What Is A/B Testing In Marketing? (And How To Do It)
Have you noticed that the emails you receive from newsletter subscriptions change subject lines from time to time? Have you also noticed that there are subject lines you’re more comfortable with opening and reading? Then over time, you’ll notice that the subject lines from the emails you receive are gradually written in ways to capture your attention.
This means that whoever you have subscribed a newsletter to has included you in their A/B testing activities. And they have found the right words and content topic to make you engage with their email campaigns. But what is A/B testing and why you should learn to do it as a solopreneur? Let’s find out.
What Is A/B Testing?
A/B testing is comparing two marketing strategies, versions of a webpage, or two email campaign templates and measuring how well each version performs. But instead of hiring experts to evaluate the performance of each marketing approach, you get data directly from two groups of your customers.
For example, if you want to find out which among Pepsi and Coca-Cola has more demand in your area, you should send Pepsi’s product promotion email to one group of retail store owners and send Coke’s promotion to another group. Then, compare which of the two groups has more engagement/inquiry.
Why Do You Need To Do A/B Testing?
Using a single marketing decision, strategy, or idea that works doesn’t necessarily mean marketing success. You may never know that a simple tweaking or different approach could yield a more promising return on investment (ROI) than the one you usually use.
Making an A/B test is also very important for solopreneurs who are in the email marketing and blogging niche. A color change on website buttons, smarter use of words in email content, and a different email template will drive an increase in website traffic and conversion rates. Typically above 10% if done right.
Which Elements Can You Actually Test?
1. Call-to-actions
CTAs tell your reader what to do when they have visited your website or your store. You can either set your website to show a scroll-triggered pop-up or put your mailing list form on the bottom of each webpage.
2. Images, audio, video, and colors
It might be more affordable and easier to design your webpage with mostly texts and long descriptions. But you should also consider that there might be a lot of users who are easily influenced by stock images or video testimonies.
Sometimes, color also plays a vital role in influencing your leads to make decisions. Blue, for example, is the best choice to use in CTA buttons if you want your users to trust your services and make decisions calmly.
3. Subject line and content
The subject line is the first thing users read when receiving your email campaigns. A salesy headline might feel like a cash grab to a customer that would discourage them while a witty one could drive better open rates. There are also instances that customers act upon a soft-toned paragraph more than a hard-sell approach.
4. Content depth
Like designing a webpage layout to be all-text, some inquisitive customers might prefer an in-depth discussion over a short description of a blog topic. Conduct an A/B test about this so you can get an idea about the maximum number of words you should use for each blog content.
5. Product descriptions
Most customers read entire product descriptions when shopping online to make a decision before buying. Others abandon inquiry when there are too many words clustered together. You can test different approaches when writing product descriptions like writing them in bullets or paragraphs.
A/B testing should be done at least once a week on one marketing element. This is for you to find the perfect brand layout that you should use which ensures you’re getting the most of your monetary and time investment. It’s also a fun way to unlock your solopreneur’s creativity and test what you have come up with.