Put simply an open rate is how many people open your email. Which on one hand is great to know but if they are not the right people then I’d hold back on the champagne for another campaign.

So what should you be looking for?

There is a more effective analytic that is just under the surface called the ‘Click Through Rate’ (CTR). Using even the most primitive email tracking you will be able to view exactly how many people have clicked on which URLs within your email.

So why is the CTR important?

A great example is if you have five promotions that take the recipient straight to check out on your website. If the URL for promotion three has been opened as many times as the other promotions combined then you can quite safely predict where to focus your sales teams’ attention.

Over time and as you become savvier with your campaigns, you can also begin to embed links that will help you better understand your customer. Datasheets, case studies and ‘find out more’ links are all great ways to judge interest levels and can help you shape the future of your email marketing without investing too much additional time. Over time you will see that open rates will fluctuate dependent on your subject line and content but the aim should always be to increase your CTR as you better understand your audience.

So what is a good open rate?

The simple answer is one where everyone clicks on something. Then you can open the champagne!

* Courtesy of my much maligned notebook of edited Sir Alan Sugar quotes