A/B Split Testing: What Should You Test?

One of the absolute best ways to continuously improve the performance of your email campaigns is to use split testing, also called A/B split testing. A/B testing is a simple, scientific way to isolate and test variables in a real-world environment.

One of email marketing's greatest advantages is that it is easier (and much less expensive!) to test than any other marketing vehicle. This means with just a little effort, you can increase the effectiveness of your email campaigns and get the results you're looking for.

Testing can be as simple as breaking up a list into two parts (the proverbial A/B split) and emailing each group a unique "something."

Here are a couple of things you can/should test:

• Subject Line
• From name
• Timing
• Lead article/offer
• Call-to-action
• Length
• Salutation
• Landing pages

Tip: If you're testing more than one variable, it's critical to make sure that you test each of them one at a time, meaning one variable per test cell. This makes for more accurate results.

Sources: Maxenews | Constant Contact

Comments

[Richard Gibson]

Some really good advice. Given the power and flexibility of email it often amazes me that people don't test anywhere near often enough.

[Jeremy Dent]

Great advice! Gets complicated, of course, if you test too much and you end up with a complex matrix.

Test the factors that really matter: subject line and call-to-action?