Track These 6 Email Marketing KPIs

Time for a little Jeopardy make believe:

Category: Digital Marketing Tribonds

Alex Trebek: “A ruler. A scale. A sphygmomanometer.”

Contestant: “What are ‘Things that won’t measure email marketing success,’ Alex!”

Alex Trebek: “Correct!”

OK, this scenario is a bit ridiculous, but we think you get the idea: There’s no single tool to gauge how effective your email marketing is.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t – or shouldn’t – measure it. In fact, tracking the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns is essential to understanding which tactics work best for your business – and ultimately improving your results.

So, which marketing key performance indicators (KPIs) should you track?

If “What Email Marketing KPIs should I track?” were a Jeopardy response, here’s the six-part clue Alex would give:

1. Open Rate. This is the percentage of delivered emails that people open; it includes people who open the message as well as people who view it in their preview pane. Tracked over time, this statistic tells you how engaged your subscribers are with your email marketing.
2. Click-Through Rate (CTR). As the name suggests, this measures the percentage of readers who click on a link in your email. CTR helps you evaluate how much people engage with your emails; the quality of your list; and how compelling your marketing messages are.
3. Bounce Rate. This measures the percentage of your emails that are undeliverable for any number of reasons, including:
   • Invalid email address
   • Recipient’s inbox is full
   • Your email is labeled as “spam”
4. Unsubscribe Rate. This stat is the percentage of recipients who unsubscribe from your mailings. Over time, you can use this KPI to gauge how relevant your email marketing campaigns are.
5. Conversion Rate. This statistic goes a bit further than CTR by calculating the percentage of readers who clicked a link, and then completed a desired action (e.g., filled out and submitted a form on a landing page). In the world of digital marketing, conversions are your ultimate goal, so conversion rate is a critical KPI to track!
6. List Growth Rate. This KPI tracks the rate at which your email marketing list is growing (or shrinking). It’s calculated by subtracting your number of unsubscribes from the number of new subscribes; then dividing that amount by the size of your total email list, and finally, multiplying that number by 100 (simple, right?). You should expect some list attrition over time, so be sure you’re continually focusing on ways to grow your list of loyal, engaged subscribers.

While there are many other email marketing KPIs you could track, these six will provide important data you can use to diagnose areas for improvement; systematically test alternatives; and dramatically improve the results of your campaigns.

Other posts in this series:

Email vs. Cold Calling – Which Is Better for Your Business?

4 Tips for a Successful Email Marketing Campaign

Avoid Black Hat Tactics in Your Email Marketing

Need assistance building and executing a successful email marketing campaign?

Let BARQAR design a campaign to help you stay in front of clients and prospects, build your brand and generate more response. Give BARQAR’s marketing experts a call today.