Skip to main content
Email & SMS

The Best Practices For A/B Testing

A/B testing features are a useful tool for brands and digital marketing agencies looking to optimise their communication with customers. An A/B test

5 min read

The Best Practices For A/B Testing

A/B testing features are a useful tool for brands and digital marketing agencies looking to optimise their communication with customers. An A/B test allows you to show different creative and copywriting work to different groups of your audience. Marketers can then test which version is the most effective when asking audiences to complete a call-to-action within their email marketing campaign .

If you already have a successful marketing strategy but you’d like to perfect your communication with your customers, then you can consider A/B testing with:

  • From name From name

  • Subject line Subject line

  • Copy on CTA Copy on CTA

  • Colours for the CTA Colours for the CTA

  • The offer amount The offer amount

  • Imagery using predictive analytics Imagery using predictive analytics

However, if you’re considering a dramatic change in your email marketing strategy , A/B testing can help with testing new brand ideas with audiences. This can include:

  • Changing your brand voice Changing your brand voice

  • New layouts for your email template New layouts for your email template

  • Different brand colours Different brand colours

  • Participating with a new brand community Tip 1: Don’t end your test too early When creating an A/B test, It is imperative that you wait the appropriate amount of time before ending the test. If the test is ended too early the results from it may not be accurate. This can be done by waiting until you have an ideal sample size of viewers or until your results become statistically significant. As a result, you’ll have a better understanding of which is more effective for your brand. Tip 2: Make sure to test one variable at a time It’s important to stick to one variable at a time when A/B testing. If you choose to test multiple variables at once and see a spike in rates, it won’t be clear which variable the successful test came from when reviewing your results. Moreover, it’s notable to use a maximum of 4 variations within one variable per test. The more variations you add, you’ll need a larger scale audience to get the correct results. Tip 3: Don’t edit live A/B tests Once you have created a test and put it live, don’t go back and make tweaks as this will impact your results. Instead, you can end your A/B test or cancel the email and then restart the test to be sure to collect the correct data. Tip 4: Get the audience’s opinion Asking your audience for feedback can be a useful marketing strategy after your A/B test. Segment your audience to those who are likely to respond by tagging those who interacted with your CTA. From here, you can send a follow-up email asking for feedback, so you can get a clear idea of what resonates with your customers. This is also a great way to communicate better with your viewers and produce more advocates for your brand. Need help with your A/B testing? We have a team of experts trained in email marketing and we’d love to chat! Get in touch today. Participating with a new brand community

Tip 1: Don’t end your test too early

When creating an A/B test, It is imperative that you wait the appropriate amount of time before ending the test. If the test is ended too early the results from it may not be accurate. This can be done by waiting until you have an ideal sample size of viewers or until your results become statistically significant. As a result, you’ll have a better understanding of which is more effective for your brand.

Tip 2: Make sure to test one variable at a time

It’s important to stick to one variable at a time when A/B testing. If you choose to test multiple variables at once and see a spike in rates, it won’t be clear which variable the successful test came from when reviewing your results. Moreover, it’s notable to use a maximum of 4 variations within one variable per test. The more variations you add, you’ll need a larger scale audience to get the correct results.

Tip 3: Don’t edit live A/B tests

Once you have created a test and put it live, don’t go back and make tweaks as this will impact your results. Instead, you can end your A/B test or cancel the email and then restart the test to be sure to collect the correct data.

Tip 4: Get the audience’s opinion

Asking your audience for feedback can be a useful marketing strategy after your A/B test. Segment your audience to those who are likely to respond by tagging those who interacted with your CTA. From here, you can send a follow-up email asking for feedback, so you can get a clear idea of what resonates with your customers. This is also a great way to communicate better with your viewers and produce more advocates for your brand.

Need help with your A/B testing? We have a team of experts trained in email marketing and we’d love to chat! Get in touch today.

First published on miramarketing.co.uk. Archived in the rebuild.

Three at a time. Never more.

The journal in your inbox.

No tracker pixels. No drip campaigns. New posts land when there are three worth reading, never on a publishing schedule.

Got a problem instead? Hand it to us.