2 New Reasons Email Attribution Will Get Even Messier

Email has long had a reputation as a highly trackable channel. Marketers love it because you can see a subscriber open an email, click on links in the body content, visit their website, and convert.

The problem is that for many brands, this linear A-to-B-to-C-to-D email interaction is increasingly rare—and already rare enough to reduce most email attribution to the realm of proxies. It’s meaningful, but you’re not getting the full picture by a long shot in most cases.

The ability to go to alternative channels, along with the disruptions of native inbox links and rich content, have complicated email attribution for years. Now wearables like the Apple Watch and new interactive email functionality like email carousels are making email attribution even more difficult.

In response, marketers need to make use of some new metrics and more fully embrace a holistic, subscriber-centric approach to email marketing.

>> Read the full column on MarketingLand.com