If you’re sending emails and just hoping for the best, you’re wasting your time—and probably some money, too. Tracking and analyzing your email campaign performance isn’t just for marketing nerds. It’s for anyone who wants to actually get results and stop flying blind. This guide is for anyone using ExportApollo (or thinking about it) who wants to know what’s working, what’s not, and what to do about it.
1. Set Clear Goals Before You Even Open ExportApollo
Let’s get this out of the way: If you don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish, no tool is going to help you. Before you log into ExportApollo.com, figure out what success looks like for your email campaigns.
Ask yourself: - Are you trying to book meetings, drive signups, or just get replies? - What’s a “good” open rate or reply rate for your audience? - How soon do you expect results?
Write these down. You’ll use them to judge whether your campaigns are working. Don’t skip this step—otherwise, you’ll end up staring at graphs with no idea what they mean.
2. Launch Your Campaigns With Tracking Enabled
ExportApollo can’t track what it can’t see. When you set up a campaign:
- Enable open and click tracking: This usually just means toggling a few switches. Yes, open rates are iffy (thanks, Apple Mail Privacy, etc.), but you still want the data.
- Use unique links for each campaign: If you’re sending people to your site, use UTM parameters or unique URLs so you know which campaign drove the traffic.
- Double-check your sender setup: Make sure your sending domain is verified and you’re not landing in spam. If your deliverability is bad, none of your tracking will matter.
Pro tip: Don’t go crazy with images or links just to boost “engagement.” That’s a fast way to get flagged as spam.
3. Understand What ExportApollo Actually Tracks (and What It Doesn’t)
Here’s what you’ll see in ExportApollo:
- Delivered: Emails that made it to the inbox (or at least didn’t bounce).
- Opens: How many people opened your email. Take this with a grain of salt—some opens aren’t real, and some real opens aren’t tracked.
- Clicks: Actual clicks on your links. This is a stronger signal, but still not perfect (some firewalls click everything).
- Replies: The number of people who actually wrote back. This is gold—focus here.
- Bounces: Emails that couldn’t be delivered. High bounce rates = fix your list.
- Unsubscribes/Spam reports: Listen to these. If people are hitting unsubscribe or spam, your messaging is off or your targeting is bad.
What ExportApollo doesn’t track: - Real sales or conversions (unless you manually connect the dots). - What happens after someone clicks—unless you’re tracking with unique links and checking your own analytics. - Sentiment or quality of replies. A reply isn’t always a “win.”
4. Check Your Numbers—But Don’t Obsess Over Vanity Metrics
It’s tempting to chase high open rates or clicks. But honestly, those numbers can be misleading.
- Open rates: Good for spotting problems (like 5% open = spam folder), but not a real measure of interest.
- Click rates: Better, but only if your links are set up right.
- Reply rates: This is the number to care about, especially if you’re doing outbound or sales emails.
Ignore these: - “Total sends.” Who cares if you sent 10,000 emails if nobody replied? - “Best time to send” unless you see a huge difference—most of the time, it’s not worth over-optimizing here.
5. Segment and Compare Your Campaigns
Don’t just look at your numbers in isolation. Use ExportApollo’s filtering and segmentation features:
- Compare by audience: Are certain industries or job titles responding better?
- Compare by messaging: Did your A/B test subject line actually change anything?
- Time analysis: Do replies drop off after a certain day or week? Maybe your sequence is too long.
How to do this in ExportApollo: - Use the dashboard filters to slice by campaign, time period, or segment. - Export CSVs if you want to dig deeper in Excel or Google Sheets. Sometimes, you’ll spot trends faster outside the platform.
Pro tip: If you can’t see clear differences between segments, your list might be too broad—or your message too generic.
6. Dig Into the Replies (Quality Matters More Than Quantity)
A 10% reply rate sounds great—unless all the replies are “unsubscribe me” or “not interested.” Quantity isn’t everything.
- Read the replies: Manually. Yes, it takes time, but you’ll learn way more than from any chart.
- Categorize them: Positive, negative, interested, out-of-office, etc. Even a rough tally helps.
- Look for patterns: Are people confused by your offer? Is your call to action too vague? This is feedback gold.
ExportApollo won’t do all this for you, but don’t skip it. If you’re only looking at reply counts, you’ll miss what your audience is actually saying.
7. Watch for Red Flags (And Don’t Ignore Them)
Some numbers mean you need to act fast:
- High bounce rates: Clean your list. Bad data will hurt your sender reputation.
- Lots of spam complaints: Revisit your targeting and messaging. Stop sending to people who aren’t a fit.
- Sharp drop in open or reply rates: Your emails might be going to spam, or your list is getting burned out.
If you see these, pause and fix the issues before blasting more emails.
8. Report and Share Results—But Be Honest
Whether you’re reporting to a boss or just tracking for yourself, skip the sugarcoating. Share what’s actually working and what isn’t. No one needs another chart showing “growth” if it’s just noise.
- Show real numbers: Reply rates, qualified leads, meetings booked.
- Share lessons learned: What would you do differently next time?
- Keep it simple: Don’t drown people in data. Highlight what matters.
9. Iterate and Test—But Don’t Fall for Shiny Objects
You’ll hear a lot of advice about the “perfect” subject line or magical send times. Most of it’s noise. The basics matter more:
- Test one thing at a time (subject, CTA, offer).
- Give each test enough time and volume to get real results.
- Don’t change everything at once—you won’t know what worked.
Pro tip: Consistent, basic execution beats fancy tricks. Don’t get distracted by every new feature or “AI” tool promising instant results.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple and Iterate
Tracking and analyzing your email campaigns in ExportApollo isn’t rocket science, but it does take discipline. Set clear goals, watch the right numbers (real replies, not just opens), and actually read what people send back. Don’t get bogged down in vanity metrics or over-complicate your process. The best results come from small tweaks, honest feedback, and a willingness to keep improving.
Get in, get your data, and move on. If you’re learning something every time, you’re already ahead of most.