The prized fruit of technology is at it again with privacy rules.

First, it came after our Facebook ads. And now, it is spilling into your email metrics.

But these changes are all good things. These changes are about consent. They’re about you and I having the choice of what we allow to track our online behaviors.

So what is happening with the iOS 15 privacy updates?

In early June 2021, Apple released a preview of their iOS 15 update, which they plan to release in September 2021. This update includes the capability for iOS users to choose how their email is tracked.

Specifically, the new Mail Privacy Protection will hide IP addresses. That means senders (like us email marketers out here in the wild west of digital marketing) can’t see if and when a subscriber has opened our emails.

As digital entrepreneurs and marketers, it is a knee-jerk reaction to say, “Well crap, my open rates are how I know how well an email performs.”

But are they? I’m here to tell ya that open rates aren’t the only metric you can watch for!

Just because a subscriber opens the email doesn’t mean they sat there and read the whole thing. It also doesn’t mean they took action. 

Metrics to Watch For

So what metrics should you be watching for?

Clicks, purchases, replies, and unsubscribe.

At this time, it appears you can still see clicks even with the update. And we already know you can monitor your replies, purchases, and unsubscribes.

Remember, just because your open rate might appear to go bonkers, this is the time to monitor and pay attention to other email metrics on your email performance.

Starting from scratch?

If you’ve been contemplating an email list kick-off, but this update has your head spinning, PLEASE don’t feel discouraged! It can seem overwhelming to get started, but I promise you that taking the time to set up your email marketing the right way can and will lead to exponential growth for your business! If you haven’t already, sign up for my free tools for entrepreneurs. One of these resources includes weekly trainings about all things email marketing, with some fun thrown in because we ALL need some fun every now and then!