Lessons from A/B testing
Ramit Sethi, author of I Will Teach You To Be Rich, recently shared some of his findings on on-line A/B testing on Quora that were reproduced on Random.Andrew.Warner.com.
They are worth sharing as they demonstrate that though we operate in an on-line world, people are remaining pretty much the same…
I once advised a friend to take his long-copy page and cut it down to be shorter. Conversions dropped by 50% overnight.
I learned that adding highly credible logos to landing pages generally doesn’t have as much measurable impact on direct conversions as you might think.
I learned that I can eke out an extra 5-15% from improving the subject line…or 500% from creating a better offer.
I learned that offering a time-limited promotion is incredibly powerful for conversions.
I learned that you should test prices carefully and often. I have a product that I charge 6x more than what I originally charged…and conversions are essentially the same.
I learned that if people are motivated and interested in your services, you almost cannot give them too much information. This flies in the face of the Silicon Valley belief that “If you build it, they will come,” but it works. And every direct marketer has known this for decades. For example, one of my sales pages is over 25 pages long. It converts very well. In another test, we emailed people twice/day during the final launch period, and open rates stay constantly high.
Finally, I learned that there are diminishing returns on A/B testing, but there are huge gains to be made from changes in strategy, products, and offers.
With thanks to Jon Lucas for the heads up.