Advertiser Tips: Best Practices for Email Click campaigns

Today, nearly 4.5 billion people use email worldwide, and about 93% of them open their email daily. That is a huge market that Advertisers can tap into when purchasing email clicks. Are you new to email marketing and looking to make the most out of your campaigns with ExoClick? Read on to learn how to increase your CTR on Email Click campaigns, create effective email click campaigns, and get our expert Account Manager tips for improved email click campaign results!

Step 1: Define and Create Conversion Goals

Identify your conversion goals and have clear eCPA targets; set these up in the Conversion Goal Tracking before launching any campaign.

• The most common goals for email advertisers are:
  • SOI (Single Opt-In): This is a single piece of information that is gathered, like an email or a phone number. It tends to have a lower cost per click (CPC) because there is no confirmation required for the end user to convert. SOI can be best for campaigns looking for rapid list growth or time-sensitive promotions.
  • DOI (Double Opt-In): This involves a second factor of authentication; therefore, it can have a higher CPC. Usually, the end user will need to click a link in their email to verify their account. This works very well for membership or gated sites and luxury brands.
  • Sales / Final Conversions: This tracks how many end users have actually purchased your product or service. If you have a membership site and you are trying to gauge the conversion rate of the end users signing up, you can add this as one of your conversion tracking goals.

✅ Tip! Adding conversion tracking aligns campaign optimisation with business objectives and unlocks advanced optimisation features.

Step 2: Campaign Setup (Test for 7 Days)

Start with a RON (Run of Network) campaign, which allows you to test across the whole traffic source. This is a great way to gather information, learn about your audience and your niche as you reach a broader audience. 

1. Select RON campaign 
2. Set a daily budget of $200-$500 (adjust the budget depending on your target GEO)
3. Target all email zones: Email Clicks and Email Clicks RTB Supply (found in Step 1)

*Remember to check Step 5 and ensure all zones are targeted for the best results!

4. Use Smart CPC and set a competitive bid to try to get traffic from all zones (consult the price recommendations with your Account Manager or the Customer Success team).

Step 3: Add the Bidder or use Smart Bid

Use ExoClick’s optimization tools like the Bidder! This tool automates the bidding process, helping you to reduce wasteful spending through its ‘Automatic Bidding Optimisation’ and ‘blocking rules’ features.

• Automatic Bidding Optimisation: Adjusts bids by conversion performance and blocks non-converting zones.
• Blocking Rules: Filters out underperforming traffic sources, devices, countries, etc. based on the rules the Advertiser applies.

How do blocking rules work with a DOI goal:

• If you set the spend to 25$ per conversion for a DOI goal and it’s Equal to 0, the zone is blocked.
• If you set the spend to 50$ per conversion for a DOI and it’s less than 2, then the zone is blocked.

How do blocking rules work with an SOI goal:

• If you set the spend to 10$ per conversion, on SOI, and you receive less than 1, the zone is blocked

Using Smart Bid on email click campaigns

This is an automated alternative to the Bidder. It predicts which traffic will deliver quality conversions. There are two targeting options available: Target CPA or Target ROAS. 

Target CPA: Aims for the most conversions under the cost limit you set.

Target ROAS: Uses artificial intelligence to set bids to maximize your return on ad spend.

What’s the best Smart Bid targeting option for my campaign?

Look at your goal. If you have a strict daily budget and would like as many conversions for the capped price, Target CPA will be the best option for you. If you are interested in generating as much revenue as possible from your campaign, the Target ROAS is best!

💡 Important: The Bidder or the Smart Bid won’t work unless they are tracking conversions. Make sure that you are registering the conversion goals you want to use in your campaigns.

Step 4: Campaign Targeting 

To start your campaign, set the following restrictions; they will help stretch your budget and ensure that your ads are shown on more emails:

• Frequency Capping: Set to 1/24, 3/24, or 5/24 to start testing different frequencies to find your sweet spot!
• Delivery Mode: Use Distribute throughout the day for smoother pacing or Quick Delivery for a more aggressive purpose.
• Set a Daily Budget to avoid using all your funds at once.

✅ Tip: Monitor performance daily. After the 7-day test, look at the blocked zones, trends, and best sources to refine your strategy. This can help you optimize the bid cost for lower costs on future campaigns.

Step 5: Launch New Campaigns with Selected Zones

Once you have completed a 7-day test period, it is time to launch your official campaign with the data you have gathered.

• Identify successful zones 
• Create separate campaigns with the successful traffic sources.
• Start with the average price you achieved in the RON campaign for that specific zone.
• If you want to gain maximum traffic, set a more competitive bid. If you would like to learn more about setting the right price for your campaign, talk to your Account Manager or the Customer Success team! 

💡 Important: Keep RON campaigns active to target newly added Email Click zones. Block any zone you create a separate campaign for to avoid bidding against yourself, and experiment with daily bid limits. A previously blocked zone may have more potential to meet your campaign goals with a lower bid. 

✅ Tip: The structure of individual campaigns for successful zones + lower-budget RON for testing creates a healthy balance between scaling profitable traffic and discovering new opportunities.

Step 6: Optimizing email click campaigns

Optimisation is where your campaigns turn from testing into profit. Once you’ve identified the best zones and set up targeted campaigns, focus on improving performance to maximise ROI.

Key Optimization Actions for email click campaigns

• Bid Adjustments: Raise bids on high-converting zones to secure more volume; decrease bids in zones with a lower ROI.
• Sub ID Optimisation: Monitor sub ID performance and block sub IDs that do not meet eCPA targets. This ensures spending is concentrated on the most profitable segments.
• Creatives & Landing Page Testing: Keep testing new angles, creatives, and landing pages to avoid user fatigue and boost conversion rates.
• Frequency Capping: Revisit capping rules to balance reach with user experience.

✅ Pro Tip: Optimization is continuous. Review data daily during testing and weekly after scaling for consistent, data-driven adjustments that lead to long-term success.

Now you are ready to start your email click campaign on ExoClick! If you would like to start creating campaigns with this Traffic Source, talk to your Account Manager or the Customer Success team. They will be happy to provide you with their top tips for your niche! If you are not yet using ExoClick for email click monetization, sign up now!