Does anybody have any experiences in testing copy?

Don't test subtle differences as you will learn very little about what 'tone' you should be using.

Make your tests [at first anyway] very different in look/tone/message.

Then work on the one that gets the better result and then test different elements of that one.

Subtlety only takes place after you've optimised the big chunky elements...now you can test small tweaks.

There's no point in being subtle when you first start testing Good Luck

Honestly, before the copy ever goes live I've already decided that testing is a good idea.


If the initial response rate is brilliant, then I may hold off on any changes, for a while. But if you never stop testing, your advertising will never stop improving.



You can test pretty much anything. CTA is one. The headline is a BIG one to test. The offer, price, the P.S. etc.



I rarely ever change the overall tone of piece, unless the original piece is a total dog with negligible response.

But sometimes it can be as simple as changing a few words. An ancient example of this, for a language course, was...

"Do you make mistakes in English?" ...It didn't sell crap.

But a single word added...

"Do you make these mistakes in English?" ...Turned it into a control piece that made millions.

.

tbh, I see testin' copy all the time.

Hurts my brain.

The 3 best things to test are:
Price
Offer
Headline

It's good to know how much your market is willing to pay. Of course, where to start can be a daunting question. I find that a good place to start is above the competition, at the competition and below the competition. Then, figure out the overall sales that would be generated and resulting profits and determine which is best. You may also find that even though the "at" or "below" version gives you a little more overall profit, the "above" option gives you a good profit at fewer sales and therefore much easier to reach, especially with a small list. Of course, there are many factors in this such as type of product, list, etc.

The offer is different from but includes the price. It consists of bonuses and perhaps, payment plans. I once generated $26,000+ in commissions in an 18 hours launch by giving a good bonus package then came back a couple months later and did over 50K in a day with another launch. So, bonuses can make a big difference in sales.

David Ogilvy says that "On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy." So, the headline can make a BIG difference. If you are only willing to test one thing, I'd say test the headline. Most really good copywriters spend the most time coming up with the headlines to test.

when testing copy test long form vs short form. Test the sales copy with the competitor in your niche vs yours.
Marketing is testing period.
Its finding out what works and what doesn't and finally scaling the winners..

My thoughts exactly.

Once you have your initial control, test one thing at a time lest you have no clue about which change made a difference. Or if multiple, possibly positive changes were cancelled out by another change.

Last, be aware of the point of diminishing returns. At some point, the improvements you may see from further testing aren't worth the effort/expense of the test. When you reach that point, take a portion of your traffic and start over testing something completely different.

You're always playing 'beat the control'.

The first thing is having an absolutely amazing offer.

There is little point in testing anything without having a great offer.

Second thing would be traffic.

Need qualified traffic who want the thing.

Then once you have figured out the traffic and the offer you can test things.

I'm assuming you would have at least some decent copy before you started testing anything.

So.

Good copy + Outstanding offer + Qualified traffic

Then test.

If you can split traffic into more defined segments. Male, female, key splits.

Match language to traffic.

Test different benefits in headlines to match traffic segments.

Look at heat maps and traffic flows.

Listen for feedback from purchasers and non-purchasers.

Adjust structure based on analytical data.

Retarget vistors and test new hooks.

Make sure there is enough significant traffic and data to indicate a definite trend towards one variant before discarding a loser.

Testing copy when the offer and traffic match is poor is pointless.