'13 world-class speakers' beat one star name in event emails
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsSubject lines that stressed the size of the speaker lineup, such as 'Come See 13 World-Class Speakers', beat ones that featured a single famous name.
The Global Leadership Summit ran these tests, and they were published as a MarketingSherpa case study.
The team says the breadth version won again and again, but shared no figures.
- The breadth version won, and the team says it kept winning over repeated tests.
- No open rates, click rates or registration figures were shared, so we can't size the gain.
- The team had expected the star-speaker version to win, so this result went against their guess.
Control
The subject line or email headline featured one high-profile speaker, for example 'Come See Sheryl Sandberg'.
Variant
The subject line stressed the breadth of the lineup instead, for example 'Come See 13 World-Class Speakers'.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- A single name only pulls in people who care about that person. A full lineup gives everyone a reason to come.
- For a multi-day training event, value comes from many sessions. '13 speakers' signals more value for the ticket price.
- A star name can read like a celebrity pitch. A strong lineup reads like a serious learning event.
Caveats: The source shares no numbers, sample sizes or confidence levels. It also does not say clearly whether wins were judged on opens, clicks or registrations.
Who ran it
The Global Leadership Summit ran this test and published the results (MarketingSherpa case study). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on The Global Leadership Summit →
How to run this test on your site
- Hypothesis
- If our subject line stresses how many expert speakers are on the lineup instead of one famous name, then more recipients will open and register because the event will seem to offer more value for everyone.
- Primary metric
- Registrations per email sent
- Guardrails
- Open rate
- Click rate
- Unsubscribe rate
- Who should test it
- Conferences, summits and webinar series with several credible speakers. If one headliner is the main reason people attend, a star name may still win.
Questions
Should I put a famous speaker in my event email subject line?
Test it. For this event, a subject line about the size of the lineup beat one featuring a famous speaker, again and again.
What should I measure in a subject line test?
Opens show interest, but registrations show value. Track both, and choose the winner on the action you want.
Why might a list of speakers beat one big name?
A single name appeals to that person's fans.
A broad lineup gives more readers a reason to care.
MarketingExperiments