Is email testing a waste of time?

Always the contrarian, Ben Settle tries to make the case that testing email campaigns is …

1. Impossible
2. A big waste of time anyway

“I take great pleasure in tipping sacred cows … ” Settle writes. “Whenever someone says they ‘scientifically test’ emails, I call BS on it right away.”

He argues that true scientific-method-style testing is impossible with email because there are too many variables you can’t control, combined with the fact that tracking on mobile devices notoriously unreliable.

I think he’s mostly right—but probably overstating his case a bit (which, you know, is part of his style).

However, I agree with him 110 percent that you should focus less on metrics like clickthrus and opens, and more on sales activity and consistency.

“The real power is in repetition,” he says.

I have to agree.