BUSINESS
Testing to improve your results
16-06-2010
by denise cox
Denise Cox argues that it's not enough to simply send and hope. If you test what works you'll get better results.
If you need a compelling reason to test your emails before sending, here’s one for you. According to MarketingSherpa, testing can increase your Return on Investment by as much as 68 percent.
Any testing, no matter what size your list - can give you a significant lift. Probably the two easiest approaches are split A/B testing before a full send, or splitting out your mailing list, testing one (or more) elements across the mailings. Analyse the results to use for the next campaign.
What to Test?
Rather than going by any ‘industry’ benchmark, approach testing with a view to discovering what works best for your own database of customers and prospects. Here are just a few ideas:
Time, Day – Don’t assume that early morning or end of a business day won’t work. Assess your product and service and natural cycle of purchase, and test accordingly.
Subject Line – This is a significant element in getting opened. Test personalised vs. generic, offer (e.g. 20% off versus a € amount discount), specific articles mentions, or an ‘offer ends’ statement. Also check that the subject line isn’t pushing your email into the Junk Folder.
Call To Action – Test the type of Call To Action (CTA) you use, and where it is located in the email or on the landing page. The CTA should be easy to find – show the design to someone who has not seen it before - they should be able to locate them within three seconds.
When reviewing your results, don’t just look at identified open rates. More significant for most businesses are the clicks to conversions. Check click-throughs, both overall, and per article or specific link.
[source: denise cox, Newsweaver.ie]
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