Do You Know Your Numbers?

Last issue I addressed the “corruption” of direct response (DR) copy…

And the incorrect blame that gets assigned to DR because of bad and unethical marketers who abuse the strategies.

But I also pointed out that fundamentally, DR is really all about DATA.

Chris and I have discussed this multiple times…

It’s staggering how many businesses we speak to who have no idea what their numbers are.

• What are your email open rates? (No clue)

• What percentage of your list is active? (What do you mean?)

• What’s the show rate and conversion rate on your sales calls? (Um, I’m not sure…)

• Can you attribute every sale to a specific marketing effort? (Uncomfortable shifting and mumbling)

I’m not really sure how you can run — let alone GROW — a business without knowing your numbers.

So let me share a bit of what I look at on daily and weekly basis as a guide.

Your data may of course be different based on what funnels you’re running and what your objectives are.

Here’s the Data I Look at Regularly

First, let’s look at some internal campaign numbers. These are the data I look at from internal emails campaigns, newsletter stats and customer service.

I’ve grouped some related things together to avoid having a really long list.

Internal Data to Track

• Daily email stats - opens, clicks and unsubscribes

• Email trends over weeks and months

• Views and conversion rates on internal promo landing pages

• Open rates on post-sales fulfillment email series

• Click rates on space ads in content and newsletter emails

• List growth statistics

• Customer service stats - cancellations, refund requests, complaints, renewals, sales (YES - customer service can and should get sales!)

And next, let’s look at the stats related to external sources, whether that’s from paid traffic or organic traffic

External Data to Track

• Website traffic, page views, opt-ins and promo ad clicks

• Paid ad data - views, clicks, conversions, cost per click (CPC), cost per lead (CPL), cost per acquisition (CPA)

• Data on any split tests we’re running

• Social media data across all platforms - impressions, stick rate on videos, clicks, conversions, virality, audience growth

I’m sure I’m missing some, but you get the point, right?

If you’re using digital marketing in your business, there’s a LOT of data to track.

And if you or your team don’t know the numbers, how can you possible make any strategic decisions?

Something to think about and to do a self-audit on if you’re a founder or leader.

If you need help or guidance, Chris and I are here.

Jon

P.S. I often get asked “what should my numbers be?”

The answer is “it depends”. It depends on in industry, traffic source, internal vs external campaigns, list history and health, and so many other factors.

So the answer to that question takes a specific analysis of your industry and business.