I cannot say it enough... Always, always be in test mode.

I am often asked questions like… “What is the best day to send my emails?” “What is the best time?” “What should my subject line say?” I could go on and on with the questions, but my answer to most all of these is going to be the same… “Let’s find out.” Statistics are great to look at and use as a starting point, but all lists are not created equal and therefore do not respond the same. The only way you are going to know if what you are doing is working the best is to test another idea. Find out what works and then try to improve it.

No matter how much you think you know about your customer base, chances are sometimes they will surprise you… hence the reason for testing. Testing is one of the foundations of email marketing. I believe that if you are going to do email marketing well, you need to always be in a test mode. Don't become complacent with your email marketing. Just because something worked, does not mean that it cannot be improved.

It is your job as a marketer to learn as much as you can about your customers and use that data to become more effective. When it comes to email marketing, the old saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" is not true. Always try and break the mold. There is always room for improvement.

Testing starts with a plan. Not just an idea of what you are going to test today, but a long term strategy for testing. What are your goals when it comes to testing? What do you hope to achieve? You must have a good understanding of the theory behind each of your testing ideas. Know what action you are going to take based on the results of your tests. What are you going to do next to improve your results?

Now, what are you going to test and more importantly, how are you going to perform your tests?

The most common form of testing is the A/B Split method. Most email marketers have used some form of this method. An example of this method is with a subject line test. Send 10% of your list one subject line. Send another subject line to another 10%. Wait a day and send the remaining 80% of your list the subject line that performed the best. Simple. It is easy to administer and it is very easy to determine the results. It is an effective form of testing in most areas.

Another and less common form of testing is multivariable testing. As its name suggests, this method allows you to test many changes simultaneously. However, the more variables you are testing, the larger your list will need to be in order to create a statistically significant result. Once the results are in, you can determine which change had the largest effect on the conversion rate of the email. This is a more complex testing method but it does lead to faster learning about your lists and more creative ideas.

When it comes to what to test, there are so many things that can be tested. Subject lines, layout, segmentation, and landing pages just to name a few. I am interested to know what everyone is testing. What have been the most successful for you and what other methods of testing have you deployed…?

I hope this, at the very least, got you thinking. If testing is not a part of your email marketing effort right now, then your emails are not getting the polish they need to shine.