Tracking the Results of Your Email Newsletter Efforts - It's all about Response

by Andrew Lutts

There are many tools available, both simple and high tech, to track responses from your email newsletters and email marketing promotions. Whatever happens, it is important to both generate and track response to your email newsletters. Here are some things to think about:

1. Email Replies - Be sure to use a good, valid mailfrom and replyto address. People will often reply to your email newsletter with requests for more information, requests for pricing, and other requests. As a result, you should monitor and reply to people who email you back as promptly as possible.
2. Telephone Responses - Your email newsletter will likely result in telephone responses. Naturally people will call about the topics addressed in your newsletter, but often your newsletter will remind your clients, prospects and vendors that they needed to contact you about something else, or something related. Be prepared for phone calls after your mailing goes out.
3. Web Site Traffic - Your email newsletter, with links back to your web site, will prompt people to visit your web site, and they will! Make sure your site is current and timely, and addresses information that your visitor will be looking for. Check your web site traffic software to see actual unique visitors (people), which web pages they went to, and if anything was downloaded.
4. Web Site Orders - If you have an online store or other online ordering capability, test it in advance to be sure all is working okay, and that it is easy to find and submit an order. Test it out!
5. Requests for Additional Information - Although you may already have some of your prospects contact information and they may already have some information about your products and services, people love to fill out forms! So expect people visiting your site to request even more additional information. This may be a good time to offer a premium giveaway to generate response. A free CD, free download, free USB pen drive, etc. can help generate response. Simple, but it works!
6. Requests for Demo, Test Drive, or Beta Test - Make an attractive offer, and let your prospects try out your services. If you offer a quality product or service, it will speak for itself.

Additional tracking methods:

7. Tracking Email Newsletter Opens - Your Email Service Provider (ESP) should be able to easily track who opens your email newsletter. Typically this information can easily be viewed or downloaded, with email addresses included. Thus, it can be easier to see if you have used a good Subject Line in your email newsletter, and which prospects or clients are most interested in your services.
8. Tracking Referrers - Your Email Service Provider (ESP) should have the ability to easily track referring clicks from people who open your email newsletter and click on a particular hyperlink in the newsletter.
9. Track In-Store Visits - If you are a retail company with a reasonable amount of foot traffic, you should monitor to see if there is an increase in the traffic to your store as a result of your email marketing efforts.

Additional Topics

10. Segmenting - Use segmenting to send email to just a certain segment of your subscribers, members, clients, vendors or prospects. Track responses based on which segment you send to.
11. ODBC Database Synchronization - Synchronize the sending of your email through your ESP with your own in-house database with ODBC database connectivity.

Andrew Lutts is founder and CEO of Net Atlantic, Inc., a leading Internet Company founded in 1995, provides best-in-class internet business services to its customers to help them grow their business online.