Optimize Your Email Strategy by Tracking Key Metrics and Making Adjustments
As the number of online interactions with customers and clients increases, creating and maintaining an email list has become essential. However, building the list is just the first step. The key to success lies in ensuring that your emails reach your subscribers and ignite their interest and engagement.
This is where email metrics become crucial. They provide insight into how well your emails are performing and whether your efforts are yielding results in real-time. In this article, we’ll outline seven important email metrics that can offer valuable insights to guide your email marketing strategy.
These metrics are categorized into three groups: deliverability, engagement, and list health metrics. Let’s dive in!
Deliverability Metrics
Deliverability refers to the processes that ensure your emails successfully reach your subscribers’ inboxes. Monitoring deliverability metrics is essential to confirm that your emails are landing in inboxes and that your email list remains healthy.
Your email service provider (ESP) plays a significant role in your email success. While they manage most aspects of deliverability, there are two specific metrics you should monitor to assess the effectiveness of your email campaigns.
1. Bounce Rate (Soft and Hard)
Bounce rates represent the percentage of emails that fail to reach their intended recipients. There are two types of bounces: soft bounces, which are temporary issues, and hard bounces, which are permanent and typically occur due to invalid addresses. A high bounce rate may lead to temporary list suspension by some ESPs, including FeedBlitz.
To lower your bounce rates, consider these strategies:
- Regularly clean your email list to remove invalid or outdated addresses.
- Employ double opt-in methods to verify subscriber email addresses.
- Segment your list and send targeted content to enhance relevance.
If you notice a spike in bounce rates for a campaign, it’s advisable to contact your provider’s support team for further assistance.
2. Complaint Rate
The complaint rate indicates how many subscribers flagged your email as spam. A high complaint rate can harm your sender reputation, negatively affect deliverability, result in a suspended list, or even lead to being banned by your ESP.
To reduce your complaint rate:
- Clearly provide easy unsubscribe options in your emails.
- Consistently send relevant and valuable content.
- Regularly clean your list to remove unengaged or inactive subscribers.
While a few complaints are normal, a sudden influx is concerning. Review your recent content, compare it to previous campaigns, and reach out to your ESP for additional support if necessary.
Engagement Metrics
Engagement metrics focus on how subscribers interact with your email content. Monitoring these metrics helps gauge the interest levels of your subscribers in your email campaigns—and fortunately, adjusting strategies based on these metrics is straightforward.
Let’s discuss the two most crucial engagement metrics:
3. Open Rate
The open rate measures the percentage of subscribers who opened your email. This fundamental metric can be influenced by various factors, including list health, subject lines, and mailing frequency.
Average open rates vary by industry but generally range from 20-30%. To improve your open rates, consider these tips:
- Create compelling subject lines.
- Use a recognizable sender name.
- Optimize send times based on when subscribers are most likely to open your emails.
Boosting open rates may take time as you test different subject lines, preview texts, mailing frequencies, and content styles. Remain patient, and consult your ESP for strategic guidance if needed.
4. Click-Through Rate (CTR)
CTR represents the percentage of subscribers who clicked on a link in your email. This metric indicates the clarity, attractiveness, and effectiveness of your email content, particularly your calls to action (CTAs).
To enhance your CTR, implement the following strategies:
- Keep your CTAs clear, concise, and engaging.
- Utilize an appealing email template.
- Segment your list for more targeted content delivery.
Using heat maps and real-time data can be extremely helpful for monitoring your CTRs and should be accessible for every campaign you send. If you’re unfamiliar with these tools, we can provide a brief overview to help!
List Health Metrics
A healthy email list consists of active, interested, and engaged subscribers. List health metrics track this engagement. In email marketing, having a smaller list of enthusiastic subscribers can often be more effective than a large list of passively interested individuals.
To monitor your list health, focus on these three key metrics:
5. List Growth Rate
The list growth rate reflects how your email list is expanding over time. Is there steady growth? A sudden surge? Or has it plateaued? These changes are significant and can provide insight into the effectiveness of your email marketing strategy.
If increasing your email list is a priority, consider the following strategies:
- Add sign-up forms to your website and social media.
- Encourage existing subscribers to refer friends and family.
- Run contests or giveaways to attract new subscribers.
Remember to avoid unethical methods of growing your email list, as these can lead to being banned by many ESPs, including FeedBlitz.
6. Unsubscribe Rate
The unsubscribe rate indicates how many subscribers opted out of your list after receiving an email. It’s normal to see some unsubscribes with each campaign, but an excessively high rate can signal issues with your content or email frequency and may lead to list suspensions by your ESP.
To minimize your unsubscribe rate:
- Provide relevant content to your subscribers.
- Allow subscribers to manage their email preferences.
- Monitor the frequency of your emails and send them in alignment with subscriber expectations.
A spike in unsubscribe rates might occur after a period of inactivity or if you suddenly alter the content or frequency of your communications. To avoid confusion or frustration, communicate new expectations clearly to your subscribers before making significant changes.
7. Inactive or Unengaged Subscribers
Inactive or unengaged subscribers are those who haven’t interacted with your emails for a considerable time. While your emails might be delivered, they may go unopened or get deleted, which can be frustrating as this affects your overall engagement metrics.
To address inactive or unengaged subscribers:
- Implement a re-engagement campaign.
- Offer incentives or exclusive content to motivate engagement.
- Regularly remove inactive subscribers to maintain a healthy list.
Removing these subscribers not only helps with engagement metrics but might also lower your costs, depending on your ESP’s pricing structure. Remember, quality trumps quantity in email marketing.
Navigate Your Email Marketing Journey One Metric at a Time
Email marketing is an ongoing process that offers a unique chance to evaluate your efforts and make timely adjustments. It’s the ultimate optimization approach. By concentrating on these seven vital email marketing metrics—deliverability, engagement, and list health—you can refine your strategy and achieve better results.
These metrics, along with many others, are easily trackable through FeedBlitz. Ready to explore this? Click here to start your free trial! Should you have any questions, feel free to contact us through our Support Page. Live support is available Monday to Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM Eastern, and you can access helpful resources 24/7 via the links provided.
