Are your emails falling flat? Has your once active and engaged email list turned into a ghost town? In the world of digital marketing, success doesn’t happen by accident. It’s all about understanding, applying, and optimizing. And that’s where A/B testing, also referred to as split testing, comes in.
A/B testing is the unsung hero in email marketing, a sharp tool to add to your marketing toolkit. It’s your flashlight in the dark, showing you the way forward in the world of email engagement. Forget assumptions; with A/B testing, you’ll know precisely what works and what doesn’t.
President Obama’s 2012 campaign is a well-known example of successful A/B testing. By running design tests and testing different wordings for their emails, they managed to increase donation conversions by 49% and sign-up conversions by 161%.
Why A/B testing in emails is a game-changer
Why care about A/B testing? Simple. It’s one of the easiest ways to ensure email marketing success.
Imagine you’re standing at a crossroads. One path leads to guessing games, non-engaging emails, and dwindling conversions. The other? A golden road of data-driven decisions engaged audiences and climbing conversion rates. A/B testing or split testing is the compass that guides you down the golden path.
To illustrate the impact of A/B testing, Wall Street Journal ran a headline test and found one version outperformed another by 127%. This showed the substantial impact of a single wording change, a good thing to remember.
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A step-by-step guide to A/B testing for emails
Hi, we're Limitless—an email marketing agency designing unlimited, world-class emails that rise above the inbox clutter.
Unlike other agencies, we offer unlimited email design for one affordable monthly subscription. No long-term contracts, no long-term commitments, and unlimited revisions until you're 100% satisfied.
Join the waitlistNow let’s get into the nitty-gritty. How do you conduct A/B testing or split checks for emails? Let’s break it down.
Step 1: Define your goal
The first step in any journey is knowing your destination. Are you aiming to boost open rates? Or maybe you want to increase click-throughs? Define one clear, measurable goal. The intended audience should be kept in mind while setting the goal.
The Obama campaign can serve as a concrete example again. They set a clear goal to increase the number of donations and used A/B testing to help achieve this goal.
Step 2: Choose your variable
Pro tip: When setting up an A/B test, the ‘Rule of One’ is king. Only choose one variable to test at a time and keep it specific and simple.
Step 3: Create two variations
Create two versions of your email—the ‘original version’ (control) and the ‘B’ version (variable). Only one element should differ between the two.
Step 4: Split your audience 50/50
Split your audience into two equal groups. Each group should be randomly selected and representative of your whole email list.
Step 5: Send and gather data
Send out your emails and wait patiently while the data rolls in.
Step 6: Analyze and iterate
Once the A/B test ends, it’s time to analyze the data. Did version ‘B’ perform better than ‘A’? Or was ‘A’ the winner? This is an important step in your testing marketing strategy.
Booking.com is well known for using the steps above. Their culture of continuous A/B testing is legendary. They constantly experiment with different website and email features to optimize their user experience and conversion rates.
And the best thing about A/B testing? You can make decisions based on hard data, not gut feelings. Once you have the data, you can refine, test, iterate, and run more tests to ensure optimal results.
Conclusion: Hone your strategy with A/B testing
Your emails are a constant dialogue with your audience. They’re not static but dynamic and constantly changing. A/B testing helps you tune into your audience’s needs and wants and engage with them on a deeper level. So, start A/B testing today and embrace the power of data-driven decisions. And if you need a partner to design different versions of your emails, Limitless is here to help.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What exactly is A/B testing in email marketing?
A: A/B testing, also known as split testing, is a method of comparing two versions of an email to see which one performs better. You compare two emails by changing one element (e.g., subject line, call to action, images) and sending these versions to different subsets of your subscribers.
Q: Why should I conduct A/B testing on my emails?
A: A/B testing helps you make data-driven decisions by providing precise information about what works best for your audience. It allows you to optimize your emails for higher engagement and conversion rates.
Q: What elements of an email can I test with A/B testing?
A: You can test almost any element of an email, including the subject line, preheader text, email copy, images, call to actions, personalization, email layout, and send time.
Q: How long should I run a test?
A: The length of an A/B test or an ABN test can vary depending on your email send frequency and the size of your email list. However, it's important to give your test enough time to collect significant data. This typically means waiting at least a few days to a week before analyzing results.
