What to Test in Email Campaigns Beyond Subject Lines

Most of the time when marketers consider email testing, they consider subject lines. While it's certainly a critical area to test and refine, there are many different elements of email that can significantly impact not only the effectiveness of an email marketing campaign but also the responsiveness of subscribers to a brand's overall content. Exploring and testing these other options can give even better insight to help marketers make informed changes. This includes an examination of specific elements outside of the subject line that all marketers should test to ensure the best possible success with their email campaigns.

Testing Email Send Times

When an email is sent, it either boosts or decreases open rates, clicks, and engagement levels across the board. Creating digital content that aligns with these behavioral insights allows marketers to craft messages that resonate not only in tone but also in timing. Since subscribers operate on different schedules and have different time preferences, it makes sense to test send times. This includes mid-week emails or weekend sales, not to mention morning, afternoon, and evening sends. Once the data comes in and shows when the majority of subscribers open and engage with content, brands can better tailor their campaigns. These campaigns will come at a more opportune time of day for subscribers, for instance, making them more relevant and boosting campaign success overall.

Testing Email Frequency

Testing send frequency can help determine what engagement levels are best. If a subscriber gets too many emails, they may feel burnt out and not open any or worse, unsubscribe. But if there's not enough email activity, subscribers will forget about the brand or not know about great offers that could help them. By testing send frequency every other day versus once a month we can see what works to pique subscriber interest without overwhelming them. This is a great opportunity to find the sweet spot for retention and engagement.

Testing Email Length of Content

The length of email content makes a difference when it comes to subscriber engagement and effectiveness. Testing short emails versus longer can provide insight into what subscribers prefer. Shorter emails may lead to higher engagement rates for those looking for quick information; longer emails can keep those still engaged interested in additional offerings. Testing reveals what they want and when so content strategies can be better honed to fit their needs and ensure messaging works every single time.

Subscriber Engagement and Loyalty Based on Personalization

The more personalized your emails are, the more responsive and engaged your subscribers will be over time. Beyond including their name, test personalization opportunities that have a more emotional or psychological effect on subscribers. For instance, does dynamically generated content based on past purchases or engagement better resonate than other personalized messages? Testing literally personalized suggestions, inclusive recommendations, and relevant content can go a long way in ascertaining how effective your message can be, ensuring that subscribers have meaningful, engaging opportunities over and over again with your brand that turns them into long-term, engaged subscribers and brand advocates.

Design and Formatting Elements and Visuals

The design and formatting of emails can either engage, confuse, or render ineffective. Test various formats columns vs. no columns, images vs. text to figure out which design elements resonate better with engaged subscribers. Where you place images, buttons, what kind of fonts, and even how much negative space is available can encourage or deter click-through rates based on visual appeal. Constant testing and assessment of the visual components of your designs will allow subscribers to engage in eye-catching, clear communications that lead to actionable next steps.

Call-to-Action Button Effectiveness Tests

The button that people press to do something makes a huge difference in whether they'll actually do it. Test not only wording for call-to-action buttons but also size, color, and location. You may find that a large red "Buy Now" gets more clicks than a small blue "Check It Out." You may even find that location matters, like the top of an email vs. the bottom. Testing every option imaginable when it comes to CTA buttons ensures that you allow your subscribers to take appropriate action in every communication sent.

Testing Tone and Voice of the Email

How an email is presented from a tonal and voicing standpoint contributes to how subscribers perceive and want to interact. Test sending the same campaign in a formal tone versus an informal one; humorous versus straightforward or businesslike; excited versus neutral. Once you hone in on what works best of each, you either adjust going forward or adhere to your findings if you feel it's a good fit for subscriber engagement based on prior feedback or metrics. Constantly evaluating the best ways to fine-tune future campaigns via tone and voice ensures that emotional appeal only grows beyond just the first few campaigns. Greater emotional appeal only benefits the relationship.

Testing Image and Video Usage

Images and videos are compelling and can transform subscriber interaction beyond original expectation. Test an email sending with clear images versus no visuals at all; product photos versus teaching images; videos that are embedded versus GIFs (and other more elaborate images). Use testing that generates greater interest in a more meaningful way across all metrics for future understanding of imagery. Does an instructional video work better than an image of a new product? Does an embedded video about a nonprofit work better than a GIF that brings attention to it? Find what resonates with your audience for longer engagement and adjust based on their feedback.

Testing Preheaders

The preheader is another unseen but integral component of an email that supports driving opens beyond just the subject line interest. Testing varied preheaders from cryptic, eyebrow-raising lines to clear-cut previews and teasers helps generate immediate suspense before even seeing the subject line itself. The best way to test preheaders is through reaction rates. A good preheader can bolster a subject line or offer clarifying and adjusted consistently, one can ensure all future emails will garner ultimate subscriber intrigue for better open rates.

Sender Names and Addresses

The sender's name and address can impact trust, awareness, and engagement potential. By testing varying sender names or addresses company name versus employee name, address for final product versus email from development department brands learn what sender information works best with their subscriber base. A specific sender that a subscriber knows might work better than a company-wide address that's generic without a name, or vice versa. Regardless, benefiting from the testing process enables branding to enhance trust and awareness which better engagement prospects across all subsequent marketing emails and simultaneously improves the campaign in question and overall brand authority.

Effectiveness of Social Proof Within Emails

The effectiveness of social proof included within an email testimonials, reviews, ratings can drastically affect how a subscriber views the content and likelihood of engagement. Testing emails with varying social proof increments and social proof frequency determines what's most effective. When a subscriber sees a specific rating or write-up and various executives comment on with positive reviews, they're more inclined to want to engage or purchase. Therefore, regularly testing social proof effectiveness extends beyond one campaign, giving comfort to customers, potential customers, and subscribers in this credibility and enticement of a definitive call-to-action which leads to greater campaign success.

Interactive Elements Included in Emails

Polls, quizzes, and surveys included in emails can invite subscriber participation through active engagement. Testing emails with various interactive content measures response effectiveness and how best subscribers enjoy engaging with you. While one statistic may have the best results and another apathy, clear numbers can emerge that indicate how well certain interactive elements work as opposed to others, so that you can better cater to your audience moving forward. Including effective interactive elements will keep subscribers engaged in the moment and excited about further emails, which only serves to benefit campaign performance, intention, and satisfaction in the long run.

Testing Email Navigation and Menus

Email navigation and menus can significantly affect subscriber activity, engagement, and conversions. Test whether including a navigation bar, quick links, menus, or no menus at all works better. Testing reveals which option allows subscribers to see more or gives them the opportunity to do something about it. Email navigation optimization allows for simple access to necessary information and provides support for a positive experience, leading to increased engagement and interaction over time.

Testing Mobile Friendliness

Many of your subscribers will view their emails on mobile devices, so testing how the email can best be configured to appear on mobile is important. Test button sizing, text scaling, image sizes, and even padding within the email to see what works best for uniform presentation across mobile. Engaging and converting mobile-friendly emails goes a long way when it comes to subscriber habits, as those who constantly receive clear and accessible communications will appreciate the value. Re-evaluating for mobile ensures that the mobile view makes sense and works well.

Testing Footers and What They Contain

Footers can greatly boost subscriber engagement when tested in the appropriate ways. Test whether to include social media links, an option to unsubscribe or manage preferences, links to privacy policies, or more links to promotional materials. Footers that link to other opportunities will encourage subscribers to seek access elsewhere, while the ability to easily manage what’s in their email will set their minds at ease. Continuously testing what this section contains ensures that footers provide the best chance of engagement.

Conclusion: Expanding Email Testing Beyond the Basics

Ultimately, this means no longer having to A/B test subject lines for campaigns, since the success of the next endeavor will be based on testing everything else. Which means marketers need to also pay attention to send time, frequency of sending out content, length of the content (short emails vs long), where personalization appears, image and design quality of the email, buttons vs links for CTAs, and how many GIFs or animations exist. Understanding these factors over time provides more relevant insights and more substantive revelations that allow for campaign adjustments because they note how subscribers behave over time with the brand. The more things tested, the more marketers understand why someone opens or ignores an email never to be seen again. With knowledge comes power for marketing, so knowing how to best engage with subscribed preferences and actions will only facilitate the championing of the next project in process and final execution.

In addition, these are not elements that one would consider testing from other perspectives. These are proactive ways to learn about changing behavior for engaged participation. Furthermore, this shows that the brand is paying attention beyond seasonal calendars and strategic marketing efforts because those things could change on a monthly, even weekly, basis due to fluctuating consumer behavior. Therefore, campaigns that feel secure in their anticipated measures can rely on proactive recommendations during anticipated measures so that the subscribers appreciate this additional concern. When they see that the brand is doing something on their behalf, they'll invest more emotionally meaning deeper conversions and sales impact over time.

Finally, constantly bringing findings full circle back to step one will only help with next endeavors because what's better than attempting a new endeavor based on what was learned last time? Bringing it full circle back to what was created before even if that was an amazing creation only means success can be better going forward. Even if someone's open rate or click-through rate was through the roof, A/B testing more of the other factors can make them even better from here on out. The only endpoint in sight is when a brand no longer exists so optimizing all along the way renders every email more worthwhile in the end.

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