In email marketing, the details matter. A/B testing also called split testing is one of the easiest ways to tweak and optimize email campaigns for increased open rates, click rates, and engagement. Email marketers no longer have to assume what their subscribers would like; A/B testing provides the answers necessary to find out what works best.
Understanding the Basics of A/B Testing in Email Marketing
A/B Testing is when you send the same email to one half of your list, and a different email to the other half. The two emails should differ by just one thing (the subject line, the sender name, the call to action) so you can know exactly what worked when the experiment is done. Normally, when you find out what was more effective, you would take that version and send it to the rest of the list or use that information for the next campaigns with the entire list.
When you test just one thing at a time, your results will be more accurate. If you try two different subject lines in one email but nothing else, for instance, you will have no clue if the first subject line or the second one received a better open rate. Eventually, after running A/B Testing frequently, you will have a library of what works well for this target audience.
Choosing the Right Variables to Test
There are certain components of an email that exert more influence on performance than others. Understanding what features can swing the results in a better direction saves time, manipulative changes in a strategic manner, and ultimately improved effectiveness. For example, one email marketing campaign must start with the assessment of what’s going awry at which level of the funnel. If people aren’t opening anything, it means that the subject line/sender most likely the name is at fault because they are the two most viewed, most powerful components of an email.
It’s also the fast assessment of a subscriber’s impression, rendering whether or not they will care to read more. Therefore, if open rates are suffering, experiment with subject lines. Subject line testing is one of the most extensive and most fruitful A/B tests in email marketing. Use an email warm-up tool to establish a strong sender reputation before sending to large lists. Adding urgency (“Last Chance to Save”), generating interest (“You Won’t Believe What’s Coming”), and customization (like using a first name) goes a long way in having someone open an email. Even minor adjustments, inclusion of emojis, word rearrangement, question formats used as statements can change effectiveness.
Another tested factor that can influence open rates is sender name. Consumers open emails from people they know. Therefore, one might want to test the sender as a brand versus a person (or both combined like “Jessica from Acme Co.”). There needs to be a balance between professional and casual, depending on your demographic.
Yet if your clicks are low but opens are high, that means your subject line is working but something inside the email is wrong. Turn your attention to what’s happening inside the email once people get there. This means testing the format and length of your email, how many pictures you use, your tone, your spacing, and most importantly, your call-to-action. A call-to-action needs to be obvious, concise, aesthetically pleasing, and tell people exactly what to do next.
Besides copy considerations, preview text that shows up next to and below the subject line for many email clients also enhances, opens and establishes expectations for subscribers. Preview text should essentially complement the subject line and render an additional persuasive opportunity to get the email opened. Preview text can heighten urgency and provide worth or serve as a secondary headline to stimulate curiosity.
In addition, elements such as where images appear, how CTA buttons appear, and general email continuity and construction determine how fast and easy a recipient processes the information. Experiment with button color, shape, and size to yield the highest CTR. Experiment with one-column versus two-columns versus long versus short layouts to see what provides the strongest engagement.
The key to achieving all these factors is constant testing and measurement. Over time, you’ll begin to see patterns in how people respond. Use that for your next project: let the present come from the past to create a more effective campaign than it would be otherwise. Don’t presume what’s best, let the numbers show you. Thus, testing, in particular, with such critical components will not only improve open and click rates but also enhance email engagement as a whole so that consumers are left with a better experience with the brand.
Segmenting Your Audience for Reliable Results
Segmentation plays a crucial role in A/B testing success. You’re going to split your list evenly and send to two audiences that should be as similar as possible in demographics. If one group skews slightly older, for example, or younger, then the results could show something that isn’t true merely because of the outlier. Many email marketing services offer A/B testing, automatically splitting your audience randomly so you don’t have to ensure it yourself. The uniformity is already set in place.
In addition, pay attention to your list size for A/B testing. An A/B test done with too small of a list may never attain statistical significance. The variants need to have enough people in them to adequately assess performance comparisons.
Timing and Frequency: When and How Often to Test
The day and time you send your email largely impacts open and click rates, and testing to fine-tune this variable can significantly strengthen the effectiveness of your work. Audiences check their emails and respond to outreach at different times, which means the “best time” to send for your brand may not be the same as another brand’s. There are best practices and standards that indicate times like 10 a.m. on weekdays have the highest likelihood of success with open rates; however, some brands find success during off hours or atypical times because their audiences are in different demographics (minors, international recipients) or have different behaviors during the day.
A/B testing can show you when your audience is most likely to open the email you’ve sent. For example, a B2B company may find their subscribers open emails most on Tuesday at 9 a.m. when they’re settling into their work week and can focus. A fitness club may discover its subscribers are more likely to open emails on Saturday at 2 p.m. when they have downtime focusing on wellness. These slight differences can mean big success in the long run if acknowledged.
But it’s not only when you send that requires testing your email engagement levels will depend upon how often you send email campaigns, too. Sending too many emails, too fast, has subscribers fatigued, hurting their open rates or making them unsubscribe. Sending not enough allows them to forget who you are, causing your emails to be deleted without being opened or ignored before a purchase. Thus, testing when to send is just as important as knowing what’s in the content because there’s a balance of too much and not enough.
The best way to balance it all without overwhelming your team and complicating things for yourself is to create a reasonable A/B testing schedule. You don’t have to test every little thing every little time you send a campaign. In fact, you shouldn’t. A/B test only one time-related thing for each campaign. For example, A/B test Monday versus Thursday this week and 10 A.M. versus 2 P.M. next week. You’ll slowly compile a more extensive view of what’s best for your audience.
In addition, seasonality and time zones may play a role in timing as well. If you’re targeting a geographically diverse audience, for example, you’ll need to consider when international audiences are checking their emails and when specific holidays, winter breaks, or other significant happenings may appropriately distract your attention from email efforts. Testing year-round will help you better assess these shifts, as the changes in behavioral data can be assessed over time.
Ultimately, however, remember that there is not one ideal time to send emails, just more factors to consider and the ability to adjust a strategy based on ever-changing subscriber habits and campaign objectives. The sooner you get into the routine of testing and finding a timing/frequency strategy, the better your chances of reaching subscribers at the moment they’re most likely to engage resulting in more opens, more clicks, and more successful email marketing program achievements.
Analyzing Results and Measuring Statistical Significance
Once your experiment is over, it’s time to assess the outcomes. You’ll focus on things like performance open rate, click-through rate, and of course, the conversion rate based on your variable tested but you’ll typically find from most email marketing services which email won and by how much percentage.
But don’t stop at percentage. Go beyond and acquire statistical significance to determine that the percentage difference you experienced is valid and not a fluke. Some email service providers will even do this for you, some won’t; however, there are plenty of free resources online to determine if what you discovered is statistically significant. To avoid jumping to conclusions without doing all the research could cause you to make decisions on false pretenses later on.
Applying Insights to Future Campaigns
A/B testing advantages go beyond the singular campaign. Use the findings to inform your future email marketing efforts. Keep a spreadsheet of your tests, results, and conclusions, and gradually build a reference guide of what’s effective and what’s not. This reference guide will become a valuable asset for email compositions with minimal guesswork and errors over time.
Furthermore, resituate your testing variables every so often. A/B testing is not a one-time situation. Depending on seasonality or changes in your audience, business, or message, they’ll respond differently. What works this year might not work next year so keep them guessing and change things up.
Common Mistakes to Avoid in A/B Testing
Yet it is fallible. One of the biggest errors is marketers attempting to test too much at once, which muddies results. Some people test for too little time and end up with no conclusions since not enough data has been collected to assess any real value. Other errors involve not paying attention to the context of where something is being tested; for example, if someone tests a subject line on a holiday, it may not be reflective of a typical Friday if they randomly choose a Friday to test a subject line on, and vice versa. Always ensure there’s a context of what’s being tested and when/where it’s being done. Finally, don’t test for the sake of testing; test for meaning with a question and a hypothesis, and it will matter.
Building a Culture of Experimentation
Testing is not a campaign, and success is not limited to the one email sent. By empowering your team to experiment with testing their own ideas, revisiting previous findings, and communicating the outcomes of their experiments, you create a culture where testing is inherent to email marketing. This fosters improved email campaigns over time, enhanced engagement by recipients, and increased ROI.
In addition, a testing culture keeps your brand flexible. Email marketing is continuously evolving with advancements in technology, new trends, and daily consumer engagement. Brands that base their ideas on data-driven insights to test will always be better situated to adjust and capitalize on new opportunities.
Conclusion
A/B testing is not merely an effective marketing strategy. It’s a means of communication with your subscribers to effectively give them more of what they want. Properly tested variables, accurately segmented audiences, and genuine exploration of findings will increase open and click rates over time, boost conversion rates, and improve overall experience. With an overcrowded inbox and a limited time of user engagement, A/B testing ensures your emails cut through the clutter.
