Central to these changes are initiatives such as Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) and Link Tracking Protection, along with global data protection laws. These developments have necessitated a re-evaluation of traditional email metrics, particularly open and click rates. So, is technology truly undermining email marketing, or is it simply prompting us to adapt?

The evolving landscape of email marketing

Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection (MPP), introduced in iOS 15 (September 2021), shook the marketing world. It stopped senders from accurately knowing when recipients opened emails on Apple devices. This was done by pre-loading email content, regardless of whether users actually opened the messages. The result? Artificially inflated open rates which means this metric no longer reflects true user engagement.

Here’s how it works: MPP is estimated to be enabled on about 97% of Apple iPhone devices. When a user with MPP enabled receives an email, Apple’s servers automatically download the email’s content, including the tracking pixel used to record opens. This process occurs whether or not the recipient actually views the message. As a result, Apple Mail users began showing nearly 100% open rates. While this may seem like a marketer’s dream, it actually creates a nightmare for accurate measurement.

In 2023, Apple extended its privacy features with Link Tracking Protection. This stripped tracking parameters from links in emails opened on Apple Mail. This made it harder for marketers to track user journeys and attribute conversions. Many email links use UTM parameters and other tracking codes. These codes help marketers understand which campaigns drive traffic and conversions. With these parameters removed, the connection between email engagement and website behavior became much harder to establish.

These changes were not isolated. They were part of a broader privacy movement. This movement included:

• GDPR in Europe, with its strict requirements for consent and data minimization.
• CCPA and other US state-level privacy laws, give consumers more control over their personal information.
• Similar regulations emerging globally, from Brazil’s LGPD to China’s PIPL.
• Growing consumer awareness about data privacy and increasing expectations for transparency.
• Similar privacy initiatives from other tech giants like Google, phasing out third-party cookies in Chrome.

The timing of Apple’s changes was particularly relevant as marketers were becoming more sophisticated with email automation and personalization—techniques that relied heavily on open tracking. Many marketers had invested significantly in platforms and strategies that suddenly faced these fundamental challenges.

The marketer’s dilemma

Marketers who relied on open rates as a key performance indicator have faced significant challenges due to recent changes in email tracking. These challenges extend beyond simple reporting issues:

• Unreliable metrics: Open rates became artificially inflated, making it difficult to gauge true engagement. Many marketers experienced a sudden spike in open rates from 15-25% to 40-60%, leading to confusion about actual performance.
• Disrupted automations:  Email sequences that relied on opens for triggering actions needed re-evaluation. For example, re-engagement campaigns intended to send follow-up emails to non-openers failed to work properly because most recipients appeared to have opened their emails.
• Segmentation challenges: Lists used to categorize “engaged” and “unengaged” users based on open rates have become less accurate. This inaccuracy affects everything from managing sender reputation to list cleaning practices.
• A/B testing complications: Testing subject lines based on open rates is no longer reliable. Many marketers have used this practice over the years, only to find their testing strategies compromised.
• Deliverability concerns: Some email deliverability practices relied on engagement metrics, including opens, to maintain good inbox placement. The artificial inflation of these metrics required new approaches to maintaining sender reputation.
• Revenue attribution struggles: Businesses that depend on email for revenue generation find it more challenging to link email campaigns to sales without reliable tracking from email clicks to website conversions.

The marketing industry has shown remarkable resilience. Despite initial fears that these changes might signal the end of email marketing, both marketers and technology platforms have embraced them.

At Dotdigital, for instance, we’ve shifted our focus to click rates and other engagement metrics. To make sure these clicks and engagements are actually from humans and not just automated systems, Dotdigital offers Non-Human interaction (NHI) filters.

Think of these filters as a way to clean up your reports. They’re designed to spot and remove activity from things like security programs that automatically check emails. This means when you look at your engagement numbers, you’re seeing a more accurate picture of how real people are interacting with your emails.

By turning on the NHI filter in your Dotdigital settings, you can have more confidence in your reports. They become more reliable because the filters use a smart system to tell the difference between human behavior and likely machine activity. This helps you get a clearer understanding of what your audience is truly engaging with.

Thriving in the age of data privacy

Yes, Apple’s shifts have undeniably changed the email game. But email isn’t going anywhere, it’s thriving. Our 2025 Global Benchmark Report shows that email sends are up by 23.9% globally. This is a clear indicator that email maintains its status as a key channel for brands. 

We also know that 73% of consumers still prefer email as their primary marketing channel. That’s because email offers something unique: a direct, personalized, and permission-based connection.

The good news? The email industry; both marketers and tech platforms, has embraced the changes. The industry has actively chosen to work with, rather than against, the tech giants to align on this new approach. Where MPP could have thrown us off course, marketers and platforms have adapted and strengthened. We’re trading vanity metrics and focusing on what really matters – engagement.

Here’s how to make the most of email in a privacy-focused world: 

1. Deepen customer relationships

Go beyond the transaction. Focus on building genuine connections with your subscribers to ensure the channel remains a favorite. Deliver value by creating high-quality, engaging content that provides real value to your subscribers. Engagement relies on your emails offering something to the subscriber. 

Make sure not every email is pushing a sale or an action and add in editorial, content-based sends to your email calendar. This could be a letter from your founder to celebrate a business milestone or relevant national day, behind the scenes glimpses of your latest photoshoot, and so on. 

Make it a two-way conversation. Ask your customers for feedback and analyze their preferences and engagement patterns to understand what they like. Then, provide content that aligns with their interests. By offering engaging content, not just calls-to-action, you can deepen customer relationships and maintain the value of your emails.

2. Personalize, personalize, personalize

In a similar vain, personalization is key to keeping your audience engaged with your emails. Move beyond basic name personalization and delve into more sophisticated and impactful personalization. Understand your audience’s preferences, behaviors, and needs, and personalize your messaging accordingly. Use dynamic content to deliver personalized experiences that resonate with each individual subscriber at scale.

3. Prioritize first and zero-party data

As third-party cookies decline, first-party data becomes increasingly valuable. This type of data is collected directly from your customers through their interactions with your brand, such as purchases, website activity, and customer service interactions. Since this data is owned by you, it remains unaffected by external changes, such as updates from Apple.

In addition to first-party data, zero-party data is also important. Zero-party data refers to information that customers willingly share with you, such as through surveys, forms, and preference centers. This type of data is incredibly valuable because it reflects customers’ explicit interests and preferences.

By prioritizing both first-party and zero-party data, you can build a strong and reliable dataset that you own. This information can drive your strategy, enabling you to create targeted and effective campaigns that resonate with your audience. Be sure to regularly collect and update this data to maintain its accuracy and relevance.

4. Think beyond the inbox

The digital landscape is constantly changing, and putting all your eggs in one basket can be risky. Circumstances often shift unexpectedly, so it’s important to future-proof your connections by amplifying your email marketing with cross-channel tactics

Integrate email with other channels like SMS, web personalization, and push notifications to create a seamless cross-channel customer experience. This allows you to reach your audience across multiple touchpoints and maintain consistent engagement. While email is a key channel for engagement, diversifying and broadening your reach is only a good thing and future-proofs your reach from any more changes to the way we work now.

5. Measure what matters

It’s time to ditch the vanity metrics and embrace the data that truly reflects your email performance. 

Clicks

Clicks are the gold standard for measuring email engagement. Unlike opens, which can occur passively, clicks indicate that subscribers have taken intentional action. They reflect a genuine interest in your content and are a more reliable measure of engagement.

With increasing link tracking protection measures traditional open rates are becoming less accurate. These protections often mask or block the tracking pixels used to register opens. However, clicks remain a direct and verifiable action.

By setting clicks as your primary engagement metric in Dotdigital, you gain a clear and accurate picture of how your audience interacts with your email content, even amidst evolving privacy landscapes. This allows you to:

• Pinpoint high-performing links: Identify which content resonates most strongly with your subscribers.
• Optimize for engagement: Refine your messaging and offers based on concrete click data.
• Maintain reliable reporting: Secure accurate insights regardless of link tracking protection.

You can also track:

• Conversions: Go beyond the click and track what happens next. Are subscribers completing purchases, filling out forms, or taking other desired actions? This reveals the real impact of your emails.
• Track over time: Track your opens and clicks over time, as long as there isn’t a huge change in external factors (e.g. another big iOS update), these metrics will all be impacted in the same way month to month and send to send. This means you can still see if your emails are seeing more or less engagement over time and from campaign to campaign.
• Revenue attribution: Don’t just focus on single touchpoints. Analyze the entire customer journey to understand how email contributes to revenue generation.
• Deliverability: Keep a close eye on inbox placement and spam complaints to ensure your emails are reaching your audience.
• List growth: Monitor your subscriber list growth rate to ensure your audience is expanding. A healthy growth rate shows your strategy is attracting new, interested customers.
• Churn: Activity track your unsubscribe rate and understand the reasons behind subscriber loss. High churn may indicate problems with content relevance, email frequency, or list quality, all tied to your email strategy. 

By focusing on these metrics, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of your audience’s behavior and the effectiveness of your email strategy.

Benchmark your way to strategic advantage

To gain a deeper understanding of industry trends and benchmarks, check out Dotdigital’s Global Benchmark Report. This report provides invaluable insights into how your email performance compares to others in your industry and region.

Use it to identify areas for improvement, set realistic goals, and track your progress over time. By benchmarking your performance, you can make informed decisions and optimize your email strategy for maximum impact. Consider this report your best friend and ultimate strategic marketing tool.

The bottom line

Tech changes have undoubtedly transformed email marketing, but they haven’t killed it. Instead, they’ve spurred innovation and a focus on genuine engagement. By adapting to these changes, you can build stronger, more trusted relationships with your audiences. Accepting, understanding, and adapting to these changes has made sure that email marketing is evolving with consumer attitudes, rather than being rigid and getting left behind.

While this report provides valuable context, it’s essential to focus on your own metrics. Optimization is crucial for continuous improvement, thereby helping your brand stay competitive. It’s about learning what truly resonates with your audience through regular testing and refinement.

In this guide, we explore what marketing optimization is and provide practical strategies. We’ll also show you how Dotdigital’s features can help you achieve better results with every email you send.

What is marketing optimization?

Marketing optimization is all about tweaking and improving your marketing campaigns to get the best possible results. It’s like fine-tuning a car engine to make it run smoother and faster. Instead of just guessing what might work, you use data and analysis to figure out what’s actually effective and what isn’t.

It’s not a one-and-done deal; it’s an ongoing process of testing, analyzing, and making adjustments. The goal is to make your marketing more efficient and effective, whether that’s driving more traffic to your website, generating more leads, boosting conversion rates, keeping customers around longer, or getting the most bang for your buck.

Think of it as a scientific approach to marketing. You set clear goals, identify key performance indicators (KPIs), make changes, and then measure the impact of those changes. This way, you can learn what really clicks with your audience and keep refining your strategies to get better and better results. 

Key marketing optimization strategies

So, how do you actually do marketing optimization? Let’s dive into some of the most effective strategies you can start using today.

1. A/B split testing

Ever wonder if your marketing could be doing more? Like, a lot more? That’s where split testing comes in. It’s like a friendly competition between different versions of your marketing materials to see which one your audience loves best. Think of it as a way to let your customers vote with their clicks.

Why is split testing so effective?

Imagine you have two ideas for an email subject line. Instead of guessing which one is better, you can use split testing. You send one subject line to half of your audience and the other subject line to the other half. Then, you can see which one gets more opens. Just like that, you know which one works better. Then you can use this knowledge when writing future subject lines. 

Split testing is incredibly useful because it eliminates the guessing game from the process. Instead, you’re using real data to make informed decisions. This means:

• Data-driven decisions: Forget subjective opinions and “best guesses.” Split testing provides concrete data to support your marketing choices, leading to more effective campaigns and a higher return on investment. You’re no longer relying on instincts; you’re basing your decisions on actual results.
• Improved performance: By consistently identifying and implementing the strategies that work best, you can enhance your campaigns over time and achieve progressively better results. It’s a process of incremental improvement, where each test builds on the insights gained from the previous ones.
• Deeper audience understanding: Split testing offers valuable insights into your audience’s preferences, behaviors, and pain points. By understanding what motivates your audience, you can tailor your messaging for maximum impact and build stronger relationships.
• Increased ROI: Optimized campaigns lead to higher engagement rates, improved conversion rates, and ultimately, a stronger return on your marketing investment. By focusing on what works, you maximize the effectiveness of your marketing spend.

Split testing made simple with Dotdigital

Dotdigital’s split testing tool makes it easy to create different variations of your campaign. You can adapt subject lines, ‘friendly from’ names, and campaign creatives to test and compare.

Once your campaign is live, you can easily see in the reporting tab which version performed better and use that as a basis for your next test.

Just remember to test one thing at a time so you can be sure which change generated the boost in engagement.

Split testing ideas to get you started

Are you not sure where to begin split testing? Here are some ideas to kickstart your efforts:

Subject line variations

Experiment with different lengths, tones, keywords, and formats. Try incorporating emojis, posing questions, creating a sense of urgency (FOMO), or personalizing subject lines.

Friendly from name

Test different sender names, titles, or even brand personas. Vary your friendly from sender. Perhaps you send a newsletter – give it a name. Sending an end of year message from your CEO? Use their name as the sender. Adding variation and context in this way takes moments but can really engage your audience. 

First name personalization

Test the difference between ‘Hey there’ and ‘Hey, first name’. Adding a simple personalization shouldn’t take you long and you’ll soon be able to see if it’s worth it. 

Email copy

Explore different headlines, body copy, tone of voice, and storytelling approaches. Test different lengths of copy and see if shorter, more concise messages perform better than longer, more detailed ones.

Call-to-action (CTA)

Test out your CTA buttons. Something as simple as changing it from ‘learn more’ to ‘buy now’ or vice versa can see really different results. Play around with CTA language, placement, and frequency to gain a stronger understanding of how to drive clicks.  

Images and visuals

Test different image styles, sizes, placements, and even the use of GIFs or videos. See what kind of visuals best capture your audience’s attention and drive engagement.

Send time optimization

Experiment with sending your campaigns at different times of day or days of the week. Analyze your data to identify the optimal send times for your specific audience.

2. Conversion rate optimization (CRO)

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is all about boosting the percentage of website visitors who take a desired action, like making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, downloading a resource, or requesting a demo. It’s about making the most of your existing traffic by turning more visitors into active users.

Landing page optimization

Your landing page is often the first impression potential customers have of your brand. It’s where they arrive after clicking on an ad, email link, or social media post. Optimizing these pages is key to maximizing conversions. Focus on:

• Clear and concise messaging: Your headline and copy should quickly communicate your value proposition and what you’re offering. Avoid jargon and highlight the benefits for the visitor. Keep it short and to the point.
• Compelling call-to-action(CTA): Your CTA should stand out and clearly indicate the action you want visitors to take (e.g., “Shop Now,” “Get Your Free Trial,” “Download the Guide”). Use action-oriented language and make the button visually appealing.
• Persuasive design: The layout, colors, and imagery should create a visually appealing and trustworthy experience. Ensure your landing page is easy to navigate and mobile-friendly.
• Social proof: Include testimonials, reviews, or case studies to build trust and credibility. Seeing that others have benefited from your product or service can significantly influence conversion rates.

Personalization

Personalization is a necessity for boosting conversion rates. By tailoring the user experience to each individual visitor, you create a more engaging and relevant journey that drives conversions. Dotdigital’s powerful personalization engine, Fresh Relevance, provides the advanced tools you need to use your customer data and deliver truly personalized content and offers.

Dynamic personalized banners

Your hero banner is prime real estate. It’s the first thing visitors see, and it needs to grab their attention and instantly communicate your site’s value. Dynamic personalized banners allow you to display the most relevant images and messaging to each visitor, based on their past behavior, demographics, or other key data points. This means your headline will be more likely to keep your visitors engaged.

Product recommendations

Fresh Relevance takes product recommendations to the next level, allowing you to customize not just what products are shown, but also how they’re recommended. This granular control lets you optimize for different stages of the customer journey and maximize engagement. Here are just a few strategies you can implement:

• Homepage: Experiment with different recommendation strategies on your homepage. A/B test “Bestsellers” against “New Arrivals” to discover which drives longer browsing sessions and higher click-through rates.
• Product listing pages: Make shopping a breeze by reducing friction. Show recommendations that are perfectly tailored to each shopper, preventing them from feeling overwhelmed by too many choices.
• Product detail pages: Turn every product detail page into an opportunity for upselling and cross-selling by suggesting complementary products that enhance the main item.
• Cart pages: Give shoppers a final chance to discover more items they might love before they check out.

Countdown timers

Countdown timers can be a great way to create a sense of urgency and inspire immediate action from your visitors. By showcasing limited-time offers or deals that are about to expire, you tap into the psychology of scarcity, which can help boost conversions. 

Form optimization

Forms are often a necessary step in the conversion process, but they can also be a major source of friction. Optimizing your forms is essential for making it as easy as possible for visitors to convert. Consider these best practices:

• Keep it short and sweet: Only ask for the information you absolutely need. The longer the form, the more likely visitors are to abandon it.
• Clear field labels: Use clear and concise labels for each field to avoid confusion.
• Easy-to-use fields: Make sure the form fields are easy to fill out on all devices.
• Progress indicators: If the form has multiple steps, use a progress indicator to show visitors how far they have to go.
• Error messages: Provide clear and helpful error messages if a visitor enters incorrect information.
• Security and privacy: Reassure visitors that their information is safe and secure. Display security badges or privacy policy links.

3. Customer segmentation

Customers are not all alike; they have unique needs, preferences, and motivations. Trying to communicate with everyone using the same generic message is like shouting into a crowd—you’re probably going to go unnoticed.

That’s where customer segmentation comes in. It’s a key way of optimizing your marketing. Segmentation helps break down your audience into smaller groups with similar traits, allowing you to customize your messaging and make a bigger impact.

Each audience persona has its own set of preferences. Tools like a single customer view (SCV) and persona lookalike tools are really helpful in uncovering these differences and creating more effective segments.

Single customer view (SCV)

A SCV is a central hub for all your customer data. It collects information from different sources—like website interactions, purchase history, email responses, and CRM data—to create a complete picture of each customer.

Having this thorough understanding helps you spot patterns and preferences that might otherwise go unnoticed.  For example, you might discover that one segment of customers prefers a casual, conversational tone in your marketing, while another segment responds more positively to a formal approach.

Finding your lookalikes with persona tools

Once you’ve identified these preferences, you can use a persona lookalike tool to create segments based on these insights. This tool helps you find other customers who share similar characteristics with your identified personas. By segmenting your future sends to fit these preferences, you can tailor your messaging to resonate more effectively with each group.

Segment your customers

By digging deep into your results and using these tools, you can create highly targeted segments that reflect the unique preferences of your audience. This allows you to optimize your campaigns for each segment, leading to higher engagement and better overall performance.

Measure the metrics that matter

Tracking the right metrics is important for understanding how well your optimization efforts are working. Here are some key performance indicators (KPIs) you should keep an eye on:

• Open rate: This is the percentage of recipients who opened your email. If your open rate is low, it might be time to rethink your subject line or sender name. Even though overall open rates are less reliable since Apple’s updates, tracking your open rates from send to send will give you an insight into each campaign’s performance.
• Click-through rate (CTR): This measures the percentage of recipients who clicked on a link in your email. A high CTR indicates that your email content and call-to-action are compelling.
• Click-to-open rate (CTOR): This is the percentage of recipients who opened your email and then clicked on a link. CTOR gives you a deeper insight into how engaging your email content is for those who open it.
• Conversion rate: This is the percentage of recipients who completed a desired action, like making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or downloading a resource. Your conversion rate is a key indicator of your campaign’s overall success.
• Unsubscribe rate: This is the percentage of recipients who unsubscribed from your email list. A high unsubscribe rate could signal problems with your email content, frequency, or targeting.
• Bounce rate: This is the percentage of emails that were not delivered to the recipient’s inbox. High bounce rates can hurt your sender reputation and should be addressed promptly.

By keeping track of these metrics, you can gain valuable insights into your audience’s behavior and preferences, allowing you to fine-tune your marketing for even better results.

Optimize your marketing with Dotdigital

Marketing optimization is a continuous journey, and Dotdigital is your ideal partner every step of the way. By using the strategies in this guide and tapping into Dotdigital’s features, you can enhance engagement, boost conversions, and reach your marketing objectives. With tools for A/B testing, segmentation, automation, and analytics, Dotdigital equips you with everything you need to get the most out of your marketing.

Collaborate to innovate

In the lead-up to hack week, any staff member can pitch an idea. These ideas might take inspiration from our roadmap, involve trying out an emerging technology, or simply aim to resolve a pain point. Some years have a theme; this year, teams were encouraged to build both for and with AI. 

Hackers – including engineers, data scientists, and QAs – form small groups and adopt these ideas, or come up with their own schemes. Each group has four days to work on their project and prepare a short video presentation. Judges are appointed from across the company to pick their winners in three categories (most wanted, most innovative, and best video). There is a live audience vote in two further categories (best team name and best hack). 

2023 saw an exceptional crop of hacks with some very impressive videos. Let’s get to it.

Most wanted (and best hack)

Hack name: HappierKat!

Team name: That feeling when you look down expectantly for the second half of your sandwich only to realize that you’ve already eaten it 

The winning hack in the most wanted category takes data submitted in surveys, pages and forms and stores this as insight data. This unlocks various capabilities, such as being able to customize the email sent to form respondents. By pushing submitted data into an insight data collection, we can also use this data in program decision nodes to set marketing preferences, based on checked values in the submission.

As well as being picked by the judges, the Team That feeling … sandwich also saw off strong competition to be voted best hack by the audience.

Best video

Hack name: GPTranslatortron: Automate translations for in–app help, app translations, campaign translations, and perhaps even chat 

Team name: Lost in Translation

Our platform is already available in 15 languages, but can we use WinstonAI to automate translation as we add more features? Even better, can we offer translation for the text that merchants input into Easy Editor? Can we enable translation in chat threads? GPTranslatortron delivers a resounding Yes to all of these questions.

Most innovative

Hack name: Dotdigital Automation Alchemists: Using natural language to automate Program generation using GPT4, RAG, and custom models 

Team name: Team Automation Innovate (Team AI)

Inspired by the idea that program building could be automated to save time and cost, this hack explored the use of retrieval-augmented generation to teach ChatGPT about our programs. The team used Microsoft’s Azure AI Search platform to store and index vector embeddings, which then allowed WinstonAI to interpret a prompt containing a program description like:

At 1 pm on the day the contact is created, send the message “Hello there General Kenobi you are a bold one.”   

Best team name

That feeling when you look down expectantly for the second half of your sandwich only to realize that you’ve already eaten it

Arguably the longest and silliest team name in the history of hack week, That feeling … sandwich swept the board with over 40% of the popular vote. 

Notable mention

Hack name: Watercooler Roulette 

Team name: Culture Catalyst

A worthy runner-up in the best video category, this hack was all about team bonding and morale for remote teams. A series of Slack messages prompt interactions and conversations between employees who might not have the opportunity to meet in person around a physical water cooler.

Why is split-testing important?

Split-testing allows you to compare and contrast the impact of various elements of your email marketing campaign. By measuring your subscribers’ reactions to these changes, you can optimize your campaigns to get the results you want.

Testing allows you understand which tactics get the best results, while helping you keep your marketing fresh.

Depending on what you’re looking to improve, there are endless opportunities for you to discover what drives your subscribers into action.

What email marketing elements can you split-test?

While there are endless variations of tests you can perform on your email marketing, there are five core elements you should be regularly testing to ensure you’re getting the best results possible.

1. Subject lines

Definitely the most common element tested by email marketers, subject lines are the first thing a reader sees when your email lands in the inbox. You should be regularly testing this part of your marketing to avoid stagnation. You don’t want readers to get so used to your subject lines that they stop engaging them and driving them into action.

Ways you can test subject lines include:

• Length: testing short vs. long subject lines.
• Personalization: using first name, last name, or even location.
• Emojis: do your audience engage more with emojis or less?
• Promotions or offers: leading with “free shipping” or “Open for 20% off everything”

2. Pre-header text

The pre-header text is one of the most underutilized elements of email marketing. As the first line in your email marketing campaign, pre-header text works in partnership with your subject line to drive subscribers to open your email.

By utilizing pre-header text, you can give readers a “sneak peek” at the in-email content, or personalize it to complement the offers in your campaign. By split-testing these tactics, you can see whether your pre-headers have an impact on a reader’s decision to open your email.

3. Send time

Landing in the reader’s inbox at the right time determines whether or not your email gets opened. If you always send your email newsletter at 12pm on Friday afternoons, you’re likely to be contending with a large number of other brands.

Varying when and on what day your audience receives your marketing prevents your marketing from becoming stagnant and also gives you a clearer insight into your audience. Maybe your target audience is more receptive to emails waiting for them as they commute to work or back home at the end of the day. The only way you’ll know is to test.

4. Call-to-action

Getting your call-to-action (CTA) right in your campaign is essential to getting the results that drive revenue and growth.

In your email marketing campaigns, you need your CTAs to stand out. Thanks to split-testing, you can test the size, color, and text of your CTA buttons. Doing this will help you discover the style and copy that drives readers to convert. If you’re looking to improve your click-through rate (CTR) this is an essential element to be testing.

5. Content

The content in your email can be changed in so many ways, so understanding what works with your audience is an insight you can’t underestimate.

To unlock this information, you should be testing your content regularly:

• Length: how much are readers willing to scroll or reader?
• Images: do readers prefer a visual email or are they looking for copy and insight?
• Language: are readers more receptive to positive or negative language?
• Personalization: does using a name or location-based personalization improve your readers’ response to your marketing?

How to successfully split-test your email campaigns

Every email marketer knows that split-testing isn’t just splitting hairs. It’s not done just to check a box. It serves a powerful purpose that can improve your marketing results ten-fold. But for you to reap the rewards, you need to ensure your tests are set-up for success

1. Set measurable objectives

What are you trying to improve? Before you set-up your test, you need to decide how you’re going to measure your success. This may include:

• Open rates
• Click-through rates
• Click-to-open rates
• Revenue
• Conversions

2. Choose what to test

Depending on what results you what to see, you may decide to test very specific elements. If you’re looking at open rates, subject lines and pre-header text are the obvious elements to choose from. Testing CTAs will help you improve your CTR, while testing the content and send time may deliver the results that help you improve your revenue.

3. Consider your sample size

You need to pick a realistic sample size to get meaningful results. Too small and you won’t learn a great deal, but too large might take too long to get your results.

For small audiences, you can test on larger sample size, such as 10% or 20% of your mailing list. If you have a larger database, testing on the same amount of people will require a sample size of about 5%.

4. Optimization

Once you’ve discovered what tactics are most popular with your audience, it’s time to implement them. What has your test uncovered? Do your audience prefer visual, image-based emails or insightful, copy-based content. Are they more engaged with subject lines that contain emojis than personalization? Whatever insights your test has uncovered, it’s time to optimize your strategy to drive your results.

5. Test, test, and test again

The only way to ensure your marketing continues to land with impact in your subscriber’s inbox is by frequent testing.

Just because changing the time of day your email arrives works after initial testing, doesn’t mean it always will. If you don’t change your tactics, your results will stall as readers become bored of receiving that same thing, time and again. The only way to surprise and delight your customers is to keep your material fresh. Continuous testing will help you achieve this.

The fundamentals of testing

Testing and tracking don’t have to be hard. We’ve got an easy-to-use worksheet to help your compare and contrast your testing results. You’ll be able to easily identify which strategies work for your marketing database and spot trends in your audiences so you can continually improve your marketing. Download the fundamentals of testing today.

So, the question on everyone’s lips: what are the components that can and should be tested in an email marketing campaign?

Here are the key ones to consider:

1. Email subject line

It’s an obvious one to start with – and possibly one of the most important elements of an email marketing campaign. Ultimately, whether or not your recipient opens your email rests on the language, context, and relevancy of the subject line. Remember, people’s inboxes might be full to the brim – so standing out is key. We’ve spoken previously about how to write the best email subject line, but the only way to really be sure what will work best is to test! Plus, don’t forget the preheader text which you can also test. This handy bit of extra info supports the subject line in convincing readers to open the email.

2. Call to action

The call to action is the component of an email that propels the recipient towards a conversion point, usually via a click-through. But which call to action works best for your recipients? Test different options to see if they impact results differently.

Here are a couple to consider:

• Language variations: ‘download now’ or ‘get yours here’
• Button variations: circular, square, or plain text?
• Color variations: pink, green, or blue?

3. Images

The issue of whether or not to include images in your email marketing campaign is one that divides opinion in the industry. If recipients are likely to have images turned off as standard then there’s an argument for using images sparingly in your messages. However, if lots of your recipients have added you to their safe-senders list, then you could get better results by increasing the number of images in your message. The only way to know for sure is to test. And don’t forget to segment your database depending on what you find out! In any case, it’s always best to populate the alt text with information related to the image – giving readers some context should images not automatically appear.

4. Email from address

The ‘from’ address is another element that can have a big effect on open rates. Is it better to use your business name as the from address or does an individual, maybe your MD, work better? A known contact can be particularly successful for B2B companies, for example, because it’s especially relevant to the recipient. For higher education institutions or learning organizations, perhaps a team name would be more appropriate. Test a few different possibilities and see what gets the best results for your email marketing campaigns.

5. Email marketing personalization

Personalization is an aspect of email marketing that has, to an extent, been overused in recent times. Sometimes its effectiveness is muted and, at worst, can look spammy. Try using different forms of personalization to see whether it works for your recipients. Don’t just change the odd word or piece of copy, change elements of the creative as well. Or better yet, test out your messages and content on different segment types, identifying what works well for whom.

Psst!

If you’re an ecommerce brand, Dotdigital’s RFM personas make it easy for you to target the right customer group – based on the recency, frequency, and monetary values of their total purchases. Our automation tool can help you test which RFM group fits better with your message, through split-testing and then sending the email marketing campaign to the group that engages more. Just set your engagement criteria, whether it’s an open, conversion, or purchase. And while our affinity score tool helps you judge which product recommendations are more suited to your individual customers, you can always test whether your recipients in general respond better to personalized recommendations or bestsellers, for instance.

6. Landing page

What happens when your recipients click through? Do they then convert or does your landing page put them off? Try alternative pages for different segments, versus a standalone generic page, and see whether this has an effect. It’s equally important to test your content and creative on the same landing page to see what combination works best.

7. Time of sending

The day and/or time of sending can have a big effect on open rates and conversions. B2B emails generally work better during business hours, whereas high street stores may want to send an email on a Friday to tempt buyers to visit their store the following day. When it comes to ecommerce brands, we all know what has turned usual trends upside down this year. With lots of people working from home, a timely lunchtime or evening email could secure a sale any day of the week.

For those of you who have been using email marketing for some time, you can always look back at your previous campaigns and see if certain sending days or times had a better result. You’ve probably already done some of your testing!

Every company’s audience or recipients will have different preferences or behaviors, so testing and segmentation really is the only way to find out what will work best for your business.

Discover more email marketing tips in our fundamentals of testing worksheet.

There are a wide range of items you can split-test, but for reliable results, each time you split-test you should only change one thing. Otherwise you’ll never really know which change made a difference. For example, let’s say you’re split-testing your landing page.

You want to increase the amount of people that fill in a form. Here’s some of the things you can change on the page:

• Your hero image
• The wording of the button that submits the form
• The order of the blocks on the page
• The position of the form
• The number of fields the prospect needs to fill in
• And more!

However, you can only test one of these things at a time. That doesn’t mean you can’t test them all. It just means that you find the winning outcome for each consideration, then work that winner into the next test. This way you end up with the most optimized outcome possible.

Just because you can only test one variable at a time, however, doesn’t mean you can’t test multiple versions at once. For instance, you can test out as many hero images as you want in a test. Just make sure the variable is in the same category. This is why we don’t tend to say A/B testing at Dotdigital. We’re multi-taskers. And A/B/C/D/etc. testing takes too long to say or write. So, back to our original question, what can you split-test? For your marketing and engagement campaigns, you might consider split-testing:

• Tone of the message
• From-name
• Content, such as imagery or headers
• Order of content
• Subject line
• Call-to-action text
• Call-to-action button size or position
• Pre-header text

Or even…

• Use of emojis

That last one might not seem like a big deal, but consumer credit reporter Experian found that using emojis in their subject lines increased open rates by an amazing 56%. These are the kind of results you can start to see when you start experimenting with split-testing!

Of course, all of these variables can be split-tested with ease within Dotdigital. See for yourself in your account, set up a demo if you don’t already have one or download our ebook today to learn more about the how small changes can amount to big results when you start split-testing.

Facebook Messenger for alerts, reminders and notifications

Facebook Messenger is a great channel to use for sending operational, transactional messages. Already, we’re seeing how companies are supplementing or forgoing apps in favour of using Messenger. Unlike push notifications, companies can see if the notification has been read. Customers can also reply to the message if they need additional support. Combined with the engaging nature of this fun and rich channel and high adoption rates of 1.4 billion and counting, this makes Messenger the perfect channel to use for guiding your customers to improve application completions.

Improve application completions for vacancies

Problem: As a recruitment agency, it’s your business to gather as much information as possible from applicants. After all, if your clients ask for something, you want to have it to hand. But this can make application processes long and sometimes arduous for candidates. Or maybe you are a large company who handles recruitment internally and sees a lot of traffic, but not many completed applications.

Cause: It’s possible candidates are filling out applications on the move, which makes having the necessary documents or information to hand tricky. It may be that they need a break from the application or get distracted by a task at home or at work. Or, they might have a question about the application, or can’t continue due to a technical area.

Solution: More than likely, you are already getting users to create an account. This is useful so they can revisit their applications and save their progress. Simply add an additional step. Include a button that opts them in to Facebook Messenger updates. Briefly explain the value of this, that it will prompt them on additional steps needed to complete their application, such as a passport number, reference contact details, or a proof of citizenship or address.

Users will also be able to reply to these updates. For instance, let’s say they can’t complete an application due to a bug on the site or they are missing a document. Later, they receive an alert to say their application is still in progress. Users can easily reply to the message to let you know about an issue they are having. You can also use Facebook Messenger to alert them about upcoming deadlines, new vacancies, or if they have been successful in their application.

Improve application completions for loans, mortgages, credit cards or overdrafts

Problem: As a financial company, you require a lot of information in order to process an application for a loan, mortgage or overdraft and assess eligibility. But while you see a number of applicants begin your applications, there are a low number completing.

Cause: Much like recruitment candidates, it’s possible your applicants are on the go. This makes it unlikely that they would have everything with them necessary to complete the application. There may be complicated or ambiguous financial terminology applicants are confused by. There could be a number of roadblocks you haven’t considered or are unaware of. Consumers are today empowered by both technology and a wealth of choice for their buying decisions. Without giving your customers a way to speak with you, you will never know what these roadblocks are. They will simply go elsewhere.

Solution: Include the opt-in button to Facebook Messenger updates early on in your application process. This way, you will be able to handle any issues your users are having when they reply to your updates or prompts. This will also give them access to their own adviser who can help guide them through the application. Not only does this improve the likelihood of completion, it also provides an exceptional customer experience.

You can also use Facebook Messenger to improve application completions for:

• student enrollment
• housing lets
• legal matters
• and more.

Any industry who has a consumer base that might require a nudge or feedback to complete an objective or goal will benefit from incorporating Facebook Messenger to their messaging strategy.

See also: Putting the social back into social media with Facebook

The only way to really get an answer to these questions is to experiment by testing and tracking sends with different variables; this is called split testing.

Split tests are perhaps the easiest way to compare ever so slightly different versions of the same email campaign for effectiveness based on key stats like unique opens, clicks or forwards.

So, what can you test?

Pretty much any component of your email message, here are a few ideas:

Subject Lines: Why not try pitting a longer subject line against a shorter one? It might interest you to find out if the word ‘Free’ impacts open rates or if personalizing the subject line affects the campaign in any way.

Calls to Action: Experiment with the positioning, style, and frequency of your calls to action to see which option delivers the best results.

Timing: Try sending on different days and at different times in the day. You may even want to consider testing a weekend send against a weekday one.

From Field: Do people respond better when there is a real name in the ‘from field’ or is it better to send correspondence from your company name? A split test will help you decide….

The nuts & bolts of a split test

Here’s how you actually go about performing a split test once you’ve pinpointed the criteria you’d like to test:

• Select the percentage of your mailing list you wish to test on. If you choose to run a test with 30% of your list then 15% will receive version A and 15% will get version B.
• Measure your results to establish which one was most successful

• Send the best performing email to the remaining 70% of your database
• Guess what? Dotdigital will automate this for you…read more

Important Tip

Split tests can arm your marketing team with powerful data that can help shape and improve your future e-marketing efforts.

However, remember to only test one variable at a time. If you send an A/B split test with varying subject lines at different times in the day you’ll not be able to identify whether it was the timing or the subject line that contributed to the better/poorer result.