| Learning how to better understand your email | | | | readers actually opened the email. |
| marketing campaign is the first step to making it | | | | · The open rate tracking can be activated |
| work harder; delivering more positive reception, more | | | | without the user ever having read the email. |
| sales, and of course, more revenue. | | | | · Identify those customers who never open |
| There's a slew of email marketing metrics and it's | | | | your emails and send them a completely different |
| vital you are confident in cutting through to the | | | | type of offer, something you've never tried before! |
| metrics that matter most, and how to use them to | | | | It's a great way to try out your ideas on an audience |
| improve your email campaign performance. | | | | that won't negatively affect your sales figures and |
| Delivery Rate | | | | you never know: you might just discover a way of |
| Delivery Rate is most often derived from how many | | | | reaching a new type of customer for your business. |
| emails were originally sent out minus the number that | | | | · If you're paying for your email marketing |
| were bounced back. Makes perfect sense doesn't it? | | | | on a per email basis, and the above tip doesn't work, |
| However, it offers no further advice on whether the | | | | delete these non-responders from your mailing list |
| email was deleted immediately by a spam filter, or | | | | and reduce your budget. |
| diverted into a spam or junk folder. It's important to | | | | Click-through Rate |
| remember that email clients like Gmail have the ability | | | | Now we're cooking! This metric starts to give us |
| to recognize and label familiar communications as | | | | some solid insight into how interested the target |
| spam without ever alerting either the sender or the | | | | audience is in your product or price (or story if you |
| recipient. | | | | run an informational website). Industry sectors can |
| What can you learn from this? | | | | experience wildly different click-through rates, ranging |
| · A percentage of all delivered email WILL | | | | from an average of 57% in the restraurant sector to |
| end in a junk folder and you'll never know about it. | | | | 5.7% in the automotive sector (source Harte-Hanks |
| · Thus there will never be an official | | | | Postfuture Index(TM) for January-June 2006), and it's |
| unsubscription from the recipient because chances | | | | often a sign of how saturated the email marketing |
| are they're not even aware they have received | | | | arena is in your chosen industry, and how loyal |
| anything from you. | | | | customers are within that market. |
| Bounce Rate | | | | Aim for the highest click-through rate as possible by |
| Bounce rate is the exact opposite of delivery rate, | | | | including a clear and compelling call to action in your |
| although it's often split up into hard bounces and soft | | | | email communication; don't trust the recipient to |
| bounces. Bounces of the hard variety are being sent | | | | decide the next course of action. What constitutes a |
| to an email address that doesn't exist; like sending a | | | | compelling call-to-action is down to your |
| letter to a completely fictional address. If the domain | | | | understanding of your audience and market but here |
| or recipient isn't recognized, the email will be returned | | | | are some examples from my experience: |
| to the sender. Soft bounces can occur for a number | | | | · Buy 1 Get 1 Free Voucher Code - Ends at |
| of reasons such as when the recipient's inbox is full. | | | | midnight! |
| This doesn't happen very often these days except in | | | | · Enjoy 25% off your regular purchases - |
| the cases of free services like Hotmail and Yahoo. | | | | Click here to order before we run out of stock! |
| · Remove hard bounce addresses as soon as | | | | · Send this offer to your friends and earn a |
| possible to reduce wasted budget, but don't delete | | | | $5 gift voucer with one who signs up to our program. |
| them from your records. | | | | · Call us for a free, no obligations chat on |
| · You should be aiming to reduce your email | | | | 0800 123 444 to discuss your policy |
| marketing bounce rate to make your campaigns | | | | Notice, Grasshopper, how retail calls-to-action often |
| more effective overall. | | | | rely on two elements to encourage email click |
| Unsubscribe Rate | | | | through: an good offer and a compelling deadline. You |
| Many of the reasons why people unsubscribe from | | | | can develop this even more by including |
| email marketing lists is down to how you got their | | | | personalisation to really connect with your customers |
| email address in the first place. There are three | | | | on a individual level. If you employ these tactics, |
| general ways to procure email addresses: | | | | make sure your landing pages are ready to convert |
| Buying a list of emails - When you send your email | | | | this traffic and deliver on your promises - otherwise |
| communication out to a cold list of people who have | | | | your readers may feel conned and your unsubscribes |
| never heard about you, be prepared for a significant | | | | will rocket. |
| unsubscribe rate. | | | | Conversion Rate |
| Compiling a list from your previous customers - | | | | The term conversion isn't necessarily limited to |
| Unsubscribes from previous customers on your | | | | securing a sale online. It can mean any goal that you |
| database can mean you are sending too many emails | | | | define as a secured milestone of customer |
| and none of them are of any particular interest to | | | | engagement: email signups, brochure downloads, calls |
| your recipient base. Unless you have some real news | | | | in to the business, installed firefox addons... they're all |
| worthy of telling your customers or you have a | | | | conversions to various industries. Most ecommerce |
| significant offer that doesn't insult them, I'd seriously | | | | businesses will consider straight up purchases as |
| reconsider if you need to send that particular email | | | | conversions, and email marketing is a proven way of |
| creative you're working on. | | | | boosting sales and revenue. |
| Opt-in emails - An unsubscribe from these guys is far | | | | Conversion rate depends on many factors coming to |
| more telling. If they signed up in the first place then | | | | together on your landing page to bring the customer |
| perhaps you are bombarding them too much, or they | | | | to the point where they are willing to commit to a |
| have received some unacceptable service from you | | | | purchase: |
| recently. | | | | Timing |
| · Use a form on your unsubscribe landing | | | | 8am on a Monday morning isn't a great time to launch |
| page to offer people the chance to tell you why | | | | your email campaign. Similarly schools won't respond |
| they have decided to remove themselves from your | | | | outside of term time. |
| marketing list. Be prepared for some cutting remarks. | | | | Pricing |
| · Find ways to top up your email base (your | | | | Get this right and customers will forgive a lot of |
| recipient list) to counter the effect of unsubscribes | | | | mistakes. Remember, email marketing is not the place |
| and provide the opportunity to engage a wider | | | | to shout about your average pricing policy. |
| audience. | | | | Relevance |
| · Don't treat low unsubscribes as a measure | | | | Dear old Mrs. Ogden probably isn't going to be |
| of recipient interest; use more active metrics like | | | | interested in a 18-30 holiday to Ibiza. Match your |
| opens, clicks and conversions instead. | | | | message to your database for an instant conversion |
| Open Rate | | | | quick win. |
| The Open Rate is a bit of a misleading metric... use it | | | | Urgency |
| with care. It doesn't show you how interested | | | | If you decide upon an arbitrary deadline for an offer |
| potential customers are in what you have to offer, | | | | or voucher code you must stick to it ruthlessly. The |
| and it's certainly no indication they are a gentle nudge | | | | next time it happens people will know it's for real. |
| away from actually clicking through to your website. | | | | Trustworthyness |
| Most email clients (Hotmail, Gmail, Thunderbird, | | | | You have literally seconds to convince your potential |
| Outlook etc.) display a snippet line which needs to be | | | | customer that you're legitimate and credible. Red |
| clicked on to load the full content of the email, which | | | | Comic Sans and premium call numbers are a definite |
| will usually contain a piece of tracking code or pixel | | | | no no. |
| image that allows the sender to get reports back. | | | | Call-to-Action |
| What this actually means is that the recipients email | | | | Tell your customer what you want them to do next. |
| client displayed this code; nothing more, nothing less. | | | | People don't like to think on the internet so give |
| However, as long as you understand this, it's still the | | | | them a clear direction what to click, call or download. |
| best indication we have of judging how many human | | | | |