Most Brisbane business owners I talk to are flat out. Whether you’re running a landscaping crew in Carindale or a boutique law firm in the CBD, you don't have time to sit around playing with 'marketing experiments.' You just want to know: "If I send this email, will the phone ring?"
I see a lot of people make the same mistake. They spend hours agonising over the perfect wording or a fancy picture, hit 'send' to their whole list, and then... crickets. Or worse, they just guess what their customers want to hear and hope for the best.
In the marketing world, they call it 'A/B testing.' To you and me, it’s just common sense: it’s trying two different ways of doing something to see which one puts more money in the bank.
If you aren’t testing your emails, you are leaving money on the table. It’s like trying out two different signs in front of your shop to see which one brings in more foot traffic. You’d be crazy not to keep the one that works better, right?
Here is the honest truth: most small businesses get this completely wrong. They overcomplicate it, they test the wrong things, or they use tools that cost a fortune without seeing a cent in return.
Let’s look at the common traps I see Brisbane business owners fall into and how you can actually use testing to grow your sales.
Mistake 1: Testing Things That Don't Move the Needle
I’ve seen business owners spend three days debating whether a button should be 'navy blue' or 'royal blue.'
Let me be blunt: your customers in Chermside do not care about the shade of blue on a button. They care about whether you can solve their problem, how much it costs, and if they trust you.
If you want to see a real jump in your bank balance, you need to test the big stuff.
What to test instead:
The Offer: This is the big one. Does a "10% discount" work better than "$50 off your first service"? Often, one will outperform the other by a mile, even if the value is roughly the same. The Hook: This is the subject line—the first thing they see in their inbox. If they don't open the email, they can't buy. Testing a question vs. a bold statement can double the number of people who actually read your message. The Urgency: Does saying "Sale ends Friday" work better than "Only 3 spots left"?When we worked with a pool maintenance business out in Ipswich, they were struggling to get bookings for winter services. They tried testing a "Winter Special" against a "Prevent Green Pool Disasters" message. The 'disaster' message got three times more bookings because it spoke to a problem the customer wanted to avoid. That’s a result that matters.
Mistake 2: Using Overpriced 'Fancy' Software
There are marketing platforms out there that will charge you $500 a month for 'advanced testing features.' For a small business, that’s a massive hole in your profit margin before you’ve even sold anything.
You don't need a NASA-grade computer to do this. Most basic email tools have built-in ways to send two versions of an email to a small part of your list, see which one wins, and then send the winner to everyone else.
Before you sign up for a premium service, you need to look at your email platform costs to make sure the tool isn't eating all the profit you're trying to make. If you're paying for features you don't use, you're just subsidising some software company's fancy office while your own margins shrink.
Mistake 3: Testing Too Many Things at Once
This is the fastest way to learn absolutely nothing.
If you send Version A with a red headline and a discount offer, and Version B with a blue headline and a free gift offer, and Version B wins... why did it win? Was it the colour? Was it the gift? You have no idea.
You’ve spent time and effort but you’re no smarter than when you started.
The Rule: Change one thing. Just one.
Keep the email exactly the same but change the Subject Line. Keep the email exactly the same but change the 'Call to Action' (the part where you tell them to call or click).This way, when you see more customers to buy from one version, you know exactly why it happened. You can then use that knowledge for every email you send for the rest of the year. That is how you build a business that grows consistently.
Mistake 4: Giving Up Too Early
I hear this a lot: "I tried a test once, and it didn't really change much, so I stopped."
Marketing isn't a magic wand; it’s a process of elimination. You’re finding out what
doesn't work so you can double down on what does.If you run a test and the results are about the same, that’s actually good news. It means that specific change doesn't matter to your customers, so you can stop worrying about it. Move on to testing something bigger, like your pricing or your main service offering.
I tell my mates who run businesses: think of it like tuning an engine. You don't just turn one screw and expect a race car. You make small adjustments over time until the whole thing runs sweet.
Mistake 5: Ignoring Your 'Old' Customers
Most people focus their testing on finding new leads. But the easiest money you will ever make is from people who have already given you money.
They already trust you. They already have your number.
You should be testing how to turn old lists into fresh sales. Try testing a "We miss you" offer against a "New service update." You’ll be surprised how many people just needed a little nudge to book you again.
How to Start Testing This Week (Without the Headache)
You don't need to be a tech genius to do this. Here is a simple, 3-step plan to get started:
Step 1: Pick Your 'Guinea Pigs'
Don't send a test to your whole list at once. If you have 1,000 people on your list, send Version A to 150 people and Version B to 150 people.Step 2: Wait and Watch
Give it at least 24 hours. See which version gets more people to click or, more importantly, which one leads to more phone enquiries.Step 3: Send the Winner
Take the version that performed better and send it to the remaining 700 people. You’ve just guaranteed that the majority of your list gets the most effective version of your message.What if you don't have a big list?
If you only have 100 or 200 customers, 'statistical significance' (another fancy word we don't need) doesn't really apply. In that case, don't worry about automated testing.
Instead, do 'sequential testing.' Send one style of email this month. Send a different style next month. See which month felt busier. It’s not perfect, but for a small local shop or a solo tradie, it’s a hell of a lot better than just guessing.
The Real Goal: More Money, Less Wasted Time
At the end of the day, we do this because we want our marketing to be an investment, not an expense.
If you spend $500 on an email campaign and it brings in $2,000 in jobs, you’ll do that all day long. If you can test your way to making that $2,000 into $3,000 just by changing a few words in a subject line, you’ve just given yourself a massive pay rise for five minutes of work.
Most agencies will try to make this sound like rocket science so they can charge you a 'management fee.' It isn't. It’s just paying attention to what your customers are telling you with their wallets.
Summary of what works in Brisbane:
Be Local: Mentioning a specific suburb or a local event in your subject line test often beats a generic "Summer Sale." Be Direct: Aussies don't like fluff. Test a subject line that gets straight to the point vs. one that tries to be clever. Focus on the Phone: For many tradies, a click to your website is okay, but a phone call is a win. Test which emails actually get people to hit the 'call' button on their mobile.Stop Guessing and Start Growing
If you're tired of shouting into the void and wondering why your emails aren't bringing in the work you expected, it's time to change your approach. You don't need to be a marketing guru; you just need to be a smart business owner who looks at the results.
If you want someone to take a look at your current setup and tell you exactly where you're wasting money—and where the easy wins are—reach out to us. We help Brisbane businesses stop the guesswork and start seeing real, measurable growth.
Ready to get more from your marketing? Contact Local Marketing Group today and let’s talk about how to get your phone ringing.