--- layout: page title: Testing Emails ---

# "Configuring ActionMailer":#config # "Testing email subject lines":#subject # "Testing email content":#content

h3(#config). Configuring ActionMailer First setup Rails to send email. For example, if you are using GMail you can setup your SMTP settings like this:

ActionMailer::Base.smtp_settings = {
  :address => "smtp.gmail.com",
  :port => "587",
  :domain => "gmail.com",
  :authentication => :plain,
  :user_name => "your-email@gmail.com",
  :password => "your-pass"
}

h3(#subject). Testing email subject lines In your @RAILS_ROOT/experiments/@ folder create an experiment file. For example:

ab_test "Invite subject" do
  description "Optimize invite subject line"
  alternatives "Join now!", "You're invited to an exclusive event."
  metrics :open
end

In your @RAILS_ROOT/experiments/metrics/@ folder create a metric file for the metric you are testing. For example:

metric "Open (Activation)" do
  description "Measures how many recipients opened an email."
end

Create an ActionMailer class, for example:

class UserMailer < ActionMailer::Base
  def invite_email(user)
    use_vanity_mailer user
    mail :to => user.email, :subject =>ab_test(:invite_subject)
  end
end

We set the identity of the "user" in the @use_vanity_mailer@ method. This can take a string or an object that responds to id. If it's nil then it will set it as a random number. Setting the appropriate context is important to have each user consistently get the same alternative in our experiment. Now we need to include a tracking image in the email content. We pass in the vanity identity which we set when we called @use_vanity_mailer(user)@ and the metric we are tracking.

  
  
    
      
    
    
      Hey Joseph
      
        <%= vanity_tracking_image(Vanity.context.vanity_identity, :open, :host => "127.0.0.1:3000") %>

Last, we have to include the @TrackingImage@ module into our @VanityController@. This is the same place that you can include the @Dashboard@. @Vanity::Rails::TrackingImage@ will add a image method that will render a blank image.

class VanityController < ApplicationController
  include Vanity::Rails::Dashboard
  include Vanity::Rails::TrackingImage
end

h3(#subject). Testing email content In your @RAILS_ROOT/experiments/@ folder create a new experiment file:

ab_test "Invite text" do
  description "Optimize invite text"
  alternatives "A friend of yours invited you to use Vanity", "Vanity is the latest and greatest in a/b testing technology"
  metrics :click
end

In your @RAILS_ROOT/experiments/metrics/@ folder create a metric file for the metric you are testing:

metric "Click (Acquisition)" do
  description "Measures clickthough on email."
end

A/B test your email content:

  
  
    
      
    
    
      Hi!
      
        <%= link_to ab_test(:invite_text), vanity_track_url_for(Vanity.context.vanity_identity, :click, :controller => "home", :action => "index", :host => "127.0.0.1:3000") %>

Here we use the text from the "invite_text" experiment and then use the @vanity_track_url_for@ helper to add the identity and the metric to track into the url so that Vanity can track the click-throughs.