# Shorter monthly newsletter: slightly higher CTR, not reliable

- Outcome: Flat / inconclusive
- Page type: Email (Lead-gen)
- Elements: Copy length
- Date shared: 2015-11
- Test run by: [MarketingExperiments](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/marketingexperiments/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://marketingexperiments.com/a-b-testing/the-importance-of-testing-how-one-test-applied-to-two-email-sends-resulted-in-different-audience-responses
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/marketingexperiments-shorter-monthly-newsletter/

Cutting article summaries and a recap from MarketingExperiments' monthly newsletter gave slightly higher clickthrough, but the gain was significant in only one of three months. We treat it as inconclusive. MarketingExperiments (MECLABS) ran the test on its own Best of the Month send after the same change won for a weekly MarketingSherpa newsletter.

## Result

**slightly higher CTR, not reliable**

- Clickthrough was slightly higher for the shorter version. Flat overall.
- The difference was statistically significant in only one of three monthly sends.
- The same change won for MarketingSherpa's weekly newsletter, so the result did not carry over.

## Control

The monthly Best of the Month newsletter included article summaries, a recap of the last web clinic and a preview of the next one.

## Variant

The shorter version dropped the article summaries and the clinic recap, keeping only the description of the upcoming clinic.

## Why it likely came out this way (our reading)

- Monthly readers see the email less often and may value the extra context the summaries gave.
- The clinic recap may have been useful content for this audience, not clutter.
- Three sends gave few chances to build a clear signal.

## Caveats

Only three monthly sends were tested, and exact numbers appear only in images. The result is inconclusive, not a win.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we shorten our monthly newsletter by removing summaries and recaps, then clickthrough will rise because the email is quicker to scan.
- Primary metric: Unique clickthrough rate per send
- Guardrail: Unsubscribe rate
- Guardrail: Clicks on the upcoming event or webinar
- Who should test it: Lead-gen and B2B teams with a monthly roundup email. Expect a smaller effect than on frequent sends, and plan enough sends to reach significance.

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Credit: MarketingExperiments ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/marketingexperiments-shorter-monthly-newsletter/).
Usage: Free to use, quote and build on, with credit and a link: name the practitioner or organization that ran the test and link to its LiftArchive page. The results belong to the practitioners who ran and shared them; the summaries and commentary are LiftArchive's.