On a typical day, my Gmail inbox is filled with eight shopping or dining offers, four event promotions, three publication newsletters, one car insurance “important notification” and, if I’m lucky, a personal e-mail or two.

Do I read them all? No, I delete most of them.

It’s really easy to delete an e-mail. I’ll admit I’m a serial deleter. It’s not a crime, but as an e-mail marketer, I’m more aware of why I delete emails.

When Parthenon sends an eblast for a client, I hope subscribers open the e-mail, read the articles and click on the links. But I’m not the only deleter and know not everyone will appreciate or even open the e-mail. Analyzing the subscribers that do open e-mails is a combination of measuring specific goals and looking at common trends in order to improve e-mail campaigns.

The goal of an eblast may be to increase the number of subscribers, increase the number of opens, drive website traffic or establish brand credibility. It’s usually a combination of several goals. E-mail response is a way to track goals and can provide insight into how to reach goals. For example, a low number of clicks might prompt us to increase the number of links in an e-mail. We might also encourage subscribers to click links with teaser stories or special offers. Tracking specifics is necessary for targeting particular audiences and meeting clients’ goals.

The second strategy to improve e-mail campaigns is to look at the big picture. We track the number of opens and clicks in order to see what’s working and determine where we can make improvements. No matter the size of the subscriber list, it’s important to track the percentage of opens and clicks over time. E-mail tracking is more difficult to analyze than website traffic because receiving an e-mail is generally passive. We draw conclusions about the response by considering factors such as the e-mail’s content and what time of day the e-mail was sent.

We can analyze e-mail response all day but the mystery remains why subscribers delete emails. Perhaps the subject line didn’t interest them or they were simply too busy. There are going to be deleters regardless of snazzy subject lines, useful content, great deals and intriguing links. It’s a reality of e-mail marketing. At Parthenon, we understand this reality; therefore, we send value-packed e-mails and use e-mail tracking to strategize ways to engage subscribers.