A/B testing different elements of your email marketing campaigns is a great way to ensure that you are sending your best emails to the majority of your customers.

As we talked about in chapter 4, one key aspect of email optimization is A/B testing different elements of your email marketing campaigns. 

There is a lot that can go into A/B testing — it can be as simple as testing different subject lines or as complicated as testing entirely different email copy. The more aspects of your email that you A/B test will help ensure that the majority of your recipients are receiving the highest performing emails possible.

What Is A/B Testing In Email Marketing?

A/B testing (also commonly referred to as split testing) is a method of testing two different versions of an element of your email campaign to determine which version is more effective with your audience.

As an email marketer, you may typically A/B different elements of your campaign such as the subject line, preview text, sender name, email content, call-to-action, or even the overall design of the email.

The A/B testing process typically begins by randomly splitting a percentage of your email list into two groups and sending one version of your planned email (version A) to one group and the other version of the email (version B) to the second group. Once the email has been sent you are then able compare the performance of the two versions based on key metrics such as open rate, click rates, and conversion rates.

By testing different elements of your email campaigns through A/B testing, you can optimize your campaigns for better results — ensuring that you are sending the better performing email to the majority of your customers. For example, if you find that version A of your email campaign has a higher open rate than version B, you can use the insights gained from your testing to improve your future campaigns. Maybe including emojis in your subject lines resonates more with your audience. A/B testing is a great way to find out.

Once you decide to begin A/B testing your email campaigns, it's important to only test one variable at a time. This will help accurately determine which element is responsible for any changes in performance. 

Additionally, it's important to have a large enough sample size to make statistically significant conclusions. We touched on this a bit in chapter 4, but you should plan to A/B test with 10-20% of your subscribers.

(Note: you should have at least 1,000 total subscribers or contacts before you begin A/B testing for best results).

A/B Testing Ideas

There are countless elements of your email that you could theoretically A/B test. You could even A/B test off of the “winning” results of a previous A/B test. 

We went in depth on some of these key elements in chapter 4. As a quick recap:

• Subject Line: The subject line of your email is one of the most important factors in determining whether a customer opens an email or not. Test different subject lines to see which ones generate higher open rates.

• Preview Text: What a recipient sees immediately following the subject line. Test different short blurbs here to see which ones grab your customer’s attention.

• Sender Name and Email Address: The name and email address that appear in the "From" field can also have an impact on open rates. Test different sender names and email addresses to see which ones generate higher open rates. Some of your customers may not open emails from a [email protected] styled address for example.

• Email Content: Test different messaging and overall design/flow of an email to see which ones generate higher click-through rates and conversions.

• Call to Action: Test different CTAs to see which ones generate more clicks and conversions. Try testing different text, button colors, and placement.

• Personalization: Test the effectiveness of personalization in your email campaigns. Try using different levels of personalization, such as including the recipient's name in the subject line or body of the email. This little change may go a long way with your customers. 

• Images: Test different images in your emails, or maybe even no images at all. Test different styles of images (black and white, colorful, GIFs, etc) to see what grabs your reader’s attention.

• Timing and frequency: Test different send times and frequencies to determine the optimal schedule for your email campaigns. Do your customers open emails on weekends? Do you customers prefer daily or weekly emails? Test to find out.

Remember, it's important to test one variable at a time to accurately determine which element is responsible for any changes in performance. Once you have the results of one test you are able to test a second variable.

Additionally, it's important to have a large enough sample size to make statistically significant conclusions. A/B testing emails off of 100 subscribers will not yield statistically significant results and may ultimately lead you in the wrong direction. 

A/B Testing Best Practices

As you can see, there are endless opportunities for A/B testing in email marketing. A/B testing can quickly become extremely time consuming if you’re not paying attention to how you’re spending your time with it.

Here are some A/B testing best practices that will help you focus on the most important aspects while optimizing for the highest ROI possible.

• Define your goals: Before beginning an A/B test, define your goals and determine what you want to achieve. This will help you identify the variables you want to test and ensure that your testing is aligned with your business objectives.

• Test one variable at a time: Test one variable at a time in order to accurately determine which element is responsible for any changes in performance. For example, if you're testing subject lines, make sure that all other elements of the email are identical (preview text, images, content, etc).

• Use a significant sample size: Use a large enough sample size to ensure that your results are statistically significant.

• Test often: Don't stop testing once you've identified the winning group. Continuously test your email campaigns to ensure that you're always improving your results. There will never be a “perfect” email.

• Measure your results: Measure your results to gain insights into what worked and what didn't. Use these insights to inform your future email campaigns in order to optimize your overall email marketing strategy.

Remember, A/B testing is just one of many tools for improving the effectiveness of email marketing campaigns, but it's definitely an important one. A/B test different elements of your emails and pay close attention to any differences or trends that emerge over time. It’s an ongoing process that will yield great results if taken seriously.