TIMING YOUR EMAIL CAMPAIGN
It's important when sending out two (or more) test emails, that the emails go out at the same time, the same day, the same season, planet alignment…you get the picture. Sending Email A at 8am and Email B at 5pm will give you back very different results, and that also falls into the category of more than one variable at a time.
Statistics show that 30 to 50 responses will give you a fairly accurate count on what works. 100 responses will give you an almost 95% accuracy count. So you can either just split your list in half (randomly of course) or you can separate a smaller list to test out the elements on first and see which element does better, before sending to the larger list.
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How big of a list do you need? That depends on your click through averages. Let's say your list is 10,000 emails. Your average click through rate is 8%. Consider how many responses you need (we'll say 100). With an 8% click-through rate, 1300 emails sent would result in 104 responses. That would feasibly give you a very accurate count for your test. If your click through rate is higher, the number of emails you need to send to test would be lower. And obviously, the larger of a response you get, the better your results.
Generally speaking, when we took tests in high school, we were more concerned with the grade we got rather than what we learned. We mean, really, how often did you take your wrong answers and go searching for the right ones? However, when it comes to testing your email marketing efforts, your goal for testing an element has to be to actually take the lesson learned and apply it. Otherwise, you're testing just to test and who really wants to do that?
The importance of achieving strong email open rates is obvious when gauging the success of your email newsletters and campaigns. The more people that open an email, the more potential people there are to take the desired action.
So what factors drive email open rates? EmailLabs has identified the following 16 factors that influence email open.
1. Subject Line: As the single most important factor, subject lines must resonate individually with recipients and provide a compelling reason to open the email. If appropriate, personalize subject lines based on the recipient's interests, purchase history and other factors. Be creative and use words that motivate people to take action.
2. From Line: Is the from line name immediately recognizable to all recipients? If not, consider personalizing the From line so that it is more relevant to various list segments.
3. Expectations/Brand Relevance: Are recipients anticipating your emails? How relevant are your products/services to their current interests and needs? Is your brand top of mind with your customers/recipients? Do they know what to expect when they open your emails? Make sure your emails support and leverage your businesses' overall brand and messaging. Strive to have recipients feel like they are missing out on something if they don't open your email.
4. Content Value: If you are publishing an e-newsletter, is the content in your newsletter original and compelling? Newsletters that merely repackage content from other sources provide value in terms of aggregating and synthesizing. But readers of these e-newsletters know they can find the content elsewhere - and when push comes to shove may forgo opening your newsletter for one that has one-of-a-kind content.
5. Nature of Content: In addition to the actual value of the content, how do recipients actually use the information in the email? Is it an offer for a discount, free white paper or free trial? If a newsletter, does the content routinely include tips and news that people can apply to their business or personal lives or is it nice-to-know information that they can easily live without?
6. Relationship to Your Organization: The nature of the recipient's relationship to your organization plays a key role in whether they open your email or not. Are your readers irregular purchasers of consumer products, potential clients, existing clients, or information hungry subscribers seeking expertise? For example, a CFO may be more inclined to open the newsletter from his accounting firm (with whom he has an ongoing and personal relationship) than the newsletter he gets from his personal finance software company.