📊 Understanding Email Analytics
Track and analyze your campaign performance
⏱️ 14 min read
Why Analytics Matter
Data-driven decisions lead to better email marketing results. Understanding your analytics helps you improve every campaign.
💡 Pro Tip: Focus on trends over time rather than individual campaign metrics. Look for patterns to guide strategy.
Key Metrics Explained
Open Rate
Percentage of recipients who opened your email. Average: 15-25%
Formula: (Emails Opened ÷ Emails Delivered) × 100
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Percentage who clicked a link. Average: 2-5%
Formula: (Unique Clicks ÷ Emails Delivered) × 100
Click-to-Open Rate (CTOR)
Of those who opened, how many clicked. Average: 10-15%
Formula: (Unique Clicks ÷ Unique Opens) × 100
Bounce Rate
Percentage that couldn't be delivered. Target: <2%
Hard bounces = invalid email | Soft bounces = temporary issues
Unsubscribe Rate
Percentage who opted out. Target: <0.5%
Formula: (Unsubscribes ÷ Emails Delivered) × 100
Accessing Analytics
- Go to Campaigns → Sent
- Click on any campaign name
- View the analytics dashboard
- Scroll down for detailed engagement data
- Click tabs to see opens, clicks, and geographical data
What Each Metric Tells You
- Low open rate: Subject line needs work or send time is off
- High opens, low clicks: Content or CTA isn't compelling
- High bounce rate: List needs cleaning
- High unsubscribe rate: Content irrelevant or sending too frequently
- Good CTOR: Your email content resonates with opened
Click Maps
See which links got the most clicks:
- Visual heatmap shows popular links
- Identifies what content interests your audience
- Helps optimize link placement in future emails
- Shows if CTA buttons outperform text links
Geographical Data
See where your subscribers are located:
- Map view of opens by country/city
- Optimize send times for time zones
- Identify growth opportunities in regions
- Localize content for major markets
⚠️ Important: Open rates may be inflated due to email clients pre-loading images. Focus on click rates for more accurate engagement.
Device and Client Data
Understand how subscribers read your emails:
- Mobile vs. Desktop: Optimize for primary device
- Email clients: Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, etc.
- Browser data: For web-based email readers
- Operating systems: iOS, Android, Windows, Mac
Time-Based Analytics
When do people engage with your emails?
- Opens by hour: Find optimal send times
- Clicks by day: Best days for engagement
- First 24 hours: Most activity happens here
- Long tail: Some opens continue for days/weeks
Engagement Scoring
Track individual subscriber engagement:
- Highly engaged: Opens and clicks frequently
- Moderately engaged: Opens occasionally
- Low engagement: Rarely opens
- Inactive: No activity in 90+ days
Comparing Campaigns
- Go to Analytics → Campaign Comparison
- Select 2 or more campaigns to compare
- View side-by-side performance metrics
- Identify what worked better in each
- Apply learnings to future campaigns
Best Practices
- Check analytics 24 hours, 3 days, and 7 days after sending
- Set benchmarks based on your past performance
- Don't compare across different industries
- Focus on improving your own metrics over time
- Use data to inform, not dictate, creative decisions
- Track which segments perform best
- Monitor trends monthly and quarterly