Compare campaigns
Several campaigns side by side, and how to draw a fair conclusion.
Analytics → Compare puts campaigns next to each other on the same metrics — the quickest way to see whether a change actually helped.
Using it
Pick the campaigns and read across. Rates are computed over delivered in every column, so a campaign that bounced heavily isn’t flattered by its own failures.
The rest of Analytics takes a date range, which is the other way to see movement — the same metrics quarter by quarter.
Making a fair comparison
Change one thing at a time
Two campaigns usually differ in audience, subject, content, day and hour all at once. When one wins, almost nothing follows about why — and it’s very easy to attribute it to whichever change you happened to be thinking about.
Comparisons worth trusting:
- The same campaign to the same list, over time. A monthly newsletter’s trend is real information.
- A deliberate test. An in-flow split or a subject-line A/B varies one thing and splits the audience at random, which is the only way to isolate a cause.
- Extremes. A campaign at triple your usual click rate is worth studying regardless of what else differed.
What to look at
- Click rate — the honest headline.
- Unsubscribes and complaints — a campaign with great clicks and a spike in complaints was not a success.
- Bounce rate — usually says more about the audience than the email.
Treat open rate as background — it’s inflated, though the inflation is at least similar across your own campaigns.
Common issues
A tiny campaign looks amazing
Small numbers swing wildly — one click on a 20-person send is 5%. Be wary of anything below a few hundred recipients.
Automations aren't in the list
Deliberately. A flow sends the same email for months, so it isn’t comparable with a one-off. They have their own tab.
FAQs
How many can I compare at once?+
Several — though beyond about four the table stops being readable and a date range usually answers the question better.
Can I export a comparison?+
Export the campaign rows from Analytics — one row per campaign, which is the same data in a form you can pivot.