There are a lot of variables for email content that can make or break your conversion. But when it comes to A/B testing, many people test subject lines only. Granted, that’s where it all starts for someone opening your email…but what about everyone who opens it then bounces?
Here are different elements that can be A/B tested:
- The Sender Name – First Name / Full Name. Person’s Name / Brand Name. Email Address 1 / Email Address 2.
- The Subject Line – Subejct Line Option 1 / Option 2. Short / Long Copy. Personalized / General. Questions / None. (And so many other things depending on what you are marketing).
- The Preview Text – (Similar to subject lines) Preview Line Option 1 / Option 2. Short / Long Copy. Personalized / General. Questions / None.
- The Time of Sending – There are two big questions here: Does timing around a trigger event make a difference? What frequency works – daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly?
- The Content – Same sandwich, different meat. Layout 1 / Layout 2. Short / Long Copy. Image Heavy / Text Heavy. Numbers + Stats / None. Personalization / None.
- The CTAs – Copy 1 / Copy 2. Placement 1 / Placement 2. Color 1 / Color 2.
Common A/B testing mistakes:
- Sometimes you don’t want to do a 50/50 split of your full list. Test a smaller sample first, then determine if A or B should happen to your full list.
- On that note, don’t lump everyone together. Test depending on behavior segments.
- Form a hypothesis before an A/B test and determine your measurement goals before seeing the results.
- Test one element at a time. It’s slow going work, but it will get you the most accurate insight on what is or isn’t working.
- Never. Stop. Testing. Things change. So an A/B test may give a certain result one quarter before your engagement changes in the next.
Check our Convertcart’s full blog post for more testing ideas, stats, and brand examples.
