As part of your Vyral Marketing program, we help you stay consistently in touch with your database throughout the year. Most months, here's what you can expect to receive: 

• Two educational video emails sent to your database.
• Two email engagement reports, one after each video email, showing who opened and clicked your email.
• One lead generation or "call-to-action" email featuring a specific call to action, such as requesting a report, guide, home valuation, consultation, or another valuable resource.
• Real-time lead notifications whenever someone completes the landing page form from your monthly lead generation email.

The way to interpret the open and click reports from your video emails has changed over the last few years because of privacy technology and artificial intelligence. Here's how to interpret them today.

Your Open and Click Reports

After each educational video email is sent, we'll send you an engagement report, typically within a few days. That's when the vast majority of opens and clicks occur. These reports are designed to show you who interacted with your email, but it's important to understand what those interactions represent.

Email Opens Are No Longer a Reliable Measure of Interest

Several years ago, an email open was a good indication that someone had read your message. Today, that's no longer the case.

Companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft, and other email providers now use privacy features and AI that automatically download email images or scan messages before a person ever reads them. Since email opens are tracked with a tiny invisible image, these automated systems often trigger an "open" even when the recipient never actually looked at the email.

As a result, your open report may include people who never actually read the email, had their email app automatically scan it, or had privacy software trigger an open on their behalf. For this reason, we do not recommend treating email opens as leads or sales opportunities.

Think of opens as a general indication that your email was successfully delivered and may have been seen.

How Email Opens Can Still Be Useful

Although opens are no longer a reliable way to identify interested prospects, they still provide valuable information when viewed in the right context.

Looking at your open report can help you:

• See who's still paying attention. Even though some opens are generated automatically, many still come from people who regularly receive and recognize your emails. If someone appears on your open reports month after month, there's a good chance your marketing is continuing to keep you top of mind.
• Spot familiar names. You may notice past clients, referral partners, neighbors, or friends appearing on your reports. While an open alone isn't a reason to make a sales call, it can remind you to reconnect with someone you've been meaning to reach out to.
• Measure the health of your database. If your overall open rate changes dramatically from one campaign to the next, it can indicate deliverability issues, list quality changes, or a particularly effective subject line. While the absolute number isn't perfect, trends over time can still be useful.
• Prioritize your follow-up. If someone both opens your emails regularly and occasionally clicks your content, that's often a stronger signal than either activity alone. The combination suggests they're familiar with your name and actively engaging with what you're sharing.

The key is to look at opens as one small piece of information, not proof that someone is ready to act. When combined with clicks, past conversations, your relationship history, and your own knowledge of the person, open reports can help you decide who might be worth checking in with.

Clicks Still Matter

Clicks tell a different story. When someone clicks a link to watch your video or view your content, they're taking an intentional action. While some corporate security systems and automated scanners occasionally click links to check for safety, the majority of clicks still represent real engagement from real people.

That's why we pay much closer attention to clicks than opens. Someone who clicks is much more likely to watch your video, read your content, visit your website, show genuine curiosity about what you have to say.

Are Clicks Leads?

Not exactly. We don't recommend thinking of people who clicked as traditional leads. Instead, think of them as engaged contacts.

These are people who recently interacted with your marketing. They recognized your name, consumed some of your content, or showed enough interest to click through. That makes them excellent people to reconnect with.

Rather than making a sales call, consider reaching out with a friendly conversation. For example:

"I noticed you've been following some of the information I've been sending out. I just wanted to check in and see how things are going."

"I wanted to reach out and see if you had any questions about the market or if there's anything I can help you with."

"I haven't talked to you in a while and thought I'd see how you're doing."

The goal isn't to sell. The goal is simply to reconnect and strengthen the relationship.

What Counts as a Real Lead?

Once each month, we also send a dedicated lead generation email to your database. Unlike your educational video emails, this email invites people to request something of value by completing a form on a landing page. Examples include market reports, home valuations, buyer guides, consultations, or other resources. When someone completes that form, they've intentionally raised their hand and asked for more information. Those are real leads.

You don't have to wait for a report. As soon as someone submits the form, you'll receive an email notification so you can follow up promptly.

Focus on Conversations, Not Just Metrics

The real value of your marketing isn't found in a single report. It's the consistent visibility you're creating over months and years. Every video you send reminds your database that you're active, knowledgeable, and available to help. Even if someone never clicks, they may still be seeing your name, reading your subject lines, watching your videos on social media, or thinking of you when someone asks for a recommendation. Your marketing is building familiarity and trust long before someone reaches out.

The Bottom Line

Here's the easiest way to think about the reports you receive:

• Opens - Helpful for measuring overall visibility, recognizing familiar contacts, and identifying people who regularly see your marketing—but no longer a reliable indicator that someone actually read your email or is interested because of AI and email privacy technology.
• Clicks - Meaningful engagements that identify people who recently interacted with your content and may be worth reconnecting with.
• Landing Page Opt-ins - Genuine leads who have requested more information and should receive prompt follow-up.

The best use of your engagement reports is to prioritize relationship-building. Reach out to the people who are engaging with your content, have authentic conversations, and continue staying consistently in touch with your database. Over time, that's what generates repeat business and referrals.

Elizabeth Stormberg