How to Set Up A/B Testing for Email Campaigns
How A/B Testing Works for Email Campaigns
A/B testing allows you to compare different versions of your email campaigns to determine which performs best with your audience. You can test up to six variations of either the subject line or the content. The CRM will automatically send the winning version to the remainder of your contact list after the test concludes.
Key Requirements
- Each variation requires a minimum of 10 contacts.
- A total of at least 40 contacts is needed to run any split test.
- A/B tests can only be sent using Send Now or by scheduling for a specific date/time. Batch scheduling and RSS scheduling are not supported.
- If no results are recorded by the end of the test duration, the first variation is declared the winner by default.
Setting Up an A/B Test
Step 1: Create a New Campaign and Enable A/B Testing
Navigate to Marketing > Emails, then select Campaign from the dropdown menu. After creating a new email campaign, locate and enable the A/B Testing option.
Step 2: Choose What to Test
Select whether you want to test your Email Subject Line (to optimize open rates) or your Email Content (to optimize click rates). Testing subject lines can help you find the most engaging preview text, while testing content allows you to experiment with elements like headlines, images, call-to-action buttons, or body length.
Step 3: Set the Test Duration
Choose how long the test should run. The duration can be set from 30 minutes up to 24 hours. This is the period during which results are collected to determine a winner. Consider your audience’s typical engagement patterns when selecting this timeframe.
Step 4: Select the Number of Variations
Decide how many variations you want to test (up to six). Use the slider to set the percentage of your audience that will receive the test versions. Each variation is sent to an equal share of the test group.
Step 5: Choose the Winning Criteria
Select the metric that will determine the winner: Unique Open Rate or Unique Click Rate. The variation with the highest performance in your chosen metric will be sent to the rest of your contacts.
Step 6: Send or Schedule Your Test
After preparing your variations, you can preview your campaign by clicking the three-dot menu. To launch, set the delivery method to either Send Now or Schedule For Specific Date/Time. Once sent, you can review detailed statistics and reports for each variation and the overall campaign.