We’ve all had one at some point…the idea that will propel us to marketing greatness. Personally, I have about 3 or 4 a day. Then reality sets in and I realize my fondness for an idea doesn’t translate to the receptivity of our target audience.

That’s where testing comes in handy. Test everything: copy, images, subject lines, envelopes, offers, etc. Just make sure the sample you’re testing is representative of your audience. Your buddies or relatives don’t count…sorry.

Make sure your measurement criteria are pre-determined. What analytics will you use to gauge success? Is it a simple A/B split or multivariate testing? Defining the test is crucial, and all external factors must be considered (time of day, day of week, geographic location, etc.) to make sure your test shows validity (strength of relationship) and reliability (consistency of results). If you’re like Big Ass Fans, you have an extremely diverse target audience. We can’t send the same message to schools that we just sent to an industrial plant; chances are the response will be quite different. And test results with one audience won’t necessarily transfer to another, so testing is a continuous and sometimes tedious process.

Sounds like a lot of work, huh? Testing proves well worth the extra effort when done right. Finding out what works and what doesn’t work can save your company time, money and resources and boost the ROI of your future marketing efforts.