Email is still the No. 1 tool for your marketing campaigns. So, how can you measure the success of your email marketing campaigns?

Just follow these tips.

Five tips to ensuring your email marketing campaign is successful
1.) Engage Your Readers
This is the best measurement of the success of your email marketing campaign, and we’re not talking about open rates. When you engage, we recommend you have a single and measurable call to action whether that be to respond, to register, to buy a product or to download a coupon.

2.) Evaluate Your Email Program
Every year, we recommend email marketers step back to review and evaluate their programs. And, the biggest mistake email marketers make is in the area of frequency. People will opt out or turn you in for spamming for two main reasons - high frequency and irrelevance. If you're not covering both of those bases appropriately, you'll have opt outs or you'll be reported for spam.

Marketers tend to provide high-frequency emails because email is perceived as free. If you're delivering educational information than adhere to the appropriate timelines. Product offerings have another timeline. You have to obey those timelines or your email program will crash and burn. These timelines vary based on email offerings or what’s being communicated. The best way to determine the best timelines is to tests and not ignore opt out rates. Most companies will have a steady horizontal line on opt out rates. If you are increasing the frequency or if your opt out rate is above a tenth or two tenths of your total emails sent, you're emailing too much.

For example, I bought an item online from a company that sells sheets and blankets. I receive an email from the company every other day. Now, really? Does that company really think I'm going to buy sheets or blankets every other day? The company has already violated my email frequency rule and I plan to opt out from its email list.

3.) Build Synergy into your Email Program with other Web marketing tools

Email, digital communication, Internet-based, and social media programs need to be synergistic and support each other. Email is the best way to drive people over to the social platforms. It's also a great way to drive people to your website. You need to have a synergistic program so your messages are communicated over all these channels. Many people don't see email marketing as a way to promote social media but, it is actually the most important tool in driving people to social media platforms.

4.) Measure the Success of Your Email Program

All email programs have reporting tools. Unfortunately, email marketing is an afterthought in many cases. With direct mail, you have to pre-plan, due to printing and mail-out timelines. But, some marketers think if they whip out an email at the last moment it's going to be effective. Email needs to have the same attention given to it it as direct mail. Plan ahead. Put it on a calendar. Consider how you will reach your audience and your overall goals. If you don't have a goal for an email program, it won’t be effective.

5). Stay up-to-date on email marketing trends

Stay educated about email marketing. Read blogs and other sources of information to keep you ahead of the curve and on the cutting-edge in the email marketing field. And, don't wait until the end of the year to get up to speed. Email’s organic and your knowledge should be as well.

Make a Commitment to Make One Change to Your Email Program in 2014

Now, email may not solve all your marketing problems, but you will certainly draw more business via email success. So, review the success of last year's program and make a change this year. Look at which emails had the best engagement rate and dissect them. What worked well? Apply that success to this year’s email program. Good luck!