The Email Marketing Rules for Measuring Success

In my latest Email Insider column for MediaPost, I discuss three poor email marketing success metrics and explain what a better alternative metric is in each case.

Instead of unqualified list growth, where every new subscriber is viewed as equally valuable, I recommend using “real list growth.” This metric adjusts for subscriber productivity, just like real GDP adjusts for inflation.

Instead of optimizing campaign metrics, I recommend optimizing subscriber lifetime value. If we do our jobs well, subscribers buy often and stay subscribed for a long time because we’ve engaged them in between purchases. If we do our jobs poorly, subscribers’ purchases and engagement fall off quickly.

Instead of writing subject lines that maximize open rates, I recommend writing them so that they maximize conversions. That’s because a good, descriptive subject line pre-selects openers who are likely to convert.

>> Read the entire column on MediaPost.com