AlphaMind Studios prefers tools like MailChimp and Infusionsoft for automation.  They provide great flexibility in creating sequences, running split-tests, and variable campaigns.  The possibilities are almost endless with tools like these and they can make a world of difference in ensuring your valuable time is spent on the most fruitful activities.

There are far more options out there to explore. NG Data has put together a comprehensive list of the top marketing automation software out there.

Once you’ve created your sequences and started running them, you’ll start accruing valuable data.  Two key metrics you’ll want to analyze are open rate and reply rate.

1.  Open rate – As the most important metric, the open rate reflects the number of people in your list that have opened your emails and read the excellent content that you’re sending out.  A high open rate indicates that you have strong subject lines and an active audience.  What if your open rate is lower than you’d like?  Here are a few reasons to consider:

a.  Timing and frequency – It’s possible you’re simply sending emails at the wrong time of day, or with the wrong frequency (how often you send emails).  To adjust your timing, sort your open report chronologically.  Look at the average time of day when your recipients opened your email versus when the email was sent.  Then, adjust your send times accordingly.

b.  Subject line – Outside of being a “known sender” (your recipient knows who you are), the subject line of your email will have the next greatest impact on your open rates.  Are you writing captivating subject lines that beg to be opened?  Do you get to the point of your email within the first ten words?  Identify keywords and topics that you’ve had success with on your blog or social media posts.  Consider using those as subjects in your email marketing campaigns. Experiment with different subject lines; make some funny, make some shocking, make some intriguing and let the data make your decisions for you.  With automation tools, you can even change your subject line for people who didn’t open your message and send them the same email!

c.  Content might not be interesting – Does the content that you’re sending out in your email marketing campaigns deliver upon the initial promise you made to the subscriber?  If not, you’re missing the mark entirely and this is why your open rate is suffering.  Focus on content that’s relevant to your initial offering.  If you earned their email address by providing information about yoga in the office, don’t send them information about places to go to practice yoga.

2.  Reply rate – Not all emails will require a reply, but if that is your desired action, how often are people replying to your emails?  This important metric can you understand how effective your emails are.  Did you include a call-to-action for the recipient to reply back to your email?

Earlier, we discussed how poor subject lines can impact your open rates.  Fortunately for you, there’s a technique you can use to try out different subject lines: split testing.  A split test is when you simultaneously test two or more subject lines by sending them to different subscribers on your list and evaluating the results.

The exact method of executing a split test will vary based on the email program you’re using, but every email marketing program worth your time will have a split testing feature.

Split test different subject lines, and then analyze the open rate, click through rate and reply rate for each of the variations. Which variation performed the best?

The personalization of your message can also have a dramatic impact on the performance of your campaign.  With marketing automation tools, personalization becomes easier with the use of content variables.  A content variable is a placeholder that you insert into the email that will populate information from the subscriber.  The ability to use content variables is dependent upon the information that you captured initially.  If you captured a first and last name, you can use those in your emails (and email subjects) to grab their attention.  Instead of saying “Hey Subscriber,” you can say, “Hey Daniel.” See how much more personal that is?

Experiment with split testing subject lines that contain content variables.  Write some subject lines that have a content variable in them, some that don’t, and see the results.  Analyze them in the same way: open rate, click through rate and reply rate.  How did the content variables perform?  Were they worth using?