Several content offers in one rented-list email: +197% opt-ins
Test run byMarketingExperimentsResearch publisher
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsOffering several content options in one email, instead of a single survey article, lifted the email capture rate by 197% among Sermo's most qualified prospects.
The MECLABS team ran the test with Sermo, a physicians-only social network, and published it on MarketingExperiments.
The lift applies to people who clicked twice in the email, not to all recipients.
- Email capture rate among people who clicked twice (the most qualified prospects): +197%.
- The lift is for that segment only. The source does not report the effect on all recipients.
- Earlier single-article tests came back inconclusive, but conversion varied widely by article, which led to this test.
The change
One article offer becomes a menu of several content options
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
An email to a rented list of pharma industry contacts promoted one article built on Sermo's survey data. A download button opened a pop-up asking for an email and other details.
Variant
The email offered several content options in the same send, so readers could pick the topic that interested them.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- When content drives most of the difference, offering a choice raises the odds that each reader finds a topic worth an opt-in.
- Rented-list readers do not know the sender, so a menu of offers gives them more reasons to engage.
- People who click twice are already showing intent, and more options give them more chances to convert.
Caveats: The reported lift covers only people who clicked twice, and the source does not share sample size, duration or confidence. The test dates from around 2017.
Who ran it
MarketingExperiments ran this test and published the results (MarketingExperiments). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on MarketingExperiments →
How to run this test on your site
- Hypothesis
- If we offer several content pieces in one email to a rented list, then more qualified readers will opt in because each one is more likely to find a topic that fits their needs.
- Primary metric
- Email capture (opt-in) rate per recipient and per engaged clicker
- Guardrails
- Click-through rate
- Lead quality of captured contacts
- Unsubscribe and spam complaint rate
- Who should test it
- B2B lead-gen teams that rent lists or sponsor sends and gate content behind a form. It may not help if you have only one strong asset, or if your list already knows exactly what it wants.
Questions
Should a rented-list email promote one offer or several?
Sermo found that several content options beat a single article for opt-ins among engaged readers.
If your single-offer tests vary a lot by topic, a choice of offers is worth testing.
Do rented email lists work for B2B lead generation?
They can, but results depend heavily on the content you offer.
Track opt-ins and lead quality, not just clicks.