To create powerful email marketing campaigns, you need to utilise all of the tools available. Today, we’re looking at something called multivariate testing email. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of this, we’ll explain everything below. You’ll learn what it is – and more importantly – how to get the most out of it for optimal campaign success!
What is MVT testing?
In simple terms, MVT testing is a tactic that looks at various combinations of elements in an email. The aim is to try different things until you get the best results. Tests are run after each change, tracking core metrics – like clickthrough rate or open rate – to see if there are improvements.
Some of the email elements you change include the subject line, content, images, CTAs, email titles and so on. You will use as many combinations as possible until the best format is discovered.
Multivariate testing vs AB testing
Those of you that have run marketing campaigns before will know that AB testing is prominent. On the face of it, this seems similar to multivariate testing. Both look at changing elements, running tests and finding the optimal formats.
However, the big difference is that AB testing only tracks the performance of one variable at a time. Multivariate testing looks at multiple variables in your email at once. For instance, AB email testing may see you create two emails with different subject lines. On the other hand, MVT testing emails could see you craft multiple emails with varying combinations of subject lines, images and CTAs.
When should you perform multivariate email testing?
Realistically, the best time to perform multivariate email testing is when you want to improve email campaigns. You have a long email list and wish to generate more leads than you’re currently generating. Testing different combinations will help you nail the perfect email structure and format to get more clicks and leads.
When is multivariate email testing most useful?
Email MVT is most useful when you have lots of different email elements and variables to deal with. You want to figure out how to combine these elements as effectively as possible and MVT is the only way to do this.
How to measure the success of email multivariate testing
To measure the success of email multivariate testing, you’re primarily looking at the outcomes of your emails. This means you have to track certain metrics that tell you if your emails are successful or not.
Outcomes
The four main outcomes you want to look at are:
- Open rates
- Click-through rates
- Conversion rates
- ROI
After running your tests, you’ll see how well each of the emails performs with their different combinations. Some may have better open rates than others, while some might convert more prospects. Keep testing until you find a combination that provides the best outcomes for every metric – paying particularly close attention to your ROI.
Common types of multivariate testing
We briefly touched upon this when explaining MVT, but here’s a rundown of the common types of multivariate testing you can run during your email campaigns.
Types
- Subject Line – try different versions of a subject line to see which one gets more people to open your emails.
- Content – create different content in your emails, using variations of headers and images to see which one keeps your target audience engaged and encourages more conversions.
- CTA – test multiple versions of a call-to-action and check metrics to see which one offers the best click-through rate.
- Landing Page – MVT email testing doesn’t just include your emails themselves. Try various landing pages and track which one converts leads better than others. You could also try different CTA and landing page combos to see which ones work better together.
- Personalization – play around with personalization in your emails. Make some more personal than others and see if this makes a positive/negative difference on things like open rate, CTR and engagement.
- Send Times – sending your emails at different times will also be a great thing to test. Is there a remarkable difference in how many responses or clicks you get when emails are sent at various times during the day?
There are other types of email MVT, but these are the best places to start!
Why it is important to perform email multivariate testing in marketing
It’s important to perform email multivariate testing in marketing as it helps you learn the best combinations for campaign success. You also save money and avoid wasting time because you learn what doesn’t work. It stops you from running campaigns that last months, yet are nowhere near optimal, causing your marketing budget to bleed try.
So, in short, multivariate testing is a brilliant technique to learn the optimal email format and send times for your marketing campaigns. If you aren’t already trying it, run some tests today!
With Instiller, our white label email platform provides detailed analysis of email marketing campaigns, so you can easily track the metrics needed to see how your tests pan out. Feel free to contact us today to learn more.