E-mail Success?

I will post an update on the good, the bad, and the ugly of our Implementation, but I wanted to jump back into blogging by writing what I think is my first success story.

I sent my first few e-mails to students using our new Bulk e-mail feature (which is SO EASY!). The first was to general inquiries. That Monday we had a 10% jump in applications for that week, and about a 4% read rate after 24 hours. To me, that’s a success for inquiries.

The next message was to out of state students, normally a tough nut to crack. Again this was only to inquiries so they were hit the second time, but this time it was about a grant we offer. 6% after 24 hours, 11% after a few days. Again a success.

Finally, I sent my first e-mail to admits encouraging them to join our social network and our Facebook group. 22% read rate, a few new adds to the Social Network, and 17 to the Facebook Group. We also had 4 inquiries through our Counselor on Call system (texts and instant e-mail replies).

We’re trying to diversify and I think we’re making progress. But are we? How do you quantify success?