One question we regularly get asked by clients is “When I send an email, what results should I expect?”. Although it is a complex question, and the answer depends on a number of factors, we thought it would be worth sharing our experience on the subject. Firstly, and following on from my last post, I would like to consider the differences in results that you can expect from warm lists (people you already know and who had asked to receive email from you) and cold lists (bought in/rented lists of “opt in” addresses). 
As you can see(and as you would expect) the results for the warm lists are orders of magnitude better (another good reason to focus on those people you know). Secondly, looking at results for emails sent to a warm list, again, results can vary significantly, and are highly dependant on how interesting the email is and how good your offers are. 
The figures given in the chart about highlight typical results for an average informational email (blue) and the best results that you might expect for a highly targeted email with a very strong offer (red). Although these results can only be used as a rough guide, hopefully they will give you an idea as to how you should consider the results from your own emails.
