| The primary way to start testing your email marketing | | | | apply to frequency (i.e., holiday season for retailers). In |
| is to track the results from each email marketing | | | | order to perform a true frequency test, keep in mind |
| campaign. When you track the results of your email | | | | whom the recipients of the email are because this can |
| marketing campaigns, it's the first step to improve your | | | | have a major effect on the results of your frequency |
| email marketing results time after time. And as | | | | test results. |
| marketing is an ongoing process, so is testing. | | | | Timing is Everything |
| Determine Your Objective | | | | There have been numerous studies testing the perfect |
| The ultimate objective for any email campaign is to | | | | day of the week and even time of the day emails |
| convert the reader into a sale or customer. While this | | | | should be sent. The results of these studies may not |
| may or may not be the end-result, there are some | | | | be the answer to your business or industry. You need |
| objectives you need to meet along the way first. So, if | | | | to run these tests for yourself. If you're marketing to |
| your objective is to increase the open rate of your | | | | business owners that generally operate in a nine to |
| emails, then testing subject lines can help you | | | | five business environment then the time of day you |
| determine which subject receives a higher open rate | | | | send an email blast may vary greatly from a |
| over the other one. If you're trying to decrease your | | | | consumer customer that doesn't get to their personal |
| opt-out rates, then testing the frequency of your email | | | | email until seven o'clock at night. Time zones your |
| blasts can help you reach this objective. So, before | | | | customers reside in also come into play. If all of your |
| you leap into testing mode, you first have to determine | | | | customers live on the same coast then this may not |
| what it is you're testing. And remember, you can only | | | | be an issue, but if you have customers in different time |
| test one thing at a time. | | | | zones, then this is something that needs to be |
| Segment Your List | | | | considered when blasting out your latest sales or |
| There are various ways you can segment your email | | | | news announcement. |
| list. How often you send emails to various groups may | | | | You're not going to find the perfect answers for your |
| directly relate to how engaged the segment is. For | | | | email campaigns by reading articles and study results. |
| example, current customers are likely to be more | | | | While these sources can provide guidance and give |
| engaged than a customer that hasn't purchased from | | | | you ideas, you really have to run tests on your own |
| you in a few years. The frequency of emails to | | | | email campaigns to determine what is right for your |
| current customers, therefore, may be at a higher rate | | | | audience and your business. |
| than past customers. Seasonal variances may also | | | | |