How To Take Email Marketing Split Testing To The Next Level, With Matt Bacak

Do you split test? How do you do it? What kind of things do you split test and what do you do with the data? These are some of the questions we answer in this conversation with the awesome Matt Bacak about taking split testing for email marketing and taking it to the next level. Are. You. Ready? SOME EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: (0:12) Join our FREE Facebook Group.(3:15) Does Matt really make animals out of paper?(7:23) Split testing vs optimisation.(10:52) Testing is like a game - can you win?(11:34) What should you split test?(18:23) What is radical testing?(24:29) Examples of radically different split tests.(28:41) Tracking and managing data for split testing.(35:19) Be better than you were yesterday.(41:21) How to connect with Matt Bacak.Split testing vs optimisationA lot of marketers say they split test. But what most people do, in Matt’s opinion, isn’t split testing - it's optimisation. A direct-response copywriter, for example, might 'split test' two different headlines. But if you're only making slight variations, that's an optimisation technique. So according to Matt a lot of marketers are 'optimisers' rather than 'testers'. When Matt talks about testing, he means trying things that are radically different. For example, different angles, variations, or offers - such as a beautifully designed page created by a graphic designer vs a basic, ‘ugly’ one created by a direct response marketer.Testing is like a game - can you win? To Matt, split testing in email marketing is like a game. Can you 'win' against someone else or yourself? Testing is closely linked to increasing profits, and Matt doesn't go one day without split testing anymore. He'll often run tests that 'fail', where the thing Matt thought was going to work doesn't. But he'll still gain knowledge and get answers to the question he asked himself on a particular day. Matt's been doing email marketing for 25 years. And this is how he makes it fun - by testing radically different variations. What should you split test? We asked Matt how he comes up with ideas. And a recent test Matt did was around trying to work out who out of some big-name players has better study points when it comes to webinars. Typically, when people find something that works, they tend to repeat it several times. In fact, as a rule of thumb, Matt starts paying attention if he sees something 3 times or more. Because that means the thing works. So, as an example, he decided to test a few options he'd seen for the 60-minute webinar reminder email against each other.And every time Matt tests, he’ll learn something new. He likens testing to driving down the road at night time. You may know the destination, but you can't always see what’s in front of you until you shine your lights on it. And when someone shines a light through something they’re doing, Matt feels compelled to pay attention. In fact, Matt even looked at what type of emails the US presidents send. And a fun fact he shared is that President Obama had 25 people on his split testing team while he was in office! So for Matt, split testing is all about shining the light brighter on the things that get repeated often. He'll monitor people who are hard to beat because they're the ones on his radar - the ones he's paying attention to. And he'll always test things that are already proven to work. What is radical testing?We asked Matt to tell us more about the idea of radical testing. And he explained that the easiest thing...