Basics of Email Split Testing and Email Multivariate Testing 

The concept of split testing is very simple:  You have two versions of an email; and, there is one specific varying element between the two versions. Send each version of the email to a subset of the total contact database. Watch to see what the impact of the variant in the two versions is. 

Multivariate testing is the same a split testing; but, instead of looking at two specific versions, we are looking at multiple versions of the email varying different components. 

To try split testing in ActiveDEMAND follow the steps below: 

Step 1

Start by creating a newsletter campaign. To find more information about setting up a newsletter campaign visit this page: Getting Started with Newsletter Campaigns.

Step 2

Create your entire newsletter email;  then click the "Create Alt. Version" button on the top right corner. It is important to finish the original email version first because once you create an alternate version it's really making a copy of your existing email, and allowing you to make certain changes on the new one.

Step 3

A pop up will come up. Select that this version will be sent "as a candidate in a split test". Name it something relevant to what is being tested on the email. For example: " With Preheader Text", "Without Preheader Text".'

Once you have created the second version, you can switch between them by selecting the correct version from the drop down menu on the  top of the builder. 

Step 4

To edit the split / multivariate test settings, go to the "Email Versions" tab. Here you can set what percentage of the contact list will receive which version. For example, you could set it to test on 10% of the entire contact list; half will receive one version, and the other half will receive the other one. The remainder of the list, will receive the email that got the better open rate. 

This video covers the basics of Email Split and Multi-Variate testing. You will learn:

• Creating multiple versions
• Setting up experiments
• Viewing the results

NOTE: Split Testing is only available in the first email of a Newsletter Campaign. Subsequent emails in the Newsletter Campaign use the conditional send.

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