Important: To improve the feature, A/B Testing is temporarily unavailable for customers who signed up for a ReferralCandy account starting October 17, 2024.
With ReferralCandy, you can do A/B testing on your post-purchase invite emails to see which version works best. Compare two versions of your invite emails, then analyze and optimize to improve your content and your referral engagement.
Using A/B testing
A. Plan your tests
The A/B Testing page allows you to create a "B" variation of your post-purchase email to test against your existing email, or your "A" variation. We recommend you plan out your A/B tests before you start.
You can change every aspect of your post-purchase email, including the subject line, body text, and even the primary color and font of the email.
Change one variable at a time
For your A/B test to be accurate, change only one variable at a time. This helps you isolate which change was the most effective. We recommend you prioritize these three variables:
Email subject line
Heading text & banner image
Call-to-action button (‘Advocate Portal Link Text’ in the UI)
Pro Tip: Read our Promoting your referral program to learn how you can draft attention-grabbing and compelling referral emails.
Decide when to end
You should also decide when to end the test, before you start the test. This prevents you from making a snap decision based on early results. The results of your testing will be more accurate with the more emails you send.
For more information, you can check out these resources on A/B testing to decide on the parameters of your tests:
From Shopify: How long should A/B tests run?
Once you’ve set up the parameters for your test, you can now set up your first A/B test.
B. Set up your test email
To create a new A/B test:
On the ReferralCandy dashboard, go to Campaigns > Select your campaign.
Go to A/B Testing.
Click Create A New Test to start setting up a new A/B test. You’ll be presented with a screen that compares both variations of your email, side-by-side.
Click the Edit to edit the "B" version.
Edit the content and branding of your email "B".
Once you’re done editing, you can select whether to start the test immediately, or schedule it for a future date.
Click Start Now to begin the test right away.
C. Review the results and select the winner
Once you begin the test, 50% of your customers will receive Email A and 50% will receive Email B. Monitor the progress on the A/B Testing page to see which variation is generating more clicks.
Once you’ve reached an actionable result, stop the test by choosing to Keep Email A or Apply Email B. You can also stop testing if you notice one variation is clearly outperforming the other variation. The winning variation becomes the default post-purchase email.
Frequently asked questions about A/B Testing
Are there plans to expand A/B testing to other ReferralCandy Features?
Are there plans to expand A/B testing to other ReferralCandy Features?
Yes! We have plans to roll out A/B testing for other aspects of your referral program, including post-purchase widgets, friend landing pages, and referral rewards.
To stay informed about upcoming plans, subscribe to our product newsletter, or inform your Customer Success Manager to let you know when the new feature is released.
Do I need to A/B test my emails to get more referrals?
Do I need to A/B test my emails to get more referrals?
A/B testing is simply one of the levers to improve the performance of your referral program. Many of our customers get amazing results by simply choosing the right referral incentives, promoting their referral program to customers, and following our simple checklist to get more referrals.
For merchants who are used to A/B testing emails or want to maximize the effectiveness of their campaigns, A/B testing is an option.
Why can't I access A/B testing?
Why can't I access A/B testing?
To improve the feature, A/B testing is temporarily unavailable for customers who signed up for a ReferralCandy account starting October 17, 2024. We expect the feature to be restored in the coming months.
If you signed up before this date and you're seeing issues with the A/B testing page, contact us.
💬 Need help? Click the chat widget on the right to start a conversation. Learn more