An automation runs quietly in the background, which is exactly why it needs checking. A welcome email written two years ago might still mention an event that has ended, or a pre-arrival guide might link to a transfer company that has closed. Statistics tell you which automations are working and which need attention.
The metrics that matter
| Metric | What it tells you | What to check if it drops |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery rate | How many emails reached a mailbox. | Old or mistyped addresses, missing SPF or DKIM. |
| Open rate | Rough interest in the subject line. | Subject line, sender name, send hour. Treat it as indicative, since some mail apps load images automatically. |
| Click rate | Whether the content prompted action. | Button placement, offer relevance, mobile layout. |
| Conversions | Bookings, orders or replies. | Landing page, price, availability. |
| Unsubscribes | Whether the message felt unwanted. | Frequency, relevance, whether the person expected it. |
Mailpro shows these per automation and over time in its statistics reports, with real-time figures as emails go out.
Read results by season
For tourism businesses in Antigua and Barbuda, a single average hides a lot. A post-stay follow-up sent in February, when guests have just returned to cold weather, may perform very differently from the same email sent in August. Compare month by month and do not panic if summer figures are lower; the audience and the mood are different. Look at your peaks around Antigua Sailing Week in April and Carnival in late July and early August as well.
Read results by market
Geo-tracking shows where emails are opened. If your pre-arrival email is opened mostly in the United States and the UK, check that the send hour suits those time zones rather than Atlantic Standard Time only. If residents open your birthday email but rarely redeem the voucher, the offer may need to change.
Look at bounces carefully
Addresses collected on paper at a front desk or dive shop are often mistyped. A high hard bounce rate on your welcome automation usually points to collection problems, not the email itself. Switching to a tablet form with double opt-in fixes most of it, and gives you a consent record under the Data Protection Act, 2013.
From numbers to changes
- Low opens on the welcome email: test a subject line that names the benefit, such as “Your Antigua beach guide is inside”.
- Good clicks but few bookings on the re-booking offer: review the landing page and whether prices show the right currency.
- Rising unsubscribes on a monthly automation: reduce frequency or tighten the segment.
Compare automations with one-off campaigns
Automated emails usually reach people at a moment when they care: just after signing up, just before a trip, on their birthday. It is common for them to earn higher engagement than a general newsletter sent to everyone. If one of your automations performs worse than your regular campaigns, that is a signal: the trigger may be wrong, the delay too long, or the content out of date.
Test one thing at a time
When you change an automation, change one element, such as the subject line, the send delay or the main image, and give it enough sends to judge. For a small guesthouse that may take a whole season; for a busy resort, a few weeks. Note the date of every change so you can link results to it later.
Keep a simple dashboard
Once a quarter, list each automation, its trigger, its last edit date and its main result. It takes half an hour and catches outdated content before guests do. Mailpro’s global statistics give you the overview.
Setting up your first sequence? See how to send automated emails.