6 Embarrassingly Simple Tests That Every Email Campaign Needs

Consumers are absolutely flooded with articles on “how to make $72,000 in a day,” or “lose 100lbs and keep eating 2 pizzas a day!” So much so that they’ve developed automatic “DON’T READ ME” filters that render them blind to everything perceived as valueless.

For email marketers, this means you’ve got to be extra delicate in your communications with your customers, because every little detail in your email marketing communications is held to very high standards.

So whether you’re emailing 100 people or 100 thousand, being able to A/B test your email content, frequency and personalization will allow you to learn what your subscribers do and don’t like.

In this guide, we’ll share six simple A/B tests that you can use to improve the open rate, the click-through rate and most importantly, the conversion rate of your email marketing to generate a better return on investment from your list.

1) Timing and Frequency

How frequently do you email your lists? If you email once or twice a month, do you think you could improve your return on investment (ROI) with an email every week instead?

The timing and frequency of your emails can have a huge effect on your ROI. Of course it completely depends on your list, but in general, more emails doesn’t equate to a higher ROI. Often, many people will unsubscribe if you email them too frequently.

Take a look at how often I get sent promotional emails from PeoplePerHour. Everyday, and sometimes twice per day. This means that if they send something that actually matters to me, I definitely won’t open it, because I’m so blind towards their email marketing strategy.

2) Copy Style: Relaxed or Urgent

How formal is your email copy? More importantly, how urgent is it? Urgency is a great tool for encouraging your email readers to take immediate action, but it can also put off readers that deal with it every week.

Check out how AppSumo, a business based on promotionals offers, phrases their email newsletters.

That copy is both aggressive and pushy, but in the back of my mind it does make me think, “Maybe I do need it…” Methods like this don’t work for everybody, so you’ve got to figure out what works for you audience.

To A/B test these elements, split your list into two and send out two different emails advertising the same offer or message: one with a relaxed, laid back style and the other written with urgency in mind. You’ll quickly discover which style of copy your readership responds to.

3) Levels of Personalization

With today’s email marketing tools, like MailChimp, AWeber, or ConstantContact, you can customize a huge amount of dynamic content into your emails, basically any field can be customized with the right applications.

There are other elements involved in personalization, most notably the level of personality apparent in your writing style. Take a look at how Brian Dean, a successful online entrepreneur, does it for his emails from his online marketing company, Backlinko.

He keeps readers engaged by starting emails off with a conversation-like tone about a subject that everyone (in his target audience) can relate to.

There are a ton of variables involved in email personalization, so many that it will be hard to test them all on one email. So divide this testing ingredient into two sections:

1) The use of the subscriber’s information (name, business name, industry, etc).

2) Your conversation-style, or lack thereof (using “I,” “You,” “We,” etc).

Test these ingredients out one-by-one, on completely different email marketing campaigns if need be. Over time, you’ll find out which styles are best received by your readership.

4) Requests for Feedback

Asking your customers for feedback is a great way to learn more about your business’s strong and weak points. But keep in mind that it can occasionally take the focus away from your marketing goals.

Test whether or not asking for user feedback is truly helpful by A/B testing emails with and without a feedback-based call to action. There are 2 ways of doing this:

1) Embedding a feedback form in the email itself, which is more of a prompt call to action.

2) Linking to a feedback form hosted elsewhere.

SugarCRM takes the latter approach by providing a link to their survey. However the entire contents of the email is about the feedback, so there’s no additional added value. Generally, bigger companies have the luxury of doing this, but for start-ups you’ll see more engagement by asking them to fill out your survey after you’ve given them a solid blog post or a cool feature update.

You could also try combining these methods by including a one question survey in the email, with a link to a more substantial “customer feedback” survey for interested individuals.

5) Freebies and Discount Offers

After people sign up to your mailing list or join your website, what do they receive via email? Do your emails simply tell them about your website and help them figure out new features, or do they include sweet freebies that catch them off-guard, in a good way.

A/B testing freebies and discount coupons shows you what motivates your customers to take action after they’ve already shown interest by signing up. Sometimes, small, recurring discount coupons  are all it takes to earn your business a happy customer, or what many in the industry call a “raving fan.” That’s you being crowd-surfed below.

Try A/B tests offering discount vouchers, free offers, free in-depth support calls or anything else you can think of. With the right mix of offers at the right frequencies,, you’ll increase your relationships, customer retention, and improve your revenue overtime.

6) Email Style and Design

Are your emails beautifully designed, with images and clear fonts? Or are they stripped-down and simple; regular text without any type of HTML formatting?

It all really depends on who you’re talking to. If you’re in the online marketing industry and your target audience wants to learn the fastest ways to make money online, you probably don’t need to waste your time on a fancy design. Check out the emails Ana Hoffman sends out. She’s a successful online entrepreneur who runs a number of online businesses.

She probably takes about 10 minutes formatting the design of this email, but takes days to write the copy.

Whereas if you’re in the lifestyle/fashion industry and you’re sending out monthly newsletters about the coolest trends at the best prices, your audience will probably appreciate at least some degree of artistic design. The Thrillist newsletters incorporate a great mix of simplicity, color, and design.

There’s no “good” or “bad” in email design – sometimes emails that look ugly are the most profitable. Test different email designs, plain text emails vs. HTML to discover the email style and layout that’s best suited to your customer base or audience.

Email Testing: Best Practices

A/B testing emails is an art. And like all forms of art, it requires practice. Here are some best practices you should use in your tests:

1) For simplicity’s sake, only test one variable at a time

2) Always test your emails at the exact same time

3) Test as large a sample as possible

4) Use online tools to more easily manage and optimize your tests

5) Listen to the data you’ve collected