How are forwards tracked?

Question:

How are forwards calculated?

Answer:

A forward is reported in two ways:

1. The recipient uses the "forward" option in their email client. These forwards are being calculated based on the IP viewing the original message. If it's different than the IP address that originally opened the email, it's considered a forward. The downside is that the same person could open the email twice, once at work and once at home and this would also be recorded as a Forward for the mailing. For example, if the email was opened 3 times by the same person - but from different IP addresses - it would show up as 3 Forwards (even though the person did not actually forward the email to a different person).

2. The second forward reporting is based on the use of the Forward to a Friend link that is found in the footer, and if it is used in the content file itself.