Beyond the Open Rate
While everyone talks about open rates, they are just the tip of the iceberg (and becoming less accurate due to privacy changes). To truly understand your campaign performance, you need to dig deeper.
The Big 5
1. Click-Through Rate (CTR)
The percentage of people who clicked a link. This is a better measure of engagement than opens.
2. Conversion Rate
The percentage of people who took the desired action (bought a product, signed up). This is the ultimate metric for ROI.
3. Bounce Rate
Keep this under 2%. Anything higher indicates list hygiene issues.
4. Unsubscribe Rate
A spike here means your content isn't relevant or you are sending too often. Keep it below 0.5%.
5. Spam Complaint Rate
The danger zone. Keep this below 0.1% (1 in 1,000). Higher rates will get you blocked.
The Advanced Metrics
6. List Growth Rate
Are you gaining subscribers faster than you are losing them?
7. Email Sharing/Forwarding Rate
The percentage of recipients who shared your email. This indicates high-value content.
8. Overall ROI
Total Revenue / Total Spend. For every $1 spent, how much did you make?
9. Mobile Open Rate
How many people read on their phone? If it's high (it usually is), ensure your design is mobile-responsive.
10. Domain Click Rate
Which domains (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo) are engaging the most? This can help you spot deliverability issues specific to one provider.
Conclusion
You can't improve what you don't measure. Set up a dashboard to track these metrics weekly, and use the insights to refine your strategy continuously.
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