‘There’s many a slip twixt cup and the lip.’‘ ~ William H Bonnie (Billy The Kid)
That quote is simply an older (and cooler) version of: “Don’t count your eggs before they hatch.”
Now hear this:
I always hear other email marketers babbling on about their open rates and click-through rates like they’re the be-all-and-end-all of email marketing.
They obsess over these two metrics like Rain Man over a fallen box of toothpicks.
Listen, the only thing really worth tracking and obsessing over is this:
Actual Sales!
You see, you can write a promotional email that gets a tremendous open rate and a smokin’ good click-through rate and still not make a red cent.
Getting a subscriber to open your email, click on your link, but not buy, is the digital version of: “Thanks, I’ll get back to you.”
Listen, open-rates will not feed your kids.
Click-throughs will not pay the bills.
‘Sales’ is what matters.
Sales are what counts at the start of the day, the middle of the day, and the end of the day.
Period, end of story.
The only metric you should obsessively track (measure) is your units sold.
As the late business guru, Peter Drucker was fond of saying: “What gets measured gets improved.”
And, as I like to say,…
…When Units Are Moved, Life Is Improved!
Giddy up.
Kelvin
Email Marketing Maverick
P.S. One of the best ways to improve your sales is to improve your email copy. And one of the best ways to improve your email copy is to get your hot little hands on this: Email Playbook.
P.S.S. Did you pick up on the movie reference in my subject line? It’s a play on a line from the movie Young Guns. “Yoo-hoo…I’ll make ya famous” was Billy The Kid’s diabolically funny catchphrase. If you haven’t seen that movie, you should!