How to Create a Winning A/B Testing Strategy

Sometimes, despite your best efforts, your A/B testing just doesn’t seem to work. You run test after test and nothing seems to improve your conversion rate in a meaningful way.

Or, worse, your new pages actually decrease your conversion rate.

In your search for A/B testing success, you’ve read countless case studies and incorporated their findings into your variants…and still, nothing.

Maybe you’ve had a few token successes, but those either didn’t reach statistical significance or simply didn’t improve your conversion rate enough to make a real difference to your company.

What are you doing wrong?

The good news is, you’re not the only one with this problem. If you’ve tried A/B testing, you’ve almost certainly had that moment when you look at your results and think, why isn’t this working?

It’s a frustrating situation, but the fact of the matter is that the majority of A/B tests don’t improve conversion rates. If you’re looking for a big win with every test, you’re guaranteed to be disappointed.

Instead, the key to successful A/B testing is strategy.

Strategize Your Way to Success

Recently, we improved a client’s conversion rate by 22%.

Seeing results like that, your first impulse might be to say, “Wow, that’s an awesome case study! What did you do to get those kinds of results?”

The answer to that question is actually fairly simple: we got rid of the testimonials.

Exciting, right? The moral of the story is, testimonials kill conversion rates!

Except…that’s not really the moral of the story.

In fact, testimonials often improve conversion rates. To be honest, when we started working with this client, I never would have guessed that their testimonials were hurting their conversion rate.

So, if we thought this client’s testimonials were helping their conversion rate, why did we decide to test a page without testimonials?

Well, we didn’t pull this idea out of thin air. As you can see below, we tested a lot of other hypotheses first.

Although not every test improved the client’s conversion rate, every test taught us something about our audience and what they were looking for in a landing page.

Building an Effective Testing Strategy

The secret to successful A/B testing is creating a great testing strategy—one that teaches you something with every test. This takes planning and documentation, but it saves time and significantly increases the effectiveness of your tests.

Essentially, an effective A/B testing strategy has 4 parts:

1. Buyer Persona

Before you even build your landing page, you should create a detailed buyer persona.

Basically, your buyer persona is your testing blueprint. It gives you the information you need to come up with testing hypotheses and a framework for understanding your results.

At a minimum, you should know the following about your audience:

• How old are they?
• Are they mostly male or female? Or evenly split across both?
• What are their responsibilities?
• What is their budget?
• What are their goals?
• Why are they interested in your product or service?
• What is their pain point?
• How does your product or offer fix their problem?

To get at this information, it’s often a good idea to talk to your sales team or even interview some of your current customers. It’s a bit of extra upfront effort, but it can cut a lot of time off of your testing learning curve.

In the case of this client, we knew a lot about their audience. In general, we were targeting middle-aged men and women with money to invest. They knew they needed to be smart with their money, but they also knew they needed someone to help them through the process.

2. Define Your Goals

To test effectively, you need to understand what you’re really trying to accomplish with your test.

After all, if you don’t understand what you are trying to achieve with your test, it will be very difficult to create variants that produce meaningful results.

Consider the following:

• What is your overall goal? (if you answered, “To increase sales,” give yourself a gold star).
• What does your ideal customer look like?
• How does a visitor become a customer? (what steps are involved?)
• How will your test help you to achieve your overall goal? (increase form submissions? purchases? email signups? phone calls?).
• Are you trying to increase conversion volume or conversion quality?

If you want your page to be successful, you need to understand what your company needs to succeed and be able to track the metrics that matter most. Otherwise, you’ll never know if your test was a success!

For this particular client, the overall goal was—of course—sales, but we were testing this page to try and drive more qualified leads for their sales team. Since the client had a lot of different options, our page also needed to identify which option the leads were interested in.

3. Create Your Hypotheses

Based on your understanding of your audience (ie, your buyer persona) and your business objectives, it’s time to start coming up with testing hypotheses.

The primary goal here is to identify the points of friction between what your buyer persona wants and what your business wants and come up with ways to reduce that friction.

Here are some potential reasons why your audience might not be converting:

• The offer is wrong. Your audience is looking for something specific and you aren’t giving it to them.
• The next step is unclear. Your call-to-action may be hard to find, ambiguous or uninteresting.
• You have a copy-offer mismatch. If your audience is looking for a simple solution and ends up on a complex page, that will create friction and confusion. On the other hand, if your offer is complicated and you don’t address an important point, that can create unnecessary doubt.
• You aren’t evoking the right emotion. A funeral services page filled with images of laughing people at a party probably doesn’t match the audience’s emotion. If you don’t stir the right emotion in your audience, they won’t feel like you are a good fit for their need.
• Your content is confusing. Poorly written, hard-to-read content or awkwardly designed pages can make your page too difficult to bother with.
• Your page doesn’t seem trustworthy. People are very wary of marketing, so over the top claims, poor design, lack of social signals or trust seals can seriously damage your conversion rate.
• You have the wrong traffic. Even the most effective site won’t convert uninterested traffic. This isn’t exactly a CRO problem, but improving your traffic quality will dramatically improve the effectiveness of your A/B tests.

Understanding your potential friction points can help you set up an effective testing strategy. By testing variations that address your friction points in different ways, you can figure out exactly what works for your audience.

4. Document and Learn

The last step is to actually run your tests, document your results and then use what you learned to create new hypotheses and tests.

Your documentation can be as simple or as complex as you want, but it is critical to document what you were testing and what your results taught you.

Here is a simple example of how you might document a CTA test series:

If you don’t document and learn, you might as well not use A/B testing. However, if you are documenting your results, you can greatly improve your conversion rate.

For example, while working with this client, we progressively discovered that our audience responded best when they felt like they were in the driver’s seat. The less we sold ourselves, the more effective our page was.

Ultimately, this led us to use a simple CTA that invited our audience to identify what they were looking for before we asked for any personal information.

In addition, we discovered that our users wanted a simple and straightforward experience. So, we spoke to that in our headline and body copy.

But, we didn’t see our best results until we applied all that knowledge to our overall page design.

In an effort to create as focused of an experience as possible, we got rid of the testimonials and created a streamlined landing page that focused on how we could help our potential clients succeed.

As a result, the new page outperformed every previous variant. But, at this point, that was hardly a surprise.

We knew our audience and we knew what they were looking for in a page. And, as we discovered increasingly better ways to meet their needs…our conversion rate improved.

Conclusion

Most successful landing page A/B tests aren’t lucky one offs—they are the result of a great, methodical testing strategy.

It might take a few tests to yield the kind of results you’re looking for, but with the right testing strategy in place, you’ll get there eventually.

You’ve heard my two cents, now I want to hear yours. What sort of results have you seen with your testing efforts. Has a strategic approach helped you improve your conversion rate?

About the Author: Jacob Baadsgaard is the CEO and fearless leader of Disruptive Advertising, an online marketing agency dedicated to using PPC advertising and website optimization to drive sales. His face is as big as his heart and he loves to help businesses achieve their online potential. Connect with him on LinkedIn or Twitter.

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How to Discover Engaging Content to Share on Social Media

Finding engaging content to share via social media can be time-consuming and tough--and a hindrance to all the other work you have to do. So use these four simple ways to discover and share content that can improve your social media marketing. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

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How to Discover Engaging Content to Share on Social Media

Finding engaging content to share via social media can be time-consuming and tough--and a hindrance to all the other work you have to do. So use these four simple ways to discover and share content that can improve your social media marketing. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

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Suck Your Readers In: 4 Types of Openings for “Sticky” Content

The headline is the most important part of your content.

That’s a fact.

What’s the second most important part?

That would be your introduction.

Think of it this way: Your headline compels people to click on your post, but your intro draws them in to actually read the post.

And if you’re sick of not getting a high level of engagement on your posts, this is likely one of the main causes.

Here’s the simplest way to illustrate the effect of introductions on your content’s performance:

• Bad headline – Low traffic
• Good headline, bad intro – High traffic, high bounce rate, low time on page
• Good headline, good intro – High traffic, low bounce rate, high time on page

Always aim for that third scenario.

The sad fact is that most bloggers put very little effort into their introductions. They either quickly say what they’re writing about, or they end up going on about things that don’t entice the reader to read on.

It doesn’t matter whether or not you fall into that category. What matters is that just about all bloggers could benefit from improving their introductions.

To help you do that, I’m going to show you 4 of the best types of openings that you can use in your content. You can always use at least one of these for any post you create. 

1. Embrace the fear of failure

A great introduction needs to connect with the reader emotionally.

As any copywriter knows, emotions drive action. In this case, the action we want is for the reader to continue down the page.

Fear is one of the strongest motivating emotions, and people are willing to go to great lengths to prevent that fear from coming true.

Let’s look at a few examples, and then I’ll show you how to come up with your own.

Example #1 – Use a common fear: Here’s one of my own introductions:

The first 4 paragraphs focus on a common scenario: putting in a lot of work on a project (like a product or piece of content) and then finally releasing it.

If you’re an entrepreneur, you know how terrifying this can be. Entrepreneurs have sleepless nights worrying about failing.

What if they hear “crickets” when they release their project? What if no one cares?

Anyone in, or nearing, this sort of situation is going to read the rest of the introduction at the very least.

Quickly look at that final line in the screenshot: “there is a solution…”

You use fear to grab your readers’ attention, but then you need to transition that into a solution that they will achieve by taking action.

Example #2 – Does your reader feel like a failure? This one is going to sound kind of mean, but it’s effective.

If your reader already feels like a failure, all you need to do is describe their biggest problem, evoking their fear of failure.

Here’s an example from a Smart Blogger post:

Here, Carol Tice starts by calling out bloggers with low traffic and loyal subscribers.

If you’re a reader of that post in that situation, it hurts to read it.

You start thinking about your low number of readers and get a sinking feeling that you will never get many more.

But you feel that only until Tice offers a solution, which is the whole point of her post.

How to write your own fear-inspired introduction: This type of opening is not only effective but also fairly simple to write.

Create it in three steps:

1. State the fear of failure (or cause of fear) – Do this in a straightforward manner. In my example, the fear was not knowing what would happen when a product was launched.
2. Illustrate the fear – If you can describe the fear and make the reader picture it, do it. Sometimes it’s simple. The image of “crickets” is all I needed to do to make readers picture no customers, signups, or attention after the release of their product.
3. Transition to a solution – The whole point of hooking in a reader with fear is to give them the incentive to read your content. Your content needs to offer a solution to their fear. Write about how your content will help them.

That’s all there is to it. You can start with a few notes for each part and then combine them together.

2. No one wants to be left behind

There are many ways to incorporate fear into your openings.

Fear of failure is a big one, but there’s another big fear you should be aware of: the fear of missing out.

It’s why many people buy lottery tickets, especially as a group. They don’t want to be the one who misses out if the group miraculously wins.

When it comes to most content, the fear of missing out can be applied in a few ways:

• Fear of being left behind – In niches like SEO, if you don’t keep up with the latest information, you can become obsolete.
• Fear of missing out on fun – No one wants to miss out on a fun event or product.
• Fear of missing out on an opportunity – If something is only available or useful for a limited time (like content on certain topics), people will be more interested than they would be if it was always useful.

Here’s an example (note the two parts boxed in red):

Just like in type #1, we use a similar 3-step process.

The first step is prompting the fear, which the first box begins to do. It mentions that some types of content are better than others.

In this case, marketers don’t want to miss out on the best tactics because it means they won’t get great results.

In the following two paragraphs, I amplify that fear. I explain that the content that most marketers produce isn’t as great as they think it is and that they might be closer to an average marketer.

The second box alludes to the solution—certain types of content that are guaranteed to outperform what average marketers are making. I go on to expand on my solution before starting the post.

Again, it’s the same 3-step process:

1. State the fear (or cause of fear)
2. Illustrate the fear
3. Transition to your solution

3. Use AIDA to captivate visitors

You may have heard of AIDA before.

It’s one of the most famous copywriting formulas there is because it just plain works. It’s incredibly versatile, and we can apply it to our openings as well.

First, what does AIDA stand for?

• Attention
• Interest
• Desire
• Action

Typically, you’ll address each point in that order.

To start off, you need to grab the attention of your readers. How do you do that? Typically with a bold or surprising claim.

For example, in a post on Backlinko, Brian Dean said that he analyzed over 1 million search results. That’s a lot and pretty intriguing to most SEOs reading the post.

If you can use numbers—great, but they’re not required. The only goal here is to catch the attention of your reader. It may be a sentence or two that seem unrelated at first to your topic.

Check out this intro from one of Jon Morrow’s best posts:

The post is about being a better blogger, but you wouldn’t know it from that opening.

However, he grabs your attention by doing something out of the ordinary: telling you (in great detail) that he’s going to tell you something you’re not going to like.

Even though I know what’s coming (since I’ve read it before), I still have that feeling of needing to know what comes next.

Then, we move on to interest.

Interest is similar to attention, and you certainly need to maintain attention, but this is where you tie your attention-grabbing introduction to the subject of the post.

In Brian’s article about SEO ranking factors, he included two parts to accomplish this:

Which factors correlate with first page search engine rankings?

And…

With the help of Eric Van Buskirk and our data partners, we uncovered some interesting findings.

Brian knows that his readers want to know which ranking factors are most important. However, he doesn’t give away all the answers quite yet, saying instead they uncovered some “interesting findings.”

Next, it’s time to move on to desire.

This is where you make it really clear why your reader should care about your content, if they didn’t already know that.

Here’s an example from one of my posts:

Here, I make it clear that if a reader follows my advice in the post, they could double their writing speed.

Remember that your reader is already interested at this point. To induce desire, all you need to do is make the benefits of your content clear.

Now, what about action—the last part of the formula?

You can interpret and use it in two ways.

First, you could get a reader to take an action right at the end of your introduction. Maybe you want them to get a pen and paper or open a spreadsheet. Or maybe you want them to answer a question and come back to it at the end.

If this applies, go for it.

The action in this formula typically refers to the end of the content, though. So, in your conclusion, you should make it clear how a reader is supposed to apply what you just taught them.

4. Show me the money (benefit first)

Some readers just absolutely hate stories of any kind.

They want you to get to the point and do it fast.

If your audience has a lot of readers like that, consider starting off with the benefit of your content. But not just any benefit—the biggest one.

This is how you will attract attention, and if the benefit you promise is big enough, they will invest their time to read through your content.

For example, you could start an article about SEO basics by saying:

If you learn the basics of SEO, you could be making $3,000+ per month within 6 months.

Assuming you’ve got your audience right, they’ll be glad to dig a bit deeper to find out if your claim is true.

After that opening claim, you then want to expand on and back up your claim. To continue the example:

I know this because I’ve taught multiple students to do so. I myself am an SEO who makes over $XXX,000 per month.

Now you have some credibility behind your solution.

Finally, you should close off your introduction by explaining how the reader will get to the solution.

In this case, something like this would work:

I’m going to show you the X SEO basics you need to know and then a step-by-step process to follow to start generating revenue.

At that point, most readers will be hooked.

To recap, the 3-step process for this type of opening is:

1. Start with your strongest benefit.
2. Show why your claim is credible (since the claim needs to be impressive/slightly unbelievable).
3. Explain how you’ll help the reader achieve the benefit.

Keep in mind that it doesn’t necessarily have to look exactly like that as long as all the elements are covered.

Here’s an example of this type of opening from one of my posts:

The sentence in the first box only implies the benefit (ranking as well as Quick Sprout). I’m counting on the reader to be familiar with my site.

Shortly after, I say that I’ll show the reader what they need to do if they want to rank like Quick Sprout. This is actually the 2nd and 3rd step all in one.

The claim is credible because I state that I’ll personally show them the solution. Of course, I’m credible in this situation since I’m the one who built the site up.

At the same time, I’ve explained that I’m going to show them what they need to do. I explain a bit more right after that part.

Don’t get hung up having a clear distinction between all parts of the opening—just make sure they are all covered in the right order.

Conclusion

Don’t put tons of hours into writing an amazing post and then just slap on a weak introduction.

If you do that, too many of your readers will never make it down to the content that has the value.

Use these 4 types of openings to craft introductions that basically force readers to give your content a chance.

From there, I hope your content delivers.

Now, I have a question for you. Have you seen any great introductions lately? If so, do you mind sharing them in a comment below?

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Social Media Trends for 2016: Marketers' Top Platforms and Content Types

Facebook is the most used social network by businesses for marketing purposes, and 67% of companies plan to further increase their Facebook marketing activities this year, according to recent data from Social Media Examiner. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

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CMT Music Awards introduce a new category: #SocialSuperstar

The CMT Music Awards are getting #social. 

This year's show, which takes place live from Nashville on June 8, will introduce the brand-new #SocialSuperstar Award, a category that will put the power in fans' hands on social media. 

Brett Eldredge, Blake Shelton, Jake Owen, Kelsea Ballerini, Lindsay Ell and Thomas Rhett will all go head to head in the category, which fans can vote for on Twitter and Instagram using the #CMTawards hashtag and their choice in the following: #VoteBlake, #VoteBrett, #VoteJake, #VoteKelsea, #VoteLindsay or #VoteThomas.

SEE ALSO: Country Music: The Next Social Media Frontier Read more...

More about Social Media, Country Music, Cmt Music Awards, Entertainment, and Music

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5 Retail Tips to Make the Most of Dads and Grads

What do dads and grads have in common? They both give us reasons to celebrate this time of year. We’re in the midst of high school and college graduation season, and Father’s Day is right around the corner on June 19. In 2015, spending on dads and grads hovered around $17.1 billion, which indicates it’s a pretty smart move to take advantage of this double opportunity with your marketing efforts.

While these two demographics differ greatly in their needs and wants, there’s no reason you can’t take the occasion to combine your marketing efforts for both at the same time. In the process, you’ll save on the cost and effort required to promote these events separately.

Here are five tips for capturing retail sales for both dads and grads in 2016:

1. Remind & Persuade

With Mother’s Day in the rear view mirror, remind people to think about gifts for the dads and grads in their lives. Use signage, banners, and ads in your store, on your website, and on your social media pages. Spread the word with direct and email campaigns, local newspaper ads, and other events where you have a marketing presence.

2. Share Ideas

Many shoppers struggle to come up with gift ideas. Suggest items you sell that would likely be on top of dads’ and grads’ wish lists. Create corresponding merchandise displays in store to make it easy for shoppers to go straight to your gift suggestions. You can create simple gift guides that can be shared via email and on image-driven social media channels like Pinterest and Instagram.

3. Gift Wrap for Free

Make sure you have gift wrap, gift bags, ribbons, and bows in patterns that are appropriate for both groups. Then let your customers know that when they shop for the dads and grads, you’ll wrap every gift they purchase from you, free of charge.

4. Offer Gift Cards

For the dads and grads who would rather choose their own gifts, gift cards are the ideal solution. At checkout, offer gift card boxes for a special touch. Possibly include a coupon or offer with the gift card to encourage the recipient to come in and use it.

5. Capture Repeat Business

Before shoppers leave your store, give them a compelling reason to return. For example, you might promote a special summer sale, reward them with a buy-one-get-one-free coupon, or invite them to an event.

Marketing gift ideas for dads and grads is a popular retail trend. Now’s the time to go after these sales for your business.

Editor’s note: The original version of this post was published by Bags & Bows. This post was updated in May 2016 for accuracy and relevance.

Stay in touch with the dads and grads on your list using VerticalResponse.

© 2016, Contributing Author. All rights reserved.

The post 5 Retail Tips to Make the Most of Dads and Grads appeared first on Vertical Response Blog.

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