Engagement scores and ratings are available in the Subscriber Profile section of WordFly. Over time, each subscriber earns both an engagement score and a star rating.
Engagement overview
Engagement is calculated using positive and negative subscriber behavior indicators over the last six months. Scores are placed on a scale from -100 to 100. Lower scores indicate less or no engagement. Higher scores indicate more engagement. Engagement score is then used to create a star rating (0-5 stars) for each subscriber.
What to know about how we calculate engagement:
- Calculations are refreshed daily
- Based on the last six months of activity
- A subscriber must be sent a minimum of four campaigns over six months to receive a score
- Positive behavior indicators: Open, click, forward
- Negative behavior indicators: Unsubscribe, complaint, hard bounce, Mailbox Full soft bounce, no opens, no clicks
- Mailbox Full only counts negatively after three occurrences
- Higher sending frequency reduces the weight of each subscriber action
Automatic Deliverability Filtering
WordFly automatically suspends some subscribers with a star rating of 0 or 1. See below for more about how we filter disengaged subscribers from your list to help protect your deliverability.
Reengagement campaigns using scores/ratings
Subscriber engagement often wanes over time. We recommend using our engagement scores/rating system to create a series of reengagement campaigns to find out which subscribers are still interested in hearing from you. Reaching out regularly (at least every six months) to less engaged subscribers has the twofold benefit of improving your deliverability and reducing your email marketing expense.
Where to find the score and rating
When viewing a subscriber profile in WordFly, you will see the subscriber engagement rating stars at the top of the profile along with their engagement score.
The score is what WordFly uses to create the star rating. For example, a score of 100 indicates very high engagement and provides a more granular understanding of how a subscriber earned 5 stars.
Example of 5-star Subscriber Engagement Rating
Understanding star ratings
5 Stars |
These subscribers consistently interact with campaigns |
4 Stars |
These subscribers regularly interact with campaigns |
3 Stars |
These subscribers occasionally interact with campaigns. Continue sending campaigns to this audience and hope the ranking improves over time. |
2 Stars |
These subscribers have a neutral score. They may have been sent more than four campaigns but have not interacted with them yet. Alternatively, they may have previously had a negative score but are now improving. These subscribers are good candidates for a targeted reengagement campaign. |
1 Star |
These subscribers very rarely interact with your campaigns. Sending to these subscribers has a negative impact on your deliverability. We automatically exclude these subscribers from standard campaigns sent to over 5,000. |
0 Stars |
These subscribers have interacted in a negative way with your campaigns. They may have clicked unsubscribe, filed an abuse complaint, or bounced. They should not be emailed. We automatically exclude these subscribers from standard campaigns sent to over 5,000. |
New Subscribers |
New subscribers have received fewer than four campaigns. They do not have an Engagement Score or Rating. To target new subscribers in your campaigns, segment by Engagement Rating is Missing. |
FAQ
What makes the score/rating go up or down?
Opens, clicks, forwarding make the rating go up.
Not opening or clicking, unsubscribing, hard bouncing, Mailbox Full soft bounces, and abuse complaints all make the rating go down.
Does a click count more than an open?
Yes. Clicks represent the highest engagement activity. Opening an email is also a positive action but it is given less weight than a click.
What makes the rating stay the same for long periods of time?
Not sending campaigns to that subscriber. Or steady level of activity with no change in activity.
Can a subscriber have 0 stars?
Yes. If a subscriber has unsubscribed, clicked “spam,” or hard bounced. WordFly de-activates these subscribers, you cannot send them email until their score/rating improves. Their star rating is automatically set to 0 stars.
Can a subscriber with 0 stars eventually become a 5-star subscriber?
Yes. If they open or click emails, we will adjust their rating. The ratings are not permanent and change with subscriber activity.
How does email sending frequency affect ratings?
Higher sending frequency = less effect
Lesser sending frequency = higher effect
Activity is ranked more heavily the less you email.
For example, if you email subscribers every day, and they ignore your email every day, it doesn’t count against you as much as if you only emailed once a month. The more email you send, the less their score will be affected by their level of activity. If you only send once a month, a subscriber’s activity is more important to their score.
What happens if the subscriber doesn’t open or click?
The score will continue to fall over time. Eventually it will stop at 1 star (Score -5).
What happens if the subscriber isn’t sent any or very few campaigns?
If the subscriber isn’t sent any campaigns, they won’t have any data to show. They won’t have a rating.
If the subscriber is sent very few campaigns, their rating is likely to remain constant.
What happens if you only send during the summer season?
Scores would change during active season, but then would stay the same throughout the rest of the year.
Can I manually set the engagement rating for a subscriber?
No. Subscriber engagement ratings are based upon the subscriber’s interaction with WordFly campaigns.