For days, I’ve been painstakingly checking the forecast like a stalker.
Because it’s been raining for weeks…
And I want to do the laundry with the first sun.
I even come up with an attack plan:
– I’ll first take out my quilt and electric blanket to catch some rays
– This will allow me to claim two sets of clothesline
(hey, it’s super popular 😛)
– Then, I’ll wash my sheets in two batches (8:30 and 11:30)
– I’ll have everything dry and fluffy by 5:00 p.m., before sunset…
Great plan, right?
Except…
“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” – Mike Tyson
I wake up.
Grab my quilt.
Head to the rooftop.
Open the safety gate.
Step outside…
And it was drizzling!!
“Wait, the weather forecast told me there is a minus 10% chance of rain today!” I yelled with frustration.
And this is a lot like the performance of any individual email campaign.
You can do everything right.
Follow the best practices.
Hire a top copywriter.
Consult with a fractional CMO.
Use AI to examine your emails.
But…
It can still bomb.
Because no one can guarantee any individual campaign will become a winner. There are too many factors.
(There are a bunch of experts behind the weather forecast, yet…)
A serial entrepreneur once told me:
“I did my first big launch in the morning of September 11, 2001… yeah, THE day. And I almost lost my business because nobody was paying attention… you can’t blame them. 🤷”
This is also the reason why…
I’m against over-relying on A/B testing.
A/B testing gives you the illusion that you have an immediate winner… but ignores any long-term effects, often damaging your relationship with the list.
Let me give you an example:
- A “50% off” subject line will outpull anything without a big discount
But if you include a yuge discount in every email…
You train your subscribers to NEVER buy at full price.
(and you look like a needy marketer who’s desperate)
Look, email marketing is a long-term game.
The result is accumulated through entertaining, encouraging, and educating with every email. The only meaningful metric you should be looking at:
“Is my earning per subscriber consistently above $10 per month?”
If it drops, you’re doing something wrong.
If it maintains… or increases up to $30/mo/subscriber… then you’re great.
Don’t over-complicate things.
Cheering for you,
Wuyen