Email Analytics How-To Guide
Litmus Email Analytics is a powerful tool to discover more about your readers. This video, and the corresponding guide below, will show you how to get up and running with Litmus Email Analytics. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to email our friendly support team.
Naming tracking codes
In order to generate your stats, you need to include our tracking code in your email. When your email is viewed by your subscribers, this tracking code will load an image from our servers. This enables us to discern what email client the recipient was using, and how they interacted with your email (printing, forwarding, deleting, and so on).
To get started, click 'New Tracking Code' on the Analytics tab within your Litmus account. You'll be asked to name the code:
Setting up your tracking code
After naming your code, you'll be guided through the process to set up your tracking code. We recommend that in between steps 1 and 3, you take the time to test your tracking code to ensure that opens are collecting in the manner you hoped.
Add the merge tag and tracking code to your email
To ensure your Tracking Code collects individual-level data, you'll need to add a unique piece of subscriber data from your mailing software. While we recommend you use subscriber email address, you can use any unique identifier. You can use the drop-down menu to select the default merge tags at some popular ESPs, or enter your own in the box:
After you select your merge tag, you'll need to copy and paste the tracking code into the bottom of your email template. A good place to put it is right before the closing </body> tag in your HTML.
If you don't want to include individual-level tracking for this report, you can copy and paste the tracking code without adding a merge tag. We'll still collect as much data as we can, we just won't be able to link it back to a particular subscriber.
Please note that if you're using a tool to convert your CSS code to be inline, it's important to run this tool before you insert your tracking code. If you run it after you've inserted it, the tracking code could be altered and prevent you from collecting accurate stats.
Activate the tracking code
Once you've added the tracking code to your email and have tested your tracking code, you're ready to clear your test data and activate your campaign!
Once you click the "activate my tracking code" button at the bottom of the screen, the code is activated immediately, and any test data you've collected will be deleted. Keep in mind that tracking codes stop recording data one month from the activation date. If you need a code to track data for longer than one month, you can extend it for up to 36 months.
Forgot to activate your code?
We automatically activate codes after we've detected 500 opens. Since activation clears out any test opens you have made prior to your final send, these opens will be included within your final report summary. If you forgot to activate your tracking code and sent your campaign out as usual, no worries! Your data will still track normally and will include any test opens.
Collecting your stats
Once you send your campaign you'll begin to see your stats appear within Litmus. It may take a little while from the time your subscriber opens the email before your graphs and data update inside your report.
If only a few people have opened your email, the data is likely to be quite skewed. Therefore, allow a little time for your recipients to begin opening your message before you try to interpret your Email Analytics stats.
Using tracking codes
You'll probably want to include a unique tracking code on each campaign you send out. This is so you can compare the stats between different emails.