How to track Mailchimp campaign effectiveness
Practical guide to measuring Mailchimp campaign success including key metrics, ROI calculation, and optimization strategies for e-commerce stores.
You send a Mailchimp campaign. 2,500 subscribers receive it. Some open it. Some click. A few people buy something. But here’s the question that keeps you up at night: Did that campaign actually work? Was it worth the two hours you spent designing it, writing copy, and segmenting your list?
Most store owners have no systematic way to answer this question. They check open rates (looks decent), glance at clicks (seems okay), and move on to the next campaign. Three months later, they’re spending $79 monthly on Mailchimp but can’t explain whether it’s generating $500 or $5,000 in return.
Here’s the problem: Mailchimp shows you data, but data isn’t insights. Knowing your open rate is 18% means nothing unless you know if that’s good, bad, or improving. Seeing $347 in attributed revenue sounds nice until you realize you spent 8 hours creating content that month.
This guide shows you four practical approaches to tracking Mailchimp campaign effectiveness. One takes 5 minutes to set up and provides 80% of the value. Another is free but requires discipline. Pick the approach that matches your time versus money tradeoff, then stick with it for 90 days to see real patterns emerge.
Why tracking campaign effectiveness feels so hard
The issue isn’t that Mailchimp lacks data. It’s that you need to translate raw metrics into business decisions, and Mailchimp doesn’t do that translation automatically.
What you actually need to know: Is this campaign profitable? (Revenue versus time and money invested.) Which campaigns work best? (So you can do more of what works.) What should I test next? (To improve performance systematically.) Is email marketing worth continuing? (ROI calculation over time.)
What Mailchimp gives you: Open rate percentages without context. Click counts without conversion data unless store is connected. Revenue numbers without cost comparison. Metrics for individual campaigns without easy cross-campaign comparison. No automatic tracking of time invested or ROI calculations.
The gap between what you need and what you get creates the feeling that tracking effectiveness is complicated. It’s not complicated. It just requires a system.
What doesn’t work for tracking effectiveness
Before we get to solutions, let’s clear out the bad advice floating around.
❌ “Just check your open rates”
Open rates tell you subject lines work, not whether campaigns generate profit. I’ve seen campaigns with 32% open rates generate $50 revenue and campaigns with 16% opens generate $800. Opens are a vanity metric unless connected to revenue. Focus on conversion and revenue instead.
❌ “Compare to industry benchmarks”
Industry averages don’t matter for your specific business. Your list quality, product pricing, and customer relationship are unique. A 15% open rate might be terrible for one store and excellent for another. Compare to your own historical performance, not generic industry data.
❌ “Track everything in a massive spreadsheet”
Some guides recommend logging 20+ metrics per campaign in Google Sheets. Sounds thorough. In practice, you’ll maintain it for three weeks, then abandon it when life gets busy. Overly complex tracking systems fail. Simple systems you actually use beat perfect systems you don’t.
❌ “Wait until you have more data”
You don’t need thousands of subscribers or hundreds of campaigns to track effectiveness. Start now with whatever data you have. Three campaigns is enough to see patterns. Waiting for “more data” just delays learning what works for your specific audience.
The real solution: Pick one of four approaches below based on your situation. All four work. Choose based on whether you value time or money more.
Four ways to track Mailchimp campaign effectiveness
Approach 1: The 5-minute monthly check (minimum viable tracking)
What it is: On the first Monday of each month, spend 5 minutes reviewing last month’s performance in Mailchimp and noting three numbers.
How it works:
Access your Mailchimp reporting section (typically found under Reports or Analytics)
Select last 30 days as your date range
Note three numbers: Total revenue from email, number of campaigns sent, total subscribers
Calculate revenue per campaign: Total revenue divided by campaigns sent
Write it down (Notes app, paper notebook, doesn’t matter where)
What you get: Month-over-month visibility into whether email marketing is growing or declining. Simple trend tracking without overwhelming detail. Clear answer to “Is this working?” within 5 minutes.
Time investment: 5 minutes monthly, 60 minutes yearly.
Best for: Stores just starting with email marketing who need basic tracking without complexity. Founders with limited time who want to know if email is worth continuing. Anyone who has tried complex systems and abandoned them.
Limitations: Doesn’t track time invested or true ROI. No visibility into which specific campaigns work best. Can’t optimize systematically without more granular data. Misses patterns that weekly tracking would reveal.
Why it works anyway: Consistency beats comprehensiveness. A simple system you actually use for 12 months provides more value than a complex system you use for three weeks then abandon.
Approach 2: Campaign scorecard (systematic weekly tracking)
What it is: A simple spreadsheet where you log five metrics for each campaign sent, then review weekly to identify patterns.
How it works:
Create Google Sheet with columns: Date, Campaign Name, Open Rate, Click Rate, Revenue, Orders, Revenue per Recipient
After sending each campaign, log these metrics from Mailchimp report (takes 2 minutes)
Every Monday, scan the sheet to identify: highest revenue campaign (do more of this), lowest revenue campaign (avoid repeating), trends over time (improving or declining?)
Calculate monthly totals and revenue per campaign average
What you get: Clear visibility into which campaign types, subject lines, and offers work best. Easy comparison across campaigns to spot patterns. Data to support decisions (“Product-focused emails generate 40% more revenue than discount emails”). Historical record for year-over-year comparison.
Time investment: Setup: 10 minutes. Per campaign: 2 minutes logging. Weekly review: 10 minutes. Total: ~45 minutes monthly for active senders.
Best for: Stores sending 2+ campaigns weekly who need to optimize systematically. Founders comfortable with spreadsheets. Anyone wanting to identify what works without expensive tools.
Limitations: Requires discipline to log every campaign. Manual data entry creates room for errors or skipped entries. Doesn’t calculate ROI automatically (need to add cost columns). Spreadsheet can become overwhelming if you track too many metrics.
Pro tip: Keep it simple. Five metrics maximum. Add columns like “Subject Line Style” or “Primary CTA” to spot patterns, but resist tracking everything. The goal is insights, not data collection.
Approach 3: ROI-focused tracking (for budget-conscious stores)
What it is: Track revenue and costs monthly to calculate true return on investment, answering whether Mailchimp pays for itself.
How it works:
First Monday of month, note Mailchimp costs (subscription plus any add-ons or overage charges)
Go to Reports → E-commerce → check total revenue for last 30 days
Calculate ROI: (Revenue minus Cost) divided by Cost times 100
Track monthly in simple table: Month, Cost, Revenue, ROI
If ROI consistently below 10x (1000%), investigate why
What you get: Clear answer to “Is Mailchimp worth the cost?” Justification for continuing or stopping email marketing. Data to support increasing budget if ROI is strong. Red flags when performance declines significantly.
Time investment: 5 minutes monthly.
Best for: Bootstrapped stores watching every dollar. Anyone questioning whether email marketing subscription is worth it. Stores needing to justify marketing spend to partners or investors.
Limitations: Doesn’t account for time investment (just money). Misses which specific campaigns drive ROI. Can’t optimize if you only check monthly. Ignores non-revenue benefits like customer relationship building.
What good ROI looks like: Email marketing typically delivers 20-40x return (2000-4000% ROI) for small e-commerce stores with engaged lists. Below 10x suggests problems with targeting, offers, or list quality. Above 50x is excellent and indicates strong product-market fit with your email audience.
Approach 4: Automated effectiveness tracking (for time-strapped founders)
What it is: Tools that automatically track Mailchimp performance and deliver insights via email, eliminating manual checking and logging.
How it works:
Connect tool to Mailchimp (one-time, 2-5 minutes)
Configure what metrics you want to track
Receive automated reports (daily, weekly, or monthly) via email
Review insights without logging into Mailchimp dashboard
What you get: Automatic tracking without manual logging. Comparison calculations done for you (this week versus last week, this month versus last month). Delivered via email so entire team can access. No risk of forgetting to check or log data.
Time investment: Setup: 2-5 minutes one-time. Ongoing: 2-3 minutes reading reports.
Cost: Typically $49-99 monthly for analytics automation tools.
Best for: Founders who value time over money. Teams where multiple people need visibility into email performance. Stores with inconsistent tracking due to busy schedules. Anyone who has tried manual tracking systems and abandoned them.
Limitations: Costs money (versus free manual approaches). Less granular than full Mailchimp dashboard access for deep analysis. Preset metrics versus custom tracking. Adds another subscription to your stack.
Why it works: Removes friction from the tracking process. You can’t forget to check or log data because it arrives automatically. The time saved typically justifies the cost if your time is worth more than $30-50 hourly.
Which tracking approach is right for you?
Choose the 5-minute monthly check if: You’re just starting with email marketing. You send fewer than 4 campaigns monthly. You want basic trend visibility without time investment. You’ve tried complex systems and abandoned them.
Choose the campaign scorecard if: You send 2+ campaigns weekly. You’re comfortable with spreadsheets. You want to optimize systematically based on data. You have 10-15 minutes weekly for review. Budget is tight and free solutions are preferred.
Choose ROI-focused tracking if: You’re questioning whether Mailchimp is worth the cost. You need to justify email marketing spend. Budget is your primary concern. You mainly want to know “Does this pay for itself?”
Choose automated tracking if: Your time is worth $50+ hourly. You’ve struggled with manual tracking consistency. Multiple team members need email performance visibility. You prefer spending money over spending time. You send campaigns regularly and need systematic tracking.
All four approaches work. Pick one and commit for 90 days. That’s long enough to see real patterns and make optimization decisions. Don’t switch approaches after two weeks because you’re not seeing results yet. Consistency beats perfection.
What to do with effectiveness data
Tracking is pointless unless you act on insights.
If revenue per campaign is declining: Review recent campaigns for weaker offers or poor targeting. Check if email frequency is too high (causing fatigue). Investigate whether landing pages have problems. Test re-engaging your most engaged segment to see if list quality is the issue.
If one campaign type consistently outperforms: Do more of that type. If product-focused emails generate 2x the revenue of discount emails, shift your calendar toward product features. Don’t over-diversify when you’ve found what works.
If ROI is below 10x: You have three options: improve targeting through better segmentation, strengthen offers to increase conversion, or consider whether email marketing fits your business model. Sometimes the product or customer relationship doesn’t suit email marketing.
If effectiveness varies wildly campaign-to-campaign: You haven’t found your formula yet. Keep testing different approaches, but increase testing cadence. Send more campaigns to gather data faster. Once you identify what works, double down on that approach.
Frequently asked questions
How many campaigns do I need before I can track effectiveness?
Three campaigns is enough to see initial patterns. Ten campaigns provides reliable insights. You don’t need hundreds. Start tracking now with whatever data you have. The act of tracking improves performance because it forces you to pay attention.
Should I track automation performance separately?
Yes. Automations (welcome series, abandoned cart, post-purchase) have different performance characteristics than campaigns. Track automation revenue separately since they require one-time setup versus ongoing effort. Calculate automation ROI by dividing total automation revenue by setup time investment.
What if my Mailchimp revenue doesn’t match my store revenue?
Email platforms only attribute revenue from customers who engaged with emails and purchased within the attribution window. Many email-influenced purchases don’t get credited due to cross-device shopping, multiple touchpoints, or customers returning later without clicking. This is normal across all email marketing platforms. Use attributed revenue as a directional indicator of email impact, not absolute truth.
How do I track time invested in campaigns?
Add a “Time Spent” column to your spreadsheet if using the scorecard approach. Log hours spent on design, copywriting, and segmentation for each campaign. This lets you calculate true ROI including time costs. Over time, you’ll optimize workflow and reduce time per campaign.
What’s more important: open rate or conversion rate?
Conversion rate matters infinitely more. Opens show subject lines work. Conversions show campaigns generate revenue. Always optimize for conversion over engagement. A campaign with 15% opens and 2% conversion generating $800 beats a campaign with 30% opens and 0.8% conversion generating $200.
Can I use Mailchimp’s built-in reports instead of tracking manually?
Mailchimp’s reports show individual campaign data but don’t compare across campaigns easily or track ROI over time. You need some external tracking (spreadsheet or automated tool) to spot patterns and calculate true effectiveness. Mailchimp provides the data. You provide the analysis.
Peasy emails your key metrics every morning—get visibility in 2 minutes instead of 15 minutes checking dashboards. Starting at $49/month. Try free for 14 days.
