Try comparing apples to apples

MailChimp has launched an email optimizer that brings A/B testing functionality to email campaigns.

By enabling marketers to send one email to 50 percent of users and a slightly different one — in terms of content, time sent or date — to the other 50 percent, then track results on each effort, the feature enables campaigners to answer burning questions like:

• What time of day is it best to send a mailing effort?
• What kind of subject line do readers prefer?
• What type of promotions — coupons, sale dates, etc — generate more interest?

Users select the type of test they'd like to conduct, and the size of the sample group.

Last month, MailChimp brought spam testing capabilities to persevering email marketers.