Privacy Laws are Changing the Way We View Email Reporting
In today’s technology-focussed society, online data privacy is a major concern. Through the years, many practices and policies have been put in place to make the internet safer for everyday use. One of the most recent changes in Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection (MPP). What exactly is Apple’s MPP, and how does it affect email marketing? Read on to learn more.
Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection
Mail Privacy Protection is now offered as an option to all Apple Mail users who have upgraded to iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. This opt-in feature affects any email opened from the Apple Mail app on any device—no matter which email service is used, such as Gmail or a work account. However, this doesn’t affect other email apps used on Apple devices like the Gmail app on an iPhone.
The new feature prevents senders from knowing when users open an email and masks their IP address so it can’t be linked to other online activity or used to determine their location. In other words, email senders will no longer know if a user has opened an email, the time or location the email was opened, or what type of device was used to open the email.
What Does This Mean for Email Marketing?
The open rate has consistently been a major determining factor of whether an email contact is engaged and how successful an email campaign is. With Apple’s new Mail Privacy Protection feature, and other mail providers likely to follow suit, open rate is no longer a reliable metric of success. In fact, Apple Mail and Apple mobile devices make up over 35% of the global email provider market share, so it’s highly likely that your email open rate metrics are no longer correct.
Historically, the open rate has not only been used to measure how many email contacts have opened an email, but also for A/B subject line testing and email workflow triggers. A/B subject line testing relies on accurate open rates to show which subject line was the most successful. Now that those open rates are no longer reliable, testing can only be used for different call-to-action buttons, copy, images, offers, and email senders. The best time to send an email can also be tested by sending emails at various times and seeing which email send time yields the best results.
In an effort to try to get more contacts to open an email, workflow triggers are often set up to resend an email to a contact who doesn’t open the initial email send. With open rates no longer being a reliable trigger, it is advisable to end this practice so contacts aren’t being sent an email they already opened and aren’t tempted to unsubscribe.
How Can I Measure the Engagement of My Email Marketing?
Now that open rates are no longer a reliable measurement of engaged or un-engaged contacts, you can rely on email clicks as a measurement of engagement. Email clicks let you know any time a contact clicks on a button or link within the email. You can also look at the unsubscribe rate of an email to measure engagement. Emails with high unsubscribe rates may indicate that that type of content isn’t as engaging to your contacts.
The Old State is Here to Help
Need help with your email marketing? The Old State has a dedicated team of inbound marketing experts to help make your email campaigns successful. From email layout and design to copywriting, and email sending and reporting, our team is ready to assist you. Contact us to get started today!