Same window for both channels. Ninety days works well.
Convert
Where your next dollar belongs
Text
Text returns $2.19 per message after cost. Email returns $0.42.
Show me where the revenue isThe bar text has to clear
Email costs almost nothing to send, so nearly any revenue makes it look good. Text costs money every time, so it has to convert harder just to draw level.
At your numbers, text needs to convert at 0.40% to match email on profit per message. It converts at 2.00%, which is above that line.
| Per channel | Text | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue per message | $0.42 | $2.20 |
| Profit per message | $0.42 | $2.19 |
| Conversion rate | 0.45% | 2.00% |
| Cost per order | $0.18 | $0.63 |
| Revenue per order | $94.00 | $110 |
| Total spend | $160 | $150 |
One thing the table does not show
An order from text is worth 1.2x what an order from email is worth here.
That is worth knowing before you conclude anything from cost per message. A channel that costs more and sells more is not one that only costs.
Everything here runs in your browser. Your numbers are never sent anywhere, not to me and not to anyone else.
How this is calculated, and what to put in
Why cost per message misleads
Email costs a fraction of a cent to send. Text costs real money every time. Compare the two on cost and email wins before you have looked at anything else.
Profit per message is the honest comparison. It charges each channel for what it costs, and credits it for what it earns.
The crossover
Because text costs more per message, it has to convert harder simply to draw level. The tool works that rate out from your own figures. Then it compares it to what text does now.
If text is below the line, the channel is not failing. It is being used the way email is used. Text rewards being triggered by something a person did, and punishes being scheduled.
What to put in
- Cost per message
- For text, what your provider charges per segment. For email, divide your monthly platform cost by messages sent. It will be a fraction of a cent, and that is correct.
- Orders and revenue
- Attributed to each channel over the same window. The window matters less than it being the same one for both.
What to do with the answer
This does not decide whether to run text. It decides where the next hour goes. A channel below its own crossover has a message problem. More budget makes that more expensive.
Look at the revenue per order line before concluding anything. A channel that costs more and sells more is not one that only costs.