Tag Archives: email marketing campaigns

Do You Know the Email Metrics That Matter?

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Are you overwhelmed by your email marketing? Trying to figure out which email metrics matter?  What should you be measuring?  Opens? Clicks? Are bounces a problem?

The great thing about email marketing compared to print is that you can get all sorts of data about your messages.

With email you can see how many people received your message, how many people opened it, whether they clicked on any of the content, and if they bought anything from you.  With snail mail, we had to wait weeks and weeks to see results.  Email lets you do that in minutes.

But which are the email metrics that matter?

Delivery rate

The first thing you want to check is your delivery rate.  This is the number of people who actually get your message delivered.  If you send a message to 5,000 people and only 3,500 get it, it’s time to change email providers.

A good provider will use various authentication tools to verify that you’re not a spammer, and check your messages for spam before you send them. Also, make sure that you take these steps to stay out of the spam filter.

Bounce rate

The next thing to look at is your bounce rate.  The bounce rate is the number of emails that didn’t reach an inbox.  This can happen for several reasons.  Sometimes, the server at the other end is broken.  Or, the person could have moved/left their job and not given a new address. And, sometimes, people provide fake addresses just to get your fabulous ebook. If your bounce rate is high, check to see why.  A high bounce rate can hurt the delivery of your other messages. It can also cost you money, since many email providers charge by the size of your list.

Open rate

This one is pretty self-explanatory.  It’s the percentage of people who open  your email.  Higher numbers are good.  It tells you how interested people are in your messages.  Track this to see which messages (and topics) are the most popular with your readers.

It’s also a good idea to monitor when your emails are opened.  Do you get better results emailing in the morning? Or the afternoon?  Check to see what day or time of day gets the best response and adjust your marketing schedule accordingly.

Click through rate

Click through is the number of people who click on one of the links in your email. This will vary depending on how many links you have, the number of times each person clicks on a single link, and the type of content in your newsletter. Full articles will get fewer clicks than an excerpt which requires readers to click through to a web site to read the entire piece.

The click through rate can also be affected by the quality of your email opt-in procedure, and how interested your readers are in your content.  The numbers won’t be perfect, as the email software can only track HTML emails, but they’re a good general guide. Each business and each email is different, but you can get a general idea on how your click through compares to your competition.

Unsubscribe rates

If these are high, you may need to rethink your strategy, or your content.  Something isn’t connecting. Have you delivered what you promised in your sign up page?  Or have you wandered off to other topics that your subscribers weren’t expecting?AWeber, by  the way, has an automatic box that pops up asking readers to explain why they unsubscribed (which is very useful).

Sales

This is the best part.  If  you were selling something, how many people bought it?

Set up a form to track your sales confirmation page (the last page they see when they buy your product).  Add a description (sale!), and the amount.  Now you can count up what you earned.

How Much Email is Too Much?

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Are your email newsletter readers overloaded?  There’s a lot of debate about email frequency…how often should I send?

How much email is too much?

Frequency is definitely important. If you email too frequently, you’ll burn out your list, and wear out your welcome.

It’s not just frequency

Frequency isn’t the only consideration though. For example, Groupon sends emails every single day, but people happily sign up (and open them), because they have a strong incentive. Each email offers a deal, and the only way to get it is to share (the discount goes “live” only if enough people sign up for it). Daily Candy has daily emails too. HARO emails three times a day!

Are the emails relevant? And are they useful?

The thing that really makes the difference  – what’s in the email and why are you sending it?  Is it relevant? Stuffed with marketing messages? Or full of useful content. Not every email can (or should) sell something — unless that’s what readers specifically signed up for.

Is the email urgent?

The reason Daily Candy, Groupon, and HARO can email so often is that the information is time-sensitive. Don’t respond or reply fast enough and you miss the deal or don’t get the press coverage.

Why people complain about too many emails

Is it because you’re mailing too often? Or because your content isn’t helpful enough? It’s not the newsletter that’s the problem, it’s the way you’re using it. Like using a hammer to break an egg.

How to email more often (without marketing more)

Mix in some messages that offer useful tips and how-tos, without any marketing message at all. Or, add an offer to an email about something else (an email marketing ebook to a newsletter with 10 tips for better newsletters).

Create an e-course

Put together a series of tips, and send them separately as a series of lessons. When Brian Clark (of Copyblogger) was selling real estate, he created an email relocation guide — sent as a year-long email course — by the time clients were ready to relocate, he was the first person they called.  You don’t have to painstakingly send each message manually; it can be done automatically.

Offer limited time special deals

Or, offer the option to sign up for 10 days of special discounts (this could work well around holidays). The only people who get the extra emails are the people who want them. Since it’s a limited offer, it also increases the urgency.

Have you gotten complaints about your e–newsletter?  What did you do?

How to Write Magnetic Email Subject Lines

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Do you know what makes an email subject line irresistible?  What are the top email subject lines?  And how can you make sure that your emails get opened?

A great subject line is the key to your email campaign’s success. It’s the first thing your readers see. If the subject line is dull (or irrelevant), your message won’t be seen. Think of it like a news headline.  It’s got to grab attention, and grab it quickly.

Surprising top email subject lines

In some cases, the emails that get opened the most will have subject lines that are, well, dull:  “Broadcast Stat Report”, “[Company] Holiday Party, or “Your Order From [Company].”

These messages get high open rates because they’re immediate (where’s the party?), relevant (report on your email broadcast), useful and specific (how many people opened my email and how many clicks did I get?).

What makes a subject line irresistible?

Using the line “Holiday Party” is OK for just sending information. If you want people to take action, you’ll need something more compelling.

The best email subject lines (if you’re marketing something) are those that promise useful, specific, relevant information, without a hard sell or spammy promises of instant internet riches. If you want your emails to get opened, avoid continually offering “sales.”  At first, they may just hit delete.  After a while, it’s straight to the unsubscribe link.

Clean and simple headline

Use a spam checker (this should be included in your email newsletter provider’s software) to look for words that might send your message to the spam folder.

Keep it shorter (longer subject lines tend to get cut off in preview mode).

Offer solutions to immediate problems

One of my best-performing email subject lines was “Five things your website must have.” Another top performer was “How to get the fees you deserve.” Write something that excites curiosity; the only way to find out what those five things were was to open the email.

Focus on your readers

Make the subject about your readers (not you).  If you want opinions, ask “what do you think?, “rather than “help us with this survey.” Ask them to do something (in their interest), such as downloading their copy of a relevant new report.

How Does Your Average Click Through Rate Stack Up to Your Competitors?

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Got an email list?  When you send a message to that list,  you probably want them to do something (comment, buy, click for more information), right?

So, the higher your average click through rate and open rate the better.

Right?

The question is, are you getting a good click-through rate? Or does it need improvement?

Are your average open and click through rates high enough?

How do they compare to your peers, or other people in your industry?

No comparison is perfect – it’s like well, apples and oranges, each industry and audience will be different.

Some companies find they get better results on weekends, others on Thursdays.  In some cases, time of day is important.  And, of course, you need to write a subject line that gets opened.

How does your average open rate compare?

Here are some resources to help  you find out.

Email metrics report: Put out yearly by Mailer Mailer, this report tracks the results from over 900 million email messages. It’s got data by industry, list sizes, open rates, click through rates, personalization, and subject lines.

Marketing Sherpa Email Newsletter: A free newsletter with case studies (these often include screen shots, interviews, and specific statistics) on topics such as: low cost ways to build your list, simple changes that improved orders by 29%, and using Facebook to get more signups.

AWeber: AWeber will manage your list for you, and also track your open rates, click throughs, and bounces (emails that never quite made it to their destination).

With this data, you can see how well each email performs and even send a second message to subscribers who didn’t open  your first email.

In fact, a recent case study in the Marketing Sherpa newsletter showed one firm got a 55% increase in sales with this strategy.

Hubspot: Webinar on demand with info on the science of email marketing: how days of the week affect average click-throughs, opt-out rates based on the day of the week and time of day, and whether recent subscribers are more likely to click than older ones.

Highest open rates by industry

  • Agriculture 25.3%
  • Religious 21.0%
  • Transportation 18.1%0%
  • Large Business 17.3%

Lowest average open rates (by industry)

  • Entertainment 9.2%
  • Banking 8.2%
  • Marketing 7.4%
  • Medical 7.3%

Highest average click through rates by sector

  • Religious 10.5%
  • Transportation 7.6%
  • Environmental 4.8%
  • Retail 4.5%

Lowest click through rates

  • Legal 0.9%
  • Marketing 0.8%
  • Entertainment 0.7%
  • Restaurant 0.7%

(stats from 2010 Mailer Mailer report)

Open and click through rates will vary

Your mileage will vary.  Reports on average open rates and average click through rates can give you an idea of the kinds of things to look for (time of day, size of list, location, etc.), but they can’t pinpoint exactly how your audience will respond.

Test, test, test

Experiment with subject lines.  Try dividing up your list (if it’s big enough) by industry or location. Test the time of day that you send your messages.  Change the day of the week.  Add more links.  Test the response of new subscribers against longstanding readers. See what happens.