E-mail Marketers Fail at Subject Line Split-Testing

E-mail marketers are surprisingly sloppy when it comes to optimizing subject lines, a key element in e-mail response, especially open rates, per a recent study. A minority of surveyed e-mail marketers report consistent use of subject line split-testing prior to campaign launch, according to a study by Phrasee cited in a recent KoMarketing Associates post. Phrasee's "State of Split Testing" report shows that an average 22% of respondents said they had done no split testing of subject lines in their last month's campaigns, and 49% admitted to split testing for only a few campaigns. About a third said they split-tested subject lines for most (about 21%) or all (about 7%) of their campaigns. The low investment in subject line success was also shown by the brief time spent on developing test-worthy subject lines, with nearly 46% saying they spent only a few minutes on the task! Plus, many e-mail marketers who do test then fail to leverage results data for further testing; 44% told Phrasee they "don't really do much" to analyze results for design of future split tests. For the whole post, go to http://www.komarketingassociates.com/industry-news/report-split-testing-is-still-uncommon-in-email-marketing-2912/

Where to Focus for Optimized E-mail Click-Through

Boosting e-mail click-through rate is a constant struggle, so we recommend to frustrated e-mail marketers a recent MarketingProfs article by Stephen Hovnanian--offering four basic areas to optimize for more quality clicks. His initial tip is to focus on optimizing user experience first--via seamless mobile and desktop designs and experiences that flow from e-mail open to final action. If your e-mail is mobile-optimized but your landing page or registration form is not mobile-friendly, you're wasting clicks, for example. Also target the audience by device usage and timing to optimize experience, and use "friction-mitigating" copy or visuals to guide recipients, advises Hovnanian. The second area of focus is varying call to action (CTA) by audience segment. For example, the CTA for the segment of top engagers (or brand champions) can go beyond clicks to urge valuable social sharing and brand advocacy. Segmenting for participation by type of content also delivers better CTA response, such as a webinar invite to past webinar attendees but a webinar recap to site visitors with interest in similar content. Third, leverage your online community and customer base for user-generated content (such as testimonials). It delivers social proof and brand advocacy building and can be paired with a strong, related CTA to boost click-through. Fourth, simply write better call-to-action copy! How? Hovnanian suggests completing the sentence "I want you to..." for active verbs and specific direction. For example, I want you to "Register for the Webinar." Of course, also test CTA design placement as well as buttons versus clickable text. For the full article, read http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2016/29194/four-email-optimizations-that-will-increase-your-click-through-rates