You have set up the email marketing tech. You have written the emails. You are sending them out.
Now, you need to answer the most important follow-up question: Is this actually making me money?
Many Etsy sellers send emails into the void and never look at the data. This is a mistake. Your email analytics tell a story. They tell you if your audience is bored, excited, or confused.
In this last chapter of the Email Marketing For Etsy Sellers course, we will learn how to read your "Email Report Card", understand the benchmarks for the handmade industry, and most importantly, how to fix the numbers if they are low.
Metric 1: Open Rate
Definition: The percentage of people who received your email and opened it.
The Benchmark: Aim for 35-40%+.
Note: In recent years (due to Apple’s Privacy Protection), open rates have become slightly inflated. If you see a 50% open rate, it might actually be closer to 40%. However, it is still a useful metric for comparing one email against another.
If your Open Rate is low (<25%), it means:
- Problem: Your subject line wasn't interesting enough, or your emails are landing in the Spam/Promotions folder.
- The Fix:
- A/B Test Subject Lines: Try using curiosity or questions (as discussed in Chapter 5).
- Check Your "Sender Name": Are you sending from "Jane" or "Jane @ [Shop Name]" or "[Shop Name]"? Make sure they recognize who you are immediately.
- Clean Your List: See the "List Hygiene" section below.
Metric 2: Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Definition: The percentage of people who opened the email and clicked on a link.
The Benchmark: Aim for 2% - 5%.
This tells you if your content was actually engaging and converting.
If your CTR is low (<1%), it means:
- Problem: People opened the email, but they didn't know what to do next, or the offer wasn't compelling.
- The Fix:
- One Clear Goal: Did you have too many links? (Check out our Instagram! Read the blog! Buy this!) Stick to one main Call to Action (CTA).
- Make Buttons Obvious: Use a big, bold button colour that contrasts with your background.
- Check the Offer: Is the product relevant to them? (Don't send dog collar emails to cat owners. This is why Segmentation from Chapter 3 is key!)
Metric 3: Unsubscribe Rate
Definition: The percentage of people who leave your list after an email.
The Benchmark: <0.5% is normal.
If your Unsubscribe Rate is high (>1% per email), it could mean:
- Problem: You promised one thing (e.g. "Helpful Tips") and delivered another (e.g., "Spammy Sales"). Or, you are sending too many sales emails too frequently.
Don't panic. Unsubscribes could actually be good for your business. You do not want to pay for subscribers who will never buy from you, which leads us to the next point:
The Secret Weapon: List Hygiene (Cleaning Your List)
One of the most overlooked parts of email strategy is "Cleaning."
If you have 1,000 subscribers, but 300 of them haven't opened an email in 6 months, those "Cold Subscribers" are hurting you.
- They cost you money: Most Email Service Providers (ESPs) charge you based on subscriber count.
- They hurt deliverability: Gmail and Outlook look at engagement. If you keep emailing people who don't open, Gmail could start thinking you are spam and starts moving your emails to the junk or promotion folder for everyone.
The Strategy: Every 6 months, run a "Re-engagement Campaign."
- Identify subscribers who haven't opened in 6 months.
- Send them an email: "Do you still want to hear from me?"
- If they don't click "Yes" or don't open the email, delete them. It sounds scary, but a small, engaged list makes way more money than a massive, dead list.
Congrats on Finishing This Course
Congratulations! You have made it to the end of the Etsy email marketing course.
We have covered everything from the "Why" (owning your audience), to the "How" (building lead magnets and tech setups), to the "What" (writing campaigns and automations).
Remember this: Email marketing is a long-term game. You might send an email today that doesn't result in a sale immediately. But next month, when that subscriber needs a birthday gift, or when Etsy changes its algorithm again, you will be the brand they remember.
You are no longer just an Etsy seller renting space on a marketplace. You are a business owner with your own direct line to your customers.
Now, go set up your email marketing sales machine!