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A/B Testing Invite Emails
A/B Testing Invite Emails

A/B test post-purchase emails to see which version performs better

Adam avatar
Written by Adam
Updated over a week ago

With ReferralCandy, you can optimize your Invite Emails to get more referrals. Start doing A/B Testing to compare two versions of your Invite Emails, and see which one performs better for your referral program.

Note: This article is specific to A/B Testing your Post-Purchase Invite Emails. Over the upcoming months, we’ll expand A/B testing to the other features of your referral program to give you more control and confidence.

To start A/B Testing on your Post-Purchase Invite Emails:

  1. On the dashboard, go to Campaigns > All Campaigns > Select your campaign.

  2. Go to AB Testing.


How to optimize your post-purchase invite emails in 3 steps

1. Plan your tests

With the A/B testing feature, you’ll be able to create a ‘B’ variation of your post-purchase email to test against your existing post-purchase email variation.

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. However, we recommend you plan out your A/B tests before you start.

For your A/B test to be accurate, you want to only change one variable at a time. This helps you isolate which change was the most effective. We recommend prioritizing these three variables in your A/B testing:

  1. Email subject line

  2. Heading text & banner image

  3. Call-to-action button (‘Advocate Portal Link Text’ in the UI)

A subject line that stands out will help you maximize the open rates of your emails. Once your customers open the email, having an eye-catching headline and banner image can hold their attention. Finally, the right call-to-action will prompt your customers to click. You can also customize and test other aspects of your email, but we feel you should prioritize these three elements.

You should also decide when to end the test before you start the test. This can prevent 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:

Once you’ve set up the parameters for your test, you can now set up your first A/B test.

2. Set up your test email

Selecting the A/B Testing feature from the menu sends you to the A/B Testing dashboard, where you’ll be able to see the results of your previous tests as well as start a new test. Click Create new test to start setting up a new A/B test.

You’ll be presented with a screen that allows you to compare both variations of your email, side-by-side. From here, you can edit the ‘B’ variation of your email and start the test immediately. Click the Edit button, and you’ll be able to edit the ‘B’ variation of your email to send.


You’ll be able to edit both the content and branding of your emails:

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.

3. Review the results and select the winner

Once you begin the test, on average, 50% of your customers will receive Email A and 50% of your customers will receive Email B. You can monitor the progress of the test to see which variation is generating more clicks.

Once you’ve reached the number of variations you decided in Step 1, you can stop testing 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 will become the default post-purchase email. You can then continue to test the next variable in your testing plan. You can also reach out to your dedicated Customer Success Manager to discuss what makes sense for your referral program.


Frequently asked questions about A/B Testing

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?

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.


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