A/B testing doesn’t have to be scary

Nhu Te on Oct 23, 2024 9:13:59 PM

104: A/B testing doesn’t have to be scary

As marketers, A/B testing is a powerful tool for optimizing performance, but it’s not always straightforward. Sometimes the data is inconclusive, other times surprising trends emerge, and occasionally, conflicting results leave us asking, “What now?”

To help you navigate these testing challenges, we’re sharing resources to fine-tune your approach and achieve better results.

And here’s a little treat: We’ve added a new section to the Good Marketing Brief called “The take-home template,” where we’ll share free templates, prompts, and tools to help you put strategy into action.

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The take-home template

The year-end giving season is right around the corner, and if creating a plan is still on your list, we have the resource you’ve been waiting for.

Even with November fast approaching, it’s not too late to activate your campaign. And with our free EOY fundraising calendar, you can put that plan into action today!

Snackable snippets

There’s a smarter way to A/B test 📖

Researchers at Kellogg have come up with a way to make A/B testing more efficient by cutting the number of consumer observations needed by up to 50%.

Their new model focuses on how users respond to each option, helping companies save on costs while still getting reliable results.

The benefits of dynamic creative automation 📖

While setting up dynamic creative automation across your marketing channels takes some effort initially, once it’s in place, it becomes a smooth, repeatable process that saves time and speeds up future campaigns.

Plus, delivering more personalized content not only cuts costs but also boosts engagement, making it a win-win for nonprofits.

Tests initiatives like charity: water 🎧

Brady Josephson, marketing & growth lead at charity: water, joins us on Good Marketing Unplugged to share the nonprofit’s storytelling and willingness to try new things, even if they don’t always work out.

He encourages nonprofits to experiment and take smart risks through trying, piloting, and testing ideas to see what sticks. This mindset helps organizations learn from mistakes and make better decisions to boost their impact and success.

How to optimize fundraising emails and what to test 📖

From testing subject lines and send times to experimenting with media formats and copy length, doing targeted A/B tests can significantly boost engagement and donations, helping you tailor your approach to better connect with your supporters.

This article shares best practices to keep in mind and even offers some optimizations, like send times and send-from addresses.

Your A/B test didn’t validate… Now what? 📖

A/B testing doesn’t always give you a clear winner, but even when the results aren’t conclusive, there’s still something to learn.

Whether the test shows no change, a negative impact, or a positive trend, each outcome helps you understand your audience better and fine-tune your strategy for next time.

In the news

According to recent research, 55% of in-house marketers use A/B and multivariate testing, while more complex analytics like predictive or sentiment analysis are less common.

However, 56% of marketing executives believe generative AI could improve the accuracy of predictive analytics, and 46% think it will enhance real-time decision-making.

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Google’s new Video experiments tool simplifies A/B testing for advertisers by allowing them to quickly test creative variations and measure their impact.

With features like automatic duplication of campaigns and flexible confidence intervals, it aims to make optimizing video ads easier and more data-driven, helping improve performance and ROI.

For your inspiration folder

If you’re ready to launch digital ads but feeling creatively stuck, we’ve got you covered.

Check out this blog for inspiration from nonprofits like The Humane Society of North Central Florida and Sea Turtle Conservancy. We’ve organized the examples by cause, making it easy to find the perfect fit for your next campaign.

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