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Open rates have long been a key performance metric for marketers, but constantly evolving regulations and privacy concerns, as well as email platforms' responses to those regulations and concerns, have created bias in open rate data.
Email marketing regulations like GDPR and CCPA have changed the way open rates are calculated and reported, making them increasingly unreliable.
Some email clients, such as Gmail, use machine learning algorithms to categorize emails into different folders (such as “Primary,” “Social,” and “Promotional” folders) so that emails are more likely to be opened may be affected.
Apple's Email Privacy Protection feature gives users more control over their email privacy by preventing senders from using invisible pixels to collect information about how and when an email is opened. It is also intended to be able to be controlled.
In other words, one of the most popular email marketing metrics has largely lost its importance.
All of these recent changes may seem like new barriers to success, but in reality, relying solely on open rates is always problematic. Open rates don't tell the whole story behind the success of an email campaign. Just because an email is opened does not mean that the email was read or interested.
However, this doesn't mean that open rate was and still isn't a very useful metric. Rather, we need to look at it through the right lens. When measuring the success of your email marketing strategy, open rates are just one piece of the puzzle.
With additional metrics like conversion rate, click-through rate (CTR), and overall engagement, you can uncover even more valuable insights to build a truly effective email marketing strategy.
Here are eight suggestions to help you start using more valuable metrics and ultimately strengthen your email marketing strategy.
1. Focus on click-through rate
Tracking open rates has become less reliable, so monitoring click-through rates can provide valuable insight into subscriber engagement. A high CTR indicates that your audience is interested in your content and more likely to take action.
2. Personalize your content
Your email content should be relevant and valuable to your subscribers. If you send the same type of email every time, your subscribers may get bored and lose interest. Fortunately, effective personalization can help your emails stand out and help you connect with your audience. Make sure you do it right by checking the accuracy of your prospect list and avoiding over-personalization.
3. Test design elements
Experiment with different design elements to see what works best for your audience and prevents your email from being flagged as spam. For example, you can test different types of hyperlinks and CTAs, or even remove design elements completely.
4. Track conversions
Monitoring how many subscribers complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form, after clicking through an email is essential to evaluating the overall effectiveness of your campaign.
5. Analyze your email list
Reviewing your email list regularly can help you identify trends and areas for improvement. For example, look for patterns such as high bounce rates, lack of segmentation, and low engagement. Noticing trends will inform your strategy and optimize your campaigns.
6. Monitor your reputation
Your email sending reputation can impact deliverability and inbox placement. To ensure your emails are seen, it's important to keep your list clean by removing inactive or non-engaged subscribers and avoiding sending emails too often.
7. Content diversification and A/B testing
Try new tactics, like including videos or interactive elements in your emails, and analyze the results to see what resonates with your audience. For example, one week you might send out a newsletter, and the next week you might send out a promotional email. By diversifying and testing your content, you increase the likelihood that your subscribers will open and engage with your email.
8. Add more touchpoints
Tracking email marketing performance will become more complex as technology and privacy regulations continue to evolve. With this in mind, plan ahead and diversify your marketing strategy to increase opportunities for potential customers to engage with your brand.
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Successful email marketing requires a flexible and adaptable strategy that incorporates multiple touchpoints to effectively drive your brand's success.
As we continue to navigate the complexities of email marketing, it's essential to focus on the big picture, build on multiple elements and touchpoints, and embrace adaptability to stay ahead of the competition.
Open rates are important metrics to track, but they're only part of the picture. To accurately measure the success of your email campaigns, you should focus on metrics like CTR, conversion rate, revenue per email, and subscriber growth rate.
By tracking these metrics and personalizing your emails, you can improve the effectiveness of your email campaigns and increase sales for your business.
More resources about email marketing metrics
How to use email metrics to optimize your campaigns [Infographic]
What happens when email metrics are turned off: Who is actually clicking on your emails?
More Meaningful Metrics: 4 Tips for Marketers After Apple iOS 15 Privacy Update
