A/B tests

Try up to three versions of a mailing on part of your audience, and send the winner to the rest.

An A/B test sends different versions of a mailing to a small part of your audience first. After a wait, the version that did best goes to everyone else. A/B tests are on Professional and up.

What you can test

You can make up to three versions - A, B and C. Each version can have its own:

subject
preview text
from name
content

Change one thing at a time, like only the subject. Then you know what made the difference.

Set up a test

Design version A as usual. See Design a mailing.
In the mailing, turn on A/B test and add version B, and C if you like. Change what you want to test.
Choose the test share - the part of the audience that gets the test, for example 20%. It's split evenly between the versions.
Choose how the winner is picked:
- opens, clicks or replies
- leads, quotes or revenue that followed the mailing - see Sales from your mailings
Choose the wait - how many hours to wait before picking the winner.
Choose what happens then: send the winner to the rest by itself, or let me pick.
Send or schedule the mailing as usual.

While the test runs

Open the mailing to see each version's results side by side. If you chose "let me pick", pick the version you want there, and it goes to the rest.

Tips

A test needs enough people to mean something. With a small list, test on a bigger share, or send to everyone and learn for next time.
Clicks are a surer sign than opens. Some mail apps, such as Apple Mail, open emails by themselves, which makes opens look higher than they are.
Waiting longer gives a surer result, but the rest get the mailing later. A few hours is often enough for opens and clicks. Sales take longer.