Tracking email performance
Use email results in Zeffy to understand what happened after a message was sent, and what each status means.
Open the email dashboard
Go to Communications.
Use the Designed, Simple, or Automated tab to narrow the list by email type.
Select the three-dot menu next to the email and choose to either Edit, Edit schedule, Duplicate, or Delete an email. For sent and active emails, simply choose Results to open its performance dashboard directly.
The same Designed, Simple, and Automated tabs appear in the Communications section of a campaign page, so you can filter a single campaign’s emails the same way. When you click on a sent email, you'll see a detailed performance dashboard showing:
The date and time the email was sent
The number of recipients
The campaign this email is associated with (purple label under the email title)
General performance metrics (in percentages)
Individual recipient statuses
The email dashboard shows summary cards at the top and a recipient-level status table below.
Understand email statuses
Each email in the Communications list has a status that shows where it is in its lifecycle. These are email-level statuses, separate from the recipient statuses below.
Draft — the email is saved but has not been sent.
Scheduled — the email is set to send at a future time.
Sending — the email is currently being delivered.
Sent — the email has been delivered to its recipients.
Active — the email is an automated email that is currently running.
Failed — the send did not complete.
Understand summary metrics
The summary cards show percentages and total counts for key results like opens, clicks, and purchases.
Use these totals to compare campaign performance over time.
Review recipient statuses
The recipient table shows one status for every contact, reflecting the most important thing that happened for them. You can also filter the table by status to review one result type at a time.
Processing
The sending provider has not confirmed this email yet. If the address is valid and there are no inbox issues, this status later changes to Delivered.
Delivered
The recipient's email server confirmed delivery. This doesn't always mean the email was seen in the inbox: the confirmation can be sent even when the server then sets the email aside or routes it to the spam folder. We don't receive any additional data about where the email landed after that confirmation.
Opened
The recipient opened the email. This status is included in the top Open rate metric.
Clicked
The recipient clicked at least one link in the email. This status is included in the top Click rate metric.
Purchased
This contact has made a purchase from this email. This status is included in the top Purchase rate metric.
Unsubscribed
This contact has unsubscribed from future emails. They appear under this status for that send.
Bounced
The email could not be delivered. Common causes include an invalid address, a full inbox, or the recipient's email server rejecting the message. This status also covers emails the sending provider expected to bounce.
Edited
The email was sent to a different address than the contact's current email address.
Unknown
The recipient uses Apple Mail with a privacy setting that opens every email automatically, so there's no way to tell whether they read yours. If they click a link, they move to Clicked.
Only one status shows at a time
Each recipient shows a single status, even when several things happened. The status follows this priority: Unsubscribed, then Edited, then Bounced, then Purchased, then Processing, then Delivered, Opened, or Clicked. A contact who clicked the email and then unsubscribed shows as Unsubscribed, not Clicked.
Filters on the results page
The recipient table has filter chips for Delivered, Opened, Clicked (only if the email has trackable links), Purchased, Unsubscribed, and Bounced. An Unknown chip also appears for emails that use the newer open tracking. With no chip selected, every recipient is shown, and you can clear your selection with the clear-filters button. There is no filter for Processing or Edited recipients. The summary cards are not clickable filters: they offer buttons such as Resend to non-openers, Resend to non-buyers, and View clicks.
Seeing an Unknown status, or open rates lower than before? Learn why in Why your email open rates changed.
Other places to check email results
1-to-1 emails
Emails you send to a single contact can also appear under Communications > Emails, usually as a Simple email. You can also see every email sent to a contact, including one-to-one emails, in that contact's profile.
To review a 1-to-1 email you sent to an individual contact:
Go to Contacts.
Click on the contact's name to open their profile.
Go to the Emails section and check the email's delivery status.
Automated confirmation emails
Automated confirmation emails appear under Communications > Emails, marked as Automated. Clicking a Scheduled one opens it in the campaign editor, while clicking an Active one brings you to the results/performance tab.
You can also check the delivery status of an automated confirmation email from the payment record:
Go to Payments.
Locate the transaction.
Click on the payment line (not the donor's name).
Scroll to the Thank you communications section to see the status of the automated confirmation email.
Use results to improve future sends
Use campaign results to refine your recipient lists, timing, and message content.
If a send underperforms, adjust your audience in Creating segments and lists or revise the message in Designing emails with Zeffy’s email builder and templates.