Definition
Attribution modeling decides which email campaigns in a subscriber's journey get credit for a conversion. Different models produce very different pictures of campaign performance, so choosing the right model for your goals is essential.
Common Models
- First-touch: All credit goes to the first email the subscriber ever opened
- Last-touch: All credit goes to the email clicked immediately before conversion
- Linear: Equal credit distributed across all email touches
- Time-decay: More credit to emails closer to the conversion event
- U-shaped: 40% first touch, 20% middle touches, 40% last touch
Why It Matters
Last-touch attribution overvalues bottom-of-funnel campaigns and undervalues nurture sequences. Switching to multi-touch attribution typically shifts budget towards early-stage content and automation, which often drives better long-term results.
Related Glossary Terms
A/B Testing
A/B testing in email marketing is the practice of sending two variations of an email to a small sample of your list to determine which version performs better before sending the winner to the remaining subscribers.
Abandoned Cart Email
An abandoned cart email is an automated message sent to customers who added items to their online shopping cart but left without completing the purchase. It is one of the highest-converting email types in ecommerce.
ARPU (Average Revenue Per User)
ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) is a metric that measures the average revenue generated per email subscriber over a specific period, used to evaluate list value and campaign effectiveness.
Attention Rate
Attention rate is the percentage of email opens that last longer than 5 seconds, distinguishing genuine reads from passive opens, preview-pane views, or Apple MPP auto-loads.
Bounce Rate Threshold
A bounce rate threshold is the percentage of hard or soft bounces at which email platforms and ISPs begin to penalise sender reputation, typically around 2-5%.
Bounce Rate
Email bounce rate is the percentage of emails that were rejected by the receiving server before reaching the recipient. It is a key indicator of list health and data quality.