Emil on E-mail

Emil is our resident e-mail marketing expert. Although he may be a bit eccentric and his demeanor somewhat odd, his advice is solid. So here is today’s reader question.

Dear Emil:

I’ve read your columns and try to implement the advice you give. But you often suggest “testing” my subject lines, and I am not sure what you mean by that. Can you give me some advice on how to do it?

—Testing My Luck At Testing

Dear TMLAT:

Testing a subject line is, in essence, a method to compare open rates (how many people actually opened your e-mail) by using one subject line versus another.

Come up with two different subject lines to test. For an example, look at this very e-mail. We used one of two different subject lines to send it. We’ve sent it to you as “4 Direct Marketing Tips for Starting the Recovery” as well as “Healthcare Bill Begins to Take Shape.”

We chose those subject lines because healthcare reform is of huge interest to our entire audience (based on statistics from last month’s newsletter) and in general, a “numbered list" (such as “4 Steps to Better Abs”, or “3 Suggestions for Improving Your Commute”) works well as an e-mail marketing technique.

Have a solid reason for the subject lines you choose to test, then split your list in half as randomly as you can. Send half the list an email with one subject line, and the rest of the list the same email with the other subject line, and compare the results of each.

Should your results be stronger for one version than the other, you may consider sending the poorer performing half, a second mailing using the winning subject line. Remember, if your e-mail was not opened, there is no harm in sending it again under another subject line.

If you have an e-mail marketing question you would like to ask of Emil our resident e-mail marketing expert, send it to Emil at emil@dmddata.com.