Also known as ‘split testing’, A/B testing is a way for marketers to
figure out which of two campaign options is the most effective in terms
of conversions, opens or clicks. For a standard A/B test of your email
campaign, you will need to set up 2 variations of the same campaign and
send each to a small but equal percentage of your recipients. So, one
half will get version A, the other half will receive version B. You will
then measure the result based on the amount of opens or clicks that
each version generated, and this will determine the winning email
campaign that you send out to the remainder of your subscribers.
Pretty simple, but wonderfully effective.
One of the great things about email campaigns is that you are already
working with a pre-qualified base. That is to say that your recipients
will be people who have decided that they want to receive information
from you via email, and have even gone to the lengths of filling out
your subscription form. Many of them will probably have already done
business with you at some point, and so you want to keep them happy –
it’s far easier (not to mention cheaper) to retain existing customers
than it is to acquire new ones.
Indeed, this is one of the most important reasons for running A/B
tests in the first place, especially when you are experimenting with new
formats, designs and techniques for your email campaigns. Conversion
rates are generally higher on email campaigns than they are on your
social media efforts, simply because, as I have already outlined, these
are people who have taken action to subscribe to your newsletter and are
perhaps existing customers already.
So, What Can You Test?
The fist stage of setting up a round of split testing is of course
deciding exactly which elements of your email campaign that you want to
test. You will probably want to test more than one thing – however, you
will only be able to properly measure the results by testing one
variation at a time. Otherwise, you won’t know for sure which of the 3
or 4 variations that you include are the ones that are really making the
difference.
Here is a list of things that you will most likely be considering putting through a round of A/B testing:
- Email subject line
- Call to action button(s)
- Layout (does a single column or a double work best? Does the featured image work best at the top or at the bottom of the document?)
- Testimonials (i.e. which ones you should include (if any at all))
- Headline (design, size, colour, font etc.)
- Body text (style and font)
- Written content (formal/informal)
- Images
- Personalization (i.e. do you address “Mr Bloggs” or “Dear Joe”?)
- The offer (i.e. 10% off vs. free shipping, for example)
Each of the elements in the above list will have a very specific
effect on different parts of the conversion process. Your call to action
(CTA) buttons, for example, will have a direct effect on how many
people actually end up buying your product or click through to the
landing page of your website. Your subject line, on the other hand, will
have a determining effect on how many of your subscribers actually open
your email in the first place.
Deciding What To Test First
You should have a good hard think about this before you set about
your first round of A/B testing. If you’re finding that not a lot of
people are opening your emails, then perhaps you should aim to hone your
skills at writing the most enticing subject lines first. If, on the
other hand, you are generating a lot of opens, but not a lot of
conversions are actually resulting in return, then perhaps you’re
focussing too heavily on entertaining your readers with your adroit and
witty prose, rather than convincing them to buy your product. Or maybe
it’s your CTA buttons that aren’t standing out enough.
Either way, it is important that you test the most important elements
of your campaign first – and I would identify these as your subject
line, your header, your CTA buttons, and your specific offer. Once
you’ve got these nailed, then it’s time to start trying to fine-tune the
rest of your messages in order to gain those extra few conversions that
you so crave.
Test Your Whole List
Don’t shy away from any part of your list, however. Yes, get the most
significant parts of it optimized to their very best, but keep working
through the list until you’ve got a near perfect template that is
generating a higher conversion rate than you have ever experienced
before.
Tools
Most email campaign software comes with already built-in tools for
carrying out A/B testing. If yours doesn’t, then consider switching to MailChimp, GetResponse, Active Campaign or Campaign Monitor, all of which have superb facilities for carrying out these sorts of tests.
If you don’t fancy switching, then the alternative of course is to
set up a split test manually, by literally dividing your subscriber list
into 2 parts and sending a separate version out to each. You will of
course also have to compare your results manually in this instance, but
spreadsheets will help you to visualise the results.
What are your experiences in A/B testing? Do you have any
killer tips that you think readers of this blog would like to know
about? We’d love to hear what you have to say, and please sign up to the
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you’re at it!! Thank you!!
Source: http://www.markitwrite.com/ab-testing-email-campaigns/
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