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Recent A/B Tests You Can Learn From

Author

Max Sturtevant
March 09, 2026

The Inbox Newsletter

Hey it’s Max from The Inbox Newsletter.

Every week at Well Copy, we run 300-400 A/B tests for our 7-9 figure brands.

We test everything from email send times to button sizes to email formats.

Here are some of our top A/B tests from this past week.

Key Insights:

  • Plain text emails work best when you fully commit to the format

  • Same open rate doesn't mean same results. Test send times based on conversions, not opens.

  • Full-page popups can outperform standard popups on mobile

  • Personal subject lines can work well for the right brands

Top A/B Tests of the week:

Test 1: Pure Plain Text vs Hybrid Plain Text

We tested a fully text-based email against a hybrid version that mixed plain text with some designed elements.

Winner: Pure plain text.

112% higher click rate.

The key insight: if you're going to send a plain text email, commit to it.

Conversational emails that look like they came from a real person outperform emails that feel like a brand trying to look casual.

Regular plain text outperformed the hybrid text + designed email.

Test 2: 7:00 AM vs 1:00 PM Send Time

For a UK-based client, we tested morning sends against afternoon sends.

Both had nearly identical open rates. Around 72%.

But 1:00 PM drove 5x more revenue.

Same opens. Drastically different results.

When people open matters just as much as whether they open. A 7:00 AM open might be someone skimming emails before work. A 1:00 PM open might be someone on lunch with time to actually buy.

Test your send times based on conversions, not opens.

1 PM send time lead to 5x more website purchases.

Test 3: Regular Popup vs Full-Page Popup

We tested a standard Klaviyo popup against a full-page popup on mobile.

The full-page version hit an 18.45% submit rate.

The regular popup hit 15.11%.

That's a 22% lift just from making the popup bigger.

On mobile, you have limited real estate. A full-page popup demands attention and removes distractions.

15% submit rate on the regular pop-up. 18.45% submit rate on the full page pop-up.

Test 4: Personal vs General Subject Line

We tested a couple of different subject line styles to see how people interact with the email as a result.

This was a reminder for a new product line that released and we sent it from the founder.

Variation 1: “A look at our XYZ collection”
Variation 2: “I’m obsessed with our XYZ collection”

The personal variation saying the founder was obsessed with the collection produced 33% higher clicks and 40% more placed orders.

In the future, we are doubling down on the founder led SLs.

If you're not sure what to test first, here are some of the most common tests we do:

  1. Offers (biggest impact on revenue)

  2. Send times (easy to test, often surprising results)

  3. Email format / email elements (plain text vs designed)

  4. Subject lines (marginal gains but compounds over time)

Pick one thing and wait one week before looking at the data.

Then, move on to the next one.

And if you want a team running these kinds of tests for you every week, book a call with us here »

Email Inspiration Of The Day

Brand:
FlavCity

Email Design:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N-ap3UZH4fIhmP52_aSB3flYL3PNFLZo/view?usp=sharing

Notes:
This is a fun St. Patrick’s day themed email. The “Us vs. Them” section in the middle does a good job at highlighting product features without flooding the email a bunch of text.

Reply to this email if you have any questions or further content you want covered.

Cheers,

Max Sturtevant

P.S
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