A/B Testing: Sending The Right Email Campaign

In today’s digital marketing world, email marketing sometimes gets lost in the mix. However, don't be fooled, when used properly, sending the right information, to the right people, at the right time (via email), can be very effective. An email marketing technique that can dramatically improve email performance, but is woefully under-utilized, is the simple A/B Test.

What is A/B Testing?

A/B Testing, also known as split-testing, is the process of sending and comparing two or more versions of an email campaign to discover which one performs better. The process is fairly straightforward.

First, you compare the two email campaigns by creating two variants (A & B) of your email, then send each of these variants to a sample portion of your email list at the same time. The variant that receives the higher conversion rate (whether that is measured by open rate or click through, or some other metric), is the winning email campaign that you will send to your remaining email list.

What to Test

With A/B Testing, you can test a multitude of elements in your email campaign. Some of these include:

• Call-To-Actions

• Subject Line

• From Name

• From Email Address

• Testimonials

• Column Layouts

• Body Text

• Headlines

• Images

For the most accurate results, it’s best to test one element at a time.

Why A/B Testing?

If carried out correctly and consistently, A/B Testing can have a substantial impact on your business. By running these types of tests repeatedly, you are learning more and more about your target audience's preferences and buying habits. The more you utilize A/B Testing, the more successful your next email campaign will be.

See How It Works in Robly's System

Robly, an email marketing automation provider, features A/B and multi-variant testing to optimize content and increase click-through rates. Robly allows you to test as many variants as you want, through a simple process. When creating your campaign, set up your A/B Test on the third step of the campaign building process.

First, add your A/B variations, i.e., the different versions of your email campaign (See image below). The weight percentages of each variant will automatically update as you add and delete variants. Next, under Test Settings, choose your sample size, i.e., the percentage of your email list that you want the variants to go to. After you’ve chosen your sample size, set how much time you want your test to collect information before deciding the winning campaign. Lastly, base the winning campaign off either the open rate or number of unique clicks. To start your A/B Test, click “Next Step” and send out your test emails.

Once your A/B Test is over, Robly automatically picks the winning campaign and sends this campaign to your remaining email list. If you want to choose the winner before the time period is over, end the A/B Test early and pick the winning campaign yourself.

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