Analytics

Understanding Lemlist Analytics

Lemlist provides detailed analytics for every campaign, sequence step, and individual lead. The analytics dashboard shows real-time data on opens, clicks, replies, and bounces—everything you need to optimize your outreach.

Unlike vanity metrics in marketing automation, cold email analytics focus on what matters: replies. A campaign with 80% open rate but 1% reply rate is underperforming compared to one with 50% opens and 8% replies.

Key Metrics to Track

Delivery Rate

Target: >95%. This shows how many emails actually reached the recipient's server. Below 95% indicates deliverability issues—check your domain authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and list quality.

Open Rate

Target: 40-60%. Opens indicate your subject line worked and you're landing in inbox. Below 40% suggests deliverability problems or weak subject lines. Note: Apple Mail Privacy Protection inflates open rates—don't obsess over this metric.

Click Rate

Target: 2-5%. Clicks show engagement with your content. Low clicks with high opens means your email body isn't compelling enough, or your links aren't relevant.

Reply Rate

Target: 5-15%. This is your primary success metric. Reply rate directly measures how well your targeting, messaging, and offer resonate with prospects. Above 15% is excellent; below 3% requires significant changes.

Bounce Rate

Target: <3%. High bounces damage your sender reputation. Anything above 3% means you need to clean your list before continuing. Use email verification tools before importing leads.

Campaign-Level Analytics

The campaign dashboard shows aggregate performance across all leads. Key views include:

• Overview: Total sent, opens, clicks, replies at a glance
• Sequence breakdown: Performance by email step (email 1, follow-up 1, etc.)
• Timeline: Activity over time showing trends
• Lead status: Distribution of interested, not interested, bounced

Sequence Step Analysis

Breaking down performance by sequence step reveals which emails work best. Typical patterns:

• Email 1 usually has the highest open rate (novelty)
• Follow-up 2 or 3 often generates the most replies (persistence pays)
• Later follow-ups show declining returns—usually cap at 4-5 emails

If a specific step underperforms, rewrite it. If all steps underperform, your targeting or value proposition needs work.

A/B Testing in Lemlist

Lemlist allows A/B testing of subject lines and email content. Priority order for testing:

1. Subject lines: Highest impact, easiest to test. Try 2-3 variants.
2. Opening line: The first sentence after "Hi {{firstName}}". Test different hooks.
3. Call to action: Direct ask vs soft ask, specific vs open-ended.
4. Email length: Short (3-4 sentences) vs medium (5-7 sentences).
5. Sending time: Morning vs afternoon, weekday variations.

Testing best practice: Run A/B tests with at least 100 sends per variant. Smaller samples give unreliable results. Focus on reply rate, not opens.

Diagnosing Performance Problems

Low Open Rate (<40%)

Either deliverability or subject line issues. Check: Is your domain properly authenticated? Is your sending reputation good? Run deliverability tests with GlockApps. If deliverability is fine, A/B test subject lines aggressively.

High Opens, Low Replies (<3%)

Your subject line works but your email doesn't convert. Potential issues: weak value proposition, wrong target audience, unclear CTA, email too long/short, tone mismatch.

High Bounce Rate (>3%)

Data quality problem. Stop the campaign, verify remaining emails with Neverbounce or similar, remove invalid addresses. Check your lead source—some databases have outdated data.

High Unsubscribe Rate (>1%)

You're either emailing too frequently, targeting the wrong people, or your messaging feels spammy. Review your ICP and consider if these prospects should be in your sequence at all.

Exporting and Reporting

Lemlist allows CSV export of campaign data for external analysis or reporting. Exports include per-lead activity logs, aggregate metrics, and sequence performance data.

For agencies or teams, export weekly reports showing campaign performance trends. Track metrics over time to identify what's working and what needs adjustment.

Using Analytics to Iterate

The goal isn't perfect metrics—it's continuous improvement. Weekly analytics review process:

1. Check overall campaign health (bounces, complaints)
2. Identify top and bottom performing campaigns
3. Analyze sequence step performance
4. Review A/B test results
5. Document learnings and apply to next campaigns