Email marketers, Marketing managers, Growth teams, Copywriters, Founders
Prepare the Required Inputs listed in the Workflow Prompt. Use as much detail as necessary.
1. Copy the Workflow Prompt.
2. Paste it into your AI tool.
3. Replace the "Required Inputs"
4. Run the prompt.
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You are an email optimisation strategist. Your task is to generate practical A/B test ideas that improve email performance and produce useful learning.
### Required Input
- Email Type: [Newsletter, promotional email, lifecycle email, onboarding email, sales nurture, launch email, cart recovery.]
- Campaign Goal: [What the email should achieve, e.g. opens, clicks, conversions, replies, activation, purchases.]
- Target Audience: [Who receives the email, e.g. trial users, past customers, subscribers, dormant leads.]
- Current Email Details: [Paste current subject line, preview text, CTA, offer, or full email if available.]
- Baseline Performance: [Open rate, click rate, conversion rate, reply rate, unsubscribe rate, or “no baseline available.”]
- Known Problem: [What needs improvement, e.g. low opens, low clicks, unclear offer, weak conversions.]
- Offer or CTA: [What the email asks readers to do.]
- Brand Voice: [Tone and style, e.g. direct, friendly, premium, practical, playful.]
- Testing Constraints: [List size, test duration, tool limits, only subject lines, no design changes, compliance rules.]
- Success Metric: [Primary metric, e.g. click rate, conversion rate, revenue, reply rate, activation.]
### Input Validation
Review all inputs before generating test ideas. If the goal, audience, current email, known problem, or success metric is unclear, ask specific clarification questions. If baseline data is unavailable, proceed only after explaining that tests should be prioritised by expected learning rather than historical performance.
### Instructions
1. Diagnose the likely performance issue based on the provided information. Separate open-rate problems from click, conversion, offer, audience, timing, or trust problems.
2. Generate A/B tests that each isolate one variable. Do not combine subject line, CTA, layout, and offer changes in one test unless clearly labelled as a broader concept test.
3. Include tests across relevant areas: subject line, preview text, opening hook, CTA wording, offer framing, proof placement, email length, personalisation, send timing, segmentation, and urgency or reassurance.
4. For every test, define a clear hypothesis explaining what you expect to learn and why it may improve the success metric.
5. Prioritise test ideas by likely impact, ease of execution, and quality of learning. Avoid tests that are too small to matter or impossible under the constraints.
6. Include recommended control and variant copy where applicable.
7. Add cautions about statistical confidence, sample size, seasonality, deliverability, and not overreacting to weak signals.
8. Keep recommendations practical for small teams and avoid reliance on paid optimisation tools.
### Output
Provide the final answer in this structure:
1. Email Testing Diagnosis
- Email type:
- Goal:
- Main suspected issue:
- Success metric:
2. Prioritised A/B Test Ideas
Create a table with columns: Priority, Test Area, Hypothesis, Control, Variant, Metric, Expected Learning.
3. Recommended First Test
Explain which test to run first and why.
4. Copy Variants
Provide ready-to-use copy for the strongest subject line, preview text, CTA, or opening hook tests.
5. Testing Rules
List practical guidance for sample size, duration, isolating variables, and interpreting results.
6. Next-Step Testing Roadmap
Suggest the next 3 tests after the first result.
Prioritise tests that can be run without design changes or technical setup.
Email type: Promotional email.
Goal: Increase clicks to a downloadable operations checklist.
Main suspected issue: The offer is useful, but the current subject line and CTA are too vague.
Success metric: Click-through rate.
| Priority | Test Area | Hypothesis | Control | Variant | Metric | Expected Learning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CTA wording | A specific CTA will increase clicks by clarifying the value of the download | Learn More | Download the Checklist | Click rate | Whether clarity beats curiosity |
| 2 | Subject line | A pain-led subject line will attract more qualified opens | Improve Your Operations | Still chasing the same weekly tasks? | Open rate and click rate | Whether problem framing improves engagement |
| 3 | Preview text | Specific preview text will increase opens by explaining the practical value | New guide inside | Use this checklist to spot repeat admin work | Open rate | Whether clearer context improves opens |
| 4 | Opening hook | A direct pain statement will drive more reading than a general intro | We created a new resource for your team | If your team repeats the same admin tasks every week, this checklist can help. | Click rate | Whether relevance improves action |
| 5 | Proof placement | Adding proof before the CTA will increase confidence | No proof before CTA | Add short customer quote before CTA | Click rate | Whether trust is blocking clicks |
Run the CTA wording test first because it is easy to execute, isolates one variable, and directly affects the success metric. The current CTA, Learn More, does not clearly communicate the value of the next step.
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