Hundreds of brands prefer email over other marketing strategies, like paid ads and social media marketing, due to its high ROI. However, many companies fail to realize the full potential of this outlet because they usually don’t know which metrics to monitor. There is also not much accurate information available on how to calculate the metrics and the right tools to use.
To quickly resolve these issues, let's dive in and look at the key metrics you should benchmark.
1. Open Rate
As the name suggests, this metric refers to the percentage of people who open an email. It gives you a clear insight into how engaged and interested your subscribers are in doing business with your brand.
It is probably one of the simplest metrics, but it's super important to get maximum returns from your campaign.
The formula for calculating the open rate is: (Total number of emails opened / Total number of emails delivered) x 100
A low open rate signifies that you need to refine your emails to connect with more customers. Here are three tips on how to improve the percentage.
Perfect Your Timing
Send emails when the majority of your audience is online. According to recent research by Sendinblue, the best time to send business emails is 10:00 a.m. and between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Use automation tools to schedule the email to be sent during these recommended times.
Customize the Subject Line to Stand Out
An email’s subject line has a direct impact on its open rate. Generic subject lines that are too obvious don’t get the job done. Ideally, the subject line should be creative to stand out from the crowd. Include phrases that evoke positive emotions, such as enthusiasm and success. Also, monitor the results to learn which subject lines best resonate with your audience.
Create Resounding Email Copy
Poor-quality email copy will discourage recipients from opening your emails next time. Take time to create resounding content that is relevant to the audience. Include visuals as well to make it easy for them to understand the content.
Also, include CTA buttons to direct customers to the target landing pages. Confirm that the links are working before sending the email.
2. Click-Through Rate
A click-through rate refers to the number of potential customers who clicked on one or more links in your email’s body. Like the open rate, the CTR shows how engaging and relevant the content is to your target audience.
A high rate means the audience found the content relevant and is interested in your brand. If the CTR is low, you need to tweak the campaign by writing better content and confirming that you are sending the email to the right segment of customers.
The formula for creating a CTR is: (Number of clicks / Number of emails delivered) x 100
Here are tips on how to improve the click-through rate.
Use the Preview Text Effectively
Most people check the preview text before deciding whether to open an email. The text gives them an idea of what the email is about, as it is fetched from the email body. Some email providers allow users to edit this text. Make it personal and compelling, and add a CTA to motivate your readers to take the desired action.
Improve Email Content
Like website content used in digital marketing strategies, the email’s content should resonate with the needs and expectations of your target audience. Include visuals to make it easy to understand, and optimize it for viewing on mobile. Use market research findings to learn how to best communicate with your audience.
Segment and Personalize
In some instances, you may have to segment the customers again based on factors such as location, age, past buying behavior, marital status, and social class. Customize the email campaign for each group of customers to get a high CTR.
If you intend to use an automation tool, keep email marketing vs. marketing automation in mind to make informed choices. These two are related and can help you segment the audience, but there are graying differences between them.
3. Conversion Rate
Simply put, the conversion rate is a measure of how successful an email marketing campaign is in achieving the set goal. It can be measured based on revenue generated, new sales, downloads, trial sign-ups, and much more.
The formula for calculating the conversion rate is: (Total number of actions completed / Total number of emails delivered to recipients) x 100
As mentioned earlier, email marketing offers the highest ROI, so it's important to work intelligently to increase the conversion rate. Apply the following hacks if your campaign’s conversion rate is low.
Use Suppression Lists
Suppression lists ensure that only people genuinely interested in your brand receive the email. They are most likely to open the email and take the desired action, as opposed to the disengaged subscribers. Eliminate low-engagement recipients who don't fit the theme or email copy.
The point is, send an email only to people who are truly interested in your products and services.
Align the Content and Offer
The email subject line, preview text, body text, and call to action should be optimized to work towards your primary goal. These four elements should work together without any overlap or repetition.
Consider the Length
There is no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to email length. The rule of thumb involves making sure that the content is readable and easy to understand. Don't be verbose – strive to deliver the intended message using fewer words. Otherwise, if the email is too wordy, the recipients won't click on the links. They may even opt to delete it before reading it.
4. Bounce Rate
The bounce rate refers to the number of emails not delivered to the recipients. This could happen because the recipient has previously marked your email as spam.
There are two types of email bounces:
- A hard bounce is when the email is sent to a non-existent email address. The address has either never existed or was recently deleted by its owner.
- A soft bounce occurs when the target customer’s inbox is full or the email service provider server is down.
Both rates give a clear picture of your email list’s validity. Consider deleting invalid email addresses from the list to reduce your hard bounce rate. Use a reputable email service provider to lower the soft bounce rate.
The simple formula for calculating the bounce rate is: (Number of emails not delivered or bounced / Number of emails sent out) x 100
You should aim for a low bounce rate. Below are three tips from experts on how to reduce bounce rates.
Clean Up Your Email List Regularly
Tidying your email list to get rid of invalid addresses will significantly lower the bounce rate. Also, identify disengaged subscribers and erase them from the list. Usually, subscribers who are no longer interested in your brand will mark your emails as spam, so check your spam filters.
Use a double opt-in option to ensure that the subscribers are genuinely interested in your brand and want to receive emails from you.
Also, create a blogger outreach program for guest posting to increase the visibility of your brand online. The more people know about the brand, the more willing they will be to join your email list.
Carry Out A/B Tests
A/B tests will enable you to know the exact reasons why your emails were not delivered to their recipients. Use the reports to fine-tune your email marketing campaign.
5. Spam Rate
The spam rate refers to the percentage of people who either marked your emails as spam or didn't receive the email. A high spam rate is a serious signal that your campaign is failing and needs to be tweaked. Use the following tips to reduce your spam rate.
Discover your campaign's spam rate using this simple formula: (Number of recipients who marked the email as spam / Total number of emails sent) x 100
Concisely, the success of your email marketing campaign is based on one primary factor – the recipient reading the email and taking the desired action.
Enable Double Opt-In
Double opt-in will ensure that you only send emails to people interested in your brand. Send a confirmation email to the subscriber after they join your email list. The confirmation email should have a link that they should click to confirm their subscription.
Allow Them to Unsubscribe
Make it easy for recipients to unsubscribe from your mailing list by including an unsubscribe button in your email. You will annoy and trigger them to highlight your email as spam if they no longer want to receive newsletters or any other form of content from you.
Avoid Using Spammy Subject Lines
Email service providers' algorithms can detect spammy words in subject lines. Emails with such words are automatically redirected to the spam box. Prevent your emails from being marked as spam by avoiding overpromising, sensationalizing, and using weird formatting to pique the recipient's attention and trick them into opening the email.
Choosing the Right Tools for Measuring Email Marketing Metrics
Now that you know the top five email marketing metrics you should constantly monitor, let's shift gears and look at the best tools for measuring them.
Mailbird
Mailbird is a solid email client, an alternative to Mozilla Thunderbird that supports various accounts, such as Gmail and Yahoo. It has an intuitive and user-friendly interface that gives users a clear view of all their email inboxes. You can also create a dedicated signature for each campaign to increase your open rate and CTR. More importantly, it supports rich-text editing and offers detailed reports to help you monitor your email campaign and make any necessary changes.
HubSpot
HubSpot is holistic sales and marketing software with many email tracking features to give your business an upper hand. You can leverage it to monitor engagement and open rates, bounce rates, and conversion rates. The reports are relayed to your CRM directly, giving you unlimited access to all the information you need to make informed decisions.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp has stood the test of time and is considered the go-to software for tracking email marketing campaigns. Over the years, it has expanded to offer additional marketing automation tools to suit its customers' needs. Use its robust email analytics and A/B testing tools to revamp your campaigns accordingly.
Benchmark Email
Benchmark Email is considered one of the best Mailchimp alternatives. The only difference is the pricing. Use it to create and monitor email marketing campaigns by studying analytics reports to figure out which campaign areas should be tweaked. It also offers templates you can use to kick-start your email marketing campaign, and it easily integrates with many third-party services.
Staffbase (Bananatag)
Staffbase, formerly known as Bananatag, uses the same technology companies that offer mass email marketing services to track email open rates. It achieves this goal by inserting a tracking pixel in the email message and knowing when the recipient views the email. After that, the data is accumulated into a report to give you a clear picture of the email campaign’s open rate.
Final Chords
Keeping tabs on the performance of your email marketing campaign is the only way to ensure you get maximum returns from every dollar you spend. Check the open rate and click-through rate to know whether you need to clean up your mailing list. Create better subject lines to reduce your spam rate, and increase conversion rates by writing stellar email copy and adding visuals and CTA buttons. Don’t forget to use the right tools to automate your campaign.