If you’re sending outbound emails—whether you’re in sales, recruiting, or just trying to get someone’s attention—you need to know what’s actually working. But tracking email performance can get messy. Half the tools out there drown you in meaningless stats. The other half just don’t work.
This guide is for people who want to track outbound email performance directly in Scrab and actually get useful answers, without falling down a rabbit hole of vanity metrics or sales-y dashboards.
Let’s make this simple, actionable, and honest.
Why Bother Tracking Outbound Email Performance?
Let’s get this out of the way: If you don’t track, you’re guessing. And guessing means you’ll waste time repeating what doesn’t work. The whole point of tracking is to:
- Know which emails get opened, clicked, or replied to.
- See which subject lines and approaches actually get a response.
- Stop sending the same message into the void and hoping something sticks.
But don’t get hung up on tracking everything. Focus on what moves the needle: opens, replies, and maybe clicks—if you include links.
Step 1: Get Set Up in Scrab
First things first: You need to be using Scrab to send your emails. Scrab is built to help you manage outbound campaigns and see how they’re doing, right from your dashboard.
What you need: - An active Scrab account (with access to outbound email features) - Your email connected to Scrab (usually Gmail or Outlook) - Some contacts to email
If you’re still sending emails one-by-one from your inbox, Scrab will save you a ton of headaches. If you’re already using Scrab, skip ahead.
Pro tip: Don’t use your main personal email for cold outreach. Use a dedicated address and warm it up first—otherwise, you’ll tank your deliverability.
Step 2: Craft (and Send) Your Outbound Emails
You can’t track what you haven’t sent. The usual process in Scrab is:
- Build a contact list: Import or add your contacts. Make sure emails are valid—bounces kill your sender reputation.
- Write your email: Use Scrab’s email composer. Keep it short, personal, and clear (templates are fine, but avoid sounding like a bot).
- Schedule or send: Scrab lets you schedule emails or drip them out, which helps dodge spam filters.
What matters: Consistency beats volume. Don’t blast 500 emails at once—spread them out.
Step 3: Understand the Metrics Scrab Tracks
Once your emails are out the door, Scrab automatically tracks performance. The key metrics you’ll see:
- Open Rate: Percentage of recipients who opened your email.
- Reality check: Opens are tracked via a tiny image (tracking pixel). If someone’s email blocks images, it might not count. Don’t obsess over a 3% difference.
- Reply Rate: The gold standard. Who actually answered you?
- Reality check: This is what matters most. A high open rate with zero replies means your message isn’t landing.
- Bounce Rate: Emails that never made it (bad addresses, full inboxes, etc.).
- Reality check: High bounce rate? Clean your list.
- Click Rate: If you included a link, Scrab tracks if someone clicked.
- Reality check: Not everyone clicks. Don’t stress if this is low, unless your goal is to get people to a site or booking page.
Ignore “vanity metrics” like “delivered” (unless your delivery rate is suddenly terrible), or “forwarded”—nobody forwards cold emails.
Pro tip: If you see weirdly low open rates across the board, your emails might be landing in spam.
Step 4: Find and Use the Email Performance Dashboard
Scrab’s dashboard isn’t buried under 10 menus. Here’s how to find and use it:
- Navigate to the Campaigns section.
- Select your campaign or email batch.
- Review the performance panel: Here you’ll see opens, replies, bounces, and clicks at a glance.
What to look for: - Which subject lines get the most opens? - Which messages actually get replies? - Are you getting a lot of bounces? (If yes, fix your list.)
You can drill down to see stats for individual emails or contacts if you want, but don’t overthink it. Patterns matter more than one-offs.
Step 5: Analyze What’s Working (and What’s Not)
Now for the part most people skip: actually doing something with the data.
Look for Patterns
- Are certain subject lines always getting opened?
- Does a specific intro or call-to-action get more replies?
- Are certain segments of your contacts (job title, industry, etc.) more responsive?
Things That Don’t Matter (Much)
- Tiny differences in open rates (unless you’re running huge campaigns)
- “Link clicks” if your main goal is replies, not clicks
- Forwarded or “read time” metrics—these are usually unreliable
Be Honest
If you’ve sent 100 emails and only 2 people replied, don’t blame the tool. Test new subject lines, tweak your message, or try a different audience.
Pro tip: Don’t chase a perfect open rate. Focus on reply rate. That’s where the real wins are.
Step 6: Iterate Without Overcomplicating
Don’t let the dashboard turn you into a stats-obsessed robot. Here’s what to do instead:
- Every week or two, look at your top 2-3 campaigns.
- See what’s getting replies. Make small changes to subject lines or body text.
- Ditch what doesn’t work and double down on what does.
- If you’re not getting enough data (low volume), don’t stress about statistical significance—just keep trying new things.
What to ignore: Fancy “AI-powered suggestions” or “engagement scores” that aren’t based on actual replies. These features sound cool, but they rarely help.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- Chasing every metric: Opens and replies are enough for most people.
- Sending too many emails at once: You’ll nuke your sender reputation.
- Ignoring bounces: Clean your list regularly.
- Over-personalizing: Don’t spend hours crafting the perfect email for every contact. Test, iterate, and move on.
- Forgetting about timing: Mondays and Tuesdays are usually best. Fridays? Not so much.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Stay Curious
Tracking outbound email performance in Scrab isn’t rocket science. Focus on replies and open rates, ignore fluff, and use the data to tweak your approach. Don’t drown in dashboards or chase every metric—just make small improvements and see what happens.
You’ll get better results, waste less time, and actually know what’s working. That’s the whole point. Now get back to sending better emails.