Why A/B Testing Subject Lines for Click Rate Changes Everything

Welp.

After two weeks of both my kids back in school I finally got the preschool plague.

I'm writing this with a fever of 101.7° and chills.

 Honestly I just want to crawl under a blanket and watch terrible Netflix shows.

But if Michael Jordan could score 38 points in an NBA Finals with the flu, I can suck it up and pound out this newsletter.

Here we go. Keeping this one short and sweet.

An unusual A/B test that changed everything.

I've always hated A/B testing subject lines.

Typically it’s to see which subject line gets the most opens then you send the winning subject line to rest of your list.

The thought is that more opens = more clicks = more conversions.

But honestly, I rarely see better open rates translate into more sales.

But last week with a client, I tried something different.

We AB tested subject lines…

But instead of choosing a winning subject line by opens, we chose a winner by clicks.

I was skeptical. Subject lines only affect opens, right?

Not so fast….

Check this out

Subject A: "Don't read this if you're hungry" 

Subject B: "4 new bagel ideas that you will love"

Subject line B got a 62% higher click rate (with 100% statistical significance).

When we sent the winner to 300,000 people, click rates jumped from our usual 0.5% to 1.1%.

That's double the engagement.

Why did this work?

What I think is happening here:

Your subject line isn't just a door opener - it's a dog whistle.

(Marketing GOAT Perry Marshall calls it racking the shotgun)

"4 new bagel ideas" didn't just get more opens. It called to the bagel lovers on our list.

The people who actually care about bagels, who want bagel recipes, who will click on bagel links.

The curiosity line ("Don't read this if you're hungry") cast a wide net. Got random people.

But the specific subject line was like a bat signal for bagel lovers.

I'm not 100% sure this is what's happening yet. I’ll to run more tests this week. But it's making me think...

Maybe subject lines do more than we give them credit for. Maybe they're not just about getting the email opened - they're about getting it opened by the RIGHT people.

Now if you'll excuse me.

I’m going to go take a bath. Then wrap a hot towel around my head. And then make myself some soup, get a nap.

Catch you next time.

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