Email marketing is a powerful strategy for businesses to reach their target audience, but simply sending out emails is not enough. To truly optimize your email campaigns and get the most out of your efforts, it’s essential to track and analyze key email marketing metrics.
In this blog, we’ll explore 10 email marketing metrics you should track to improve your email marketing campaigns and drive better results for your business. So, let’s dive in and uncover the metrics that matter!
💡 Why It’s Important To Track Email Marketing Metrics?
Tracking email marketing metrics is crucial to the success of your email campaigns. It helps you understand your audience, optimize your campaigns, measure ROI, and improve performance. In short, tracking metrics is key to ensuring your email marketing efforts are effective. Let’s dive deep into the reasons:
⭐ Provides valuable insights into your audience: By tracking metrics like open rates and click-through rates, you can gain a better understanding of your audience’s behavior and preferences.
⭐ Helps you optimize your campaigns: Analyzing metrics like conversion rates and bounce rates can help you identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions to optimize your campaigns.
⭐ Enables you to measure ROI: Tracking metrics like revenue per email and ROI can help you determine the effectiveness of your email marketing efforts and make adjustments as needed.
⭐ Provides a benchmark for future campaigns: By tracking metrics over time, you can establish a baseline for performance and use it as a benchmark for future campaigns.
📩 10 Email Marketing Metrics That You Should Track
When it comes to marketing email metrics, tracking metrics is essential. Although every campaign is unique, certain metrics are common across the board. To make it easy, we’ve kept each section brief and straightforward. So, let’s dive in and explore the email metrics to track.
1. Open Rate
The open rate is a widely-used email marketing metric that determines the proportion of recipients who opened your email. It is calculated by dividing the number of emails opened by the total number of emails sent, then multiplying by 100 to get a percentage.
Here’s the formula to calculate the open rate:
Open Rate = (Number of emails opened/Total number of emails sent) x 100
For example, if you sent out 1000 emails and 200 of them were opened, your open rate would be:
Open Rate = (200/1000) x 100 = 20%
In other words, your email campaign had a 20% open rate, indicating that 200 recipients opened your email out of 1000 total recipients.
2. Bounce Rate
The bounce rate is one of the critical email marketing metrics that measure the percentage of emails that were not delivered to the recipient’s inbox. Bounces can occur for various reasons, such as an invalid email address, a full inbox, or technical issues.
The bounce rate is calculated by dividing the number of bounced emails by the number of emails sent and multiplying by 100 to get a percentage. Here’s the formula:
Bounce Rate = (Number of Bounced Emails/Number of Emails Sent) x 100%
For example, let’s say you sent out 1,000 emails, and 100 of them bounced back. To calculate the bounce rate, you would use the formula:
Bounce Rate = (100/1000) x 100% = 10%
In this example, the bounce rate is 10%, which means that 10% of the total emails sent did not reach the recipient’s inbox. It’s crucial that you know how to reduce bounce rate, as high bounce rates can negatively impact your email deliverability and sender reputation.
3. Click-Through Rate
The click-through rate (aka CTR) is another critical email marketing metric that measures the percentage of recipients who clicked on a link or call to action within your email. It’s an essential metric to track as it indicates how engaged your audience is with your email content.
The CTR is calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the number of delivered emails and then multiplying by 100 to get a percentage. Here’s the formula:
CTR = (Number of Clicks/Number of Delivered Emails) x 100%
For example, let’s say you sent out 1,000 emails and 800 of them were delivered. Out of the 800 delivered emails, 100 recipients clicked on a link in the email. To calculate the CTR, you would use the formula:
CTR = (100/800) x 100% = 12.5%
Here, the CTR is 12.5%, which means that 12.5% of the delivered emails resulted in a click. A high CTR is a positive sign as it indicates that your email content is resonating with your audience, and they are taking action.
4. Conversion Rate
In email marketing, the conversion rate measures how many recipients clicked on a link or CTA within your email and completed an action. The action could be making a purchase, filling out a form, or subscribing to a newsletter.
The rate is calculated by dividing the number of people who completed the desired action by the number of delivered emails and multiplying by 100 to get a percentage. Here’s the formula:
Conversion Rate = (Number of Conversions/Number of Delivered Emails) x 100%
For example, let’s say you sent out 1,000 emails and 800 of them were delivered. Out of the 800 delivered emails, 50 recipients clicked on a link to purchase a product, and 10 of them completed the purchase. Now, the conversion rate will be:
Conversion Rate = (10/800) x 100% = 1.25%
Here, the conversion rate is 1.25%, which means that 1.25% of the delivered emails resulted in a completed purchase. A high conversion rate is a positive sign that your email content and CTAs are effective and driving action from your audience.
5. Deliverability Rate
In the glossary of email marketing metrics, the deliverability rate measures the percentage of emails that were successfully delivered to the recipient’s inbox. The rate takes into account factors such as bounces, spam filters, and other technical issues that can prevent an email from reaching its intended recipient.
It is calculated by dividing the number of delivered emails by the number of emails sent and then multiplying by 100 to get a percentage. Here’s the formula:
Deliverability Rate = (Number of Delivered Emails/Number of Emails Sent) x 100%
For example, let’s say you sent out 1,000 emails, and 900 of them were delivered. To calculate the deliverability rate, you would use the formula:
Deliverability Rate = (900/1000) x 100% = 90%
In this example, the deliverability rate is 90%, which means that 90% of the emails sent successfully reached the recipient’s inbox.
6. Unsubscribe Rate
In email marketing, the unsubscribe rate measures how many subscribers opt-out after receiving an email campaign or unsubscribe. This metric can help email marketers understand the overall engagement and interest level of their subscribers in their email campaigns.
The unsubscribe rate can be calculated using the following formula:
Unsubscribe Rate = (Number of unsubscribes ÷ Number of emails sent) x 100%
For example, if you sent 10,000 emails and received 200 unsubscribe requests, the unsubscribe rate would be:
Unsubscribe Rate = (200 ÷ 10,000) x 100% = 2%
This means that 2% of the subscribers opted out or unsubscribed from your email list after receiving the email campaign.
Note: While a low unsubscribe rate is ideal, it’s not always an accurate indicator of the email campaign’s effectiveness. Other metrics, such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates, should also be considered to get a comprehensive understanding of the campaign’s performance.
7. List Growth Rate
The list growth rate in email marketing measures the rate at which an email list is growing. It helps email marketers understand how effective their efforts are in attracting new subscribers and retaining existing ones.
You can calculate it using the following formula:
List Growth Rate = [(Number of new subscribers - Number of unsubscribes) ÷ Total number of subscribers] x 100%
For example, if you had 500 new subscribers and 50 unsubscribes in a month, and your total number of subscribers at the beginning of the month was 10,000, the list growth rate would be:
List Growth Rate = [(500 - 50) ÷ 10,000] x 100% = 4.5%
This means that your email list grew by 4.5% during the month. The more the number rises, the more your rate will increase.
8. Spam Complaint Rate
The Spam Complaint Rate is an email marketing metric that measures the percentage of recipients who marked your email as spam or unwanted. A high spam complaint rate can negatively impact your sender’s reputation and deliverability.
This rate is calculated by dividing the number of spam complaints by the number of delivered emails and then multiplying by 100 to get a percentage. Here’s the formula:
Spam Complaint Rate = (Number of Spam Complaints / Number of Delivered Emails) x 100%
For example, let’s say you sent out 1,000 emails, and 900 of them were delivered. Out of the 900 delivered emails, 10 recipients marked the email as spam. To calculate the Spam Complaint Rate, you would use the formula:
Spam Complaint Rate = (10 / 900) x 100% = 1.11%
Here, the rate is 1.11%, which means that 1.11% of the delivered emails were marked as spam by the recipients. A low spam complaint rate is desirable, and if you notice a high rate, you should review your email content and sending practices to reduce the likelihood of spam complaints.
9. Overall ROI
The overall Return on Investment (ROI) is a critical email marketing metric that measures the profitability of your email marketing campaign. The overall ROI takes into account the revenue generated by the campaign compared to the cost of the campaign.
The ROI is calculated by subtracting the campaign cost from the revenue generated, then dividing the result by the campaign cost, and multiplying by 100 to get a percentage. Here’s the formula:
Overall ROI = [(Revenue - Campaign Cost) / Campaign Cost] x 100%
For example, let’s say you spent $1,000 on an email marketing campaign, and the campaign generated $5,000 in revenue. To calculate the overall ROI, you would use the formula:
Overall ROI = [($5,000 - $1,000) / $1,000] x 100% = 400%
In this example, the overall ROI is 400%, which means that for every dollar spent on the campaign, you generated $4 in revenue. A high overall ROI is desirable, and if you notice a low ROI, you should review your email content, targeting, and sending practices to improve the profitability of your campaigns.
10. Forwarding/Social Sharing Rate
The Forwarding/Social Sharing Rate is an email marketing metric that measures the percentage of recipients who forward your email or share it on social media. This rate is an essential metric as it indicates how engaging and shareable your email content is with your audience.
The rate is calculated by dividing the number of shares by the number of delivered emails and then multiplying by 100 to get a percentage. Here’s the formula:
Forwarding/Social Sharing Rate = (Number of Shares / Number of Delivered Emails) x 100%
For example, let’s say you sent out 1,000 emails, and 900 of them were delivered. Out of the 900 delivered emails, 50 recipients shared or forwarded the email. To calculate the rate, you would use the formula:
Forwarding/Social Sharing Rate = (50 / 900) x 100% = 5.56%
In this example, the Forwarding/Social Sharing Rate is 5.56%, which means that 5.56% of the delivered emails were shared or forwarded by the recipients. A high Forwarding/Social Sharing Rate is desirable as it indicates that your email content is engaging and shareable with your audience, which can increase brand exposure and reach.
🎁 Bonus: Top 3 Tools For Tracking Email Marketing Metrics
There are various email marketing analytics tools available in the market that offer robust tracking and reporting features to help you track and analyze your email marketing metrics. Here are 3 of the popular tools that can help you track your email marketing metrics:
1. Mailchimp
Mailchimp is a renowned email marketing solution that provides a comprehensive set of features suitable for businesses of all sizes. Its platform is built on four key functions, including a user-friendly campaign builder, powerful email automation, robust analytics, and seamless integrations with other platforms, enabling businesses to manage all their email marketing needs in one place.
Key Features:
👉🏻 Email Campaign Builder
👉🏻 Marketing CRM
👉🏻 Email Automation
👉🏻 Analytics and Reporting
👉🏻 Integrations
2. Google Analytics
While Mailchimp and other email marketing tools have analytics tracking features, Google Analytics (GA) surpasses them in this area. Although you’ll need to use another tool to set up your email campaigns, the wide range of email marketing metrics GA enables you to track makes it worth it.
Key Features:
👉🏻 Email Acquisition Reports
👉🏻 Tracking Email Campaign Performance
👉🏻 Email Conversion Tracking
👉🏻 Multi-Channel Attribution
👉🏻 User Segmentation and Analysis
3. Benchmark Email
Benchmark Email and Mailchimp share many similarities as email marketing tools. They both allow you to create email campaigns, grow your audience through analytics, and integrate with various services. Moreover, they offer similar pricing tiers and have many minor functions in common. Choosing between them can be challenging, but you can try both their free plans to see which one suits you better.
Key Features:
👉🏻 Email design and automation tools
👉🏻 List management and segmentation
👉🏻 A/B testing
👉🏻 Advanced reporting and analytics
👉🏻 Integrations with various third-party applications
🎯 Boost Email Marketing Results With These Must-Track Metrics
Tracking email marketing metrics is crucial for the success of any email marketing campaign. By keeping a close eye on the above-mentioned metrics, you can gain valuable insights into the performance of your emails and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Moreover, with the help of tools like Mailchimp, Google Analytics, and Benchmark Email, you can easily monitor these metrics and improve your email marketing results. Remember, consistency is key, so make sure to track your metrics consistently over time to see the true impact of your efforts. To get more tips and tricks, subscribe to our blog and join our Facebook community.
