Email campaigns
Email campaign reporting
Email reporting should tell you whether your emails are doing their job: bringing people to your website, generating sales or bookings, and keeping subscribers happy enough to stay. Some reports lead with open rates, but these have become unreliable because some email apps load tracking images automatically and others block them. A useful report focuses on clicks, what happened after the click, unsubscribes and complaints, and compares each campaign with similar ones rather than with the last email sent.
Covered here: which measures to use, the limits of open rates, comparing fairly, a simple report layout and turning results into decisions.
Illustrative diagram
- Headline — Clicks, conversions, unsubscribes, complaints
- Links — Most-clicked links
- Segments — Results by group
- Comparison — Similar campaigns, same season
- Decisions — What to change next
Measures worth tracking
| Measure | What it tells you | Reliability |
|---|---|---|
| Clicks | Interest strong enough to act | Good |
| Conversions | Sales, bookings or enquiries after the click | Good if tracking is set up |
| Unsubscribes | Readers who no longer want your emails | Good |
| Complaints | Readers marking you as spam | Good where reported |
| Opens | A rough indication only | Limited |
Why open rates mislead
An open is recorded when a tiny tracking image in the email loads. Some email apps load images automatically, which can record an open even if no one read the email. Others block images by default, so a real read may not be counted. The result is that open rates can rise or fall for reasons unrelated to your subject line or content. They can still hint at broad trends, but decisions are better based on clicks and what happens afterwards.
Tracking what happens after the click
Clicks show interest, but the real question is whether readers bought, booked or enquired. Adding campaign tags to links lets your website analytics or shop report which email brought each visit and what happened next. Your email platform may also connect directly to your shop. Agree a consistent tagging format, such as the campaign name and date, so results can be compared over months.
Unsubscribes and complaints
A small number of unsubscribes after every send is normal and healthy. A sudden rise after a particular email is a signal: the content, frequency or audience may have been wrong. Complaints matter more, because inbox providers use them to judge senders. Gmail's sender guidelines ask senders to keep spam rates reported in Postmaster Tools below 0.3%. Track both after every campaign and look for patterns.
Comparing like with like
Group campaigns
Newsletters with newsletters, offers with offers.
Output: Campaign types
Allow for season
Compare December with last December, not with June.
Output: Fair comparison
Note list changes
A big import or clean-up changes the baseline.
Output: Context notes
Look at trends
Several campaigns tell you more than one.
Output: Trend view
Example: reporting for a bakery's newsletter
Illustrative example — not a client case study
Situation: A bakery judges its newsletter by open rate, which jumps around for no obvious reason.
- Links are tagged so the website reports pre-orders that came from each email.
- The monthly report shows clicks, pre-orders, unsubscribes and complaints.
- Each issue is compared with the same month last year and the previous three issues.
What this shows: The bakery could see which features drove pre-orders. This example is illustrative.
A simple report layout
Headline
- Clicks and conversions
- Unsubscribes and complaints
Detail
- Most-clicked links
- Results by segment
Context
- Comparison with similar campaigns
- Notes on list changes or offers
Turning results into decisions
Each report should end with one or two decisions: feature more of what drew clicks, change the send day, drop a section nobody uses, review frequency if unsubscribes rise. Keep a running log of decisions and their dates so later reports can show whether the changes helped. A report that leads to no decisions is not doing its job.
Reporting on small lists
With a small list, a handful of clicks can swing percentages widely. Look at trends over several campaigns and at actual numbers as well as rates, and avoid drawing firm conclusions from a single send.
Results by segment
If you send to different segments, report results for each one as well as the total. A campaign that looks average overall may be working well for one group and poorly for another. Segment results show where content or frequency needs to change and whether a segment is worth the extra writing.
How often to report
A short check a few days after each send catches problems such as broken links or a spike in complaints. A fuller monthly or quarterly report looks at trends and decisions. Keep both brief enough that someone actually reads them.
Questions about email campaign reporting
Which email measures matter most?
Clicks, conversions, unsubscribes and complaints.
Why are open rates unreliable?
Some email apps load tracking images automatically and others block them.
How do we track sales from emails?
Tag links with campaign details so analytics or your shop can report them.
Is a rise in unsubscribes a problem?
A sudden rise after one email is worth investigating.
How should campaigns be compared?
With similar campaigns and the same season, allowing for list changes.
What should a report lead to?
One or two decisions for the next campaigns.
Sources referenced
Platform features, guidance and rules change. We check the current versions before committing to an approach. This page is general information, not legal advice.
- Google: Email sender guidelines (opens in a new tab) — reviewed 2026-10-29
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