Running a newsletter mailing list is a numbers game. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to rely exclusively on volume. To be more specific, there are a lot of numbers that you have to pay attention to if you want to succeed. Admailr recommends the following as the metrics you need to pay attention to:
New Readers
The number of new readers is important because it gives you an idea on how many of your readers are new and how many are returning ones. From this, you can gauge your newsletter’s ability to attract new customers and retain existing ones.
Bounce Rate
This metric provides a deeper insight into what the usual open rate brings: just how many of those people who opened the newsletter were actually satisfied enough to read all the way through. If you have a high bounce rate, it means your content (or your newsletter for that matter) is disappointing to readers.
Conversion Rate
This is arguably one of the most important metrics because it measures the profitability of your overall marketing efforts, and is easily seen as an indicator of quantifiable success in the eyes of any newsletter owner. It will serve as one of the final indicators of how good you are doing with other parts of your business.
Cost Per Lead
This metric is not important in and of itself, but it is needed to compute for the most important metrics below, making it a requirement as well. Cost Per Lead is computed by calculating the average monthly cost of your campaign and comparing it to the number of leads generated.
Projected ROI
Last (but definitely not the least, is Projected Return on Investment. A high conversion rate is always good, but it doesn’t mean much if your operational cost is higher. This is where you Projected ROI becomes important – it will accurately demonstrate profitability. A positive ROI means your newsletter is profitable and everything else is sound, while a negative ROI is a sign that you need to adjust your strategy.
