What are you missing?
Last week, I was talking with a client about her newsletter stats. We were looking at click-thru rates, open rates, *sales percentages* and more.
We looked at the feedback she was getting and whether or not those readers were converting. We compared how people discovered her newsletter with how likely they were to interact with her, her site, and her store.
We even took a look at the correlation between specific interests (as indicated by click-thrus on specific articles) and how likely those specific readers were to make a purchase or request a quote.
When we were finished, she sighed and said, “I had no idea there were so many numbers!”
Are you examining your statistics in such depth? Or are you just making a cursory glance at the percentages your distribution program gives you automatically and then moving on to the next issue?
Awareness of your newsletter begins with knowing the facts. And, without knowing all your numbers, you can’t possibly know what those facts are.
What facts should you know?
1. Who are your readers? What percentage is male? Female? What percentage fits into each age group? What’s their profession? Their title? Their income?
2. Who’s buying? Which of your readers is spending *money* on your website? By telephone? In your location (if you have one)?
3. Who’s clicking-thru? On what? Which of your readers are most likely to *click thru*? What are they clicking-thru on?
4. When do they buy? On average, how long is someone on your list before making their first purchase? How long is it before they make a second purchase?
5. Who’s sharing your newsletter? Which of your readers is most likely to share the newsletter? With whom? Are they bringing in new subscribers likely to buy?
6. Where do subscribers come from? Are they coming in from current readers? Websites? And what’s their behavior once they join?
7. What’s your rate of growth? Is your *sales rate* keeping pace?
8. What’s your unsubscription rate? What’s your open rate (and the change over time)? Who’s most likely to unsubscribe? Who’s more likely to simply stop opening the newsletter?
9. What data do you need on your readers? Remember, we’re going to be talking about awareness for another three weeks. What do you need to know about your readers in order to get the most of the next three lessons? How will you find it out?
By building your awareness of who your readers are, how they behave, and what they want from you, you’ll be all set to turn your newsletter into a true adventure.
Your challenge: Take a look at all your numbers and see what you can come up with. Post your observations here in the comments.
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