Now, I can't possibly give you a course on testing in a couple hundred words, but I do want to briefly explain the concept of validity…statistical validity, that is. Without validity, you could end up making a decision with confidence, but using data that was not valid. That's blind confidence, and that's worse than doing no test at all.

I'll use an example to explain statistical validity. Imagine that you have a quarter and a penny. I want you to flip each coin 100 times, and for each heads you get, pretend I'm going to pay you $20. Which coin will earn you more money?

I'm a nice guy, though, and I let you do a test before deciding which to use. So, you flip the quarter and get 2 heads in a row. You flip the penny and get 1 head and 1 tail. So, you quickly decide to use the quarter for your 100 flips.

Now, I know you're smart enough to know, logically, that flipping twice isn't enough to make such a conclusion. Suppose, though, that you flip each 50 times or 500 times. As you do more flips of each and count the results, you'll get a closer approximation of the "real" answer, which we know to be 50/50.

With valid tests, we use statistical formulas to determine how big your sample size should be (the number of times you flip the coins in this case) and when the difference in results between the two options can be deemed truly "different," statistically. We typically apply a confidence level to the result saying, for example, that we're 95% confident that the difference in the two options is not simply a difference due to normal statistical variation but is truly different.

It can get much more complicated, but this is one of the core principles behind some of the types of testing we do. To confirm, though, there are many other factors that go into creating a valid test. Knowing how to do these tests correctly can give you the confidence that when you make a decision that it is, in fact, the best decision given the time and money you have to conduct them. And that's one of the reasons I recently got certified in online testing…to be sure we're doing the best job we can when we help you perform your tests.

What's a preference center?
A preference center is where your email subscribers can go to add or update important information about themselves, such as their email address, name, desired email frequency, and anything that may help you tailor your emails to them. Other important preferences can include preferred mobile devices or social media preferences. Fred Tabsharani mentions an interesting comment in his article The Preference Center, Mission Control for Your Subscribers: "…subscribers may prefer to utilize Twitter for customer service inquiries, while other subscribers may choose to receive more 'entertaining' messaging via Facebook."

Getting users to visit the preference center
So, you're probably wondering how you can actually get a busy subscriber to enter information in your preference center. There are numerous ways, but here are few quick ideas:

• Opt-in — Your optin form needs to be as short as possible to encourage the maximum signups, but your optin form begins the relationship and is where your users are given the reasons for signing up. When they offer their email address and first name, for example, they've given you the first set of information for initiating a relationship. After signup, you have to give good reason to provide more.
  
  
• Welcome email — This is one of the best places to request a little more information. They've just signed up, and they will likely feel good about what they hope to learn or receive from you. Combine that with the fact that the welcome email is one of the most read emails of all emails! So, gently ask them to share a little more information, and try making a personal request — "Hi Sandy, thanks so much for signing up. Would you please share your single biggest challenge in [fill in the blank]? We really appreciate your feedback and look forward to helping out however possible…" You get the idea. People will respond to that plea because it's clear that you're going to help them.
  
  
• Ongoing emails — As you send out emails, make it easy for subscribers to update their name (e.g. when someone gets married), their email address, email frequency, or anything else that they've provided along the way. Put a link in the footer, thus making it easy to always find and click.
  
  
• Periodic information requests — If you sell pet supplies, for example, and you have a bunch of information on cat supplies and other information on dog supplies, put a simple link right up top: "Are you a dog owner, a cat owner, or both? Get an instant coupon for clicking below, and you'll get more relevant information and promotions based on your preference."
  
  
  • Dog owner
  • Cat owner
  • Dog and cat owner
  
  Some e-mail systems will let you record the click right into the attributes of the subscriber.
  
  
• Surveys — Run sweepstakes or other incentives to get subscribers to provide additional information about the preferences that can help you deliver more relevant content and offers. It's best if you run such a survey surrounding a topic you are writing about, so it's clear why you may be asking. In effect, with each additional bit of information, you're deepening your relationship with your subscribers. The more comfortable they get with you, the more willing they'll be to provide you with a little more information about themselves.

When asked to review emails, this is one of the fundamental principals that gets violated most often. It's difficult to get people to focus on just one action in a few seconds. Attempt to sell something, ask for feedback, or a host of other potential clicks, and you'll likely get fewer clicks overall.

In choosing your single call-to-action, be sure you use everything, from copy to design, to push readers to act:

1. Email Subject Line – Make sure your email subject line clearly indicates the purpose of the email. Don't be "cutesy." Clarity is far more important.
   
   
2. Email Design – Place the call-to-action above the fold. And in emails that require readers to scroll down, be sure that the call-to-action is there, too. Use headlines, color, and graphics to establish a single, clean direction, or eye path, for your readers. That way, you lead them through your benefits, clearly and succinctly.
   
   
3. Email Copy – Write your subject lines so they are crystal clear. Make sure your headlines and subheads closely follow the subject line. People open emails because of the subject line. So if you don't have a clear relationship between your headlines and the subject line that got them to open your email, you can quickly lose your readers, as well as the opportunity for them to respond to your call-to-action. Also, don't forget to include trust-building, credibility-creating copy that makes people more comfortable in taking your call-to-action, perhaps buying something from you. And I don't mean you should tell them how wonderful you are. Rather, use testimonials and quotes from your customers to describe how wonderful you are. If you can throw in some metrics that quantify the benefits of taking your call-to-action, that's even better.

If you don't weed out the inactives and continue to send emails to this group, over several years you'll end up with a bad situation in many ways. (See the links below, as I've previously discussed this topic in more depth.) It's likely you also can't promote your open rates because the high number of inactives are negatively affecting them as well. So now you really have 2 problems: too many inactives and a low open rate. And, to tell advertisers you suddenly have a list of 50,000 instead of 100,000 probably won't go over too well.

Let's assume you take the obvious tack of trying to re-engage the inactive users, and you essentially have no opportunity to convert any more inactives. If you just remove them, which is the right thing to do, you can't tell your advertisers that you're sending to the same big number any more. That's a big challenge for your sales group.

One of the ways you can deal with this problem is to develop a powerful new subscriber signup campaign. You'll need to bring in all the strategies to make this happen in a big way. Then, as the new subscribers start to flow in, start removing the inactives at the same rate. You'll also notice that your open rate goes up because: 1) you have fewer inactives and 2) new subscribers tend to open at a higher rate.

Once your open rate reaches a great number for your market (and compared to the competition), start promoting your incredible open rate to advertisers. Believe me, they'll care about that even more than the big number of subscribers who never saw their ad in the first place. Then, moving forward, be sure to weed out those inactives every month so you never face this dilemma again in the future.

Related articles:

5 Steps for Re-Engaging the Inactive Users on Your Email List
Active versus Inactive Users: Who’s On Your Email List?
18 Ways to Build a Bigger, Better List

Today is the time to really think through your current business model. Are you using the right pricing strategy? Are there different ways you should be packaging and pricing your products and services? When you do have the great new idea, are you being as clear as possible about articulating your ideas to clients? The list goes on. But within each question, I believe, lives a creative new approach to your business. Fear and necessity can be two incredible drivers of innovation. And if you're flexible in your business, you can deliver profound changes to your market and outstanding results for you.

New marketing strategies for a tough economy
A new marketing approach - I heard a great ad on TV from Ameriprise in which they offer to review your investments and provide you with a new perspective (http://www.ameriprise.com/global/sitelets/new-perspective/new-perspective-review.asp). Not only do they see the pain of their clients, but also of everyone else's clients. Who doesn't feel like the frog sitting in the frying pan while you slowly get cooked? In essence, they've developed a simple, clear message that has the potential to drive huge numbers of prospects to their doors. Win them, and they've dramatically increased their base for years to come.

New packaging - I have a colleague who recently discovered that a time and materials approach to pricing was hurting her business. The pricing was leading to increasing angst for their clients, as well as growing frustrations over the unknown level of the invoices each month. In response, my colleague is trying a new approach with great success - fixed monthly fees to smooth out the costs for clients. My colleague knows the costs and the risks involved, and is being smart about structuring the deals. With this new approach, clients feel like they're being heard, and are no longer being surprised. Tremendous good will is delivered.

New messaging - One of our clients -- who has been in business for many years in a very competitive market -- recently observed the company's sales messages weren't resonating. We helped them come up with a unique selling proposition, which is key to any marketing and messaging strategy. But they needed more. It turns out they have been leading a legislative advocacy effort for years in a business where costs are a huge challenge. They are now using that information to demonstrate their leadership role in the industry at a time when costs are more important than ever.

You'll find that every business has opportunity, if you dig in deep enough. It comes down to knowing the customer and being creative with how you can transform either what you deliver, how you deliver it, and at what price you deliver it.

Communicating the new strategy
Coming up with the great idea, however, doesn't deliver the revenue. Don't hide the new strategy. Develop a clear message, create a few pages on your Web site to describe it, use testimonials to support it, and put a plan together to disseminate it. This is where your email newsletter can carry the torch, or a single-purpose email with a great landing page can do the work for you. Think about how you can integrate your various communication channels together and make them consistent and supportive of one another.

What is a split test?
When we talk about testing, we're typically trying to answer the following type of question:
Which is the best -- A, B, or C?

A split test is when you send each of the variations that you are testing to a portion of your test group.  If you have set up your test correctly, you can determine which version is best for your purposes and then roll that out to a broader amount of your sample.

What to test
In marketing, there is so much that is worth testing.  In effect, marketing is all about testing.  While we have best practices, the best way to determine what's right for you is to conduct a test.  Here are a few items we at FulcrumTech like to test:

• Headlines
• Email subject lines (testing open rates)
• From name
• Day of week to send
• Time of day to send
• Layout/design (looking at click-through rates)
• Personalization (testing whether Dear First Name or First Name in the subject line delivers better results)

 
Setting up the test
If you have 2 or more variables you're trying to test (e.g. headlines, subject lines, graphics), you need to present them to a randomly selected group of people and see how they react or respond.  The act of testing requires that you "split" them across a homogeneous sample group.  To ensure that the test is as accurate as possible, you want to ensure that you have the following:

• An adequate sample size - the sample must be large enough that your results are statistically significant
• A homogeneous sample across all splits - the sample should be randomly selected identically for each split
• Identical timeframe - test all segments at the same time (unless, of course, you are testing time frames) because introducing variations in the test time period can lead to yet another variable that may inhibit your ability to compare your results accurately

 
It's easy to get started with some basic tests, and I urge all clients to get started with some basics.  As you get deeper into testing, you'll want to learn much more about sample size determination, as well as the risk factors potentially affecting your results.  Ultimately, you'll discover that it's much better to create a valid test than a poorly constructed test that leads you to make incorrect decisions based upon incomplete data.

Written by Mitch Lapides, President and CEO of FulcrumTech, who has over 15 years in online product development and e-marketing.

Here's why:

1) Not your permission - professional email marketing is called "permission marketing" because the marketer obtains permission from the reader to send email. When you rent or buy a list, the subscriber or reader didn't give YOU permission. And, in many cases, you may discover that the list broker may not have received permission either. This, of course, leads to a whole discussion of your legal right to mail to the list (CAN-SPAM), which I won't get into here.

2) Not expected - Seth Godin, in his acclaimed book,  Permission Marketing : Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers, emphasizes the necessity that people on your list expect your email. (If you haven't read this book, I'd strongly recommend it. It's a quick read and gives you a great overview of permission marketing.) Related to my point on permission, even if the list broker has permission to email to the list, the reader may not be expecting an email from you. They may have given permission at some point long ago to "send information on other local activities," but they were never expecting such email from you. So, if they weren't expecting it, you risk being "junked."

3) Not relevant - Even if the subscriber had provided permission to someone for some types of email, a list broker may rent the list for purposes outside the sphere of interest of the list member. So, if you send them an email about a great new online backup system because they're a director of IT, it's not necessarily the case that they'd be interested just because of their title. It comes down to what the user had indicated when they were added to the list. They may simply be interested in issues surrounding process automation. Since you will likely know very little about how or why someone was added to a list, and the chances are that your product will not match their interest, you're email will likely not get opened.

4) List abuse - a list broker is in the business of renting lists, right? Right! That means that they are trying to send as much email as they can to the list. And, if they're successful, the recipients, in effect, are getting spammed (receiving unintended, irrelevant, unexpected mail). The more emails that are going out, the less likely your message will ever get through. The more the recipients mark emails from the broker as "junk" or "spam," the more likely the list broker's email reputation will go down. That further exacerbates the issues surrounding deliverability.

5) Poor email reputation means poor deliverability - As indicated by the above reasons, a poor performing list will have more than its fair share of "mark as spam" complaints, "mark as junk" on the subscribers' computers, etc. Also, a high bounce rate for a poorly managed list makes the list even worse. The Internet Service Providers will progressively drive down the email reputation for the list broker. I recently checked out the email reputation of 2 list brokers, and both were as low as I've ever seen in the industry. That means their mail is unlikely to make it through corporate spam filters or client junk filters.

Given all of these reasons, while paying over as much as hundreds of dollars per thousand names, the intended recipients will never see your email. So, what is one to do to grow a list? Stick to the professional tactics of list building, such as those described in "18 Ways to Build a Bigger, Better List." The results may come a little more slowly, but you'll have a high quality list that can deliver for you over the long term.

*Note - some people refer to buying an email list vs. renting a list. When you are paying for the ability to send emails to someone else's list, that called renting an email list. You would actually buy a list if you are purchasing the names forever, and no one else can buy access to it, unless you are selling such access.