Email marketing is one of the most powerful tools in an e-commerce brand's arsenal. Yet, many brands fail to maximize its potential because they rely on surface-level metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and attributed revenue. The harsh truth? These metrics often paint an incomplete picture.
The real question every e-commerce marketer should ask is: How much incremental revenue are my email campaigns driving? Incrementality measures the additional revenue your campaigns generate that wouldn’t have occurred otherwise—and it’s the most accurate way to evaluate your email marketing’s effectiveness.
In this post, we’ll break down how to prove incrementality in email marketing, using real-world examples and high-impact testing strategies that can significantly boost your net revenue. If you’re serious about optimizing your retention marketing strategy, keep reading.
Why Incrementality Matters More Than Metrics
Let’s start with a common scenario: Your welcome series has a 25% conversion rate. Great, right? Not necessarily. Many of those purchases might have happened without the campaign, meaning the actual value of your emails is far less than your metrics suggest. Focusing on incrementality ensures you’re measuring the true impact of your campaigns—the additional revenue they bring in.
Here’s a quick way to think about it:
Attributed Revenue: Revenue that’s linked to your email campaigns.
Incremental Revenue: Revenue that only happened because of your email campaigns.
By understanding the difference, you can optimize your strategy to drive real, measurable growth.
A Simple Framework to Prove Incrementality
Let’s dive into a real-world example we use with clients at The Dispatch Agency: testing first-order offers.
Scenario: Most brands include a discount in their welcome series by default. But how do you know if the discount is actually driving more revenue?
The Test:
Set Up A/B Groups:
Group A: Your standard welcome flow with a discount.
Group B: The same messaging, but without an offer.
Run for At Least 1,000 Subscribers Per Variant: This ensures you collect statistically significant data.
Measure Total Revenue: Compare total revenue, not just attributed revenue, between the two groups.
The Results: The data consistently shows that having a strong first-order offer drives significantly more net revenue, even after accounting for the discount cost. The key is balancing acquisition with profitability—finding the right offer that maximizes incremental revenue.
High-Impact Tests to Maximize Incrementality
Once you’ve nailed the basics, here are three high-impact tests that can take your email marketing to the next level:
1. Abandonment Flow Timing
Test: Compare 1-2 hour delays versus the standard 4-hour delay in cart and checkout abandonment flows.
Why It Works: Purchase intent is highest immediately after abandonment. Shortening the delay ensures you capture this intent while it’s still fresh.
Results: Clients who implement this test often see significant revenue lifts without adding extra emails to their sequence.
2. Plain Text vs. Designed Emails
Test: Send plain-text emails from the founder’s name as part of your welcome series, particularly for follow-up messages (not the first email).
Why It Works: Plain-text emails feel more personal and authentic, often leading to higher engagement rates. Bonus: They can improve deliverability by reducing the likelihood of being flagged as promotional.
Pro Tip: Keep the message concise with a clear call to action to maximize results.
3. Progressive Offers in Abandon Flows
Test: Introduce an additional offer in your second abandoned cart email if you see major drop-offs after the first email.
Why It Works: Progressive offers can re-engage hesitant shoppers, but the key is ensuring the incremental revenue outweighs the cost of the discount.
Measurement: Focus on total revenue per subscriber, not just the success of individual campaigns.
The Metrics That Matter
To accurately measure incrementality, focus on total revenue per subscriber instead of campaign-specific metrics like open or click rates. A campaign with stellar metrics can still hurt overall revenue if it simply pulls forward planned purchases.
By using incrementality as your guiding metric, you ensure your strategy is aligned with long-term growth, not short-term gains.
Partner With Experts Who Get It
At The Dispatch Agency, we specialize in helping e-commerce brands unlock the full potential of their retention marketing channels. From designing high-impact A/B tests to optimizing email and SMS campaigns for incremental revenue, our team knows what it takes to drive real results.
Ready to Maximize Your Incrementality?
If you’re ready to stop leaving money on the table and start optimizing for true revenue growth, we’d love to help. Get in touch to learn how we can transform your email and SMS marketing strategy.
Together, we’ll build campaigns that drive measurable, incremental growth for your business.
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