Marketing Message Testing: Optimize Your Messaging

If you stalk LinkedIn or social media accounts of different brands, it’s visible that they all understand the importance of strong messaging. They talk about conversions, engagement, customer loyalty, and so on. But not every brand connects. 

You need strong messaging in your promotions or offers if you truly want to impact conversion numbers. Marketing message testing is a structured approach to figuring out what resonates with customers rather than just guessing. 

When brands compare variations of messages and variation results, their performance will improve year after year. 

But what are the strategies used to test marketing messages? How can you achieve message optimization? 

Before that, we need to understand what marketing message testing is. 

What Is Marketing Message Testing?

At its core, marketing message testing is the process of comparing multiple versions of your messaging to see which performs better on key outcomes such as opens, clicks, conversions, or revenue.

This could take the form of A/B tests on email subject lines, landing page headlines, ad copy variants, SMS texts, or call-to-action (CTA) buttons. Instead of relying on intuition, you let data guide your decision-making so that future campaigns become smarter and more effective. For instance, marketers using structured A/B tests often see improvements in conversion metrics. 

Research suggests that segmented message tests can lift conversion rate optimization results by up to 26%, while tailored email subject line tests can increase open rates by 15–28%. 

Why Testing Beats Guessing

Launching a campaign based on the intuition that ‘this is going to be great!’ only to find that engagement is flat will be utterly disappointing. Not to mention the loss of money, time, and other resources. 

The problem doesn’t end there. After such campaigns fail, businesses are left wondering ‘why.’ Because without testing, there’s no data. Testing gives you insights that you can use to either revamp the campaign or design future ones. 

With smart testing, you get access to - 

1. Clear Performance Indicators

By directly comparing versions such as Message A vs Message B, you see which version drives better user behavior. So focus on measurable results rather than opinions.

2. Real Audience Insight

When you test messaging, you uncover how different segments of your audience respond. You can reuse these insights in future campaigns.

3. Better ROI

Poor performance wastes budget. According to some studies, A/B testing alone can increase marketing conversions significantly. The improvements can be up to 30% or more in outcomes like click-through rates and conversions. 

4. Lower Risk

Testing lets you validate new ideas on a subset of your audience before rolling changes out broadly. So, there’s less risk involved because you can make changes before going completely public. 

How to Test Marketing Messages Effectively

Marketing message testing is done to take the guesswork or randomness out of the decision-making process. So, the process itself has to be structured - 

1. Start with a Hypothesis

Ask yourself these - 

• What will improve results?

• Why will it work?

Example - “If we change the CTA from ‘Learn More’ to ‘Get Started Today,’ then click-through rates will increase.”

2. Identify What to Test

Most businesses fumble at this. They don’t know which factors to test, so they test everything, which again is ineffective. Focus on a few high-impact elements - 

• Email subject lines

• Lead magnet headlines

• Hero headlines on landing pages

• Short message copy or offer phrasing

• CTA wording or placement

These elements are your benchmark as they play a huge role in how users respond, and even small improvements can move the needle.

3. Build Variants

Create Version A (control) and Version B (test) with distinct differences. Ensure different wording, tone, or call-to-action. Be careful not to change too many elements at once, so you can attribute performance differences clearly.

4. Run the Test

Use tools like email platforms with A/B testing, landing page builders, or ad platforms to split your audience randomly and measure results. There are specific tools for such jobs, and then there are well-rounded tools like Markopolo, which cover different aspects of marketing and can help with such tasks. 

According to research, only about 40% of Shopify merchants use A/B testing tools. This means most brands are still guessing instead of optimizing. For them, the lesson is to test marketing messages as they can significantly change the impact of their campaigns.  

5. Measure Results Carefully

Look at your conversion rate, click-through rate, and other key metrics. Patience is the keyword here, so don’t stop your test early. Wait until results reach statistical significance so that your conclusions are reliable. Only then can you reach message optimization.

6. Optimize and Repeat

Once a winner emerges, deploy that message widely, but don’t stop there. Use what you learned to fuel future tests. Continuous message optimization builds compounding benefits over time.

Common Types of Messages to Test

Some common message elements that marketers should test are - 

1. Headlines - These set expectations. Even small wording changes can dramatically change engagement.
   
   
   

2. CTA Copy - Action words matter. Join Now versus Start Free Trial can yield different results.
   
   
   

3. Offers & Value Propositions - Test price points, incentives, or added benefits.
   
   
   

4. Tone & Style - Friendly vs. urgent vs. curiosity-driven.
   
   
   

5. Email Preview Text or SMS Openers - The first words can make or break an open.
   
   
   

Best Practices for Marketing Message Testing

There’s no rule of thumb that you have to follow. But a few practices can be a good starting point when marketing message testing - 

1. Test one variable at a time

This ensures you understand what change influenced the outcome.

2. Choose high-traffic segments 

Tests perform faster and reach significance sooner when there’s enough data.

3. Use real-world data to inform hypotheses

Look at historical campaign performance before designing new variants.

4. Segment your audience

Different segments may respond differently, and segment-specific optimization can drive larger gains.

FAQs

1. What is marketing message testing?
Marketing message testing is the process of comparing two or more versions of a message, including email copy, headline, offer, etc., to determine which performs better based on measurable outcomes.

2. How do I test marketing messages effectively?
Start with a clear hypothesis, change one variable at a time, use proper audience segmentation, and let your test run long enough to reach statistical significance.

3. What tools can help with message optimization?
Most email marketing platforms, landing page builders, and ad tools include A/B testing features. Popular examples include Klaviyo, Mailchimp, and Markopolo.

4. What metrics should I track during testing?
Track click-through rate, conversion rate, bounce rate, and revenue per visitor. These help you understand the real impact of message changes.

5. How often should I run message tests?
There’s no fixed rule, but continuous testing, especially for high-priority campaigns or during seasonal peaks, ensures ongoing message optimization.

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