12 - A/B test your Emails

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A/B testing, commonly known as 'split testing' can be used to monitor and compare two areas such as your website homepage or emails.

It allows you to test and subsequently work out which campaign is the best performing. For email, this helps to decide which copy and content generates the most opens or click through, for example. Testing can be applied to the subject line, through to the content and imagery throughout.

The results of split testing really help to test assumptions and can unveil some surprising results. Research by Kissmetrics showed huge uplift examples from testing, including;

• A 400% increase to conversion rate with a change of design
• A change of copy boosted conversion by 110%
• A 304% boost in conversions by simply moving the call to action

To A/B test, simply set up two variations of your email and send each to a small percentage of your total subscribers and use your analytics to determine which worked best.

Top tip: Split your sample groups randomly

In order to ensure the most conclusive results from your A/B testing, your sample groups should be split randomly. Decide on the sample size and make sure both tests have the exact same number of visitors. Some platforms work this out automatically for you with a split test function.

That's all for today. Stay tuned for more tips and tricks from our free advent calendar.