Evolve and improve: Using A/B Testing in HubSpot to optimise your marketing

Once you reach the Evolve stage of the Loop Marketing Framework, the focus shifts to optimisation. This is where you pause, reflect, and use data to understand what worked, what didn’t, and how to make your next campaign even stronger.

Rather than treating campaigns as one-off efforts, the Evolve stage is about continuous improvement. Every email, campaign, or piece of content becomes an opportunity to learn - and HubSpot’s built-in A/B testing tools make that process simple and effective.

Why A/B Testing matters in the Evolve stage

At this point in your marketing journey, you’re no longer guessing. You’re using real engagement data to shape better decisions.

A/B testing allows you to test different elements at the point of sending, rather than reviewing performance retrospectively and wishing you’d done things differently. That means you’re gathering insight from the very first send and using it to refine your approach in real time.

For education marketing and admissions teams, this is especially powerful when small changes can have a big impact on engagement.

A/B Testing marketing emails in HubSpot

A common and effective use case for A/B testing is within marketing emails.

Imagine you’ve created a well-designed, on-brand email with:

• Clear calls to action

• Imagery and buttons

• Links to key content or next steps

Now you want to understand what resonates most with your audience.

HubSpot makes this easy.

With the right Marketing Hub subscription, you’ll see an A/B test option in the top-right of the email editor. Clicking this automatically creates two versions of the same email - Version A and Version B.

This isn’t a separate cloned email sitting elsewhere in your account. Instead, it’s two versions of the same email, managed side by side. You can:

• Leave Version A as your control

• Edit Version B to test a specific change

That might be a subject line, CTA wording, layout, imagery, or even just a single sentence.

Managing the test and choosing a winner

Once your test is live, HubSpot distributes the two versions to your selected audience. From there, everything is tracked automatically.

Inside the email performance area, you can review all the usual metrics:

• Opens

• Clicks

• Engagement with links and buttons

• Overall performance

Based on this data, you can clearly see which version performed better and select a winner. That insight can then be carried forward into future campaigns, helping you continually refine your messaging.

Why this matters for education teams

For schools, colleges, MATs, and training providers, A/B testing supports smarter marketing without adding complexity.

It helps you:

• Make data-led decisions rather than assumptions

• Improve engagement over time

• Learn what language and messaging resonates with families or learners

• Optimise future campaigns using real insight

• Build confidence in your marketing strategy

Most importantly, it reinforces the idea that marketing is iterative. Every send makes the next one better.

Final thoughts

The Evolve stage of the Loop Marketing Framework is where growth really compounds. By using tools like A/B testing in HubSpot, you’re not just reviewing performance - you’re actively improving it.

Small tests, informed by data, lead to stronger campaigns, better engagement, and more confident marketing decisions over time.

If you’d like support setting up A/B tests or building an optimisation strategy inside HubSpot, the HubGem team is always happy to help.