Email gives you a low cost way to test new sales copy ideas through the process of A/B split tests. This method of testing has a long history in direct marketing and has been used by direct mail oriented companies for decades. In print the process of testing sales copy could be long and expensive but email makes the process of A/B split testing fast and affordable.

Want to know if your email subscribers will click on buttons more that text links? Easy, split your email list in two and send half one way and half the other way… then measure your clicks and conversions.

But, because testing email sales copy is so easy many new comers are tempted to start testing everything. So, before you get started a word of caution…

Only test sales copy elements that are significant – try taking a look at emails you have sent in the past. Look for email sales copy that had above average response. What was unique about them? Try testing those elements on future email messages. Only test one element at a time – otherwise you won’t know which change to your email sales copy made the difference and you end up not knowing anything you can repeat in the future.

Ok, that was two words of caution

Here are some ideas of email sales copy elements you can start testing.

The look and feel of your email messages

1. Sub-messages – Many of us use banners either on top or on the bottom of our email messages to carry branding or other secondary messages that ride along with the main body of our email messages. Try some variation on placement, top, bottom, side and see what does better.
2. Images – Images can have a strong impact on the response of your email subscribers. Try testing product pictures versus lifestyle shots, if you have aspirational images (pretty people) try testing young vs. old, male vs. female. Then pick your winners.
3. Animations – Try animating the graphics in your email message and test against a static graphic

Copy & content of email messages

1. Subject lines – Try testing the difference in performance for a. Long or short subject lines b. Vague (or teasing) versus straightforward c. For frequetnt emails test calling out the topic rather than the newsletter title. For example: Gov’t Rules for HMO Liability Change Again versus Healthcare Newsletter 9-19-11. Note: watch the difference in clicks and conversions. Some subject lines create lots of clicks but few conversions and some create few clicks but more conversions. If your goal is to stimulate traffic and all you really want is clicks then make sure to take this into consideration.
2. Key words – If your industry or interest category has certain key words or a special language those few words get clicks every time. For example deer hunters will scan a page first and the words deer and hunting will attract their attention.
3. Offer wording – test how you state your offer you often see a significant difference here. For example 50% off versus Half Price.
4. Length – test a long detail copy heavy approach versus a quick catchy snippet that promises more detail on the landing page.

Formatting you email sales copy

1. HTML/TEXT – HTML will usually win this test but in some business environments correspondence is read on mobile phone more and more> The text email is not dead… make sure you test it.
2. Call to action – your email message should always lead or ask the reader act. This is the heart of your email so make sure you get it right. Try testing: a. Big buttons versus text links b. Button color and size c. Button placement, top , bottom , embedded

Timing of your email messages

1. Day of the week – you may have heard about “the best day to send email” being a certain day of the week (Tuesday usually) But this is not always true! If company starts sending out their email messages on Tuesday it won’t be long before Tuesday becomes the day that everyone’s inbox is crowded and your message gets lost in the crowd. Keep an eye on the day of the week and keep on testing.
2. Time of day – usually morning and evening are the best times to send to consumers since they are supposedly working all day. Business to business emails do better from 8 to 5. Test the variations.

Best practices are a great place to start when setting up your email campaigns and serve as a great foundation. But don’t neglect testing to find out the special ingredients that make your emails work well for you particular audience.