Reuters’ Elaine Piniat and Judith Langowski share how they’re using A/B testing to optimize newsletter performance without getting lost in complex tweaks.
Key takeaways to copy & share
> Reuters found that stripping things out beats adding them. Removing images from list-style newsletters lifted click-through by 29 to 33%, and removing item descriptions lifted it by an average of 59% > That descriptions test came from a Washington Post colleague at a conference and was confirmed by former Newsday staff. Reuters ran it across three newsletters rather than assuming it would transfer > Moving the newsletter sign-up module to the top of articles cost some ad revenue. Testing showed it performed 50% better, so the trade was justified. Module clicks then rose 63% > Position kept mattering more than content. Click-focused sections placed higher in narrative newsletters always won, and an image moved from top to bottom lifted click-through by 15% > For the Daily Briefing relaunch the team built three prototypes and surveyed 300 readers. The shortest, most concise version won over versions offering background or a deep dive
A cornerstone of audience strategy is a/b testing. The media industry, which is frequently inundated by new and shiny tools and ways of telling stories, must constantly iterate to keep our audiences engaged and informed. It’s easy to get lost in the competition and tweaks to algorithms, leading to overthinking and overdeveloping. But a/b testing doesn’t have to be so complicated. If we keep the reader at the center and go back to the basics, we can see meaningful impact.
