Four Often-Overlooked E-mail Metrics

Some metrics, such as open rates, get much more scrutiny than they arguably warrant. Others, though, are criminally overlooked. For instance:

• subscribe vs. unsubscribe rates. 

  According to Ross Kramer, president/CEO of e-mail services provider Listrak, the average churn rate for e-mail subscribers is 20% to 30% a year. Therefore, make sure you are replacing those lost subscribers and adding more besides. “If the list is not growing, this indicates its value and/or existence are not being promoted as they should be,” says Greg Cangialosi, president/CEO of e-mail services provider Blue Sky Factory.

• purchase cadence, or how often someone transacts

  Let's say you have a group of repeat customers who purchase once a season. By tracking the time between purchases for this group, you can spot those who skip a season and therefore are at risk of lapsing, Kramer explains.

• share rates

  “Now that e-mail marketers have the ability to include share-to-social features, including share-with-your-network [SWYN], in their e-mails, they have the ability to view how many extra views the e-mail received, its reach increase, and more,” Cangialosi says.

• average revenue per e-mail delivered

  If you don't know how much you can expect to reap from a campaign, you can't accurately determine how much to spend on acquiring names and how much product margin you can afford to lose via discounts and promotions.