How to unleash the testing power of your emails
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Kath Pay How to unleash the testing power of your emails March 2014 Presentation
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Transcript of How to unleash the testing power of your emails
Kath Pay
How to unleash the testing power of your emails March 2014 Presentation
@ThueLMadsen #KISSwebinar
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Kath Pay – cloud.IQ - @kathpay Kath lives and breathes marketing, she is not only a world renown speaker and trainer but practices her art in the senior management team and as the Marketing Director of e-commerce conversion experts - cloud.IQ. She is recognised as the UK’s leading Email Marketing trainer and heads up training on Email Marketing & Personalization for Econsultancy & Emarkeeters
Thue Madsen - KISSmetrics - @ThueLMadsen Thue is the KISSmetrics Webinar Wizard and Marketing Ops Specialist. Before joining forces with KISSmetrics, he was a Ly" driver in SF, which is also how he ended up as a KISSmetrics marketer. Whenever Thue is not trying to automate everything around him, you can find him fishing and hiking in the Sierras.
@kathpay #KISSwebinar
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1 The Current State of Play of Testing
2 Building the Business Case for Testing in Email
3 Testing Essentials
Today we’ll be looking at….
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The goal of a test is not just to get a li", but to get a
learning as well…
1 What do we want to know about our database?
2 What’s the best way to discover the answers?
3 What’s a way that provides an immediate upli" but also delivers longitudinal results?
This then raises a few questions……
Unleash the testing powers of email
The Current State of Play
Of Testing
1
Econsultancy Conversion Rate Optimization Report 2013
85% of companies are defining their goals and objectives for their tests
Econsultancy Conversion Rate Optimization Report 2013
Only 50% of companies are testing images and promotions & offers.
Econsultancy Conversion Rate Optimization Report 2013
On average 31% of companies are performing test on their websites 1 x per week
Econsultancy Conversion Rate Optimization Report 2013
Although email is the easiest channel to test only 63% are testing it
Econsultancy Email Marketing Census 2014
Even though Email Marketing delivers the highest ROI
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Building the Case for Testing in Email
2
Testing a Landing Page vs Testing in E-mail
Landing Page Email
1
2
3
1
2
3
Create test based upon hypothesis
Create test based upon hypothesis
Send campaign
Determine winner within 24 hours
Spend $$ driving traffic
Wait for days/weeks/ months
4 Determine winner
Who makes up your email database?
Your Target Market!
Every email should contain a test…
Think of every email as a survey of your target market
However – tests are be!er than surveys….
Actions Speak
Louder Than
Words
Strategically Plant Information….
And see what resonates with your audience
1 Strategically test our target market to gain valuable insights
2 Statistically confident results immediately
3 Use the Aggregation of Marginal Gain to be continually optimising and discovering further insights
The benefits are many…..
1 How can I get more traffic for less money?
2 What will drive up average order values?
3 How can I get more �successful outcomes�?
Testing is a Strategic Issue…
Create a Methodology
….Testing different motivational factors….via subject lines
1. [Optimization Summit] 3 Days to a Be!er Website ($300 Off Coupon Inside!) – (Value Exchange, Incentive)
2. Learn 3 tips that made 10,000 landing pages extremely successful – (Value Exchange, No Incentive)
3. Optimization Summit 2012 – Speakers List Now Up! + Save $300 Today – (Newsworthy, Incentive)
4. Quarterbacks aren’t the only changes being tested in Denver. – (Curiosity)
5. A scientific way to increase your conversions – (Benefits)
6. Do your landing pages pass this test? – (Fear)
“Fear” was the Winner – 125% more unique CTR’s
Source: Marketing Experiments
Different wording test – PPC ad, Titles, Sub-headings, Banner Ads….
B had 88% higher open rate
With a 95% confidence level
A [First Name] Test, track, increase your profit – start today!
B [First Name] Start tracking and optimizing your business today!
Test which image achieves the best conversion – product display or model wearing garment?
Source: Movable Ink
Apply it to your homepage, product pages, banner ads…..
Multi-variate test which combination provides the best result
• 16 unique combinations
(8 headers + 2 grtz)
• 66,712 opens
• A"er 10,279 opens, best combination was found, remaining 56,433 ! optimized version
• increase of conversion rate: 830%
blank
Source: 8 Seconds
Apply it to your landing pages, product pages, direct mail…..
Test which Subject Line - Descriptive vs Benefit – is best for your product page
Winner: Version A increased leads by 62%
A Increase Customer Retention by 8% in a Single Month
B SaaS Billing Is a Marketing Asset
Apply it to your homepage, product pages, banner ads, PPC ads…..
A B
+72%
Ask your customers which they prefer!
Apply it everywhere!…..
Not everything tested in email can be applied to other channels…..
Email is a Push
channel
Web, Social, PPC, Search
are Pull channels
Hypothesis To be used elsewhere?
Emotional question in Subject Line will generate more sales than a directive statement Yes
Emotional CTA will generate more sales than a pragmatic CTA Yes
Double Loyalty points will generate more sales than 15% loyalty points Yes 5 items showing in the "You may also like" dynamic pod will generate more sales than 3 items Yes
CTA in the preheader will generate more sales than a statement No
Emotive image of person smiling & wearing outfit will generate more sales than image displaying outfit laid out. Yes Image 2 (looking at CTA) will generate more sales than Image 1 (looking at copy) Yes
Let’s look at some hypothesis’ used in email
Testing Essentials How to successfully test in
3
Have a desire to learn about your audience
1
Identify what question are you trying to answer?
2
Create a Hypothesis 3
A Hypothesis can be proved or disproved
A hypothesis pre!y much says, “I think by
making this change, it will cause this effect.” So, based on your results, you should be able
to say “this is true” or “this is false.”
“It means taking the 1% from everything you do; finding a 1% margin for improvement in everything you do.”
h!p://www.teamsky.com/article/0,27290,17547_5792058,00.html
The GB cycling team's winning philosophy is "aggregation of marginal gains”: get a lot of small things right, put them all together, and they add up to a
significant gain.
h!p://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/aug/14/olympics2008.olympicscycling1
!
Aggregation of Marginal Gains
Create building blocks
Hypothesis
Test in email
Learn
Apply to appropriate
channels
It’s a cycle of continuous learning
1 Don’t test for the sake of testing
2 Don’t just focus on one-off results – but focus on longitudinal gains, that can rolled out everywhere
3 Be sure the measure the correct metric
Some rules…
Be sure to measure the correct metric
Subject Line Opened Clicked Converted
Win the pampering prize of a lifetime worth $10,000
38.19% 9.35% 6.74%
Win spa breaks, a personal shopper and more worth
$10,000
35.76% 11.03% 9.19%
Win a pampered new you worth $10,000
38.01% 15.45% 10.67%
Win a trip to Champneys and more worth $10,000
with Veet
33.23% 16.76% 11.01%
Oh! And one last thing!
Be warned – testing is addictive!
2015 KISSmetrics Guide KISSmetrics Demo
h!p://kiss.ly/growth h!p://kiss.ly/demo
Questions?
Kath Pay Marketing Director
Cloud.IQ @kathpay
Thue Madsen Marketing Operations Specialist
KISSmetrics @ThueLMadsen
THANK YOU
Kath Pay @kathpay
