The 4 Most Important Email Marketing Metrics How To Improve Them
Management Summary
1. Delivery rate
How many emails were delivered?
The delivery rate shows the percentage ratio of the shipping quantity to the delivery quantity. The delivery quantity is the number of emails sent. The delivery quantity is calculated by subtracting theBouncesof the shipping quantity.
A bounce is an email that was sent but not delivered. Here a distinction is made betweenSoft bounces(=Emails that are not delivered due to temporary events such as an overfilled mailbox) andHard bounces(=Emails that cannot be delivered permanently).
The opposite of the delivery rate is thereforeBounce rate, which shows the percentage ratio of shipping volume to bounces.
How to improve your delivery rate:
A high bounce rate (and therefore a low delivery rate) usually indicates an outdated address database that has not been maintained for a long time. Coding errors when uploading a new recipient list can also be the cause of the increase in bounces. In any case, you should check your mailing database and block hard bounces.
2. Open rate
How many emails were opened?
One thing in advance:The measurement of openings is not entirely precise. Openings are measured by incorporating a so-called tracking pixel as an image. This means that only people who download images are recorded. All others can only be recorded indirectly – for example via the logical conclusion that clicking on a link must also have opened it. Advanced email marketing tools do this automatically.
A general distinction is made between entire or total openings and unique openings.Total openingsare all openings that have occurred, including multiple openings by the same person. UnderUnique openingsHowever, only openings by different recipients are counted – each opener only once.
How to increase your open rate:
In addition to the time of sending and the sender’s name, the subject line is an important deciding factor in whether an email is opened. Writing a suitable yet appealing subject line is not an easy task. We have for you11 tips for effective subject linescompiled.
3. Click-through rate
How often were the links in the email clicked?
The click rate puts the clicks in relation to the delivery quantity. Just like with the opening rate, there is also a distinction betweentotal clicksandunique clicks. The net click rate only counts unique clicks, i.e. only the first click of a reader, while the gross click rate also counts multiple clicks in an email.
This is also an important key figure in this contextClicks-to-opens rate. It indicates what percentage of openers found the content interesting enough to click one (or more) links.
How to increase your click-through rate:
Basically: a good call-to-action is mandatory! You can also test different visual variants (e.g. text links vs. buttons) against each other. The teasers for the links should also be gripping and meaningful. You have to make people curious about the content without giving too much away. It must be immediately clear to the reader what they are missing if they don’t click. Just like with the subject, you should test, test, test! This is the only way to find out what resonates with YOUR recipients.
4. Unsubscribe rate
How many recipients no longer want to receive emails?
Recipients report via theunsubscribe link set in the emailthese are considered active opt-outs. The cancellations are related to the shipping quantity. The unsubscribe rate indicates as a percentage how many recipients unsubscribed after a newsletter or email was sent.
How to lower your unsubscribe rate:
The unsubscribe rate provides important insights into the quality of your content. A high unsubscribe rate is a sign that the content of your newsletter or mailing should be optimized. Interesting news and well-researched content offer the user real added value. Another lever is the frequency of your emails: If you don’t send emails for too long, you risk that the recipient will forget who you are and therefore unsubscribe.
