One of the most effective marketing tools for attracting, engaging, and retaining audiences is email marketing. You can build an email list and groom prospects and customers, taking them through your sales funnel. Yet, even the most well-crafted email campaigns benefit from A/B testing, which allows you to refine your message, design, or timing to maximise open rates and click-through rates.
Below, we explore five best practices for A/B testing your email campaigns so you can enhance user engagement and outpace the competition.
What is A/B Testing in Email Marketing?
A/B testing (also referred to as “split testing”) involves comparing two different versions of your email campaign based on one variable (e.g., subject line or CTA). By sending these versions to separate segments of your subscriber list, you can determine which variant performs better and implement the successful version as your primary email.
Popular Variables for A/B Tests:
- Subject lines
- Call-to-Action (CTA) text
- Images or visuals
- Personalised recommendations
- Send times
- Body copy or layout
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5 Best Email A/B Testing Practices for Enhanced Engagement
The influx of emails that an average person receives can be over 120 per day. It can therefore be a challenge to get high open rates. However, according to Campaign Monitor, A/B testing can raise open rates by up to 49%, and HubSpot notes that click-through improvements can reach 300%. Here are five tried-and-true steps to guide your A/B testing process.
To get you started, here are five best practices for performing A/B testing on your email campaigns:
- Identify Goals and Define Audiences
Right from the start, you should know your goals for your email campaign. Do you want more opens (subject line focus), higher click-throughs (CTA or design tweaks), or increased conversions (offer or product highlight)? Once you have your goal, define segments of your subscriber list. Use customer data or behavioural insights to target those most likely to respond to your specific variable.
- Tip: Aim for a substantial sample size (ideally 1,000+ subscribers) to ensure statistical significance.
Perhaps, your target is higher open rates, click-through rates, or conversions. Your next step can then be to create two email copies that differ based on that specific testing variable.
Meanwhile, it is also important to define your target audience for each email copy. You can take advantage of behavioural insights that you glean from customer data to help you choose the right target audience.
Remember, the more targeted your defined audience is, the better the result you can get from the testing process.
While on this, you should also try to use a large sample size (up to 1,000 subscribers) so that you can get statistically significant results.
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- Do Not Test More Than One Variable
The best A/B test results usually come up when you test only one variable in an instance. Otherwise, you may find it difficult to know which variable has the most impact on the results. For instance, if you’re comparing subject lines, keep the content, sender name, and delivery time consistent.
- Why This Matters: Testing multiple variables confuses the results—making it unclear which variation truly influenced the outcome.
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- Test Both Copies Simultaneously
External factors, like seasonal trends, weekend vs. weekday user habits, or even minor events in your industry, can skew results. After all, many businesses have peak and off-peak seasons, and there may be changes in customer behaviour or even your product catalogue. Subscriber behaviour may even change on different days of the same week.
To maintain fair comparisons, send your two email versions during the same timeframe, splitting your audience at random.
- Example: Schedule both versions for Tuesday at 9 AM, with half your segmented list receiving Version A and the other half Version B.
- Measure and Analyse Results
You have completed your A/B testing process. But wait… you’re not done yet. Not without measuring and analyzing your results. Check the metrics that are relevant to your goals. This may include open rates, click-through rates or conversions.
- Open Rate: If you changed the subject line
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): If you experimented with CTAs or content
- Conversions: If your main focus was purchases, sign-ups, or form completions
Look for patterns and insights. What made the winning version more appealing? Which aspects of your email resonated with readers? Use this data to optimise future campaigns.
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- Regularly Perform A/B Testing
You hopefully now have a better understanding of your audiences and what works best for them. Your audience’s preferences evolve with industry trends, seasonality, and new product launches. Ongoing A/B testing ensures you remain on top of these changing interests. Continually iterate with fresh variables—like revised subject lines or updated graphics—to keep your email strategy agile.
Bonus: Probe Further with Feedback Emails
Don’t just rely on metrics. It can be insightful to send further emails to your audiences asking for feedback. Perhaps, you could send them surveys or conduct polls to better understand their responses to your test emails.
For example, you may be able to learn why specific audience segments prefer a free shipping offer compared to a 5% discount. Such insight can indeed inform your actions towards making a difference and enhancing customer satisfaction.
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Optimize Your Email Marketing with A/B Testing
It is easier to maximize engagement rates and optimize your email campaigns when you perform A/B testing regularly. You can select testing variables, define audiences, and analyze results to reveal useful insights that enhance your email campaigns. Remember that regular testing and refining of your approaches can help you stay relevant and adapt to evolving customer preferences. Moreover, you will be better equipped to build deeper connections with your audiences.
Looking to sharpen your email marketing strategies even more? Visit Exclusive Blueprint, a digital marketing blog. Our blog provides valuable tips, trends, and tools that can help you stay ahead in the competitive landscape of digital marketing.
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