One of the biggest upsides of digital marketing is experimentation. Unlike traditional marketing where something that’s printed is permanent, digital assets can be manipulated endlessly. This flexibility can help organizations save on printing costs and other expenses. It also allows for experimentation without expending too many resources.
Case in point: A/B testing. In A/B testing, you compare two pieces of content that contain different variants such as different color buttons or call-to-actions to see which one is more effective. Such testing is often used in email marketing to observe open rates, click-thrus and other important analytics. By leveraging this useful experimenting tool, you can better determine which campaigns are working – and which aren’t.
Here are different elements of an email that you can experiment with for an effective A/B test:
Subject Lines: This is one of the easiest elements to experiment with. In the case of a hospital or medical practice, for example, you may want to send out an email to patients about a new technology or service that’s now available. Through A/B testing, you could test a headline that’s benefits-oriented (“Recover faster with XXXX”) versus one that’s more general (“New XXXX now available”). Depending on which one gets more response, you can tailor your marketing appropriately.
Photos: Photos are worth more than a thousand words in the world of email marketing. Let’s use the above example again. If your healthcare organization is touting a new service or procedure, you might want to test an image of a testimonial versus a photo of a relevant hospital room, facility or machine. It’s an easy swap and one that can show whether your audience is more into the real-world benefits or are more into the technology or process.
Links/Call to Actions: Linking to your website or another relevant property is standard procedure in emails. While you could just add a clickable “Learn more” link and call it a day, A/B testing lets you make links, buttons and other interactive elements a little more fun. Test that generic “Learn more” link against something like “Start improving your life” to see if it makes any difference. Odds are it will.
Maximize your return on investment with A/B testing. To find out more about this powerful resource, contact Wax Communications at 305-350-5700 or visit waxcom.com.
