Launching an email campaign is a journey filled with peaks of relief and valleys of anxiety for marketers. The true yardstick of success, however, lies in the insightful metrics that follow. This guide delves into the critical email marketing metrics that not only empower campaigns but also lay the groundwork for sustained growth.
Defining Email Marketing Metrics:
Email marketing metrics serve as crucial data points that offer deep insights into a campaign’s performance. They unveil whether emails are capturing attention, fostering engagement, and contributing to overarching goals like revenue generation. Adopting a holistic approach to these metrics and benchmarking against your program is essential, surpassing generic industry standards.
Why Tracking Email Marketing Metrics is Essential:
Beyond a surface-level assessment of success, tracking email metrics enables marketers to test assumptions, refine content strategies, optimize delivery and deliverability, showcase program value, enhance overall strategy and design, and secure executive buy-in for increased budgets.
Basic Email Marketing Metrics:
Open Rate:
Definition: Percentage of opened emails out of delivered emails.
Formula: Open rate = (number of emails opened / number of emails delivered) x 100
Considerations: Open rates may be inaccurate, especially with Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection.
Bounce Rate:
Definition: Percentage of bounced or undelivered emails.
Formula: Bounce rate = (number of emails bounced / number of emails sent) x 100
Target: Aim for a bounce rate of 2% or less.
Click-Through Rate (CTR):
Definition: Percentage of clicked emails out of delivered emails.
Formula: CTR = (number of emails clicked / number of emails delivered) x 100
Click-to-Open Rate (CTOR):
Definition: Percentage of clicked emails out of opened emails.
Formula: CTOR = (number of emails clicked / number of emails opened) x 100
Unsubscribe Rate:
Definition: Percentage of subscribers opting out.
Formula: Unsubscribe rate = (number of unsubscribes / number of emails delivered) x 100
Target: Aim for less than 1-2%.
Spam Complaint Rate:
Definition: Percentage of emails marked as spam.
Formula: Spam complaint rate = (number of spam complaints / number of emails delivered) x 100
Target: Anything above 0.1% is concerning.
Email List Growth Rate:
Definition: Rate of growth or decline in your email list.
Formula: List growth rate = ((monthly new subscribers – monthly churned subscribers) / list size) x 100
Email Production Time:
Definition: Time taken to complete email marketing tasks.
Types: Actual time per task and time from conception to execution.
More Advanced Email Marketing Metrics:
Email Read Rate or Read Time:
Definition: Percentage of read emails out of opened emails.
Formula: Read rate = (number of emails read / number of emails opened) x 100
Deliverability Rate or Inbox Placement Rate:
Definition: Percentage of emails delivered to the inbox.
Formula: Deliverability rate = (number of non-junked emails delivered / number of emails delivered) x 100
Conversion Rate (CVR):
Definition: Percentage of conversions out of delivered emails.
Formula: Conversion rate = (number of conversions / number of emails delivered) x 100
Revenue per Email (RPE):
Definition: Direct monetary value of each email send.
Formula: Revenue per email = revenue generated / number of emails delivered
Revenue per Subscriber (RPS):
Definition: Revenue generated per active subscriber.
Formula: Revenue per subscriber = revenue generated / number of active subscribers
Subscriber Lifetime Value (LTV):
Definition: Value a subscriber brings throughout their time on the list.
Formula: Subscriber LTV = monthly revenue per subscriber x average number of months a subscriber stays on your list
Return on Investment (ROI):
Definition: Value delivered by the email marketing program versus its cost.
Formula: ROI = (email revenue – email marketing cost) / email marketing cost
Forward Rate/Email Sharing:
Definition: Percentage of forwarded emails out of opened emails.
Formula: Forward rate = (number of emails forwarded / number of emails opened) x 100
Prints:
Definition: Percentage of emails printed out of opened emails.
Formula: Print rate = (number of emails printed / number of emails opened) x 100
Subscriber Acquisition Cost:
Definition: Average cost to acquire a new subscriber.
Formula: Email subscriber acquisition cost = marketing or ad cost / number of new subscribers
Email Device and Client Usage:
Definition: Distribution of subscribers across different devices and email clients.
Email Mistakes or Error Rate:
Definition: Percentage of emails sent with errors.
Formula: Error rate = (monthly number of emails sent with an error / monthly number of emails sent) x 100
Current State of Email Analytics:
While fundamental metrics like opens, clicks, and unsubscribes are commonly tracked, advanced metrics such as ROI and subscriber LTV are often overlooked.
Brands employing third-party analytics tools demonstrate a 25% higher ROI.
Sharing email results across teams, not just within the email team, leads to a 28% higher ROI.
Conclusion:
Email marketing success is intricately linked to understanding and optimizing relevant metrics. By aligning metrics with specific goals, marketers can consistently enhance campaigns, nurture subscriber engagement, and propel business growth. Embrace the power of data to deliver what subscribers and stakeholders truly desire.
