With so many email scams flooding the internet these days, many emails are heading straight to spam without getting a look in. I am a consummate email hoarder. Which is lucky, because if I wasn’t  I would have missed the opportunity to marry the Nigerian prince I met online…  who only needed my bank details to get into the country!

For email direct marketing (EDM) this creates a big dilemma. Because EDM strategies that previously would have been effective, and achieved the goal of the target audience receiving and opening the correspondence, are no longer working. Consumers are now getting more savvy and wary of being scammed.

So what do you need to do to make your EDM campaigns overcome these additional barriers? Test all the elements in your email marketing to see what works. By testing your EDM campaigns it also enables you to see patterns on what works with different segments of your target market.

I’ve outlined testing methodologies and the elements you need to test below, so that you can get a better return on investment (ROI) for the time and resources you allocate to your email marketing campaigns. If you need further help with this, source a digital marketing expert to create your EDMs for you.

EMAIL MARKETING TESTING METHODS

The main tests used for analysing EDMs are A/B testing and Multivariate testing. A/B testing (or split testing) is used to compare 2 versions of an email to see which receives the most clicks, opens and conversions. Multivariate testing (or variation testing) on the other hand, compares more than 2 versions of an email for audience engagement. Both have their benefits and limitations, depending on the application.

WHAT CAMPAIGN ELEMENTS YOU NEED TO TEST

There are numerous campaign elements that should be tested to see how successful an EDM will be. These include the call-to-action, subject line, design, scheduling (time and day), email copy and type of offer.

CALL-TO-ACTION

The call-to-action is one of the most vital parts of an EDM. It’s important to analyse audience reaction to the colour, size, tone and even the placement of this.

SUBJECT LINE

Having the right subject line is essential to attract your target markets attention. Make sure you test your subject line for opening and conversion rates.

DESIGN

You normally only have a couple of seconds to convince your target market to read your email, so test and see that the design has impact, along with it being scalable and responsive across different browsers and devices.

SCHEDULING (TIME AND DAY)

You will often find that your target market will be more responsive on different days and times, you need to test to determine when to schedule your EDM for the highest opening and conversion rate.

TYPE OF OFFER

Try various offers in your EDMs to see which has most value for your target market. This can be determined by audience engagement.

EMAIL COPY

The copy in your email has to capture and hold your audience, if you are going to have any chance of a conversion. Try different wording with your copy to see which version receives the higher response.

Need help with your EDMs or digital marketing? Talk to the experts at Ad On Digital today on (07) 5586 1412. If you’d like further information on their services you can also send them an email with your query.