Six E-mail pointers to Lift Results

Right now is THE best time to step up your e-mail testing. Why? Because many of your competitors are pulling back – both on their marketing budgets in aggregate and on testing specifically. You can gain the advantage and determine what’s working and what is not post haste today because your competition has likely buried their test plans and are afraid to spend.

Yes, testing takes an investment in time and resources, often including additional funds. However, the outcome is often worth the risk, especially now.

Proper testing will increase your ROI, but also enable you to learn. The more you know about what works the best, the better you can market to segments that emerge as your marketing programs evolve.

1. Simple IS Better
It’s imperative to go back to the basics. Think about your business and marketing objectives and what you need to learn to improve. What variables will make the most difference in your results? Create a plan for your testing that will lead to methodical improvements.

Test only one element at a time, and use appropriate quantities to provide statistical significance. Or, if you are testing multiple elements, add separate test cells to your testing matrix. While this seems obvious to e-mail veterans, time and again we have clients who are confused about this. For example, if you test the subject line and sender/from line at the same time within the same test cells, you will never know which element provided a lift.

Recognize the importance of your lists, offers/positioning, creative and the timing of your touches, in that order. No matter what the current economic conditions are like, lists still make up the majority of your marketing success—40% to 50%. This is especially true in e-mail, where rented lists seldom work and house files often go without updates far too long. Understanding this, along with the power of relevant offers (30% to 35% of your success) is critical to jump-start your response rates and lift your results.

2. House Databases Hold the Key to Success
Know who the buyer is and who the decision makers are. If you have a great understanding of your segments, test a viral referral program to your top customers and watch the results stream in. Combining segments with offers is also a wise idea. Make sure your house e-mail file is updated frequently.

All customers are NOT the same. Focus in on a specific market or audience, you can specialize your offer, messaging and tactics to specifically appeal to its wants and needs. You just may find your loyal regulars ready to spend extra for the something more you suddenly have to offer them.

3. Prospecting with E-mail is Different
The best way to do this is virally from your current client database and through sign-ups that can then be tested. Your best prospect e-database is grown organically albeit often slowly.

To convert prospects to customers, test offers first.

When testing offers, think creatively. An innovative, affordable offer can substantially contribute to growth. For example, in gourmet food—an area where you’d think spending would have stopped —testing uncovered that simple offers earned generous orders.

Comparing 12 months of email promotions for a gourmet client uncovered the fact that the top 10 campaigns featured free available product or savings that could be offered without slicing into profits on specific, popular products. The response rates for these campaigns were double or triple compared to the typical tightfisted campaigns.

4. Let’s Give Them a Deal
You need to sell VALUE to succeed in these tough times. Complement your emotional appeals/offers with facts—more of them—and watch what happens to results. The logic needs to justify the emotion during tight times.

Folks feel the need to justify and examine their choices, now more closely than ever. So, rely less on emotional creative/copy approaches and more on facts and figures. Use more numbers, data and the like to appeal to the left brain.

A copy test NOW, or better yet, several copy tests now would be money wisely invested. Remember, what changes the offer/messaging is positioning. That’s redefined through compelling, direct response writing – unique copy platforms/drivers.

5. Timing Could Be Everything
An often overlooked element is timing. Be flexible, and stay on top of current events, trends, seasonal issues, etc., and how they affect your target audience(s).

For example, if you are trying to reach landscape professionals and offer them a demonstration, it’s better not to mail to them during their peak spring/summer work period—or after a disaster or other surprising current event. Instead, be flexible enough to change your strategy. E-mail allows you to be much more proactive than almost any other medium. Twitter may be the exception, but that’s a different article.

6. Plan Your Testing Strategy…Then Double the Number of Tests
Testing will get you to relevancy faster than anything else. In bad economic times, focus more heavily on your current customers, and test smart upsell/cross-sell tactics in e-mail. Test more now, not less. The rewards are yours to be had – both near and long term.

Rethink testing as an investment in your future success.

Grant A. Johnson is a 25-year marketing maverick and founder and CEO of Brookfield, WI-based Johnson Direct LLC. Grant is passionate about measurability and messaging relevance in an over-communicated, multi-channel marketing world. He can be reached at [email protected]