SCOOP 9           JULY 27, 2021

Probably not great to hear that ‘Inbox Activity’ is up 22% in the last 2 weeks. ‘Inbox Activity’ is NOT when emails get opened or clicked but rather when someone is in their actual inbox doing anything.

It’s not great to hear that this is UP because over the last 18 months it has tied pretty closely to the pandemic itself. So, no surprise by the numbers but would prefer otherwise.

Does this mean anything for marketers? Open Rates have seen a small uptick overall the past 2 weeks:

Overall Email Open Rates Last 2 Weeks:

So, if you are seeing somewhat better performance you should factor in this overall lift for now.

iOS 15 Freak-out:

At this point you likely have heard that APPLE is going to make a change to its iOS (mobile operating system) that will impact the ability for email marketers to track open rates and do marketing automation based on opened emails. If this is news to you, I would recommend googling “iOS 15 Email Marketing” and have a garbage nearby in case nausea sets in.

If you are aware of the pending doom here is my two cents on what you should do for now...

STEP 1:

Work with your ESP/Marketing Automation provider NOW to determine how many subscribers open your email on an iOS device. THIS IS NOT HARD TO DO. Sounds complicated but it’s literally one discussion with your provider and then you have the data.

Result: You will know that 40% of your database uses iOS for email and now you have them flagged. Great!

STEP 2:

Benchmark open and click rates across your entire list and segments, such as recent purchasers and unengaged subscribers. Also, benchmark by type of emails...Offer related, newsletter, transactional.

Result: Now you will have the baseline number from which to discount against.

Step 3:

When the new iOS update happens in late September you will see your open and clicks drop dramatically but you will be prepared. Take your benchmark numbers and discount them by the % of your database that you identified to be using iOS for email and you will have a pretty good read on your ‘Open Rates’ per campaign.

Result: