We live in an era of big data so professionals from different areas use data all the time, and email marketers are no exception. There are many tools that enable marketers to accurately measure the effectiveness of every aspect of their campaigns. Many marketers build their strategies based on powerful analytics.

Using analytics for better conversion
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However, there is so much data that marketers often find it challenging to use it. There are many metrics for email campaign tracking, so it can be difficult to focus on the right ones. It may also be difficult to determine what insights from your data are more important so that you can adjust your marketing strategy in the right way.

There is no point in collecting data if you don’t use it properly. You should be able to analyze it in the right context, and your data is only as valuable as the insights you get from it. You need actionable insights that can help you choose the right direction for your marketing efforts.

If you cannot evaluate the effectiveness of your email campaign properly through your email campaign tracking, you won’t be able to understand what techniques work better. As a result, you can lose a lot of profit, since email is a marketing channel that generates the most ROI. Fortunately, email analytics can help you choose the right techniques, understand your leads’ behavior, and focus on the most effective features of your marketing campaign.

Now let’s consider the key metrics you should take into account.

 

What Metrics You Should Analyze?

Metrics to analyze
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1) Open Rate

This metric reflects the number of people from your email list who clicked on your emails. What you can understand from this metric is whether or not your headlines are effective enough. According to statistics, 47% of people note that subject lines are the main factor that determines whether they decide to open emails or not. To measure the open rate of your emails, you should divide the number of opened emails by the number of delivered emails.

You can test your subject lines to choose ones that perform best. To improve your subject lines, you can make them shorter, include recipients’ names, add some relevant keywords, etc. Besides, you can determine what days of the week correspond to the highest open rates and send your emails on these days.

2) Click-through Rate

If your subscribers open your emails after reading a strong subject line, it’s great. However, you need more than that. You should also make sure that they will click on links in your emails because you want them to visit your landing page or a product page on your website so that they can convert into customers. The click-through rate reflects the effectiveness of your conversion efforts, and you can calculate it by dividing the number of clicks by the number of delivered emails, and then multiplying it by 100. Average click-through rates vary depending on the industry. However, usually, this parameter is between 2% and 5%.

To increase your click-through rate, you need informative, relevant, and persuasive content. If your content corresponds to your subscribers’ interests and needs, they’ll be more likely to click on your links. The best approach is to make your content personalized. To create good content, you should hire professional writers who are perfectly familiar with your industry and are able to write a compelling copy. For example, you can check out writers with the best rating on writing services review website Best Writers Online.

3) Unsubscribe Rate

You won’t be able to generate conversions if people are not interested in interacting with your emails. If people unsubscribe from your messages, it means that there are problems with your email campaign. You should understand what’s wrong and solve these problems. We recommend that you always monitor your unsubscribe rate. It’s easy to calculate: just divide the number of people who unsubscribed from your emails by the number of delivered emails.

People may unsubscribe for different reasons. For example, you may email service providers irrelevant content, or your content may be poorly formatted. You may also send your emails at the wrong time or use ineffective subject lines. Besides, people will be much more likely to unsubscribe if you send your emails too frequently. Therefore, you should analyze other metrics, detect the problem, and adjust your campaign accordingly.

4) Return on Investment

Obviously, this is a very important metric that can help you understand how profitable a particular email campaign is. Your ROI is the total profit divided by the amount of money you’ve invested in the campaign. For instance, if you’ve got $400 from additional sales and the campaign cost you $100, its ROI will be 300%: (400-100)×100.

Using Data in the Context

To use your data to your advantage, you should be able to contextualize it, understanding what exactly this data reflects. For example, if you have a conversion rate of 4%, it means that 100 people clicked on your ad, and four of them concluded that your product or service is useful for them so they decided to purchase it. Take a look at your conversion rate and think of how it has changed in a week or a month. What marketing strategy did you use during this period of time? What did you change in the content of your emails?

If you understand how certain tactics influenced your key metrics, you’ll be able to turn your data into an evaluation of email performance. Email campaign tracking would be impossible without analyzing the metrics described above because you should be able to evaluate both the overall profitability of your campaign and the effectiveness of each particular element of your emails.

Not only should you collect data, but you should also understand how different tactics influence your conversions and other KPIs. This way, you’ll be able to optimize your decision-making process, quickly understanding what elements you can tweak to get better results. For instance, if you see that new content and personalized subject lines correlate with a 4% sales growth over a month, it means that you’ve made the right decisions and changed the right elements of your emails.

How to Improve Your Conversion Rates?

1. Let your users know that they’ll receive emails

We recommend that you always inform users about emails in advance. This way, you’ll be able to decrease your unsubscribe rate and increase your conversion rate. When people subscribe to your emails, make sure to clarify how many emails they will get, what these emails will be about, and how often you will send them. The best approach is to also include a quick survey so that every subscriber can tell you what topics they are interested in.

2. Use real names

Businesses often use a company’s name in the “From” field. Sometimes, businesses also put real names or combine these two approaches. Although the “From” field is unlikely to have the same impact on your conversions as the subject line, it’s easy to test. You can try to include real names and see whether it impacts the performance of your emails or not. Real names can help you make your emails more personal and therefore more likely to be opened. Including your name can also help you start conversations with your leads.

3. Determine the best time to send your emails

You can find countless suggestions on what is the best time to send your emails on the internet. However, there is no universal advice that would work for everyone. You should determine the right time yourself by considering your subscriber base. You should test different tactics to understand when your users are most likely to open your emails. It will take some time before you find the perfect time for your emails, but the results are worth your patience.

4. Use numbered lists in your emails

Subject lines with numbers can increase open rates. Therefore, you can include numbered lists in your emails and write subject lines with numbers. For example, your subject line can be “5 Ways to Improve Email Conversions,” or “7 Tips to Increase Email Open Rates.”

5. Use clean email templates

Cluttered emails distract your subscribers from CTAs and other important elements. Every email you send should have a clear purpose and you must make sure that every element serves this purpose. Therefore, we recommend that you use clean templates and build the structure of your emails around a strong and noticeable CTA.

Wrapping Up

Thanks to analytics, email marketing becomes easier to understand. You can analyze your metrics to determine what elements of your email campaigns perform well and what you need to change. Your open rates, unsubscribe rates, and click-through rates reflect the interest of your subscribers and the effectiveness of your email content.

We recommend that you always consider your metrics in the context of your objectives, taking into account the specifics of your audience and your product or service. We hope that our tips will help you focus on the right metrics so that you can quickly adjust your emails to the needs and preferences of your audience, improving your conversion rates. Don’t be afraid to test different approaches so that you can use only the most effective tactics.

 

FAQs

 

1) Why should I evaluate the effectiveness of my email campaign?

If you cannot evaluate the effectiveness of your email campaign properly, you won’t be able to understand what techniques work better. As a result, you can lose a lot of profit, since email is a marketing channel that generates the most ROI.

 

2) What metrics should I analyze to measure the effectiveness of my email campaign?

The top metrics you should analyze to measure the effectiveness of your email campaign are: open rate, click-through rate, unsubscribe rate, and return on investment.

 

3) What is return on investment in email marketing?

Your ROI is the total profit divided by the amount of money you’ve invested in the campaign. For instance, if you’ve got $400 from additional sales and the campaign cost you $100, its ROI will be 300%: (400-100)×100.

 

4) How can I improve my conversion rates?

Some top tips to improve your conversion rates are:

  • Let your users know that they’ll receive emails
  • Use real names
  • Determine the best time to send your emails
  • Use numbered lists in your emails
  • Use clean email templates