The Beginner's Guide To Using UTM Tracking in Newsletters

Open rates tell you who looked. Click rates tell you who clicked. But neither tells you which newsletter emails actually drive sales.

That's where UTM tracking comes in. I've used UTM tags across dozens of UTM newsletter campaigns to find exactly which CTAs, headlines, and content formats convert readers into customers.

In this guide, I'll break down each parameter, show you how to use UTM tracking in newsletters step-by-step, and share with you tools that simplify the entire process.

Table of Contents

• What Is UTM Tracking? And Why Does It Matter?

• The Core UTM Parameters You Need To Know

  • 1. utm_source

  • 2. utm_medium

  • 3. utm_campaign

  • 4. utm_content (Optional)

• How To Add UTM Parameters to Newsletter Links

  • 1. Manual Link Building

  • 2. Using a Free UTM Builder Tool

  • 3. Automating UTM Tracking With beehiiv

• Analyzing Newsletter Performance With UTM Data

  • Tracking Campaigns in Google Analytics

  • Identifying High-Performing Links

  • Using Insights To Improve Future Emails

• My Experience Using UTM Tracking for Newsletters

• Start UTM Tracking in Your Newsletter Today

What Is UTM Tracking? And Why Does It Matter?

UTM (Urgent Tracking Module) tracking, in layman's terms, is how marketers tag URLs to see where clicks come from. When someone clicks a link in your newsletter and lands on your website, UTM parameters tell your analytics tool exactly which email, campaign, and even which specific button sent them there.

Without UTM tracking, your Google Analytics just shows "email" as a traffic source. That's like knowing someone called you without knowing which phone number they dialed. To avoid running your campaigns without context on how to improve and test specific areas in your newsletter, you need UTM parameters to give you the full picture.

Here's what a UTM newsletter link looks like:

https://yoursite.com/sale?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=summer_launch&utm_content=hero_button

Everything after the question mark is your UTM code. Each parameter tracks different information about where that click came from.

Understanding what UTMs are used for comes down to three main purposes:

1. Measuring which campaigns drive the most traffic. When you can see that your "summer_launch" campaign drove 47 purchases while your "flash_sale" campaign drove 12, you know exactly where to focus your energy.

2. Identifying which links within an email perform best. Maybe your header CTA gets 3x more clicks than your footer link. UTM tracking reveals these patterns so you can optimize placement.

3. Calculating the actual ROI of your newsletter efforts. Instead of guessing whether your newsletter "works," you can tie specific revenue back to specific emails and prove the value of every send.

To unlock these insights, you need to understand exactly what each parameter does.

The Core UTM Parameters You Need To Know

There are four parameters available in a UTM. Three are essential for newsletter tracking, and one is optional but useful.

1. utm_source

This identifies where the traffic originates. For newsletters, you'll typically use something like "newsletter" or "beehiiv" or your specific publication name.

Example: utm_source=weekly_digest

Keep this consistent across all your newsletter campaigns. If you use "newsletter" in one email and "Newsletter" in another, Google Analytics treats them as separate sources. Pick one format and stick with it.

2. utm_medium

This defines the channel type. For email newsletters, this should always be "email."

Example: utm_medium=email

This parameter helps you compare your newsletter performance against other marketing channels like social media, paid ads, or organic search. When you look at your analytics dashboard, you'll see "email" as a distinct channel with all your newsletter traffic grouped.

3. utm_campaign

This tracks the specific campaign name or promotion. This is where you can get creative with naming conventions.

Example: utm_campaign=black_friday_2024 or utm_campaign=issue_47

Good campaign names are descriptive and consistent. I use a simple format: date_type_topic. So a product launch email in June 2024 becomes 2024_06_product_launch. A weekly newsletter becomes 2024_06_weekly_issue_12.

This way, when you look at your analytics six months later, you instantly know what you're looking at.

4. utm_content (Optional)

This parameter helps compare different CTAs or design elements within the same email.

Example: utm_content=header_button vs utm_content=footer_link

Whether you're testing whether subscribers respond better to a button at the top of your email or a text link at the bottom, utm_content reveals the answer. You can also use it to differentiate between multiple links pointing to the same destination.

I label mine by position and type: top_button, mid_text_link, footer_cta. After a few campaigns, you'll know exactly where your readers prefer to click.

Now that you know what each parameter tracks, let's look at how to actually build these links.

Why Trust Me: With five years of marketing experience, I've honed my ability to develop profitable marketing funnels and campaigns. I share some of my strategies in this article. Feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn anytime!

How To Add UTM Parameters to Newsletter Links

Learning how to use UTM links effectively requires understanding your three main options: building them manually, using a free tool, or automating the entire process. Each method has trade-offs, and the best choice depends on your workflow and technical comfort level.

The good news is that once you understand how to use UTM links, the process becomes second nature. Most newsletter creators find a system within their first few campaigns and stick with it.

1. Manual Link Building

With UTMs explained above, building links manually is straightforward. Start with your website link, add a question mark, then add each parameter separated by the & symbol.

Before: https://yoursite.com/product-page

After: https://yoursite.com/product-page?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=product_launch&utm_content=main_cta

Test every UTM link before sending your newsletter. Click it yourself and check that you land on the right page and that the parameters appear in your browser's address bar. Broken links with UTM parameters are still broken links.

A few rules for manual building:

• Use lowercase letters for consistency

• Replace spaces with underscores

• Avoid special characters that might break the URL

• Keep names short but descriptive

Create a simple spreadsheet to track your UTM links. List the campaign name, the full tagged URL, and which email it appeared in. This saves you from recreating links you've already built and keeps your naming consistent.

2. Using a Free UTM Builder Tool

Google's Campaign URL Builder is the most popular free option. You enter your website URL and fill in each parameter field. The tool generates your complete UTM link automatically.

This approach works well when you have a few links per campaign and want to double-check your formatting. It's also helpful for teams where multiple people create newsletter links and need to maintain consistency.

The downside is time. If your newsletter has 10 links, manually building each one through a tool adds up quickly.

3. Automating UTM Tracking With beehiiv

beehiiv automatically tracks link clicks and provides detailed analytics without requiring you to add UTM parameters manually. Every link in your newsletter gets tracked at the individual level, showing you exactly how many subscribers clicked each one.

For creators who want UTM data in Google Analytics specifically, you can add parameters to your links when building them in the beehiiv editor. But the built-in 3D Analytics already shows you which links drive the most engagement directly in your dashboard.

This combination gives you the best of both worlds. Quick insights from beehiiv's built-in analytics for day-to-day decisions, plus UTM data in Google Analytics to see what subscribers do after they click. And if you've set up a welcome email series, you can track which onboarding messages drive the most engaged subscribers from the start.

But collecting data is only half the equation. The real value comes from knowing how to read it.

Analyzing Newsletter Performance With UTM Data

Collecting UTM data is only valuable if you know how to read it. Here's how to turn those parameters into useful takeaways.

Tracking Campaigns in Google Analytics

In GA4, navigate to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition. Change the primary dimension to "Session campaign" to see traffic broken down by your utm_campaign values.

You'll see metrics like:

• Sessions: How many visits each campaign generated

• Engaged sessions: How many visitors actually interacted with your site

• Conversions: How many completed your defined goals

• Revenue: If you have e-commerce tracking enabled

When reviewing this data, ask yourself these questions. 

• Which campaigns brought the most visitors? 

• Which campaigns kept people on your site longest? 

• Which campaigns actually led to sales or signups? 

• Which campaign names connect to higher engagement? 

• Do issue-numbered campaigns perform differently from themed campaigns? 

This data tells you what resonates with your audience. 

One note: your data is only as good as your list. If you maintain a clean list, your UTM insights will reflect real subscriber behavior instead of unhelpful data from inactive contacts.

Identifying High-Performing Links

To see which specific links drive results, filter by utm_content values. This shows you whether that header button outperforms the footer link, or whether image links beat text links.

Here's a simple process to follow. First, check which link positions get the most clicks. Usually, links near the top win. Second, compare button clicks versus text link clicks. Third, look at what happens after the click. A link might get lots of clicks but few conversions, which tells you the destination page needs work, not the email.

Compare this with beehiiv's click report to confirm your findings. When both sources agree that your "hero_cta" consistently outperforms "sidebar_link," you have confidence to make design decisions.

Track these patterns over multiple campaigns. A single email might have random results, but consistent performance across 10 emails reveals genuine subscriber preferences.

Using Insights To Improve Future Emails

The goal of UTM tracking is continuous improvement. Each campaign teaches you something that improves the next one. Once you truly understand what UTMs are used for, you stop seeing emails as one-off sends and start seeing them as experiments.

Some adjustments I've made based on UTM data:

• Moved primary CTAs higher when data showed header buttons got 3x more clicks than mid-content buttons

• Changed link text from generic "Learn more" to specific "Get the template" after seeing descriptive links drive more conversions. You can A/B test subject lines to see similar gains in open rates.

• Adjusted send timing when campaign data revealed certain days kept readers on my site longer.

Review your UTM data at least twice a month. Set a calendar reminder. Spend 30 minutes looking at your top 5 campaigns from the past month and your bottom 5. The gaps between them tell you everything. Then apply those lessons to future emails. Once you spot patterns, you can segment your subscribers based on which campaigns they responded to and tailor future content accordingly.

This connects directly to improving your email click-through rates because UTM tracking shows you exactly which tactics move clicks toward conversions.

Here's how this has played out in my own newsletter work.

My Experience Using UTM Tracking for Newsletters

The first month of UTM data was humbling. My "best" performing emails based on open rates were actually my worst performers for conversions. The emails I almost didn't send generated the most purchases.

I started using UTM tracking after months of guessing which newsletter content actually drove sales. Open rates looked healthy, clicks seemed decent, but I had no idea which emails produced revenue and which just produced vanity metrics.

Here's what I’ve learned so far:

• Subject lines and actual value don't always match up. Clickbait subjects got opens but not conversions. Straightforward subjects attracted fewer readers who were more likely to buy.

• Link placement matters more than link quantity. Adding more links didn't increase total clicks. It just distributed the same number of clicks across more destinations. One strong CTA outperformed five competing options.

• UTM naming conventions save hours later. I initially named campaigns things like "test1" and "new_email." Months later, those meant nothing. Now I use a format like "2024_06_product_launch_v2" that tells me exactly what I'm looking at.

• Consistency builds over time. When you track every UTM newsletter campaign with the same naming structure, patterns emerge over months that you'd never see from single emails. My best-performing content types became obvious only after six months of consistent tracking.

• beehiiv's analytics pair well with UTM tracking. The combination of beehiiv's built-in analytics and UTM tracking in Google Analytics transformed guesswork into strategy. I can see instantly in beehiiv which links got clicked, then compare with Google Analytics to see which clicks led to actual purchases. When you automate your sequences, this data compounds because you're comparing performance across every triggered flow.

If you’re serious about growing a newsletter, UTM tracking is a must. The setup might take a few minutes, but the insights last forever.

Start UTM Tracking in Your Newsletter Today

If you're wondering why your favorite newsletters are successful, it's because UTM tracking is a crucial part of their newsletter strategy, and if you aren't modelling this process, you'll get left behind, while they keep growing. 

Instead of playing catch-up, start with your next email. 

Add UTM parameters to your main CTA. Check the results in a week. That single data point will show you more about your audience than months of guessing.

The creators who treat every send as a learning opportunity, who actually look at what their UTM newsletter data reveals, are the ones who build audiences that stick around. Because when you know what works, you can do more of it.

Ready to pair UTM tracking with built-in analytics that show you link-level performance instantly? Start your 14-day free trial with beehiiv today and see exactly what's driving results in your newsletter.