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Email marketing success boils down to effectively testing all the different elements of your campaign. By testing different tweaks and variations, you can clearly see what changes improve performance and which ones cause a decline.

But what exactly should you be testing out different versions of in your emails? Here are 6 things to get you started.

1. Subject lines—The subject line is often cited as the most important part of the email. It’s what recipients first see, and it plays a big role in determining whether or not they’ll actually open the email. Test out different subject line variations to find a formula that gets you the highest open rates.
2. Number of links—A lot of studies have been done to see what the ideal number of links is to place inside an email. More seems to be better, but what is too much? You need to test different numbers of links in your emails to see what drives the most traffic and the highest quality of traffic.
3. Link placement—Staying on the subject of links, studies have shown that link placement also affects click-through rates. That means you need to test placing your links in different spots in your message to identify the sweet spots that get the highest number of clicks.
4. Calls to action—The call to action is always important in getting clicks and making sales. Not only do you need to test different offers, but you also need to try changing the wording and location of your calls to action.
5. Personalization—The studies on personalization in emails are so contrary to one another that it’s impossible to know what to believe. That’s why the best thing to do is to test it for yourself. Try personalizing some of your emails to see if it influences performance at all.
6. Overall layout—I think too many marketers tend to overlook the actual design of their emails. Email design is very important and plays a huge role in the effectiveness of your campaign. How the information is presented is just as important as the information itself. So, try different layouts to see what works best for you.

What are some other things you test in your emails? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

So, today is my birthday. And this morning, while I was busy trying to decide whether or not I should work today (I decided to work), I was sifting through my emails and noticed something interesting. I had received a number of “Happy Birthday” messages from various companies whose email lists I’m subscribed to.

So far, I’ve received “Happy Birthday” messages from ING Direct, GoDaddy.com, EA Games, Flying Saucer, Gugliani’s (a Houston-based Italian restaurant), some local golf courses, and a couple of other companies that I’ve now forgotten.

Each of these emails contained a special birthday offer from the company. These ranged from coupons for a certain percentage off my next purchase to free gifts (I get a free pint the next time I go to Flying Saucer!).

All of this got me thinking. I wonder how many companies offer birthday gifts to their subscribers. The messages certainly got my attention because they stood out greatly from the regular commercial emails I’m used to receiving. And I’ve already taken advantage of a few of the special birthday offers I’ve been receiving (I can’t resist a free round of golf!).

But beyond earning my business, these companies helped to further build their relationships with me. The simple act of telling me “Happy Birthday” added a personal touch to their email marketing efforts, and it made me feel like they valued me as a customer.

If you’re interested in sending birthday emails to your subscribers, there are a few things you should do.

• Capture this info at opt-in—Encourage users to put their date of birth in the opt-in form when they sign up for your email list. Let them know they’ll receive a special birthday offer for doing so.
• Personalize your message—While the jury is still out on the effectiveness of personalized commercial emails, there’s no doubt that the birthday email is certainly the right time and place for personalization. Address the birthday recipient by name and wish them a happy birthday.
• Make them an offer they can’t refuse—A birthday offer should be better than the typical offers you send to subscribers week in and week out. It needs to feel like something truly special to the recipient, otherwise they won’t convert.

Do you send birthday offers to your email subscribers?

If you’ve ever subscribed to any email lists before, you’re probably familiar with the concept of the welcome email. This is the email that’s sent to new subscribers to welcome them to the list, confirm that they really did subscribe, share certain information/offers for new subscribers, learn their preferences, and more.

Does your company use email marketing? If so, you should already be sending welcome emails to new subscribers. If you’re not, here are some good reasons to do it.

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One of the main reasons subscribers stop opening emails and unsubscribe from lists is because the content they’re receiving isn’t matched to their preferences. You might be sending them messages on subjects that don’t interest them, or you could just be emailing them more often than they prefer.

That’s why it’s so important that you get to know the preferences of your email subscribers. When you know what they want and act upon it, you can increase open rates, boost response rates, and run a more profitable email marketing campaign.

Many savvy companies have started sending welcome messages to new subscribers with links to a subscriber preferences form. The subscriber can then indicate his or her preferences on a range of different factors, and the marketer can adjust communication accordingly.

If you’re going to implement a subscriber’s preferences tool in your campaign, make sure it includes the following:

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It’s pretty simple really. If your email subscribers don’t open your emails, you’re not going to have much success with email marketing. Subscribers who don’t open emails don’t respond to your special offers, don’t share your emails with their friends, and don’t take any other action you might want them to take.

So, what can you do to improve your open rates? Here are 5 simple tips to help you out.

1. Send your emails on the right days—Did you know that an email you send on Monday probably won’t get as good of an open rate as one you send on Wednesday? It’s true. There are certain days when your subscribers are likelier to open emails. In general, the middle of the week is best—Tuesday-Thursday. Fridays, people tend to be looking forward to the weekend and wrapping up their week. Mondays, they’re usually still trying to get back in the swing of things.
2. Include one of these things in your subject line—Marketing Sherpa recently released a study that found subject lines with the best open rates have one of the following: free product offer, discount offer, or a recognized brand name. Craft your subject lines accordingly.
3. Don’t email too often—More than half of all people who unsubscribe from an email list say they do so because they’re getting emailed too often from the sender. If you’re always bombarding your subscribers with emails, you’re going to wear out your welcome, and they will start to ignore you.
4. Build your own email list—Email lists that you build yourself will outperform email lists that you buy from somebody else. That’s because house built email lists are full of subscribers who actually request to hear from you, rather than random people who may not even know who you are.
5. Ask your subscribers what they want—If subscribers aren’t getting what they expected from your emails, they’ll stop opening them. Take the time to listen to what your subscribers want, and then make sure your emails deliver upon that.

What are some other things you’ve done to increase your email open rates? Share your best tips by leaving a comment below.