Email Marketing Articles

Email Marketing Software Split Testing

I'm sure, if you're into the online marketing scene, you've probably heard of a phenomenon called "Split Testing". You may have even played around with it a bit, but I'll bet that you, like so many other individuals and companies out there, have not realized the full potential of this incredibly powerful marketing tool.

Knowledge is power, and in the world of business, knowing what a potential client likes will mean the difference between success and failure. Every day when I get home from work I check my email and find, on average, 30 messages in my inbox. Usually about four of them come from friends or family, with the remaining 26 being comprised of unsolicited emails from unknown individuals, businesses, and other entities. Sometimes I feel compelled to click on an email. Why? Unfortunately I often find myself asking that question after I have opened the email, but it's a relevant question to ask. In fact, it's probably THE most relevant question to ask? Why... Why do people open emails? Do they like the subject line? Are they interested in the product? Do they know the company? Why, after a person has opened an email, do they continue reading? Is the layout pleasing? Do they find the graphical presentation (color, images, etc) pleasing, or is it the layout of the text? Are embedded links well placed and are they being clicked on?

All these questions lead to some powerful data that can significantly increase your ability to reach your potential clients and do business with them. Enter Split Testing, a tool that allows you to send multiple versions of the same email to a percentage (usually 10-50%) of your client list. Once the emails have been sent, Split Testing tracks valuable information such as open rates, click through rates, unsubscribe rates, etc., while providing real time data from the tests that will allow you to see what is happening with your emails.

Say, for example, you want to know which is better, the inclusion of your company's name in the subject line of your email, or a longer description of the content of that email. Split Testing will show you the answer through the sending of both versions of the email and the tracking of open rates. You may also wonder if customers prefer embedded links in the beginning, middle, or towards the end of your email. Do people prefer to click on buttons, or html links? Is it better to send the email for morning reading, nearer to lunch time, or after 5:00pm, the traditional end of the word day? All these answers are waiting at the end of a split test.

Split Testing is a powerful tool that allows you to reach potential clients through the continual refinement of your e-mailings. By running tests on one specific area of your email (subject line, body layout, graphics, link placement, time of day, etc.), you can select the winner in that test and then incorporate it into a new test on a different part of the mailing. What does it all mean? Well...It means that as your client base grows, as your company grows, your ability to reach people grows too. It's a cycle that will find you at the top of your marketing game, and the view from top is simply phenomenal.