If you’re using Iterable to run your marketing, chances are you’ve got more data than you know what to do with. The problem? It’s easy to drown in dashboards and miss what actually matters: whether people are engaging with your emails, push notifications, and messages in a way that moves the needle for your business.
This guide is for marketers, product folks, and anyone who wants clear, no-nonsense steps for tracking and analyzing user engagement metrics in Iterable. We’ll cover what’s worth tracking, how to set it up, how to actually find answers—not just numbers—and a few things to skip. Let’s get into it.
Why Engagement Metrics Matter (and What to Ignore)
Let’s be honest: Not all metrics are created equal. Iterable gives you a ton of numbers, but most of them won’t help you make better decisions.
Focus on these metrics:
- Opens (for emails): Tells you if your subject lines and send times are working. But open rates can be flaky because of privacy features in email clients.
- Clicks: Shows if your content is compelling enough for someone to take action. Much more reliable than opens.
- Conversions: The real goal—did someone do what you wanted (buy, sign up, etc.) after engaging?
- Unsubscribes & Complaints: If these are high, something’s wrong.
- Delivery & Bounce Rates: If your messages aren’t getting through, nothing else matters.
Metrics to take with a grain of salt:
- Open Rates (again): Apple Mail Privacy Protection messes with these. Don’t obsess over them.
- Time on Email/Page: Often inaccurate unless you’ve set up extra tracking.
- Vanity Metrics: Big numbers look nice, but do they help you take action?
Pro tip: Start with a core metric tied to your business goal. Don’t try to track everything at once.
Step 1: Make Sure Iterable Is Tracking What You Need
Before you can analyze engagement, make sure Iterable is set up to collect the right data. The basics (opens, clicks, unsubscribes) are tracked automatically for emails, push, and SMS—but conversions and custom events may take extra work.
Check your integration:
- Web & App Events: If you want to track conversions or custom events (like “added to cart” or “started trial”), make sure your site or app is sending those events into Iterable.
- UTM Parameters: Use these in your links so you can tie engagement back to traffic sources in your analytics tools.
- APIs & SDKs: If you’re not using Iterable’s web/mobile SDKs, you’re missing out on deeper tracking.
What to skip: Don’t bother setting up every possible event "just in case." Pick the moments that matter for your business.
Step 2: Get Familiar with Iterable’s Reporting Tools
Iterable has a few different ways to look at your engagement data. Here’s what’s actually useful:
Campaign Analytics
- Where to find it: Go to Messaging > Campaigns, then click into any campaign.
- What you’ll see: Opens, clicks, unsubscribes, bounces, complaints, and device breakdowns.
- Best for: Quick checks—did this email or push notification do well?
Experimentation & A/B Testing
- Where to find it: Messaging > Experiments.
- What you’ll see: Side-by-side comparisons of subject lines, content, send times, etc.
- Best for: Figuring out what actually moves the needle, not just what you think should work.
Journey Analytics
- Where to find it: Messaging > Journeys.
- What you’ll see: How users flow through multi-step campaigns (welcome series, cart abandonment, etc.), drop-off points, and conversion rates at each step.
- Best for: Spotting where you’re losing people in multi-step automations.
Custom Reports
- Where to find it: Analytics > Reports.
- What you’ll see: You can build reports on custom events, user segments, and more.
- Best for: When the standard dashboards don’t cut it, or if you want to track something really specific.
Pro tip: Bookmark the reports you check most. Iterable’s navigation isn’t always intuitive.
Step 3: Analyze Your Engagement (Without Drowning in Data)
Here’s where most teams get stuck: lots of numbers, not a lot of insight. Here’s how to cut through the noise.
1. Set a Baseline
- Look at the last 3-6 months of data for your main campaigns.
- What’s your average open rate? Click rate? Conversion rate?
- Are there obvious outliers—good or bad?
2. Segment Your Audience
- Engagement averages can hide big differences. Break things down by:
- New vs. returning users
- Location or device type
- Customer lifecycle stage
- Iterable lets you filter reports by these segments—use it.
3. Compare Over Time and Across Campaigns
- Did this month’s promo do better than last month’s?
- Is your welcome series actually creating engaged users, or just annoying people?
- Don’t forget seasonality—holidays or sales can skew results.
4. Flag Problem Areas
- Are unsubscribes or complaints going up? Check recent campaign changes.
- Are conversions dropping? Is it a messaging issue, or something else (like your site breaking)?
- Are certain devices or email clients underperforming?
5. Don’t Fall for False Positives
- Big jumps in open rate can mean Apple’s privacy features are inflating things.
- Sudden dips might be deliverability issues, not bad content.
What to skip: Don’t waste time slicing and dicing data just because you can. If a metric doesn’t drive a decision, ignore it.
Step 4: Turn Insights Into Action
The whole point of tracking engagement is to do something with it. Here’s how to go from numbers to next steps:
- Test and iterate. Use A/B tests to try new subject lines, send times, or calls-to-action. Don’t guess—let the data decide.
- Clean your lists. If people never open your messages, consider suppressing them. It’ll help your deliverability (and your sanity).
- Follow up on negative signals. High unsubscribes or complaints? Look for patterns—maybe your frequency is too high, or your content needs a refresh.
- Double-down on what works. If a particular campaign or channel drives real conversions, shift more effort there.
- Share findings with your team. Don’t hoard the data—make sure everyone knows what’s working and what isn’t.
Pro tip: Document what you try and what happens. Otherwise you’ll forget, and end up repeating the same tests.
Step 5: Export Data for Deeper Analysis (If You Need To)
Iterable’s built-in reports are fine for most teams. But if you need to slice things your own way, here’s how:
- CSV Exports: Most reports can be exported as CSVs—look for the export button.
- API Access: If you’ve got technical help, pull engagement data into your own dashboards or BI tools.
- Third-Party Integrations: Iterable plays nicely with tools like Tableau, Looker, and Google Analytics. Sometimes it’s easier to analyze everything in one place.
Watch out for: Exports can get big, fast. Don’t try to download your entire user history unless you love waiting for spreadsheets to open.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
What Works
- Focusing on a few core metrics: Clicks and conversions beat open rates every time.
- Regular check-ins: Weekly or monthly looks are enough for most teams.
- A/B testing: Especially for subject lines and send times.
What Doesn’t
- Obsessing over opens: Privacy changes mean open rates are at best a rough guess.
- Tracking every possible event: You’ll slow yourself down and still miss the big picture.
- Overcomplicating your analysis: If you need a PhD to understand your report, you’re not helping anyone.
What to Ignore
- “Industry averages” as gospel: Every list and business is different. Use your own data as the benchmark.
- Data for data’s sake: If it doesn’t help you make a decision, it’s not worth your time.
Keep It Simple, Keep Iterating
User engagement metrics in Iterable aren’t magic—they’re just tools to help you see what’s working and what’s not. Start by tracking the basics, look for trends that actually matter, and don’t be afraid to ignore the noise. The key is to act on what you learn, then keep tweaking. You’ll get better results without drowning in data. And remember: it’s called Iterable for a reason.