6 Email Marketing KPIs That Help You Build a Stronger Strategy
Email marketing is the most cost-effective and efficient way to build brand awareness, increase email subscribers, and generate leads. But email marketing can be tricky. There are a lot of things that go into an email campaign: timing, frequency, content strategy, etc. With so many different factors at play, it’s easy to make mistakes or overlook something important. To help you avoid these mistakes and keep your email campaigns running smoothly we’ve compiled 7 email marketing KPIS (key performance indicators) below!
What are email marketing KPIs?
Email marketing KPIs (key performance indicators) are metrics that help you measure the success of your email marketing campaigns.
Some common email marketing KPIs include open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and unsubscribe rates. Measuring these metrics will help you determine whether or not your email marketing campaigns are generating the desired results.
Why are email marketing KPIs important?
Email marketing KPIs can vary depending on the type of business you are in, but some common ones include open rates, click-through rates, unsubscribe rates, and bounce rates. It’s important to track these metrics so you can gauge the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns and make necessary adjustments. For example, if your open rate is low, you might need to revise your subject line or send more engaging content in order to get people to open your emails. Tracking and analyzing your KPIs will help you fine-tune your email marketing strategy and improve your results. The effects of this can then be seen if measuring long-term objectives and key results (OKRs).
Examples of email marketing KPIs
#1 Open rates
This indicates how many people are opening your emails. Open rates can be determined by e.g. email marketing software.
Open rate = emails opened / total email sent
For example: If you send 100 emails and 25 people open your email, then your open rate is 25%. This means that one out of four people who received your email actually read it!
Open rates can be a valuable indicator of how well your email marketing content is resonating with your audience. If you notice that your open rate is low, it might be time to revise your subject line or send more engaging content.
What influences open rates?
There are a number of factors that can influence open rates, including:
– Subject line
– Timing
– Frequency
– Content
– Design
– Location (e.g. email client)
How can you improve your open rate?
There are a few things you can do to improve your email open rates, including:
– Sending emails during off-peak hours
– Sending more personalized emails (e.g. include the recipient’s name)
– Including a compelling subject line that highlights benefits (and not features)
Make sure to send out tests before increasing email frequency so you can gauge how different changes will impact your open rates.
#2 Click-through rates
This indicated how many people are clicking through to your website or landing page.
Click-through rate = clicks / total email sent
For example: If you send 100 emails and 25 people click through to your website, then your click-through rate is 25%. This means that one out of four people who received your email actually clicked through!
What influences click-through rates?
There are a number of factors that can influence click-through rates, including:
– Subject line
– Timing
– Frequency
How can you improve your email’s click through rate?
There are a few things that you can do to increase email click through rates, including:
– Including CTAs (calls to action) in the email body
– Making sure your landing page is well designed and user-friendly
– Offering a freebie or discount in exchange for clicking through
Test different email content, subject lines, and offers to see what works best for you.
Remember that click-through rates are only one metric to consider when measuring email marketing success – make sure to track other metrics as well.
#3 Conversion rates
This indicated what percentage of people who click through actually convert (buy, sign up, etc.).
Conversion rate = email conversions / total clicks
For example: If 25 people click through and 20 of them convert, then your email conversion rate is 80%. This means that four out of five people who clicked through actually converted!
What influences email conversion rates?
There are a number of factors that can influence email conversion rates, including:
– Subject line
– Timing
– Frequency
How can you improve email conversion rates?
There are a few things that you can do to increase email conversion rates, including:
– Optimizing your landing page for conversions (e.g. make the CTA clear and big enough)
– Offering a freebie or discount in exchange for clicking through
– Including CTAs (calls to action) in the email body
Remember, email conversion rates are only one aspect to consider when evaluating the success of your email marketing campaign; make sure to measure other variables as well.
#4 Bounce rates
This indicates how many people open your email but then immediately leave without taking any other action.
Bounce rate = email bounces / total email sent
For example: If you send 100 emails and 25 people don’t receive your email due to invalid email addresses, then your bounce rate is 25%. This means that one out of every four people who opened your email bounced!
What influences email bounce rates?
– Subject line
– Timing
– Frequency
How can you improve email bounce rates?
There are a few things that you can do to reduce email bounces and improve email deliverability, including:
– Removing invalid email addresses from your list (e.g. people who haven’t opened any emails in the past six months)
– Segmenting your email list into different groups (e.g. those who have opened emails, clicked through, or converted)
– Sending tests to a small portion of your email list before sending to the entire group
– Ensuring that your email content is relevant and interesting to recipients
It’s important to remember that bounce rate is only one email marketing KPI that you should monitor, along with others.
#5 Unsubscribe rates
This indicates how many people are unsubscribing from your email list.
Unsubscribe rate = email unsubscribes / total email sent
For example: If you send 100 emails and five people unsubscribe, then your unsubscribe rate is five percent. This means that one out of every twenty people who received your email decided to unsubscribe!
What influences email unsubscribe rates?
There are a number of factors that can influence email unsubscribe rates, including:
– Subject line
– Timing
– Frequency
– Content
How can you reduce email unsubscribe rates?
There are a few things that you can do to reduce email unsubscribe rates and improve email deliverability, including:
– Removing email addresses that have not opened any emails in the past six months
– Gathering feedback on email content and making changes accordingly
Seeing your list unsubscribing is not a pleasant feeling but there are things you can do to mitigate it.
Monitoring email unsubscribe rates is only one aspect of email marketing; make sure to track other variables as well.
#6 Spam complaints
This indicates how many people mark your email as spam.
Spam complaints rate = email spam reports / total email sent
For example: If you send 100 emails and three people report them as spam, then your spam complaint rate is three percent. This means that one out of every thirty emails was reported as spam!
What influences email complain rates?
– Subject line
– Timing
– Frequency
How can you reduce email spam complaints?
There are a few things that you can do to reduce email spam complaints and improve email deliverability, including:
– Analyzing your email list to ensure that you’re emailing only subscribers who have opted-in to receive messages from you
– Sending email content that is relevant and of interest to your subscribers
– Offering an unsubscribe link in every email message
– Testing different subject lines and email content to find what works best for your audience
Again, you should also look at other email marketing KPIs. Why? Because email spam complaints are only one aspect of email marketing success.
Over to you
Each of these email marketing KPIs can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your email campaigns. Email marketing KPIs are important metrics to keep an eye on when creating or tweaking your email marketing strategy. By tracking these six KPIs, you can build a stronger email campaign that resonates better with your audience and results in more conversions.