Understanding Campaign Reports

Campaign reports show how readers interacted with an email campaign after it was sent. Reports help you understand delivery, opens, clicks, bounces, unsubscribes and other engagement signals.

Common campaign report metrics

• Sent: the number of emails sent by the campaign.
• Delivered: the number of emails accepted by recipient mail servers.
• Open rate: an estimate of how many contacts opened the email.
• Click rate: how many contacts clicked one or more links.
• Bounces: emails that could not be delivered.
• Unsubscribes: contacts who opted out after receiving the email.
• Spam complaints: contacts who marked the email as spam, where reported.

How to use campaign reports

1. Open the campaign report after the email has been sent.
2. Review delivery and bounce information first.
3. Check open and click activity.
4. Look at which links received the most clicks.
5. Compare results with previous campaigns.
6. Use the results to improve the next campaign.

Things to know

• Reports are most useful when compared over time.
• Open tracking is not perfect because privacy settings can affect results.
• Click activity is usually a stronger sign of reader interest.
• Bounces and complaints should be reviewed because they affect list health.

Tracking Campaign Performance

Tracking campaign performance helps you understand whether your emails are reaching readers and encouraging action. For authors, this can help you improve newsletters, launch campaigns, reader magnet emails and backlist promotions.

What to track

• Delivery rate.
• Open rate.
• Click rate.
• Top clicked links.
• Unsubscribes.
• Bounces.
• Spam complaints where available.
• Performance by list or segment.

How to evaluate performance

1. Start with delivery: did the email reach inboxes?
2. Review opens as a directional signal.
3. Review clicks to understand reader action.
4. Check which links performed best.
5. Look at unsubscribe and complaint levels.
6. Compare the campaign to similar previous emails.

What performance can tell you

• Whether the subject line encouraged opens.
• Whether the email content encouraged clicks.
• Which books, links or offers readers responded to.
• Whether a segment is more engaged than the full list.
• Whether list quality may need attention.

Things to know

A single campaign does not tell the whole story. Look for patterns across several campaigns before making major changes to your email strategy.

Email Click Rates

Click rate shows how many readers clicked a link in your email. Clicks are one of the clearest signs that readers were interested enough to take action.

Why click rates matter

• Clicks show active engagement.
• They help identify which offers or links readers care about.
• They can show interest in a book, series, format or event.
• They help you improve future campaigns.

Common author links to track

• Buy links.
• Preorder links.
• Reader magnet downloads.
• ARC signup forms.
• Review links.
• Series pages.
• Direct store links.
• Event registration links.

How to improve click rates

• Use one clear main call to action.
• Make buttons easy to spot.
• Keep the email focused.
• Place the main link near the top and again later if needed.
• Use link wording that tells readers exactly what they will get.
• Send relevant content to the right segment.

Things to know

• A high open rate with low clicks may mean the subject line worked but the offer did not.
• A lower open rate with strong clicks may still be valuable if the right readers took action.
• Clicks are stronger than opens for judging reader intent.

Open Rates

Open rate estimates how many recipients opened your email. It can help you understand whether your subject line, sender name and timing encouraged readers to take a first look.

What affects open rates

• Sender name recognition.
• Subject line.
• Preheader text.
• Send timing.
• List quality.
• Reader relationship with your author brand.
• Inbox placement.

How to improve open rates

• Use a sender name readers recognize.
• Write clear, specific subject lines.
• Use the preheader to add context or curiosity.
• Send consistently enough that readers remember you.
• Segment when the content is only relevant to part of your list.
• Keep your list healthy and permission-based.

Important limitation

Open tracking is not exact. Some email clients and privacy features can hide or inflate opens. Treat open rate as a useful trend, not a perfect number.

When open rate is useful

• Comparing subject lines across similar campaigns.
• Spotting major changes in engagement.
• Checking whether a segment is more active than the full list.
• Identifying campaigns that may need better subject lines or timing.

Email Bounces

A bounce happens when an email cannot be delivered to a contact. Bounces can be temporary or permanent, and they are important because they affect list health and sender reputation.

Common reasons emails bounce

• The email address is invalid.
• The mailbox no longer exists.
• The recipient mailbox is full.
• The receiving server temporarily rejected the email.
• The email was blocked by the recipient server.
• There is a domain or authentication issue.

Types of bounces

• Hard bounce: a permanent delivery failure, often caused by an invalid or nonexistent address.
• Soft bounce: a temporary delivery issue, such as a full mailbox or temporary server problem.

What to do about bounces

• Review bounce reports after campaigns.
• Remove or suppress invalid addresses where appropriate.
• Check whether bounces are isolated or widespread.
• If many emails bounce at once, review sender authentication and list quality.
• Avoid repeatedly sending to addresses that consistently fail.

Things to know

A small number of bounces is normal, especially when a list has not been emailed recently. High bounce rates may indicate old, purchased, scraped or poorly maintained contacts.

Tracking Click Activity

Click activity shows which links readers clicked inside a campaign. This helps you understand what content, books, offers and calls to action were most effective.

What click activity can show

• Which book link received the most interest.
• Whether readers clicked the cover image or button.
• Which retailer links were used.
• Whether readers clicked an ARC signup form.
• Whether a reader magnet or bonus scene interested readers.
• Which content sections encouraged action.

How to use click activity

1. Open the campaign report.
2. Review overall click rate.
3. Look at individual link performance.
4. Identify the highest-clicked links.
5. Compare link placement and wording.
6. Use those insights in future campaigns.

What to compare

• Button clicks vs text link clicks.
• Cover image clicks vs button clicks.
• Retailer links vs direct store links.
• Top-of-email links vs lower links.
• Different calls to action across campaigns.

Things to know

• Too many links can split attention.
• Clear button wording often improves clicks.
• Clicks show interest, but they do not always prove a sale happened.
• Use UTM links where appropriate if you want to track traffic in your own analytics.