Subject lines, from names, and send dates and times all matter. There are ‘best practices’ for each of these email variables – many of which you’ll find in ExactTarget’s Email Marketing Design & Rendering report. But the very best practice is testing these variables to see how your audience is most likely to respond. ExactTarget’s Email A/B Testing takes the guesswork out of your email campaigns – and it also takes away your excuses for not testing every email you send.
We’re always testing our own marketing emails, and as a result, I’m always learning. Results can vary from one audience to the next, and even one send to the next. Not only am I no longer surprised that current customers respond very differently to subject lines than prospective customers, I plan for it - and I structure my tests with this in mind.
But I don’t stop there! Analyzing and testing a combination of email campaign variables is very important. Typically I don’t see any lift with strong branding in the subject line since the brand is heavily supported in the from name. However, if I’m using a from name that subscribers don’t have an ongoing relationship with, branding in the subject line suddenly carries much more weight in identifying our brand and building confidence with the subscriber to ultimately drive an email open and clicks. How did I figure this out? Testing, of course! Don't assume you'll see the same results.
It’s never too late to start testing your email marketing campaigns. Just remember never to stop!
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