Analytics & Key Metrics: Measuring What Matters in Political Texting

"Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half." - John Wanamaker

Political campaigns can't afford this uncertainty. Every dollar, every message, every voter contact must count. The difference between winning and losing often comes down to optimizing performance based on data.

Here's how to measure, track, and act on the metrics that actually matter for political texting campaigns.

The Metrics That Matter

Tier 1: Delivery Metrics (Foundation)

These determine whether your messages reach voters at all.

Delivery Rate

Definition: Percentage of messages successfully delivered to carriers

Target: 95%+

Formula: (Delivered messages / Total sent) × 100

Why it matters: Undelivered messages = wasted money and missed voters

How to improve:

• Proper 10DLC registration
• Clean phone number lists
• Direct carrier relationships
• Avoid spam triggers

Red flags:

• Sudden drops (indicates filtering)
• Consistent sub-90% delivery
• Declining delivery over time

Carrier-Specific Delivery

Definition: Delivery rates broken down by carrier

Track separately:

• AT&T delivery rate
• Verizon delivery rate
• T-Mobile delivery rate

Why it matters: Identifies carrier-specific issues

Example:

• AT&T: 98% delivery ✅
• Verizon: 97% delivery ✅
• T-Mobile: 75% delivery ⚠️ (problem)

Action: If one carrier shows low delivery, check 10DLC registration, message content, or contact support.

Tier 2: Engagement Metrics (Performance)

These measure how voters interact with your messages.

Response Rate

Definition: Percentage of delivered messages that receive replies

Benchmarks:

• GOTV messages: 15-25%
• Fundraising: 3-8%
• General engagement: 10-20%

Formula: (Responses / Delivered messages) × 100

Why it matters: Indicates message resonance and audience engagement

How to improve:

• Better personalization
• Stronger CTAs
• Segment targeting
• A/B testing

Opt-Out Rate

Definition: Percentage of recipients who opt out

Healthy range: Under 0.5%

Formula: (Opt-outs / Delivered messages) × 100

Why it matters:

• High opt-outs indicate message problems
• Reduces future reach
• Signals voter frustration

Red flags:

• Above 1%: Serious messaging issues
• Above 2%: Major problems (wrong audience, spam-like content, over-messaging)

How to reduce:

• Better audience targeting
• More relevant messages
• Appropriate frequency
• Value-first communication

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Definition: Percentage who click links in messages

Benchmarks:

• Donation links: 5-12%
• Information links: 10-20%
• Event RSVPs: 8-15%

Formula: (Link clicks / Delivered messages) × 100

Why it matters: Measures interest and intent

How to improve:

• Clear value proposition
• Shortened, clean URLs
• Strong CTAs
• Mobile-optimized landing pages

Tier 3: Conversion Metrics (Results)

These measure actual campaign goals achieved.

Conversion Rate

Definition: Percentage who complete desired action

Varies by goal:

• Donations: 1-5% of clickers
• RSVPs: 20-40% of clickers
• Volunteer sign-ups: 10-25% of clickers

Formula: (Conversions / Delivered messages) × 100

Why it matters: This is what actually wins campaigns

How to improve:

• Optimize entire funnel (message → landing page → conversion)
• Reduce friction
• A/B test everything
• Segment for relevance

Cost Per Conversion

Definition: Total cost divided by conversions achieved

Formula: Total campaign cost / Total conversions

Benchmarks:

• Cost per donation: $0.50-$2.00
• Cost per volunteer: $3-$8
• Cost per GOTV confirmation: $0.10-$0.50

Why it matters: Determines ROI and campaign efficiency

How to improve:

• Increase conversion rate
• Reduce message costs
• Better targeting

Return on Investment (ROI)

For fundraising:

Formula: (Total raised - Total cost) / Total cost × 100

Healthy ROI: 500%+ (for every dollar spent, raise $5+)

Example:

• Spent: $3,000
• Raised: $25,000
• ROI: ($25,000 - $3,000) / $3,000 = 733%

For voter turnout:

Formula: Cost / Additional votes generated

Example:

• Spent: $5,000
• Turnout lift: 3% of 100,000 = 3,000 votes
• Cost per vote: $5,000 / 3,000 = $1.67

Setting Up Your Analytics

Essential Tracking

Real-time dashboards:

• Current delivery rate
• Response count
• Opt-out count
• Link clicks (if applicable)

Campaign reports:

• Total messages sent/delivered
• Overall response rate
• Conversion metrics
• Cost analysis

Segment performance:

• Metrics broken down by segment
• Identify high/low performers
• Optimize resource allocation

Time-based analysis:

• Performance by time of day
• Day of week patterns
• Campaign phase trends

Tools and Platforms

What you need:

Platform analytics: Most texting platforms provide:

• Delivery reports
• Response tracking
• Basic engagement metrics

Political Comms provides:

• Full carrier-specific delivery reporting
• Real-time engagement metrics
• Conversion tracking
• Segment performance analysis

Additional tools:

Link tracking:

• Bitly or custom URL shorteners
• UTM parameters for Google Analytics
• Track clicks and conversions

CRM integration:

• Sync responses to voter file
• Track engagement history
• Update contact records

Spreadsheet tracking:

• Manual campaign logs
• Custom calculations
• Historical comparisons

Interpreting Your Data

Benchmarking Performance

Compare against:

Industry benchmarks:

• Standard delivery: 85-90%
• High-quality delivery: 95%+
• Response rate: 10-25% (varies by message type)

Your historical performance:

• How does this campaign compare to previous ones?
• Are you improving over time?

Segment comparisons:

• Which segments outperform?
• Which underperform?

A/B test results:

• Which variations win?
• How significant are the differences?

Red Flags to Watch

Delivery issues:

• Sudden drops in delivery rate
• Specific carrier problems
• Increasing error codes

Engagement problems:

• Declining response rates
• Increasing opt-outs
• Negative responses

Conversion issues:

• High clicks, low conversions (landing page problem)
• Low clicks (message or CTA problem)
• Poor ROI (targeting or cost problem)

When to Adjust

Immediate adjustments:

• Delivery rate below 90%: Stop and diagnose
• Opt-out rate above 1%: Pause campaign, review messaging
• Negative response spike: Reassess message appropriateness

Tactical adjustments:

• One segment underperforming: Adjust messaging
• Time-of-day patterns: Shift sending schedule
• A/B test shows clear winner: Roll out winning version

Strategic adjustments:

• Consistent segment underperformance: Reallocate resources
• Poor overall ROI: Reassess strategy
• Channel fatigue: Adjust frequency or pause

Advanced Analytics

Cohort Analysis

Track groups over time:

Example:

• Cohort A: Contacted in January
• Cohort B: Contacted in February
• Cohort C: Contacted in March

Compare:

• Response rates over time
• Conversion rates
• Long-term engagement

Insights:

• Do early contacts engage more?
• Is there message fatigue over time?
• Which cohort has best lifetime value?

Multi-Touch Attribution

Track voter journey:

Example:

1. Receives GOTV text (opens)
2. Receives event invitation (RSVPs)
3. Receives donation ask (donates $50)

Question: Which touchpoint gets credit?

Models:

• First touch: Credit initial GOTV text
• Last touch: Credit donation ask
• Linear: Equal credit to all three
• Custom: Weight based on your priorities

Why it matters: Understand which messages drive ultimate conversions

Predictive Analytics

Use past data to predict:

• Which voters are most likely to respond
• Optimal sending times
• Best message variations
• Expected conversion rates

How to implement:

• Track detailed engagement history
• Identify patterns
• Build predictive models
• Test predictions

Reporting Best Practices

Daily Campaign Reports

During active campaigns:

Track:

• Messages sent/delivered
• Response count
• Opt-outs
• Conversions

Share with:

• Campaign manager
• Communications director
• Candidate (high-level summary)

Weekly Strategic Reviews

Analyze:

• Week-over-week trends
• Segment performance
• A/B test results
• Budget pacing

Actions:

• Adjust targeting
• Refine messages
• Reallocate resources

Post-Campaign Analysis

After major campaigns:

Document:

• Overall performance metrics
• What worked well
• What didn't work
• Lessons learned
• Recommendations for next time

Share with:

• Full campaign team
• For institutional knowledge
• For next cycle planning

Common Analytics Mistakes

1. Tracking vanity metrics

❌ Focusing on messages sent (doesn't matter if not delivered)

✅ Focus on delivery, engagement, conversions

2. Not segmenting data

❌ Looking only at overall averages

✅ Analyze by segment, time, message type

3. Ignoring context

❌ "Response rate dropped from 20% to 18%"

✅ "Response rate dropped because we expanded to lower-engagement segment"

4. Analysis paralysis

❌ Endless analysis, no action

✅ Track key metrics, make decisions, test, adjust

5. Not documenting

❌ Insights lost between campaigns

✅ Document learnings for institutional knowledge

The Bottom Line

Effective analytics requires tracking the right metrics:

Tier 1 - Delivery:

• Delivery rate (95%+ target)
• Carrier-specific delivery
• Error code analysis

Tier 2 - Engagement:

• Response rate (15-25% GOTV, 3-8% fundraising)
• Opt-out rate (under 0.5%)
• Click-through rate (varies by content)

Tier 3 - Conversion:

• Conversion rate (varies by goal)
• Cost per conversion
• ROI (500%+ fundraising)

Best practices:

• Set up real-time dashboards
• Compare against benchmarks
• Segment your analysis
• Act on insights quickly
• Document learnings

At Political Comms, we provide comprehensive analytics with carrier-specific delivery reporting, real-time engagement metrics, and segment performance analysis.

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Want better campaign analytics? Get started with Political Comms.

Need help interpreting your data? Contact our team for expert analysis.