Author: insegment

In a recent Direct Marketing News post, ExactTarget marketing research principal Chad White stressed that just because a majority of email marketers follow certain practices, doesn't mean that those methods are effective. He identified three common myths that still pervade the industry:

1. Test Everything

2. Open Rates are a Primary Factor for Success

3. Have a Campaign-Centric Mentality

These are certainly popular – and misleading – beliefs about email marketing; now that White has identified the problem, let us offer some solutions:

1. Test Everything

In an ideal world, an email marketer would A/B every element of an email, from subject line to color scheme to images and copy. In reality, most marketers don't have the resources or time to test everything out. So what should a marketer do? Choose one or two elements to focus on consistently testing every campaign. We recommend that you focus on areas that will increase the open and click-through rate; therefore, you should always test your subject line and your call-to-action.

2. Open Rates are a Primary Factor for Success

Don't get us wrong; open rates are an important metric, and should be measured. However, just because a user opened your email doesn't necessarily mean that your campaign did its job. If your email has a call-to-action, your primary indicator of success should be the click-through rate and the conversion rate.

3. Have a Campaign-Centric Mentality

Yes, it is a good idea to pay attention to your individual campaigns. But odds are that you send multiple campaigns over time to the same email lists; therefore, it's important for you to consider the lifetime value of every customer, and to make decisions accordingly. Campaign length, the number of campaigns, and the quality and strength of messaging should all be considered. Different customers will react to different messaging; you should never take a blanket approach to email messaging.

Email marketing, while an established and effective marketing medium, is constantly changing. There are a lot of practices to consider; that's why inSegment's email marketing services are crucial to a successful integrated digital marketing campaign. Leave all of the strategy and execution to us!