What is A/B testing in the case of email marketing? It is the act of testing one variable between two versions of the same email. The emails send to a small percentage of your audience. Then, you send the better performing one to the rest of your audience.
After that, you can use the variable that tested better in your future emails. A/B testing is a great way to find out what works well for your agency. And, it helps you see what your audience responds to.
Use the following A/B tests to learn more about your agency’s client base. And, improve your email marketing engagement.
Sender Name & Email Address
The sender name is the first thing a recipient will look at when they see your email in their inbox. Do you think they will be more likely to open your email if it comes from the owner of the agency? What about their personal agent? There is also the option of the agency name, or someone else.
You can use A/B testing to see who the recipients recognize more. Choose the version with the highest open rates. Then, send emails from the sender that performed best.
Subject Line
The subject line is another first sight item that will determine whether the customer opens your email or not. Try including a buzzword in the subject line and see if it that prompts more opens. Or personalize the subject line with the recipient’s name. If your email marketing platform can’t personalize emails, try adding you in the subject line. For example:
- Test Subject Line A: Auto Insurance Rates in Your Area
- Test Subject Line B: Auto Insurance Rates
See which one garners a higher open rate. You could try testing out a plain subject line alongside a craftier one. Sometimes, you may notice that simplicity wins.
Calls to Action
As an insurance agent, you send emails to prompt recipients to take an action you want. A call to action button can help. Perhaps you want customers to contact you. You may want to go over their policies for a review and cross-selling opportunities.
You could test out whether a Get a Quote, Call Us, or Contact Us button gets the most clicks. Aside from wording, you can also test a button’s color, size or position.
Length, Copy, & Formatting
Like I mentioned, sometimes simplicity and clarity perform better than something fancy or too creative. See if a long or short email has a better click through rate. Test versions with more imagery or less graphics.
One of our customers who knows her audience like the back of her hand sends long newsletters. You would think would not work at all. But, her statistics show the long emails work for her agency.
It can be hard to guess what will perform well with your audience, and that is why it is best to test.
Day & Time
What is the best time to send an email? That is a question that every agency asks. It can differ for everyone. But you can know when your audience prefers to open emails by A/B testing.
Check if noon works better than 5 o’clock. Or, if Saturday works better than a weekday. You can never know the habits of your audience until you test these variables.
Now you have some A/B testing ideas, try them for yourself. But remember, you must make sure to always keep a report of your results. You will need them to reference for future marketing purposes. It is also best to only test one variable at a time. That way, you can isolate what it was that is making your email perform better or worse.
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