[Presented at Litmus Live 2017 in London]
Push the power of your email marketing by looking at email testing differently. Leverage the testing ability of your emails to improve the performance of your other marketing acquisition and conversion channels. You will learn how to:
- Build a hypothesis into your emails
- Drive the actions that provide the answers you're looking for
- Use a push channel such as email to inform and improve pull channel performance
- Use tactics to test for long-term results as well as short-term results
9. And that’s with the
attribution being
inaccurate!
57% save the email for
later
48% bear the information
in mind for later.
47% go to the website via
another route
DMA UK
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
10. @jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
The 2017 Email Benchmarking Report produced by Digital Doughnut & Dotmailer
12. Why test?
You want to find out what resonates with your
prospects and customers, so they’re more likely to
action your objective. Simple!
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
14. A/B Example
A/B Control SL: Our sale is on now! Get 15% off today!
A/B Variant SL: Our sale is on today! Get 15% off now!
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
15. Multivariate Example
M/V Control SL: Our sale is on now! Get 15% off
today!
M/V Variant SL: Our sale is on today! Get 15% off
now!
M/V Control CTA: Blue
M/V Variant CTA: Red
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
M/V Control Image 1
M/V Variant Image 2
17. A definition of Holistic testing
This is a regularly-performed test based on a
hypothesis, with the two-fold aim of not only finding
out which version delivers the best result, but also
aims to discover insights about the audience.
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
18. It needs to center around 3 main
things
1. Presumed problem
2. Proposed solution
3. Anticipated result (and reason why)
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
19. A hypothesis can be
proved or disproved
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
20. Holistic testing example
Hypothesis: Loss aversion copy is a stronger
motivator towards conversions than benefit-led copy
because people hate losing out more than they enjoy
benefiting.
Control SL: Our sale is on now! Get 15% off today!
Control CTA: Shop now
Variant SL: 15% off today only. Don’t miss out!
Variant CTA: Don’t miss out – shop now
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
21. Most commonly tested design
factors on websites
colour (changing the colour of elements on a website)
+0.0% uplift
buttons (modifying website buttons) -0.2% uplift
calls to action (changing the wording on a website to
be more suggestive) -0.3% uplift
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
The meta-analysis of 6,700 ecommerce experiments
qubit.com/research/what-works-in-ecommerce
22. For greater scope and results, test
motivations
scarcity (stock pointers) +2.9% uplift
social proof (informing users of others’ behaviour)
+2.3% uplift
urgency (countdown timers) +1.5% uplift
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
The meta-analysis of 6,700 ecommerce experiments
qubit.com/research/what-works-in-ecommerce
23. Who makes up your email
database?
Your target market
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
28. Let’s look at some hypotheses used
in email
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
Hypothesis:
Emotional question will generate more sales than a directive statement.
“Double Loyalty points” will generate more sales than “2X loyalty points”.
Emotive image of person smiling & wearing outfit will generate more sales than
displaying outfit laid out.
30. Let’s look at some factors to test
your hypotheses
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
Hypothesis: Factors tested:
Emotional question will generate more sales than a
directive statement.
Subject line, CTA, title, copy
“Double Loyalty points” will generate more sales than
“2X loyalty points”.
Subject line, CTA, title, copy
Emotive image of person smiling & wearing outfit will
generate more sales than displaying outfit laid out.
Image
32. Focus on & measure the correct
metric!
A: Increased total orders by 21%
And revenue by 35%, even though A had a 10.5%
lower open rate than B.
Sent 50/50 split test over 4 weeks to abandoners
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
A Reminder: Items Saved in Your Cart – Shop Now for an
Extra 10% off
B Come back and Save an Extra 10%
Native Remedies
34. Aggregation of marginal gains
The GB cycling team’s winning philosophy is
‘aggregation of marginal gains’: Get a lot of small
things right, put them together, and they add up to a
significant gain. “It means taking the 1% from
everything you do; finding a 1% margin for
improvement in everything you do.”
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
35. Create a test plan
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
36. Metrics & Fields to include
Total Sent
Open Rate
Click to Open Rate
Products purchased
Conversion Rate
AOV
Statistical Confidence
Conclusion
Recommendation
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
38. Test the hypothesis multiple times
To ensure it wasn’t an anomaly. Because you’re
performing hypothesis-led tests you can:
• Use different wording
• Potentially use multiple factors
As long as it supports the hypothesis
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
41. 8.
Roll results out to other
channels
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
42. Let’s look at some channels to share
your insights with
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
Hypothesis: Factors tested: Can share with:
Emotional question will generate more
sales than a directive statement.
Subject line, CTA, title,
copy
Website, landing
pages, banner ads,
PPC ads, social media,
retargeting ads
“Double Loyalty points” will generate
more sales than “2X loyalty points”.
Subject line, CTA, title,
copy
Website, landing
pages, retargeting
ads, social media
Emotive image of person smiling &
wearing outfit will generate more sales
than displaying outfit laid out.
Image
Website, landing
pages, banner ads,
social media,
retargeting ads
43. Perform tests in email
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive
44. Roll these insights out to
other channels &
continually optimise
@jonathanpay | @HolisticEmail | #LitmusLive