns. By monitoring open rates, click-through rates, conversions, bounce rates, unsubscribe rates, ROI, list growth, and engagement metrics, you can gain valuable insights into the performance and effectiveness of your email campaigns.
Utilizing a robust CRM system can empower you to optimize your email marketing strategies and drive better results. By leveraging advanced analytics and reporting capabilities, you can make data-driven decisions, improve targeting, and enhance the overall performance of your email campaigns.
Maximize the potential of your email marketing efforts by implementing the strategies and tracking the metrics mentioned in this blog. By continuously monitoring and analyzing the data, you can identify areas for improvement, refine your approach, and deliver more engaging and impactful email content to your audience.
Take the next step towards elevating your email marketing success. Explore how a comprehensive CRM system can help you track vital metrics, streamline your campaigns, and improve your overall marketing performance. Book a consultation or request a demo to discover the benefits of leveraging powerful CRM tools in your email marketing strategy.
FAQs
Q: How often should I track these email marketing metrics?
A: It's recommended to track these metrics regularly to gain insights into the performance of your email campaigns. Depending on the frequency of your campaigns, monitoring these metrics monthly or quarterly can provide valuable data for optimization and improvement.
Q: What is considered a good open rate?
A: Open rates can vary depending on industry and audience. However, a general benchmark for a good open rate is around 20-30%. Keep in mind that factors like subject line, sender reputation, and email content can influence open rates.
Q: How can I improve my click-through rate (CTR)?
A: To improve CTR, focus on creating compelling and relevant content that drives curiosity and prompts action. Use clear call-to-action buttons, personalize emails, and ensure that your links are prominent and easy to click.
Q: What actions can I take to reduce my bounce rate?
A: To reduce bounce rate, maintain a clean and updated email list. Regularly remove inactive or invalid email addresses, ensure proper email authentication, and monitor your email deliverability to avoid being marked as spam.
Q: What's a typical unsubscribe rate?
A: The unsubscribe rate can vary across industries, but an average unsubscribe rate is typically below 0.5%. If your unsubscribe rate is higher, it's important to review your email content, frequency, and audience targeting to identify areas for improvement.
Q: How can I calculate the ROI of my email campaigns?
A: To calculate ROI, compare the revenue generated from your email campaigns against the costs incurred. Consider factors like the number of conversions, average order value, and the cost of email marketing tools or resources used.
Q: What are some effective strategies for growing my email list?
A: Effective strategies for list growth include offering valuable incentives such as exclusive content, discounts, or free resources in exchange for email sign-ups. Optimize your website for lead capture, leverage social media, and consider partnering with complementary businesses for co-marketing opportunities.
Q: Besides the mentioned metrics, are there any other metrics I should track?
A: In addition to the mentioned metrics, you may also consider tracking metrics like forward rate (how often your emails are shared), social media engagement related to your emails, and conversion attribution to measure the impact of your email campaigns across different touchpoints.
Michael King says...
"I can’t think of a time where a client has requested something that we weren’t able to do with FiveCRM. Unlike most systems, it has a lot of flexibility."
Managing Director, Senior Response
JAINE HUSBANDS SAYS...
“Each client, and each of their campaigns, has its own unique specifications. We essentially needed to set up mini CRMs on one platform to meet those requirements.”
Operations Director, Team Telemarketing
Why wait?
Start improving your outbound efficiency now, with the most customizable Telesales solution on the market.