Email Delivery Rate
The easiest place to start when assessing the success of your Email Marketing is with your Delivery Rate. Put simply, this is the measure of how many of the Emails you send are actually reaching a user’s inbox. You could have the best product in the world at a ridiculously low price point, but if your message is not even making it to an inbox then it’s all for nothing!
Emails that are lost the second they leave your sent box represent not only a waste of your time and effort, but could also represent a waste of money if you’re paying for an Email List. Additionally, a low Delivery Rate can point to wider problems that need to be addressed. It could be an indicator that your server has been blacklisted as spam, or that you need to spend time in refining your list, as many of the Emails have been deleted. If your list has remained the same for an extended period of time, it could be that many of your potential customers have since stopped using the contact details you hold.
Open Rates
Seeing as Email Marketing can only ever be effective when it is actually seen and read, the next step is to look at just what percentage of your mail is being opened. In other words, assessing your Open Rate. At first glance the numbers may seem low but don’t be alarmed, you are not alone.
For instance, Automated Email Platform MailChimp, reported in 2016 that the average open rate in the Marketing and Advertising industries was a touch under 18%. When you consider the comparatively low costs of Email Marketing, having almost one-in-five of your targets actually open your material can be a cost-effective way of getting in touch.
If you see an Open Rate that is markedly lower than your industry averages, your subject lines should be the first area under scrutiny. Unless your brand carries a particularly esteemed name, the subject of your Email is the biggest chance you have to persuade a recipient to open an Email.
Imagine the wall of unopened Emails that greets you on a Monday morning. Now think about which ones you immediately send to your trash before you even take your first sip of coffee, and which ones you keep in your inbox to read for later. More often than not, those Emails you choose to open, are the ones with a compelling subject line. They convey a point or offer a compelling enticement in as few words as possible. Try to compose your material in a similar way, and if you can’t do this yourself then get someone to do it for you.
Open Rates can also give you vital information on which days and times your customers are most receptive, giving you the ability to hone your overall strategy even further. If you run a Business selling exercise products and see a far higher open rate on Emails sent between five and seven pm, then keep targeting those daily commuters who are contemplating getting themselves into shape by running or cycling to work.
Click-Through Rate
Click-Through Rate (CTR) simply measures how many readers clicked the call-to-action you included in your Email. A high rate indicates that readers found your Email so interesting and well presented they wanted to see more! A low Click-Through Rate may indicate that your content is poorly represented or that your offer is not of interest, or relevant.
A way to combat this and ensure your offer reaches those to who it is relevant to, which you can do by properly segmenting your Email Lists. Not all readers and potential customers will react in the same way to the same content, so segment your lists and target different groups accordingly.
Another top tip for boosting your CTR is to ensure your Emails are properly mobile-friendly. By doing this you ensure you have the highest possible chance of your Email being properly viewed and giving your Business’s message the best possible reception it can when it reaches the reader. Remember, an enormous amount of people check their Emails via their mobile devices, so if you Emails look cut-off, or poorly designed on a smartphone, all your hard work will likely end up in the trash.
As set out at the very top of this article, it’s vital to frequently test the success of your campaigns, not only to make sure they are being received by your customers, but to make sure they’re being received well. And by being rigorous with assessing and testing metrics such as Click-Through-Rates and Open Rates, you’ll get a better understanding of exactly what kind of content converts your Email readers into sales for your Business. So keep a close eye on the three metrics discussed above, and you’ll ensure you’re well on the way to Email Marketing success!
