It is of vital importance to modify your email marketing in accordance with ongoing trends. But with so many marketers using emails to promote their brand, how can you set yourself apart? The answer is, by testing your options.
What is A/B Testing?
A/B testing for email marketing, also known as split testing, is a method of working out which of two email campaign options is the most effective. In layman's terms, email A/B testing is a method of comparing two versions of an email with changes to only one element. Applying this method in your marketing efforts will help you determine which element is giving you the highest open rate and conversion.
The effectiveness of A/B testing lies in the fact that even though there isn’t a drastic change happening in the email by changing a single element, there can be a tremendous change in the metrics collected after the campaign is sent out. In this blog post, we will focus on improving open rates for your email marketing campaigns.
The effectiveness of A/B testing lies in the fact that even though there isn’t a drastic change happening in the email by changing a single element, there can be a tremendous change in the metrics collected after the campaign is sent out. In this blog post, we will focus on improving open rates for your email marketing campaigns.
What Elements Can Be A/B Tested?
Each email blast is set up with a multitude of different components and there is an opportunity to test every one of them. The two most common components tested for improving open rates are the subject line and send time.
How Do You Prepare for A/B Testing?
Before you move ahead with conducting A/B testing, it is important to chart out your strategy and ask these questions:
After you have answered these questions and successfully put together your A/B test, you can use the following tips into practice to improve the effectiveness of your A/B testing.
- What component will be tested?
- What is the size of your test group?
- What will be the time period between the send time and analysis time
- the metrics to analyze the winning campaign?
After you have answered these questions and successfully put together your A/B test, you can use the following tips into practice to improve the effectiveness of your A/B testing.
- Have a hypothesis: Your hypothesis is the starting point of an A/B testing This is where you assume a particular reason behind your current email performance and based on this hypothesis, you take steps to improve it.
- Frame your test according to your goal: Set up one test for each of the elements and pitch your winning email based on increased open rates.
- Ensure consistency: Ensure that the variation between the two elements is not entirely different in your test campaigns. For instance, subject lines “Special offer! Buy today” and “We have a special offer just for you!” is a good variation.
- Segment your list: A/B testing needs to be conducted between your subscribers that are like-minded. If you don’t segment your email list before sending your A/B testing, your results are going to be affected since the engagement rate might be skewed.
- Split the list wisely: Your test segments need to be large enough to reach statistical relevance. So, before you test your email campaign, check if the list is large enough for an A/B split.
- Learn from your past: Evaluate campaigns from the past that are relevant to each other and analyze what has worked best versus what did not.
Analyze the Data
A/B testing can be taxing the first few tries, but experts in email marketing consistently use it to serve nothing but the best to their subscribers and thereby increase open rates. Comparing and analyzing data from your tests will help you take the guess work out of your marketing efforts with tailored user experiences.
Are you planning to conduct A/B testing in your next email marketing campaign? Or are you having trouble getting started? Let us know about your experience in the comments below or contact us directly to learn more!
Are you planning to conduct A/B testing in your next email marketing campaign? Or are you having trouble getting started? Let us know about your experience in the comments below or contact us directly to learn more!
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