How to create an A/B testing campaign

In this guide, you’ll learn how to A/B test changes in email content and track performance of different content variations.

A/B testing helps to compare the effectiveness of different email content versions so you can choose the most well-performing template.

You can test the subject line, shorter/longer emails, the value proposition, media/visuals, the type of call to action, the level of personalization.

Add A/B test to your sequence

A/B testing campaigns test different versions of a single email in your sequence.

To add A/B testing variants to your email, go to a sequence editor. Add an email element to the sequence and click Add A/B test below.

Note: You can add up to 15 test variations to each email step in your sequence. In each variant, change the element of your email (subject line, content, text, call to action) that you want to test.

How A/B testing campaigns work

An A/B test is similar to running a straightforward campaign, with the exception that instead of sending a defined email template, each email step will randomly select a variant among added ones and evenly distribute among recipients.

It is possible to add variants to each email step, but keep in mind that each step will choose a variant randomly.

The subject line of the follow-up emails will be the same as the first email of the sequence to keep the conversation in one thread.

To ensure your A/B tests are meaningful:

Run tests in campaigns with a sufficient number of recipients based on your outreach volume (the larger your outreach, the more prospects should participate).
Test only one element of the email at a time to clearly identify what influenced the results.

Variation ideas to A/B test

Below are a few ideas on what you can test in your email variants:

1. Subject line

Try to phrase your subject line differently to see what gets the most attention.

Read our blog post on subject line testing for tips and tricks to get more email opens.

2. Email template

Experiment with small changes to your email presentation or use a different template altogether to see what gets a better response.

3. Media and images

Try different approach with using text-only email templates or add pictures GIFs to see what type of content your recipients prefer.

Track email variant performance

You can track which variations perform best in the campaign statistics. Go to the Statistics tab on your campaign dashboard and check the Campaign steps section.

Review detailed metrics for each variant to identify which ones achieved the best results and engagement.

To complete an A/B test, check what variants are statistically better and disable (pause or delete) losing variants.

If you notice that neither variant performs particularly better, it means that the variations you tested didn’t impact the results. In this case, stick with the original email template, or run another A/B test with different variations.