Best way to test and track your email campaign | SMBELAL.COM

1. BEST WAY TO TEST & TRACK YOUR EMAIL CAMPAIGN How to split test email campaigns the right way

2. WHY DO YOU NEED TO SPLIT TEST EMAIL CAMPAIGNS 6 BEST PRACTICES FOR EMAIL SPLIT TESTING TABLE OF CONTENTS 02 04 01 03 WHAT ELEMENTS TO TEST INTRODUCTION

3. WHAT IS EMAIL SPLIT TESTING? Email split testing means testing the original version of your email (the control) against another version (the variation, or variant) where you have changed a single element, like an email subject line, a call to action (CTA) button, or a part of the design. Split testing means changing just one element. If you want to change more than one element on your email, then that’s multivariate email testing. Split testing, which is also known as A/B testing, is a conversion optimization technique used to test web pages and marketing copy of all kinds. INTRODUCTION

4. WHY DO YOU NEED TO SPLIT TEST EMAIL CAMPAIGNS? When you split test email campaigns, it can help you to: • Create more effective email marketing campaigns based on the insights you gain, resulting in more engagement, leads and sales • Minimize the risk of running new campaigns by testing them before making permanent changes • Base decisions about your email marketing campaigns on data rather than gut instinct or guesswork REASONS INTRODUCTION #1 #3 #5 #2 #4 • Know when email marketing campaigns are working and when they are not, based on customers’ actual response to actual campaigns • Get more people to open your emails, click your links, and ultimately convert

5. Before you get started, you’ll need to do the groundwork you’d do for any type of marketing campaign. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE USE EMAIL LIST SEGMENTATION For instance, you’ll need to understand who you’re marketing to. That means you’ll have buyer personas that help you decide on marketing content – and email marketing content – based on your customers’ age, gender, location, education, sources of information, and key challenges.  It’s worth noting that your subscribers aren’t a single homogeneous group. They’ll likely have different interests and will be at different stages of their interaction with you. That’s why it makes sense to segment your email list so you send the right messages to the right people at the right time. GETTING STARTED WITH EMAIL SPLIT TESTING CREATE AN EMAIL MARKETING CAMPAIGN TRACK YOUR METRICS You’ll also need to have an email campaign that you can split test. That means you will have to : i) choose a properly formatted, mobile-friendly email template, ii) pay attention to fonts, branding, images, andcolor, iii) Make sure your email is short andscannable and iv) write a call to action that makes subscribers want to take action. You’ll need to know your current metrics as a baseline for measuring the success of your email split tests. That means tracking key email marketing metrics such as: email deliverablity, email open rates, email click-through rates,leads and sales resulting from email marketing

6. Observing what’s happening currently Suggesting how you’re going to improve or fix the situation Speculating about possible reasons Measuring how you’ll know it has worked CREATING AN EMAIL SPLIT TESTING HYPOTHESIS 01 02 03 04 PROCESS

7. CALL TO ACTION Once subscribers have opened your email, it’s essential to have an effective call to action (CTA) so they take the next step. You can experiment with how you formulate promotional offers, and even with pricing. Try varying the size, color, and placement of calls to action and CTA buttons, as well as the text used to encourage action. And you can change the size and placement of social media sharing buttons, too. EMAIL SUBJECT LINESYou can experiment with the size, color, and content of your subject lines. You can also try varying the sender name, and experimenting with email personalization. DESIGN AND LAYOUTWhen you split test email campaigns, you can also change the layout, style, and template of the email, to make sure it displays well on all devices. And you can experiment with the use and placement of images. EMAIL COPYFor the body of the email, you can alter the wording of different parts of the content, and try changing the font, placement, length and more.Think about how you’re addressing your subscribers. The stats show that personalization boosts sales. But there are all kinds of ways you can personalize, from using subscribers’ names to personalizing your emails according to their interests. ELEMENTS TO SPLIT TEST #1 #4 #2 #3

8. First,create your campaign You can also decide how you’ll determine the winning combination. Start to create your email. SPLIT TESTING WITH MAILCHIMP Choose the percentage of recipients that will receive your variant.  Click on A/B Test. Give your campaign a name, then press Begin. Choose the variables you want to test. Choose your list. Choose whether you are sending to your whole list, or to a segment. Then start creating your email. If you are trying different subject lines, you’ll see some boxes where you can include your variants. Design, test and schedule your campaign as normal. MailChimp will let you know which variation gets the best response.

9. #1First, make sure you have a valid hypothesis (as described earlier) when split testing your email marketing campaigns. #2Ensure that you only change one element for any split test. Remember, if you change more than one element, it’s not actually a split test. #3Make sure your email split test is statistically significant. That means making sure the numbers you’re testing with are big enough for you to be able to rely on the results. #4It’s hard to compare split testing results if the conditions aren’t the same. So don’t compare open rates for an email sent on Monday at 9am with one sent on Friday at 5pm. #5Some of your subscribers will open emails immediately, but others won’t. If you know when opens usually tail off, that’s how long you have to give each variant before deciding the results are in. #6Don’t ignore the data. The whole point of split testing email campaigns is to let you have numbers rather than instincts as a basis for your email marketing strategy. Here are some A/B testing email best practices to help you split test email campaigns successfully. 6 BEST EMAIL SPLIT TESTING PRACTICES

10. WRAPPING UP! CONCLUSION That’s it! Now you know the right way to split test email campaigns so they can be more effective and win you more opens, clicks, leads, and sales. Now try running these AB tests on your email popups to make them even more successful. 

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