Opens, Clicks, and Forwards are important metrics to understand when you look at your mailing reports. They give you a baseline about your mailings and let you know, on the surface, how you are doing.
Let’s look at how these metrics are gathered.
Opens
Opens register when subscribers receive a mailing and either open it or view it in the preview pane.
The mechanics of tracking Opens are quite simple and follow a common practice: a 0x0 pixel image, when downloaded, registers back to an ASP page, letting Higher Logic Thrive Marketing Professional (Thrive Marketing Professional) know that a subscriber has opened the mailing. If the pixel is not downloaded, Thrive Marketing Professional cannot register the Open unless it can be inferred another way (such as a Forward or Click). Additionally, if a subscriber receives the text-only version, Thrive Marketing Professional cannot directly track the Open because the 0x0 pixel image does not download to a text-only recipient.
Duration
When a subscriber opens a mailing, a connection is established between the server and the email. Thrive Marketing Professional will check three times to see whether the connection is still active, and will then assign a status based on the duration of the active connection. The status assignments are:
| Connection Check | Occurs | Finding | Status Assigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | Upon initial open | Message open | Open |
| Second | Three (3) seconds later |
Connection still active = No Connection still active = Yes |
Open Skim |
| Third | After ten (10) seconds have elapsed from the initial open |
Connection still active = No Connection still active = Yes |
Skim Read |
Thrive Marketing Professional will stop tracking time after the mailing is registered as Read. For example, if a subscriber clicks a mailing in an email client and this causes the mailing to remain open in a preview pane, the mailing connection will be counted as Read as soon as ten seconds have passed.
There are additional considerations when assessing these statuses. For example, image downloads could increase the length of time that the mailing (and therefore, the connection) is open, resulting in the mailing being assigned a misleading status of Read. Thrive Marketing Professional can also determine and report on the type of device (mobile or desktop/laptop) that was used to open the mailing.
Clicks
When subscribers click on a link in a mailing, Thrive Marketing Professional registers a Click for the mailing (this excludes "bookmarks" within a mailing). When Thrive Marketing Professional registers a Click, it also automatically registers an Open, because you have to open a mailing in order to click a link.
Forwards
Forwards register when subscribers forward a mailing. Thrive Marketing Professional registers a forward when a single mailing ID is detected as an Open or Click from a second IP address.
As it does with a Click, Thrive Marketing Professional infers an Open action on the part of the original recipient because most email clients require users to open a message before forwarding it.
Improve your communications
Use the Opens, Clicks, and Forwards metrics to better understand how recipients interact with your mailings. Then, use this information when you design templates and mailings so that you can get the most out of your efforts. If you periodically check these metrics, you might find that you're sending mailings that your subscribers interact with more.