Using email marketing to your advantage can be trickier than it might seem. Recently, focus has switched to more advanced analytics, with an emphasis on quality and effectiveness, not just quantity. When you’re putting together your email marketing campaign, these are the most important numbers to keep track of.
Click-through rate
In email marketing terms, click-through rate (CTR) is king. It simply calculates how likely people are to, first and foremost, open your email, and secondly, how likely they are to end up on your website. The total number of clicks can tell you how many people clicked to open your email, while impressions are how many people saw your email. The average CTR across the board tends to be about 4%, but does vary across industries. Make sure you know where you stand in comparison to competing businesses. To improve your CTR, make sure each email you send provides value to the recipient. Instead of using overly promotional language, entice them with discounts and giveaways to increase significance.
Another way to quickly bolster your CTR is by designing a clear call to action in your emails. Include hyperlinks with language like “click here” and “download now” to get the most out of each email. When including a link, it’s important to be obvious about the deal you’re offering without forcing it. Including the link just once or twice will get the point across without coming across as demanding or desperate.
Conversion Rate
So your call to action resulted in a click through to your website, now what? At this point, the job is only half done. By understanding conversion rate (the number of people who completed the action versus the number of emails delivered) you will know how effective your emails are in motivating people to actually buy the product you’re promoting, for example. Sending welcome emails, abandoned-cart emails, and follow-up emails are the top ways to bolster your conversion rate. Again, make people aware that the offer is on the table, but, ultimately, the choice is theirs.
Bounce Rate
An easily overlooked number, bounce rate measures how many of the emails you send actually get through to the intended recipient. There are two types of bounce rates: hard bounce and soft bounce. Hard bounce indicates a nonexistent or invalid email address. Take these emails off your list immediately, as they’re of no use to you. A soft bounce means that the email address is valid, but might be undergoing an issue with the server or have a full inbox. Monitoring your bounce rate is crucial to making sure you don’t spend too much time or money on reaching out to accounts that stand no chance of leading to a click-through or purchase.
Split testing
If you have two great ideas for an email, but don’t know which one will fare better, it’s time to split test them—also known as A/B testing. Send half of your recipients one email, and the other half a different email. In due time, you’ll have a good idea of which of the emails is more effective and will help you reach the goals you set.
The strategies for getting the desired result from marketing campaigns are constantly changing. Still, you can always monitor how well you’re keeping up with these trends by understanding the success of your work. By putting forth a concentrated effort to work hard and work smart in this department, you can assure success for years to come.
