Body Experiments

Body Experiment Overview

In addition to subject line experiments, you are able to build multi variant experiments within the body of the message using body experiments.

Body experiments are set up within the HTML content area of a message using Cordial's template syntax (Smarty).

Body experiments support the same conversion metrics as subject line experiments:

• Unique Opens
• Unique Clicks
• Revenue to Sent
• Order to Sent
• Revenue to Click
• Order to Click

Configuring a Body Experiment

Split Test Without Champion

The Experiment Element in Batch Messages

The Variant Element

• Test n variants where all variants are evenly split across the audience.
• 50% A
• 50% B

{experiment name="AB-No-Champ" strategy="split" conversion="uniqueopens"}
   {variant name="A"}Test A{/variant}
   {variant name="B"}Test B{/variant}
{/experiment}

• Test n variants where all variants are evenly split across the audience.
• 33.3% A
• 33.3% B
• 33.3% C

{experiment name="AB-No-Champ" strategy="split" conversion="uniqueopens"}
   {variant name="A"}Test A{/variant}
   {variant name="B"}Test B{/variant}
   {variant name="C"}Test C{/variant}
{/experiment}

• Test n test variants (same size) and 1 control as remainder.
• 5000 (10%) A
• 5000 (10%) B
• remainder (80%) C

{experiment name="AB-No-Champ" strategy="split" conversion="uniqueclicks"}
   {variant name="A" sample-size="5000"}Test A{/variant}
   {variant name="B" sample-size="5000"}Test B{/variant}
   {variant name="C"}Test C{/variant}
{/experiment}

• Test 1 single variant (same size) and 1 control as remainder.
• 5000 (10%) A
• remainder (90%) B

{experiment name="AB-No-Champ" strategy="split" conversion="uniqueclicks"}
   {variant name="A" sample-size="5000"}Test A{/variant}
   {variant name="B"}Test B{/variant}
{/experiment}

Split Test with Champion

• Test n variants and auto-send champion after x mins/hours.
• 2500 sent A
• 2500 sent B
• Remainder sent to the champion after 3hrs.

{experiment name="Split-with-Champion" conversion="uniqueclicks" strategy="split-with-champion" send-champion="max-time" max-time="3h" sample-size="5000"}
   {variant name="A"}Test A{/variant}
   {variant name="B"}Test B{/variant}
{/experiment} 

Body Experiment FAQs

Conditional Logic with Experiments

Experiments and Smarty run in parallel and asynchronously. Therefore it is not possible to use conditional logic to affect content in a message based on experiments.

For example, the following conditional code will not work as intended because the variable for $gender will always equal "boy" in this case:

{* will not work *}
{experiment name="AB-No-Champ" strategy="split" conversion="uniqueopens"}
{variant name="A"}{$gender = "girl"}Hello girl,<br><br>{/variant}
   {variant name="B"}{$gender = "boy"}Hello boy,<br><br>{/variant}
{/experiment}

{if $gender == "girl"}Girl content{elseif $gender == "boy"}Boy content{/if}

The recommended way to write this would be to put all desired content within each variant:

{experiment name="AB-No-Champ" strategy="split" conversion="uniqueopens"}
   {variant name="A"}Hello girl,<br><br>Girl content{/variant}
   {variant name="B"}Hello boy,<br><br>Boy content{/variant}
{/experiment}

You also have the option to place each content piece within an HTML content include. This improves usability when working with large amounts of code within the HTML editor.

{experiment name="AB-No-Champ" strategy="split" conversion="uniqueopens"}
   {variant name="A"}{include 'content:GirlContent'}{/variant}
   {variant name="B"}{include 'content:BoyContent'}{/variant}
{/experiment}

In the next article learn about Batch Experiment Performance.