Email tracking
Every email is tracked from the moment it leaves until the recipient acts. Understanding what each event actually proves is what stops a campaign being judged on the wrong number.
| Event | What it proves |
|---|---|
EMAIL_SENT | The provider accepted it. Nothing about the inbox yet |
EMAIL_DELIVERED | The receiving server accepted it |
EMAIL_OPENED | A tracking image was fetched. Not proof a person read it |
EMAIL_CLICKED | A link was followed. A real, deliberate action |
EMAIL_BOUNCED | Rejected — bad address, full mailbox, or refused |
EMAIL_COMPLAINED | Marked as spam. Serious — it damages your sending reputation |
EMAIL_UNSUBSCRIBED | They asked to stop hearing from you |
Why opens are the weakest number
- Mail apps and privacy features prefetch images, recording an open nobody made.
- A cached image means a genuine second read records no open at all.
- Plain-text readers and blocked images record nothing, however carefully the mail was read.
Opens count image fetches, not readers, and the error runs in both directions. Judge campaigns on clicks — a click is someone choosing to act.
Recipient statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
PENDING | In the audience, not yet sent |
SENT | The provider accepted it |
DELIVERED | Confirmed delivered |
BOUNCED | Rejected |
COMPLAINED | Reported as spam |
RETRY_PENDING | Failed retryably; another attempt queued |
FAILED | Terminal failure |
SUPPRESSED | Matched a suppression rule and was never sent |
Suppression
Some addresses are never sent to again, deliberately — recorded as UNSUBSCRIBED, HARD_BOUNCE, SOFT_BOUNCE, COMPLAINT, ADMIN or LEGAL. You manage these from the operations panel.
Never clear a suppression to "try again". Sending to a hard bounce or a complainant is how a sending domain gets blocked, and that affects every email you send afterwards — including invoices.
Read a campaign in four steps
- Compare delivered against sent — a large gap is a list-quality problem, not a content one.
- Read the clicks. This is the campaign’s real result.
- Check complaints and unsubscribes. Rising numbers mean too often, or the wrong people.
- Treat opens as a rough direction only, never as a verdict.
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