Demystifying Email Marketing Metrics: How to Analyze, Correct, and Achieve Success

 

Analyzing the metrics of an email marketing campaign is crucial for understanding its performance and making informed decisions to improve its effectiveness. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to analyze email marketing metrics and make necessary corrections for a successful campaign:

Step 1: Gather and Understand Key Metrics

Open Rate: This metric indicates the percentage of recipients who opened your email. A low open rate might suggest issues with your subject lines or the sender’s reputation.

Click-Through Rate (CTR): CTR measures the percentage of recipients who clicked on links within your email. A low CTR could indicate that your content or call-to-action (CTA) needs improvement.

Conversion Rate: This metric shows the percentage of recipients who completed the desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up. If your conversion rate is low, it may indicate that your CTA or landing page needs optimization.

Bounce Rate: Bounce rate indicates the percentage of emails that couldn't be delivered. High bounce rates might suggest issues with your email list quality.

Unsubscribe Rate: This metric measures the percentage of recipients who unsubscribed after receiving your email. Analyze this to ensure your content is relevant and valuable to your audience.

Step 2: Identify Patterns and Trends

Look for patterns in your metrics. Are there specific days or times when your emails perform better? Are certain types of content driving higher engagement? Identify trends to understand what's working and what's not.

Step 3: Segment Your Audience

Segment your email list based on various factors like demographics, behaviour, and engagement levels. Analyze how different segments respond to your emails. This can help you tailor content and offers to specific audience groups.

Step 4: A/B Testing

Perform A/B tests to experiment with different elements of your emails, such as subject lines, CTAs, visuals, and send times. Compare the results to see what resonates best with your audience and implement those findings in your future campaigns.

Step 5: Corrective Actions for Improvement

Based on your analysis, take corrective actions to improve your email campaign:

Subject Lines: If your open rates are low, work on creating attention-grabbing and relevant subject lines that entice recipients to open your emails.

Content: If your CTR is low, focus on creating engaging and valuable content. Ensure your email provides clear benefits to the recipient.

Design: If your conversion rate is low, assess the design of your emails and landing pages. Make sure they're visually appealing, easy to navigate, and optimized for mobile.

Segmentation: If certain segments have higher engagement rates, personalize your content and offers for those segments to drive better results.

Frequency: If the unsubscribe rate is high, consider whether you're sending too many emails. Finding the right balance between staying in touch and not overwhelming your audience is crucial.

List Hygiene: Regularly clean your email list by removing inactive subscribers and correcting email addresses to reduce bounce rates.

Deliverability: If your emails are landing in spam folders, ensure you're following best practices for email deliverability. Avoid spammy language, use a reputable email service provider, and authenticate your emails.

Step 6: Continuous Improvement

Email marketing is an ongoing process. Continuously analyze metrics, learn from your successes and failures, and adapt your strategies accordingly. Regularly review and refine your campaigns to achieve better results over time.

By analyzing email metrics and implementing the necessary corrections, you'll be on your way to creating successful email marketing campaigns that engage your audience and drive desired actions.

10 Simple but Important Tips for Email Campaigns

Marketing using emails is a very tricky matter. You have to face many hurdles. First you need to hit the inbox of the prospect and not the junk folder. Then, you just have 60 characters to display to the prospect – the subject line. Subject line is the one which can make the prospect open the email or just trash it away. Next is the call-to-action line. These are just few and there are many more. Below are the few best tips which can help in making your email campaign successful. Most of them are the same ones which you may already know. But, read #9 and #10 and let me know your thoughts.


1. Address recipients with their name in the email. Make it a bit personalized but, make sure you do not overdo it.

2. Avoid spam friendly words in subject and text of the emails like $, Dollars, Discount, Free… If at all you want to use in the body text of the email use it once. Better use these words in images.

3. Avoid sending promo emails during vacation and holiday seasons. This will lead to a very low open rate.

4. Avoid sending promo emails during starting of the week or during the weekend. Wednesday is the best and auspicious day to have email campaigns.

5. Create clear call-to-action line in text and not in image. Most email clients block images by default.

6. While designing the email, make sure you have the both vertical and horizontal preview panes in mind. Have your main text viewable to the reader through both the preview panes. Move the boring stuff down.

7. Have the email of two are three short paragraphs. Have bullet points. Short and simple. Do note that readers will not spend more time on the email.

8. Test you emails for all the email clients.

9. Most emails are read on mobile devices now. So, make sure your email is easily read on mobile devices as well.

10. Put URLs in subject line with the attractive subject line. Let the URL be short as well. Mobile users can just click the URL and visit the landing page. Example: Register for a Demo now. http://short.in/demo.

The Constant Contact Guide to Email Marketing

Email Vs Social Networking Sites

I remember a decade ago, I was frequently visiting the internet café near my home to check emails and reply to them. Also, I used instant messengers to find like-minded friends or chat with friends. Now, the days have changed. Many folks, especially the teenagers use internet not to send and receive emails, but to log on to sites like Twitter and Facebook to know what their friends are doing and post a tweet or write something on their wall.

Earlier, I used to keep my calendar update to remind me of the birthdays of my friends. I used to send them a e-greeting or send an email wishing them. Now, I use Orkut or Facebook directly and wish them. I do not have to wait for the calendar to remind me. The networking site will remind me of their birthdays.

Earlier, to be in touch with my college class mates, alumnus or ex-colleagues, we used to have a group in Yahoo or Google. And we used to exchange emails. Now, I do not have to. I have these sites and they are in my network always, and I can access it where ever I am moving.

Will all this is phasing out the life of emails?

If the social sites are being used for personal use and friends, then yes. Friends are using less of emails and more of social sites to contact. They feel this media very comfortable as they can blast out one tweet to many. This media provides them the instant information. This media not only provides posting of messages but, at the same time allows them to chat, share photos and videos without using another website or app. This one social platform does it all. So why will they go and upload the video or photos somewhere and provide the link in the email after selecting the friends’ email addresses from the address book?

But, how far this social media communication will be successful for within the corporate if they stop using emails? Will the corporate allow such communication in their organizations to build healthy network among the employees? Yes, organizations need to open up. Organizations can build the networking sites accessible only to the employees and they will have all the stuff here. Zappos is extensively using the Twitter now. Organizations can use such media on intranet for better knowledge sharing and transparency among the levels. One-to-one communication can also be provided in the platform to maintain confidential communication. You will not need, a sharing folder to exchange files, need not need to use the intercom to contact the other person, do not have to check calendar to see if your boss is free, you do not have to switch windows or install other apps to communicate… A separate interface for customer communication can be provided. Customers can also log in to see the status and the discussion happening about their project. Customers can chip in-time to update the developers or the folks working on the project.

Yes, a day may come when email will be extinct.

Top 10 Automated Email Programs to Increase Online Sales

It is really tough to follow your customers, prospects or subscribers regularly. The best way is to have an auto-generated email programs which will trigger at the appropriate time. Here is the list of top 10 automated emails which can be triggered to increase the online sales.

1. Welcome Email: Whenever there is a subscription or first purchase, welcome the guest with an email introducing about the various products and services you offer. A special discount offer or top 10 HOT products can boost their interest and help in increasing the sales.
2. Cart Abandoning: An auto-email sent to visitors once they have abandoned the shopping cart will act as a friendly reminder. A email can be triggered after 2-3 days and the visitor can come back and complete the shopping thus, avoiding the prospect from searching all over again and avoid them from hitting the competitors websites.
3. Transaction Success Email: Let your customers know that the online payment made by them was successful. The intention of the email is to refer them some related products or services or submit a product review.
4. Referral Request: Let your satisfied customers refer more customers to you. Request them to refer their friends to your website. Word-of-mouth is the most economical and the best way to promote your business.
5. Reminder Campaigns: Do remind your customers if they have not made a purchase in a set considerable time period. Such customers can be offered special discounts or offers to avoid them from going to competitors.
6. After-sales Email: Thank your customers when they complete the purchase. You can have a satisfaction survey or a poll to know their shopping experience. Accordingly, you can act on the changes or feedback suggested. (#3, 4 and 6 can be considered as one program).
7. Browsing Behavior Email: Understand the browsing behavior of the customers using a good analytics program and trigger the email with suggestions and offers. Thus, you not only make their purchase easy, but will also make a sale.
8. Special Occasion Email: Who does not liked to receive greetings on their birthday or anniversary. Have a email program which will trigger greetings email to them on their birthdays or anniversaries. You can have such campaigns on special festivals as well to promote the business.
9. Stock Notifications: Have an email reminder field in the product pages where you have out-of-stock messages. If the visitor wants to know when the product is back in stock can submit the email address. An email can be triggered to make the prospect know that the product stock.
10. Renewal Reminder Email: If the sale is something consumed regularly like a printer cartridge or a subscription one then you can have an automated email to remind them to purchase or renew the same. Such timely reminders not only signifies as a good customer service but can help you in generating online sales.

These email programs can help in generating good online sales. I also invite your suggestions regarding such programs which have helped you in generating more online sales.