Email Marketing: Testing Recommendations

We Have All Heard the Phrase Before; Location, Location, Location.

With respect to email marketing it is all about testing, testing, testing. The pros don’t even know what works until they create and subsequently evaluate campaign test results. The findings can be surprising.

So, what can you do before serving up your next email marketing campaign? Here are a few ideas:

One of the main purposes of email marketing is to engage your target audience. But first, you need to somehow “capture” your prospects email address and his or her name – using subscription forms to build your list:

• Offer a white paper that requires the prospect to enter a name and email address. Create multiple landing pages that highlight the value associated with reading your white paper. Does one work better?
• Create multiple signup forms for the same landing page and test the subscription forms. Do “text links” work better than “submit” buttons? According to aWeber’s testing results, yes they do (article on test results).
• Add a privacy statement to your subscription form (“your email address will not be shared, sold, etc.”).

Once you have built a list of prospects, there are numerous things you can test in the emails you send out:

Personalize the subject line and the content but don’t get carried away. Too many personal references will be viewed as a gimmick if over done. Send a personalize email to half of your list and a standard email to the rest. What one received better click-thru rates?

Test long articles and short bullet lists of article titles. Does your target market click-thru more frequently when less info is provided in the email?

Test image links verses text links. Not everyone downloads the images in emails but images generally work better to capture the readers attention.

What are your recommendations for testing? Share your experience – leave a comment below for our visitors. Thanks!

Greg Magnus, Richmond SCORE
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