Introduction to A/B testing
A/B testing is a popular method used by online marketers to test different variations of a given message. In email marketing, A/B testing is used to optimize the email campaign you are working on. The most common scenarios for A/B testing are to test two or more subject lines (i.e. the title of the email) and to test different calls to action. For example, you might be experimenting with different colors of an image (e.g. green vs red) for your call to action button in your email. By sending the same email but with slight variations of it, you can figure out which email is the best performing one in terms of open rate or click through rate.
To start working on an A/B test you need to have a pre-existing email message saved in the Email tab and have decided what changes you want to make to it.
The next step is to create as many versions of the original email as you wish. To do this, select the original email under Messages > Email > Saved and click on Create a copy from the actions drop down. Once you have created a copy of the message, go ahead and make the changes to that email. For example, your first version may have a different subject line. Continue to create as many copies of the original email for each change.
It is recommended that you change only one variable (e.g. subject line, images, text, etc) per email so that you can accurately track its result.
Once you have two or more variations of the message, you are ready to start your A/B test.
How to Run an A/B test
- Adding a new A/B test
- Viewing previously saved A/B tests
- Sending an A/B test
Additional Resources