From the Vertical Response Marketing Blog
One of the best repositories of useful marketing tools and data you can get is located at the Vertical Response web site. We found this list of attributes you can test in your email extremely helpful. If you can think of any others not listed, please let us know.
- From Name: The most effective From Name is what your recipients recognize you by or expect to hear from. Not sure what that is? TEST IT!
- Subject Line: Send 10% of your email list one subject line, and another 10% a different subject line. Then, look at which subject line performs better and send the remaining 80% the more successful subject line. Easy as pie!
- Pre-Header: Your pre-header should support or complement your subject line. For example, your subject line tells your recipients you’re having a sale (Get 50% Off for a Limited Time Only) and your pre-header explains to the recipient what items are on sale (Save on Designer Jeans & Jackets).
- Headline: Your headline should clearly explain what your email is about and what’s in it for the recipient.
- How You State Your Offer: Are you promoting a half off sale? 50% off? Buy One Get One FREE? The way you say it can affect the success – so make sure to test it before you go full throttle!
- Button vs. Text Link: At VR we have found people like to click on buttons more than text links in our emails and newsletters. Click here to easily create and add buttons to your emails and see if it’s the same for you.
- Color of Your Button/CTA: If you get the VRBuzz, you may have noticed a change in the button color. That’s because we tested blue buttons vs. green buttons and green was the lucky winner! Test your button color and see what color your recipient’s eye is more drawn to.
- Placement of Call to Action: Test where you put your Call to Action in your email and/or how many you include. Your click-through rate will help you determine what worked and what didn’t.
- Images: Test how many images you have, where you put them and what images you use. Remember to always use alt-text too!
- Testimonials: Test to see if customer testimonials help your emails perform better. If not, use the space for something that’s more effective!
You can also, check out their guides: Testing, Testing 1,2,3: Email Testing for Everyone on the VR Guides Page to learn more about testing different elements of your emails.
