March 2018

If you’re going to run an A/B test…

… say on 2 different subject lines, or 2 headlines for a landing page, or 2 AdWords ads…

Never EVER test 2 slightly varied pieces. That’s really easy to do. And tempting. And it appeals to your inner-lazy. And you’ve heard the gurus blabber about how they once tested a eensy-weensy variation on a page… and got a 6,000% boost in conversion.

Despite all this…

Don’t do that. Don’t test what the Conversion Rate Experts call “meek tweaks.” If you do that, you’ve already failed the test before you’ve even run it.

Instead…

You should ALWAYS test radically different, big, BOLD variations on a headline. Or subject line. Or landing page. Because when you test big, bold changes… you have a much bigger, bolder chance of getting bigger, bolder results with one of the variations.

i.e…

This would be a terrible A/B test:

Subject line A: “I can’t believe I’m doing this…”
Subject line B: “I can’t believe I’m doing this sale…” 

Why?

Because the variation is so small.

Just 1 word changed.

Better:

Subject line A: “I can’t believe I’m doing this…”
Subject line B: “People are telling me I’m insane for running this sale…” 

Even better:

Subject line A: “I can’t believe I’m doing this…” 
Subject line B: “I might go broke soon. Here’s why…” 

Even better:

Subject line A: “I can’t believe I’m doing this…”
Subject line B: “The quest for true life ends here” 

See?

Test big changes.

And by that last example…

You can probably see why it’s the most extreme change: the idea underneath the subject line… the “hook,” the angle I take to try to sell the email is 100% different than variation A.

Test changes like that. Not “meek tweaks.”

If novel-writing is an art…

Copywriting is a science.

It’s calculated. Formulaic. Measurement-based. Feedback-driven.

That being said…

Truly great scientists… and truly great artists… they both know that when you become great at either craft, the ‘neat’ lines separating these two fields begin to blur. Art becomes science. And science art.

Thus…

Great copywriting combines both science and art.

Yes, it’s calculated. But you need more than cold calculations. You need compelling, vivid pictures painted with your words. You need living, breathing, powerful metaphors. And you need to craft phrases that are more than the output of some dead formula.

With this in mind…

Be on the lookout for great phrases. Phrases that make you stop, and smile.

Phrases that seem to ‘open up’ your soul, so that fresh air can come in.

I was recently listening to a song…

And in it, the singer has a line where he’s trying to communicate the thought, “we fear silence.”

But instead…

He used a phrase that was wonderful. And captured my attention. And opened up my soul.

He said, “we fear the space between our breaths.”

Be on the lookout for phrases like that.

Learn to notice them. Write them down.

Return to them.

Sit with them.

Appreciate them.

And in time, you’ll learn to create them yourself.