internet made easy Secrets to Email Marketing Success 9 tips for measuring performance There s more to bouncing than what the rubber balls do. Conversion: it s not just for churches anymore. OCTOBER 2012 www.snapagency.com
i Introduction How do you know if your email marketing is making a difference in your inbound marketing strategy? You don t really know how well a strategy is working until you can measure it with objective data. By analyzing the data, you ll be able to measure the overall success of your email marketing and find out which types of emails perform better than others. You don t really know how well a strategy is working until you can measure it with objective data. Your email marketing provider should provide statistics detailing each of your campaigns. We ve compiled a list of the top 9 metrics you should be measuring and why they are important to the success of your email marketing strategy. Share this whitepaper: snapagency.com 2 OCTOBER 2012 SNAP AGENCY.COM
1 Bounce Rate What is a bounce rate? The bounce rate tells you how many emails could not be delivered. A hard bounce refers to an invalid email address. A soft bounce is the result of server issues. The bounce rate reveals potential problems for your email list. Emails can bounce because of problems with the recipient s server, a full inbox, invalid email address, or a closed email account. Using a valid, updated list of email addresses will reduce the bounce rate. Avoid buying or borrowing email lists, since the bounce rate will be higher. If the bounce rate is too high, it means you need to clean your list. Email marketing providers like MailChimp will automatically remove hard bounces from your list. If your provider does not offer this service, you ll need to remove these addresses manually. Too many bounces makes you look like a spammer, which triggers a red flag for your email marketing provider. Your account may be shut down temporarily if the bounce rate is too high. If this happens too many times, your account could be shuttered permanently. If you ve been collecting emails for several months or years before you send out your first campaign, your list will be at risk for a high bounce rate. Some recipients who signed up for your emails may not remember who you are, or they may no longer want to hear from you. Sending emails on a regular, consistent basis will reduce the risk of a high bounce rate. 3 OCTOBER 2012 SNAP AGENCY.COM
2 Delivery Rate What is a delivery rate? The percentage of emails that were actually delivered to inboxes is your delivery rate. You can calculate this manually by subtracting hard and soft bounces from the total number of emails sent; then divide this number by the total number of emails sent. The higher your delivery rate, the more customers or clients will see your email campaigns. Shoot for at least a 95% delivery rate. Getting your message into the customer s inbox is the first step in a successful inbound marketing campaign. It s how you establish contact with your customers and how you can begin to build value for your brand in their minds. If your delivery rate starts to slip, check for problems that may be causing corporate firewalls or ISP providers to mark your messages as spam. It may also be a signal that you need to clean up your email list. Your message in the customer s inbox is the first step in a successful inbound marketing campaign. 4 OCTOBER 2012 SNAP AGENCY.COM
3 List Growth Rate What is the list growth rate? A healthy email list is a growing one. The list growth rate tells you how fast your database is growing. You can calculate this rate manually by subtracting the number of hard and soft bounces from the total number of emails sent; then divide this number by the total number of emails sent. If your email list is shrinking, it s a sign that your customers or clients aren t interested in what you are sending them. Find out exactly what your customers are looking for. Is it information? Discounts? News? Do they want a monthly email from you rather than weekly, or vice versa? Use segmentation to help you meet the needs of specific groups of clients without lumping the whole list together and possibly annoying some of your clients. There are multiple ways to build your email list. Include a signup form on your website, link to the signup form on your email signature, promote it on print marketing materials, and include a forward and subscribe button in each email campaign. A healthy email list is a growing one. 5 OCTOBER 2012 SNAP AGENCY.COM
4 Click Through Rate What is the click through rate? The click through rate shows you how many people clicked on one or more links in your email message. You can calculate this rate by dividing the number of unique clicks by the number of emails delivered. The click through rate gives you an idea of how much interest your email generated and whether the message and content were on target. The links with the highest number of clicks indicate what type of content interests your clients the most. Use that information to create your next email campaign and tighten the focus of your marketing strategy. If you have a low click through rate, you might be sending your clients information that they don t want or need. Reevaluate your marketing strategy and find out exactly what your clients want to receive from you. If you have a low click through rate, you might be sending your clients information that they don t want. 6 OCTOBER 2012 SNAP AGENCY.COM
5 Email Sharing What is the email sharing rate? Email sharing tells you how many people shared your message with others by clicking on the forward or share this button in your email message. You can calculate this rate by dividing the number of unique shares by the total number of emails delivered. Just like the click through rate, email sharing indicates the level of interest in your message and how relevant or compelling the content is. Sharing with others indicates a high level of interest and relevance. Email sharing is valuable because it extends your influence beyond your own email list and provides the opportunity to grow your list through referrals. Make sure you include a subscribe button in your email campaigns to allow recipients to sign up for your newsletter. Keep an eye on which email campaigns get shared the most. This is the type of content your customers want the most. Make sure you include a subscribe button in your email campaigns 7 OCTOBER 2012 SNAP AGENCY.COM
6 Conversion Rate What is the conversion rate? The conversion rate measures the number of people who clicked on a link in your email and performed a desired action, such as filling out a lead generation form or making a purchase. The higher your conversion rate, the more leads you will generate and the more products or services you will sell. A high conversion rate is the ultimate indicator of an effective email marketing campaign. The conversion rate is a bit tricky, since it depends both on the effectiveness of your email message and the effectiveness of your landing page. A simple, relevant landing page with a clear call to action and easy steps to follow will increase your chance of generating more leads and sales. 8 OCTOBER 2012 SNAP AGENCY.COM
7 Revenue Per Email Sent What is the revenue per email sent? The return on investment for a specific email campaign tells you the average amount of revenue that you received per email that you sent out. You can calculate this number by dividing the total revenue for a specific campaign by the total number of emails sent. The revenue per email gives you a hard-and-fast idea of how your email marketing affects your bottom line. Typically, this data is only relevant for businesses based on an ecommerce model. If your customers purchase goods or services from you online, you can measure the ROI through your email service provider and your ecommerce or web analytics platform. If your goal for email marketing is to generate direct sales, this is one of your most important metrics to follow. Pay attention to which types of emails generate the most sales, and use this information to plan future campaigns. 9 OCTOBER 2012 SNAP AGENCY.COM
8 Open Rate What is the open rate? The open rate tells you how many individuals clicked on your email in their inbox. If an individual selects the email and deletes it without opening, it won t count towards your open rate. While the open rate can give you a general idea of how many people are interested in your emails, it s not a very reliable metric for gauging the success of your email campaigns. This statistic is often skewed, since it doesn t count an email as opened if the image display is turned off. Since a large number of recipients automatically block images in their email, your open rate will be smaller than the actual number of emails opened. Catchy subject lines can increase your open rate, but be careful not to oversell your email. Exaggerated or irrelevant subject lines can lead to disappointment if the email s content is not what the recipient expects it to be. Exaggerated or irrelevant subject lines can lead to disappointment 10 OCTOBER 2012 SNAP AGENCY.COM
9 Unsubscribe Rate What is the unsubscribe rate? The unsubscribe rate tells you how many individuals clicked the unsubscribe button in your email. Just like the open rate, your unsubscribe rate can be misleading. Although some of your recipients will hit the unsubscribe button, most of your recipients who are no longer interested in your emails will simply delete or ignore your messages rather than go through the process of unsubscribing. Although the unsubscribe rate is not always an accurate gauge of the interest generated by your emails, it does give you a benchmark for how many individuals no longer wish to receive information from you. If your unsubscribe rate jumps up, you need to rethink your email marketing strategy to make sure the content and frequency of your emails is on target with what your customers want. 11 OCTOBER 2012 SNAP AGENCY.COM
a About Snap Agency Snap Agency is a marketing company based in Minneapolis-St. Paul that partners with small to medium sized businesses to increase sales and brand awareness through online marketing. Our services include Internet Marketing Strategy, Web Design and Development, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Paid Advertising (PPC), ecommerce, Social Media, Local Search Directory Listings, Email Marketing, and Analytics. Share this whitepaper: Snap is the Internet marketing services division of Probus OneTouch, a multi-year Inc. 5000 company in Minneapolis. Through managing the digital marketing and social media needs of Probus s six online retail stores, Snap has developed best practices for using the Internet to drive revenue growth. We know how to turn clicks into dollars. Email Marketing Services: Do you want to generate more leads and sales through email marketing? We d love to talk strategy with you. Give us a call at (763) 548-2297 or contact us by email. Contact Us: snapagency.com Phone: (763) 548-2297 Email: info@snapagency.com Website: http://snapagency.com 12 OCTOBER 2012 SNAP AGENCY