Detecting Forwards in Email Campaigns

ContactMonkey emails are sent with sophisticated tracker technology that enables you to track opens and clicks. When emails are forwarded, your stats may be skewed. Below is an explanation of what forwarding looks like in your metrics for both individual and overall tracking. 

Users Forwarding Tracked Emails with Individual Tracking

This type of tracking is recipient based. Each recipient receives a unique set of trackers, so you will know exactly who is opening/clicking. The tracking is best explained using the following scenario: 

1. Julia sends a campaign to "CSV or DL"
2. ONLY Aisha opens the email and clicks a link
   Stats will say: 
   1 unique open, 1 unique click
   1 total open, 1 total click
3. Aisha forwards the campaign to a colleague & the colleague opens & clicks a link
   Stats will say:
   1 unique open, 1 unique click
   2 total opens, 2 total clicks

To understand who is receiving the forwarded email, select the user from the "Email Recipients" table in the Campaign Overview page.

In the scenario above, you would see aisha@company.com opened 2 times. From there, you can click into the user and see the location of the opens. If the email was sent to someone in Canada but forwarded to someone in the United States, you would see 1 open in Canada and 1 in the states.

If an email is forwarded, ContactMonkey can only only track location. and it will show the metrics for the person who forwarded it as the tracker is linked to their email address.

Users Forwarding Tracked Emails with Overall Tracking

This tracker is device based, and each recipient recives the same set of trackers. As ContactMonkey can't recognize the individual who is opening and clicking, the forwarded emails will seem like they were opened by the original intended user.

1. Julia sends a campaign to "CSV or DL"
2. ONLY Aisha opens the email and clicks a link
   Stats will say:
   1 unique open, 1 unique click
   1 total open, 1 total click
3. Aisha forwards the campaign to a colleague & the colleague opens & clicks a link
   Stats will say
   2 unique opens, 2 unique clicks
   2 total opens, 2 total clicks

There is no way to differentiate who has opened and clicked the emails, as the trackers don't differentiate.