Are your newsletters as effective as they could be? If you cannot answer this question it may be time to refine your measuring techniques. Currently, you may be tempted to trust only opening rates and click rates to measure the efficiency of your newsletters. But there are other data that you should take into account. By examining and following all the data at your disposal, you will have better visibility on the performance of your newsletters. In this article, we will show you how to measure the effectiveness of your newsletter.
The rebound rate, useful data to measure the effectiveness of your newsletter
The total percentage of your emails which have not been successfully distributed is known as the rebound rate. There are two forms of rebound:
- Hard bounce : When an email cannot be immediately issued because the address is invalid or closed, we speak of hard bounce.
- Soft Bounce : server problems or full reception boxes can cause soft bounce. Most messaging platforms continue to try to distribute a soft bounce message for 72 hours, after which it becomes a hard bounce if the efforts are unsuccessful.
The research carried out by HubSpot has revealed that a classic broadcast list expires at a rate of 25 % per year. People change jobs and abandon their professional address or change your messaging platform and thus withdraw newsletter listings. This means that it is essential to regularly clean your list to find non -valid contacts. A high percentage of rebound can affect the success of your newsletter. In addition, modern email platforms are particularly sensitive to spam, which has increased the importance of a measure known as “Sender Score”. Immediate deletion of non-valid contacts after each email can guarantee that your messages do not go directly to the SPAM folder.
How to calculate it? Total rebounds / emails sent
When to follow him? Monthly
The rate of deliverability
This measure determines the percentage of messages that go directly to the reception boxes for your contacts. While most large email platforms automatically calculate your delivery rate, you can calculate it yourself using the following formula:
[(Total des e-mails envoyés) – (Total des rebonds)] / Total emails sent = delivery rate
If the above formula allows you to determine the state of health of your list, it does not take into account a low sender score. If you use a platform that does not calculate the delivery, watch closely if you have been reported as a spam. A 95 % deliverability rate is considered to be close to the ideal. If you notice a sudden drop, ask yourself if your last newsletters could not have triggered certain anti-spam filters. In addition, words and sentences closely linked to spam, like “free”, “win a lot of money” or “cash”, can pass your newsletters for spam in the eyes of messaging platforms.
The rate of complaint for spam
This measure allows you to know how much of your emails have been marked as spam by the recipient. Unfortunately, each company receives complaints for spam following the sending of a newsletter by email. The spam complaint can, for example, arrive following the sending of unrelevant content. Although there is no ideal rate for spam complaints, mailchimp data indicate an average rate of complaints of approximately 0.05 % in all sectors. If your figure is close to 1 %, it’s time to re -examine the contents of your newsletter.
How to calculate it? Total complaints / emails issued
When to follow him? Weekly
The click rate to measure the efficiency of your newsletter
If there was only one measure to keep and which reveals the performance of the content of your newsletter, it would be the click rate. This is a measure of the number of people who have received your message and who have chosen to take an interest in content by clicking on your website. The click rate of your newsletter can fly away by applying the following principles:
- Personalize : Most emailing platforms allow you to personalize your messages with the names/first names of your contacts. This factor has a more important effect on clicks than any other element.
- A/B test : You may be surprised to learn that object lines can also have an effect on your click rate. Segment your list in two equal groups and perform an A/B test to see which content works best for your subscribers.
- Test the sending hours : Do emails at 9 am have a very low click rate? What messages are the most effective on weekends? Do experiments at different times of the day to improve your click rate.
The growth list growth rate
The growth list rate is the measure of the number of new subscribers who choose to receive your messages. In general, you will need growth up to 25 % per year to maintain the same number of subscribers, due to abandoned unsubscape and electronic addresses. The creation of an original newsletter that your contacts will share can explode the total number of your contacts. However, this measure is also an indicator of the overall health of your marketing strategy and the quality of promoting your emails. You may be surprised to learn that a landing page on your website is not the only place where you can promote your newsletters.
The unsubscribe rate
Finally, here is another important metric to follow to measure the effectiveness of your newsletters. The unsubscription rate is the percentage of people who have received your messages and who have chosen to receive them in the future. Almost all emailing platforms calculate this measurement on your behalf. Although it can be easy to feel offended by each subscriber who chooses to unsubscribe, do not forget that unsubscribing can occur for various reasons. It is certainly better to unsubscribe than to receive a complaint for spam. Finally, an unsubscription rate of less than 1% is normal as a result of each newsletter shipment. If this rate exceeds 5 %, examine the following factors to see if they apply to you:
- Excessive email sending : It is not a secret, excessive communications lead to the erosion of the lists. If you send your newsletter several times a week, the growth of your list will probably be slowed down and your unsubscribe rate will explode.
- Bad e-mail design : Not only should your messages have a professional aspect, but they must also be beautiful on all screens. It is estimated that 45 % of emails are now open on a smartphone or tablet, so you should not miss it.
- Too little value : What are the advantages for your subscribers? The content of your newsletter must offer a clear and significant value, each time you send it. It can be an electronic book, a summary of your best blog articles or a reduction. If you just promote your content, you could receive a considerable volume of unsubscribing.
