Email Marketing A/B Strategy
Melina Miller
Cohort 13
April 25, 2020

EMAIL TEXT
Brand Marketing: A Digital-First Approach
Hi, First Name!
I hope you and your family are in good health and staying safe
during these times of uncertainty.
I am reaching out to you with a one-time email to share an article I
wrote that I think you might be interested in reading.
The world is changing at a head-spinning pace right now, and
among those shifts is the change of marketing strategies to fit this
new environment. As a response to market uncertainty, many
large-scale companies have cut back on their digital marketing
budgets. As a result, digital advertising has become cheaper. This
means companies and businesses still spending on digital marketing
can get more bang for their buck.
Our extended stay at home throughout this quarantine has shown
us just how important a digital-first approach to brand marketing is.
I collaborated with six marketing professionals to gain their expert
insights on why a digital-first approach is essential for brand
marketing.
Click the Learn More button below to read what they had to say.

HUBSPOT CONTACTS

Title
Intro
Appeal
Picture/Title
Links to Social
CTA
EmailTemplate
To the right, you can see a full version
of my email template. To allow for a
clear visual demonstration of the key
elements, I have removed non-
essential parts of my template from the
visual on the left.
The template displayed to the right is
the template used for both versions of
my A/B test, as the variant for this test
was the subject line.
I provided two opportunities for my
readers to click a link to my
article/website. In the body, I chose to
forgo a button to connect on LinkedIn
and provided a CTA button to only my
article/website as I did not want to lead
readers away from my primary CTA.
However, to provide readers the
opportunity to connect, I included a
button to my LinkedIn and other social
platforms in the footer.
In both visuals, the orange writing
stating, “First Name,” is in place of the
personalization element, which
generates the name of the reader upon
sending.

Variation
I chose to conduct a subject line A/B test to determine if one subject line would
draw in and attract more readers to open my email than the other.
2
Expert Insights: Why A Digital-First Approach to Brand Marketing Is Essential
A/B TEST VARIATIONS IN SUBJECT LINE:
A Digital-First Approach to Brand Marketing
EMAIL A Subject:
EMAIL B Subject:
Subject
Subject

1
2
3
4
WHAT WAS VARIED AND WHY
WHAT WAS YOUR CALL TO ACTION?
My call to action was a large grey button that matched the theme
of my email and stated: “LEARN MORE.” This button was very
visible, eye-catching, and drove readers to visit my website and
read the intended article.
HOW DID YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND YOUR
CONTENT?
I introduced the content by mentioning current events and tied
them into how they pertain to my article. This was designed to
engage with my readers and drive them to read the article on my
website. I formally introduced myself and related to my audience
from an industry standpoint.
WHICH VERSION DO YOU THINK WOULD PERFORM
BETTER AND WHY?
I hypothesis that version 1 will perform better because it
demonstrates a more engaging title that has a better chance of
grabbing the viewer’s attention and enticing them to open the
email out of curiosity.
I tested the subject lines among emails. I wanted to determine if
either subject line would draw in and attract more readers to
open my email than the other.

5
6
SUMMARY OF EMAIL DISTRIBUTION
WHAT WERE YOUR KPI RESULTS BY EMAIL VERSION
(A & B)
A total of 204 emails were distributed in this test. I sent email
version 1 to 102 people and email version 2 to 102 people. I
created two email lists to spread the emails equally among my
collected contacts.

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Email A: 48.50%
Email B: 48.90%
OPEN RATES
CLICK-THROUGH RATES
CHI-SQUARE TEST
Email A: 25%
Email B: 28.30%
After conducting a chi-square test, we can conclude
that the differences in click-through rates between
email A and email B were not significant. Therefore,
moving forward, I can use either subject line.
A/B TEST RESULTS25%
75%
Email A CTR
Clicks No Clicks
28%
72%
Email B CTR
Clicks No Clicks

WHAT WAS YOUR END GOAL?
DID YOU ACHIEVE IT? WHY OR WHY NOT
WHO IS YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE?
My target audience consisted of professionals from various
industries, as I felt the information I had to offer was relevant to
more professionals than marketers. The contacts on my
distribution list were business professionals who showed an
interest in receiving the content I had to share. As a result, I
achieved my goal of increasing website traffic and establishing
connections with business professionals who may be interested in
my marketing services. I received several responses to my emails,
and I will continue nurturing relationships with these professionals
to accomplish my overall goal of obtaining job leads.
My end goal was to increase website traffic and establish
connections with business professionals in industries that may
require my marketing services. I hope that engaging with these
connections will eventually lead to potential work opportunities.
With an overall open rate of 48.45% and a 26.6% click-through
rate, I was able to establish professional connections and increase
website traffic successfully.
8
Website Traffic Channels
9
Website Traffic Visitors
*Both graphs represent a time frame between 4/22-4/27

10
WHAT MAKES A COMPELLING EMAIL FROM A
DIGITAL MARKETER
Research indicates that compelling emails use actionable language,
are personalized when possible, and align the subject line and email
copy. Email campaigns that utilize these copywriting features are
found to be more attractive, engaging, and actionable. Using
actionable language in a subject line clearly notifies the recipients of
the contents of the email, so they know what information they will
receive should they open it. Personalized emails result in action
and engagement because the recipients portray the email to be
personalized specifically for them with relevant content. The email
contents and subject line should align to provide action and
engagement to enhance click-through rates.
WHAT WAS YOUR UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION
TO YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE?
To engage with my readers and drive them to read the article on
my website, I used actionable language to communicate the value
of the email contents. My email subject lines and preview text
contained actionable verbiage to convince the recipients to open
my email. My email header displayed eye-catching elements to pull
the reader in and guide them through the contents of the email
down to the call to action to persuade my audience to complete
the action. Additionally, I used information pertaining to current
events to communicate the value my article has in the current
environment.
11

Email Reflection
Email marketing is a highly effective digital marketing strategy that converts prospects into
customers and establishes customer relationships and loyalty. Email marketers perform well
when they provide the right message, to the right person, at the right time. Effective email
marketers reach out to their audience with personalized, relevant, dynamic messages and craft
actionable verbiage to enhance engagement. Macy’s is a great example.
Macy’s does a phenomenal job at personalizing their emails. To do this, they create very
detailed customer purchase journeys using advanced analytics and remarketing pixels.
Additionally, they create dynamic content in every email and send re-engagement emails.
Macy’s personalizes their emails intending to provide a digital experience that is reflective of
Macy’s in-store experience, and their emails always provide personalized value, such as
discount offers, coupons, and relevant products. Their emails always provide a coupon, a call
to action, and a personalized list of items based on the recipient’s previous purchases,
searches, and interests.
IN A FEW SENTENCES, WHAT DO EMAIL MARKETERS DO WELL?
WHAT DO THEY DO POORLY?
Email marketing is a great way to capitalize on digital marketing, but, if utilized too much, it can
provide the opposite effect. While it is crucial to sculpt an email marketing strategy that
provides personalized, relevant, and dynamic messages to the right audience, it is also essential
to ensure you are not overestimating or underestimating the frequency with which your
subscribers would like to hear from you. Digital marketers need to balance the need to
promote the brand with the desire to avoid overstimulating your audience. Receiving too
many emails too frequently from a brand will cause recipients to unsubscribe instead of
making a purchase. While Macy’s is an excellent example of a brand that does email marketing
well, they also have some unsatisfactory qualities in their strategy. Macy’s sends emails to their
subscribers too frequently, with the average subscriber receiving approximately five to seven
emails in one week. Macy’s should conduct a survey among subscribers to determine the
desired email frequency preferences.

Segmenting email marketing lists is crucial to achieving a successful email campaign. All buyers are different and need to be segmented
into various segments to be able to tailor content to meet the needs of each type of customer. I would segment my audience based
on demographics, geographic area, past purchases, and email engagement to provide relevant and actionable content to the recipients.
According to Campaign Monitor, "Personalized email marketing is proven to increase open rates and drive revenue by as much as
760% because it helps marketers give subscribers more relevant, individualized content." I would leverage personalization in my
strategy to tailor the content to make my customers feel like the email was written specifically for them. To increase sales, boost
engagement, and strengthen the customer experience, I would include personalized elements in my emails utilizing data collected from
various sources and stored in my CRM program. These elements would consist of personalized subject lines, suggestions for products
or services relevant to the individual based on purchase history, and location-specific content.
Based on my customer's interests and interactions, I can deliver personalized experiences with relevant and dynamic messages,
including personalized offers, to meet the preferences and needs of my consumers. In addition, I can extend my personalization
strategy by sending welcome emails, follow-up emails, and remarketing emails to build trust and strengthen customer relationships.
Additionally, upon initial interaction, I would provide a survey that allows new subscribers to communicate and subscribe to my emails
with the frequency of their choosing to ensure I don't overestimate or underestimate how often they desire to hear from me.
If I were in charge of an email marketing program, I would implement a strategy that provides the right message, to the right person,
at the right time. I would cultivate personalized, relevant, dynamic messages, and craft actionable verbiage to enhance engagement. To
do this, I would segment my marketing lists and provide personalized experiences that deliver results using a customer relationship
management program. A CRM program would allow me to collect relevant data and information that can be easily updated through
the customer's journey.
EMAIL REFLECTION
IF YOU WERE IN CHARGE OF AN EMAIL MARKETING PROGRAM, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR
STRATEGY FOR SEGMENTATION, PERSONALIZATION (OFFERS, MESSAGES, ETC)?
Segmentation:
Personalization:
Offers/Messages: