The perfect email...doesn't exist. Bummer.
There isn't one email prototype that everyone should replicate for best results. Every company's audience is different.
Everyone segments their leads different ways.
But with "split testing" you can find the perfect email for YOUR business.
Easy? No. One of the more sexy aspects of marketing? Nope. Profitable? You betcha!
So in the next few blog posts, we're going to hit all the email hot buttons that we get asked over and over. While we can't do your testing for you, we can tell you the types of things you absolutely need to test to get the BEST results for your efforts.
Here we go with "Little Email Tweaks that Get BIG Results"...
1. PLAIN TEXT VS. HTML
You probably know it's a best practice to always send a plain text version of your HTML emails in case there are rendering problems; but did you ever consider that a plain text email might just ... perform better?
We've tested this, and there are actually times when it's better to use a plain text (not formatted) email - for example, let's say you just got off the phone with a new lead and made an appointment to talk further.
Most likely you'd shoot them a quick email telling them it was good to talk with them and confirming the appointment or what their next step is. With Infusionsoft, it's easy to run automated actions with pre-done email templates that merge in their appointment - and with plain text, it looks personal and not "canned."
2. IMAGE SELECTION
As marketers we're encouraged to include images in our emails ... but what kind? A logo-based image? Or a professional-looking image with stock photography? Or maybe a cartoon/doodle type image? Test out different image types to see what your readers' respond to.
3. IMAGE PLACEMENT
Besides the kind of images used, you can test the placement of those images! Should your template have a right aligned image, or left aligned? Or centered, perhaps? Heck -- maybe no image at all!
4. SENDER HEADSHOT
Some email senders (especially B2B marketers) also choose to include a headshot in their email signatures. Is this the best idea? It could make your email seem more personal, improving click-through rates. Or maybe it distracts recipients from your CTA. Only one way to find out š
5. P.S. VS. NO P.S.
If readers are drawn to your sender's headshot, maybe they'll be drawn to a P.S., too. It's a common tactic...including a primary or secondary CTA (call-to-action) as a P.S. at the end of an email. See if it works for you, or if it detracts from the click-through rate of your primary CTA when you include a secondary CTA.
For variety sometimes we use BTW (by the way) in our emails instead of P.S.
6. TEMPLATE DESIGNS
Most of us use templates to keep consist with our company branding. But it's important to test the effectiveness of those templates to determine if some layouts and designs perform better than others.
The most important thing is to test ONE variable at a time and in the case of template design, go easy - drastic changes every time you sent out an email may be counter-intuitive if your readers have come to relate to a certain look and feel.
Small hinges really do swing big doors!
Seize the day!
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