Tracking conversions helps measure the direct impact of your email marketing efforts.

'And that might mean setting up some specific conversion tracking stuff in your software. E-commerce stores, hopefully this is all done for you pretty automatically. For service-based businesses and course businesses, this can be a little bit trickier.'

Takeaway:

• Utilize tools like Google Analytics to track email conversions.
• Ensure your email software is set up to monitor sales.
• Implement tracking mechanisms tailored to your business type.

Understanding fluctuations in engagement metrics can reveal underlying issues.

'One big sign is a drop in open and click rates. So if you were going through that previous task and you saw, oh, all of a sudden it seemed like there was a big drop in open and click rates, that's a big signal to me that there may be a deliverability problem.'

Takeaway:

• Investigate sudden drops in engagement promptly.
• Consider deliverability issues as potential causes.
• Use data trends to identify and address problems early.

Regular deliverability reviews help preempt issues before they impact your campaigns.

'So inbox providers assess deliverability on approximately a 120-day window. So it is something you need to check in on regularly, and it might not be anything that you can detect as a trend, and it can just be literally a drop in something overnight.'

Takeaway:

• Schedule deliverability checks at least quarterly.
• Be proactive in monitoring to avoid sudden issues.
• Stay updated on changes from inbox providers.

Maintaining a good sender reputation is crucial for email deliverability and engagement.

'So when people open emails, click emails, etc., that sends good signals to Gmail, to Yahoo Mail, to Hotmail that that person wants your emails. So it will continue to place them in inboxes.'

Takeaway:

• Encourage subscriber engagement to boost sender reputation.
• Regularly clean your list to remove inactive contacts.
• Avoid emailing unengaged subscribers to maintain a good reputation.

A simple deliverability check can ensure your emails are reaching subscribers.

'There are a few deliverability checks that I would recommend that you do, regardless of whether you're seeing a drop or not. The first one is going to a website called Mailreach.co.'

Takeaway:

• Use Mailreach.co to test inbox placement.
• Utilize tools like Mail-tester.com and MX Toolbox for additional checks.
• Set up Google Postmaster Tools to monitor Gmail deliverability.

Prioritizing the right metrics can lead to better insights and improved campaign performance.

'So, overall, you will mostly be looking at 3 key numbers. First, of course, your opens, then your clicks, and third, your conversions or your sales. And that is in reverse priority order.'

Takeaway:

• Focus primarily on conversions or sales for true success measurement.
• Consider clicks as indicators of engagement.
• Use open rates as a general trend indicator despite potential inaccuracies.

Using insights from your previous campaigns can inspire new content and strategies.

'So as you're reviewing your numbers, you may see some trends about topics or subject lines, etc., that are performing well. So use this to help fuel your ideas and content planning for the next year.'

Takeaway:

• Analyze past performance to identify successful topics.
• Repurpose high-performing emails to save time.
• Keep a record of ideas to inform future campaigns.

Regular list cleaning helps maintain sender reputation and improve email deliverability.

'One of the biggest factors for email deliverability is ensuring that you're only sending emails to those who want it. So this is something called sender reputation.'

Takeaway:

• Segment and remove unengaged subscribers to maintain a healthy list.
• Focus on sending emails to engaged recipients.
• Avoid emailing unengaged groups if experiencing deliverability issues.

Conducting a deliverability review is essential to make sure your emails aren't landing in spam folders.

'So doing these tests, it should only take you 5 minutes. They're super, super quick, and hopefully they just tell you everything's OK. But, if it's not, you'll know. And with that knowledge, you can make any necessary changes you need to make.'

Takeaway:

• Regularly perform deliverability tests using tools like Mailreach.co, Mail-tester.com, and MX Toolbox.
• Ensure your DNS records and email authentication are correctly set up.
• Monitor for sudden drops in open and click rates as indicators of deliverability issues.

Monitoring key metrics is crucial for improving the performance of your email campaigns.

'So, overall, you will mostly be looking at 3 key numbers. First, of course, your opens, then your clicks, and third, your conversions or your sales. And that is in reverse priority order.'

Takeaway:

• Focus on conversions as the most important metric.
• Consider clicks as indicators of engagement.
• Use open rates as a general trend indicator.