In my recent work for Inside Digital, I've been amazed how many UK based publishing marketers don't spend any time looking at how well their email marketing is working.

If they do, they'll just look at report for the latest campaign that was sent. They don't take a step back and look at all their campaigns together. They're just too busy.

I've seen poor performing campaigns being repeated. Templates often have worn out, and recipients don't click any more. Unsubscribe rates are increasing. Lists are getting tired. Sometimes, it has even resulted in problems getting emails delivered - if this does happen, it can be very difficult to reverse the situation. None of this is easy to see from looking at one campaign in isolation.

UK research house, e-Consultancy, reports that email marketers spend less than an hour analysing how well their emails work. This compares to them spending well over 6 hours each campaign putting it together.

My question is simple- do you recognise this happening in your marketing department? Is it all about individual campaigns, not about the overall picture?

If you do, drop me a line. I'll send you over a list of things to look out for when looking at a number of reports.

Paul Crabtree
Consultant, Inside Digital
http://www.inside-digital.com/