If there's one piece of advice experts have for email marketers, it's to test, test and test again. To be sure you're getting everything you possibly can from your A/B tests, Kristen Gregory of Bronto offers four pieces of very good advice:

Remember that one test won't give you a conclusive answer. "Flukes happen," she says. "You can’t try something one time and be certain of anything." You can't be confident that you're observing a trend until you've tried it at least three times, she points out.

Time your tests to gauge the reaction of a typical recipient. This is unlikely to happen if, for instance, a test at 2 a.m. determines what will be sent at 7 a.m. "I would argue that unless you're assured that your audience is comprised of early risers with plenty of email-browsing time, this isn't the best way to test," she notes.

Don't make a snap decision based on preliminary results. "If you send out test segments at 9 a.m.," she advises, "you probably don't want to declare a winner by 10 am and send that creative out to the remainder of your list." To get the best sense of efficacy, give a test at least a few hours—and check in again when more time has passed.

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