In my last email marketing-related article, I shared the seven must-have email marketing campaign tracking metrics you should keep tabs on. And I broke these metrics down into three categories:

Deliverability: how well you get emails into inboxes.

Engagement: how well subscribers interact with your emails.

Disengagement: how often subscribers show disinterest in your emails.

Because while I’d love to say that once you send an email, your work is done. In reality, that’s simply not the case. Email marketing is all about testing, evaluating, and making course adjustments so that each email can perform better than the last.

Why?

Well, if all you’re doing is sending emails and not taking the time to evaluate how they perform, how will you know if what you’re doing is working?

Would you run a special sales promotion and not figure out how much it cost to promote it, how much you made from it, or review any customer feedback you might’ve received about it? Of course, you would!

And when it comes to email marketing, you should be doing the same.

A good email marketer tracks how each email they send does. Then before sending the next one, they review what worked and what didn’t. And you should too.

So how can you improve those metrics if you discover one (or maybe more) isn’t performing like you hoped it would?

Let’s break down each metric category and look at the various steps you can take to turn those metrics around.

Deliverability

When it comes to email deliverability and bounce rates, your goal is to get your emails into inboxes. And there are two roadblocks that can get in the way of this: your deliverability rate and bounce rate. If you’re struggling with getting your emails into the hands of your subscribers, here are some things you can do to improve these two metrics.

How to improve your deliverability rates: 

• Authenticate your domain. Consider authenticating your domain name if you have a larger email list (we’re talking thousands of subscribers). This will help you maintain a healthy sender reputation by confirming that the email from your domain name is valid and should be delivered to inboxes.
• Make unsubscribing easy. Having subscribers on your list who are no longer interested in what you’re sharing can hurt your deliverability. Make it easy for them to unsubscribe. Place an unsubscribe link at the bottom of every email you send. Not only will this help you in the long run, but it’s also a requirement of the CAN-SPAM Act.
• Ditch link shorteners. Yes, crazy long links are an eyesore. But link shorteners, especially when used in the email world, are commonly used in email phishing. So say ‘no’ to link shorteners and instead utilize buttons and hyperlinked text to mask those unsightly and long links.

How to improve your bounce rates:

• Practice good list hygiene. Clean your subscriber list regularly to remove inactive and bounced email addresses. There are two steps to do this. First, run your list through an email list verification tool (such as MailerCheck) which will let you know which email addresses are valid or invalid. The second is to run a re-engagement campaign to target inactive subscribers with valid email addresses to entice them into engaging with your emails again. For those that don’t re-engage, unsubscribe them from your list.
• Use double opt-in. One of the simplest ways to verify new subscribers and their email addresses is to employ double opt-in. A double opt-in helps prevent spambots from sneaking unsafe email addresses into your subscriber list. And while it is not required to comply with GDPR rules, it’s great at ensuring new subscribers are real people with a genuine interest in your content. This means their email address is of higher quality and will translate to higher engagement rates.
• Send a welcome email. Welcome emails aren’t just for saying, “thanks for joining my list”. They’re a great way to start building your sender reputation with both subscribers and email providers (like Gmail and Apple Mail). Use this opportunity to share how often you’ll send emails and what they might contain.

• Send emails consistently. Subscribers, and email providers, love consistency. Try to set a consistent sending schedule for your emails. This will help readers and email providers recognize your emails as normal activity.

Engagement

Of the three email metric categories, engagement is by far the easiest metric category to improve on. And one you’ll see immediate results from because engagement is all about your content. So, if you’re having trouble getting people to open your emails or take a desired action (like clicking on a link), engagement metrics are the place to focus your efforts.

How to improve your open rate: 

• Subject Line = Email Content. Make sure your subject line accurately reflects the content of your email. For example, your email is offering tips, tell your readers that in your subject line.
• Subject Line Length. The shorter your subject line, the better. Aim for around 40-60 characters or less (around 7-9 words).

Want help writing your subject lines? Try CoSchedule’s free Email Subject Line Tester. Not only does it check the length of your subject line, but it can also help you identify words that increase and decrease opens (including spam words) and show you how your subject line will preview on desktops, tablets, and mobile devices.

• Preview/Preheader Text Length. Aim for around 100-140 characters max and front load the most important information in the first 50 characters so no matter what device or email client your subscriber is using, they’ll be sure to see what matters most.
• Personalize. If you have it, try personalizing your subject line and preview text with your subscriber’s name or phrases that directly relate to things you know they’re interested in.
• Avoid Spam Words. Spam words are individual words or phrases that may indicate fraudulent or malicious intent. Don’t be creepy or misleading when writing your subject line and preview text. This doesn’t mean so-called “spam words” can never be used. Some words that are often associated with spam can have legitimate uses. Instead, be thoughtful of the words you do choose to use
• Include a CTA. Include a call to action (or CTA) in your preview text to encourage subscribers to complete a desired action.
• Perform List Hygiene. Email marketing is about quality over quantity. One hundred active subscribers are far better than a list of 1,000 who aren’t as engaged. Regularly cleaning your list with a re-engagement campaign can remove these inactive subscribers or spam email accounts, which can directly impact your open rate.

How to improve your click rate: 

• Create a Strong CTA. Calls-to-action are critical to successful click rates. Craft your email content so it naturally leads your subscriber to a single, strong, compelling CTA they can’t wait to click on.
• Use Buttons. Embed a hyperlink in a button graphic. Don’t forget a strong and compelling CTA.
• Link Body Copy. Depending on your subscriber’s inbox settings, a button may not always display. To be sure they still have access to your link, hyperlink a few words or a sentence within your body copy to the same URL you use in your button.
• Add Links to Images. If your email has a header image, such as your logo, or a graphic that ties to your body copy, be sure to embed a link into those graphic elements. People like pictures and some may be more apt to click on an image over a button or hyperlinked text. And be sure every image you use has Alt text in place in case a subscriber’s inbox settings prevent images from loading.
• Get Interactive. Your subscribers love interacting with you, so give them opportunities with content they can engage directly with you, such as surveys and quizzes. You can even ask them questions and direct them to respond by replying to your email.

How to improve your share/forward rate: 

• Invite Sharing. The simplest way to increase your share/forward rate is to straight up ask folks to share your emails. A great way to do this would be to add a statement to the bottom of your email, something like: “Did you find this helpful (entertaining, useful, etc.)? Forward this email to a friend.”
• Include Social Share Links. If you’re active on social media, consider adding the icons for each platform you use at the bottom of your email and add a link so subscribers can interact with you and your content on social media. Most email service providers (like MailerLite) offer tools to include this function in your emails.

Disengagement

Disengagement is all about dissatisfaction. And someone’s dissatisfaction with your marketing emails will show up in your spam rate and unsubscribes. A spike in either of these numbers can cause panic. But don’t worry. There are things you can do to bring these numbers down and keep your subscribers interacting with your emails.

How to improve your spam rate: 

• Avoid Spammy Marketing Practices. Craft emails subject lines that don’t use spam trigger words, are in all caps, or use too many exclamation points. And never purchase email lists, add subscribers from one list to another without their consent, or hide who you are when sending your emails (your emails should come from a real person).
• Re-evaluate your Acquisition Practices. Take a closer look at how you obtain new subscribers and welcome them to your list. Where and how are people signing up for your list and what are they being promised? Are you utilizing double opt-in procedures to confirm a new subscriber’s intent to join your list? Are you greeting them with a welcome email (or welcome sequence) that outlines what they can expect to receive now that they’re on your list? The beginning of a subscriber’s experience with your email list can directly impact what happens after they’ve joined.
• Offer an Unsubscribe Link. Not only is this a requirement under GDPR and CAN-SPAM, but it’s also the best way to avoid getting spam complaints. If someone doesn’t want to be on your list anymore, make it easy for them to unsubscribe by adding an unsubscribe link to the footer of every email you send out. Don’t try to hide it. Unsubscribes are far better for the health of your list than spam complaints.
• Be Consistent. Nothing frustrates a subscriber more than signing up for emails and not receiving what they were expecting. And if you send emails inconsistently or infrequently, they could forget they signed up for your list in the first place. Instead, email your list on a regular and consistent basis. It can go a long way in ensuring subscribers feel like they’re getting what they signed up for.
• Provide Value. When a new subscriber joins your list, they have an expectation of the type of content (aka value) they’re going to receive from you. Honor those expectations with every email by sending content that’s not only valuable to your subscriber but also relevant to your brand.
• Practice Good List Hygiene. Don’t use old, outdated lists. Regularly clean your list with a re-engagement campaign that removes inactive subscribers from your list. Remember, a small but engaged list is better for your business than a large and inactive one.

How to improve your unsubscribe rate: 

• Check Your Sending Frequency. How often you send emails can affect whether someone unsubscribes from your list. Email too often, and subscribers could quickly grow tired of constantly seeing you in their inbox and decide to break up with you. Hardly ever send out an email? When you finally do send an email, they could’ve totally forgotten who you are and why they subscribed to your list in the first place and decide to unsubscribe from lack of interest. If you aren’t sure how often you should send emails, ask your subscribers. Send them a little survey asking how often they’d like to hear from you and what content those emails should include.
• Implement List Segmentation. Are your subscribers receiving emails that align with their interests? If your brand targets pregnant moms and a subscriber has been on your list for over a year, there’s a good chance they’ve had their baby. This means pregnancy information may no longer be their primary interest. Being the parent of a newborn is. Segmenting your list into interest categories is a great way to ensure that the most relevant content reaches the right person right when they need that information the most. But don’t guess at this. Straight up ask your subscribers, regularly (1-2 times a year), what their interests are with a survey. This first-person data is the most valuable and accurate way to know what your readers are interested in. 
• Utilize Your Unsubscribe Page. Inevitably, there will be people who choose to unsubscribe from your list. Let them unsubscribe, then if your email service provider (MailerLite, ConvertKit, etc.) offer it, use an unsubscribe page with a survey on it to find out why they’ve chosen to leave. But only ask this AFTER they’ve unsubscribed, not before. This information will help you learn why people opt out of your list.

Email marketing is about far more than quickly writing some copy and hitting send. And it definitely doesn’t work in a vacuum.

For email marketing to be effective and contribute to the success of your business, you need to go back to each email you’ve sent, track how it performed, and make improvements before you hit send again.

Read more about the 7 must-have email marketing metrics you should be tracking and download a free email metric tracking worksheet.