Tips to Strengthen Your E-mail Campaigns

Tweaks
Van Diest stressed the importance of testing, noting that testing:

• makes you smarter over time;
• can help keep you out of spam filters;
• ensures you get the most "bang for your buck" or at least the most predictable response; and
• allows you to develop a proven concept online before spending money offline.

Test metrics like open rates, clickthroughs and conversion, as well as elements like your header, message and timing. A/B tests test one variable at a time against a control, while multivariate tests test multiple variables within multiple versions of an e-mail. Van Diest said multivariate tests are best for when you're just starting out, and as you find a winning control piece, A/B tests can help refine it.