Timberline Interactive

I send out a lot of client emails here from Timberline. The lists vary in size from 1,000 to 25,000. I have read much about what to do and what not to do when it comes to sending out emails. There are only so many rules you can follow before you want to really know what makes those emails tick, what gives them the best results, what inspires people to take the leap and buy off that email. I hear "Don't put percentages or exclamations in your subject line" but still I see some land right in my inbox. I hear "Don't put big images with little text in your email" but still I see some land that way in my inbox. I hear "Don't send at this time or that time" but they come at all different times. So this, to me, is the year to test. There are a lot of theories out there and some very good ones that I will stick with but I really want to get down in the trenches and see what works best client for client. Depending on what you sell and who your customers are things may be different from industry to industry. I think subject lines and times of day are the first things to start testing. One test at a time so you really know the results you are looking at. I think some tests will be a hit, some will be a miss. The clicks will tell us, the reporting that we see after the send - who clicked on what and who opened what will be a big sign post for us to keep up the testing and know which direction to go with for the next one.

I recently read up on testing on SubscriberMail. Following are what they called some "Key Things to Remember When Testing"

• Testing in email is crucial
• Start testing today--you don't need to have the master plan
• Establish a test protocol
• Be creative and thorough in your testing areas
• Test beyond the click and look at conversions
• Test and review frequency and timing
• Make sure you test accurately with lists
• Always have one change action as a result of a test
• Never stop testing

With the New Year comes resolutions. This will be a big one for me this year. I found this recent quote from Internet Retailer particularly inspiring "The Best Informed E-Retailers Will Become the Leaders in 2009. That is particularly true right now. Web sales are growing despite the recession, which is more than can be said for store chains. Indeed, e-retailing is the only island of hope in a depressed retailing market. That's the good news. The bad news is that everyone wants to move to that island, which means 2009 will be the most competitive year yet in the e-retailing market. It will be the year which likely separates web merchants into two groups: the long-term leaders and the also-rans. This is not a time to retreat; it's your time to shine." So to me shining means knowledge about what your customers want and acting on it. Test, test, test.

Wishing everyone a Healthy, Happy New Year.

Kathie