In a previous post we talked about a simple approach to A/B Subject Line Testing. Here we take a sample of our list, test 2 (or more) subject lines, and roll out the winning subject line to the remainder of the list. If you have the right email platform, this process can be automated and should be implemented on most sends.
There are of course several other elements besides the subject line that you can be testing. But first, a few things to keep in mind:
1. Why Test?: To get better results. If you are not testing, you are not fully leveraging the email channel and not getting the best return on your efforts. Testing allows us to make incremental improvements to our email metrics. Below is a simplified visual description of the email funnel, where every metric counts. In this example, an additional 3% click through rate would result in 28 additional sales.
2. Be Structured: select a variable to test and keep other variables as constants. You will want to isolate your variable in order to test each variable independently.
3. Create a Plan: Don’t just go in and start testing. Create a structured plan of how you are going to implement your tests and keep detailed records of metrics so you can use the data to make meaningful adjustments to your program.
Some Elements to Test
- Subject Line
- From Line
- Content
- Creative
- Number of Links
- Promotion
- HTML vs. Plain Text
- Frequency
- Time of Day
- Day of Week
- Pre-Header Content
- Text to Image Ratio
- Landing Pages
- Location of Images
- Personalization
With the availability of tools to help us execute our testing strategy, there is no reason email marketers should not have a testing plan in place. Proper testing can help us make key incremental improvements to our marketing programs. If you’re starting out, start small and simple and build up from there. If you are running a sophisticated program, make sure you have a road map in place and system for accountability and measurement.
Happy testing!
- Forest Bronzan | Follow Me on Twitter!
Questions or thoughts? Leave a comment or feel free to shoot me an email
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