Measuring the return on your email marketing
Most reports show activity figures, not results. Four measurements actually say something.
Revenue per send
What a campaign returns, divided by what it cost in time and tools. That is the figure your management wants, and almost nobody calculates it.
Value per contact
What a subscriber is worth per year. That tells you what you can reasonably spend to acquire a new one.
What follows the click
Not the click itself but the purchase, enquiry or sign-up after it. A campaign with many clicks and zero conversions is a failure, not a success.
The unsubscribe trend
A cost figure, not an activity figure. A sustained rise means you are consuming your list faster than you build it.
What to stop reporting
The open rate as a headline measure. It is no longer reliable, and presenting it as success misleads everybody.
