• by March 20, 2001

Boldfish, Inc. has recently released some suggestions for e-mail campaign testing before an extensive rollout. Though this isn’t new to creative and planners, buyers are frequently asked to select lists (or space) without a complete perspective of the audience. Testing such as this would not only impact the message, but suggest appropriate demographic and psychographic targets and splits as well.

Boldfish presents the following suggestions for the various parts of the message that can be tested, with response in as little as 48 hours.

Offer

- The "call to action" may deliver the same response rate at a15 % discount as 20%. Or, a 20% discount may be required in the Midwest, yet only 10% on the West Coast.

Design

- To line - real name in the To line versus e-mail address
- From line - individual's name or company or publication's name
- Subject line - wording or offer in the subject line can influence the open, response, and conversion rates
- Copy - different copy styles and types appeal to different demographics within a list.
- Message Layout - placement location within an HTML message will impact the click through rate, as will a graphic in the ad instead of a text link to an offer.
- Personalization - Test ascending levels of personalization with greeting and personalized content.

Strategy

- List Segmentation – which can include customer history, buying behavior, interest categories, list sources and demographics
- Message Frequency - determine the optimal amount of time that can lapse between the messages to keep in touch but not alienate
- Follow Up Messages - test the frequency of the message and offers
- Timing - Test different times and days to determine the best fit
- Track What You Test

See the rest of the story.