eliminate guesswork from your markting strategy and convert more sales

8/6/2019 Eliminate Guesswork From Your Markting Strategy And Convert More Sales

1/35

Eliminate Guesswork From Your

Marketing Strategy And ConvertMore Sales With FREE And

Simple Split Testing.

Charles Kangethe


2/35

Copyright Charles Kangethe 2011

The right of Charles Kangethe to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by

him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998.

All rights reserved.

Disclaimer

No part of this e-Book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphics, electronic, or

mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval

system without the written permission of the author, Charles Kangethe. Please contact

[email protected] to request permission to use quotes from this material.

Please note the exception granted in the notice of distribution.

This report has been written to provide information to help you split test your web sites and

convert more prospects into customers and sales.

Every effort has been made to make this report as complete and accurate as possible.

However, there may be mistakes in typography or content. Also, this report contains

information on Internet marketing and technology valid only up to the publishing date.

Therefore, this report should be used as a guide not as the ultimate source of Internet

marketing information.

The purpose of this report is to educate. The author does not warrant that the information

contained in this report is fully complete and shall not be responsible for any errors or

omissions. The author shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with

respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by thisreport.

The author has no connection, other than as a user, with any products or services discussed in

this e-Book.


3/35

Notice of Distribution

This E-book is offered FREE of Charge to anyonewho would like to read it.

You are welcome to distribute it freely as well, as

long as it is distributed intact with no changes and

NO MONEY IS CHARGED FOR IT.


4/35

Table of Contents

Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 7

Definitions .......................................................................................................................... 10

Convert More Sales. ........................................................................................................ 10

Split Testing..................................................................................................................... 10

Manual Split Testing. ....................................................................................................... 11

Automated A\B Split Testing............................................................................................ 12

Multi Variate Testing ....................................................................................................... 13

Creating An Account ............................................................................................................... 15

Testing .................................................................................................................................... 17

A\B Split Test Or Multi Variate Test? ................................................................................... 17

A\B Split Testing. ............................................................................................................. 18

Advantages of Google Website Optimizer for A\B Split Tests ........................................... 21

Multi Variate Testing. ...................................................................................................... 22

Advantages of Google Website Optimizer for Multi Variate Tests .................................... 28

Conclusions ......................................................................................................................... 29

Bonus Chapter ........................................................................................................................ 30

Headlines ............................................................................................................................ 30

First Paragraph .................................................................................................................... 31

Increase Your Credibility And Build Trust ............................................................................. 32

Testimonials .................................................................................................................... 32

Qualifications .................................................................................................................. 32

Media Recognition. ......................................................................................................... 33

Contact Information. ....................................................................................................... 33

Your Offer. ...................................................................................................................... 33

Thank You ............................................................................................................................... 34


5/35

To hard working wealth creators

everywhere.


6/35

About the author

Charles, is a serial founder and owner of profitable Brick and Click businesses.

Currently, he owns and runs ventures that range from a hotel services business to a

software and digital products, design and marketing, online business.

A frequently published author, he has an extensive portfolio of business articles, many of

which are online, dating back several years.

Charles was educated at Warwick University, rated as one of the top 10 universities in the

UK, where he read Economics graduating in 1985.

A varied and colourful professional working life followed. He started as a door to door

insurance salesperson, before becoming a senior IT project manager within Investment

Banking, where he spent over fifteen years.

On leaving banking, he taught economics at a college in Suffolk, before taking a positionwith an employment organisation helping ex-offenders find employment after completing

their prison sentences.

He now lives in Bournemouth UK with his partner Sue and works full time on his business

interests, coaching and mentoring entrepreneurs and writing.


7/35


8/35

Charles Kangethe - 2012 www.wealthcreatingprogram.com

Eliminate Guesswork From Your Marketing Strategy And Convert More Sales With FREE And Simple

Split Testing.

8

They came to him from the links he built into his articles, from the social media networks, from

classifieds, and from search engines. They came to him all right, but he did not build credibility

nor did he build trust.

That is the high level reason they left without buying from him.

Understand this deeply. Understand it until it hurts.

If you cannot build a credible, trusting relationship with your customer,

you will NEVER become one of the Internets big dogs of successful

marketing!

Furthermore, if you do not start to build that credibility and trust very

quickly when your prospect arrives at your website, you will lose them

probably forever!

Let me ask you a question.

The high level reason Splitter failed to convert prospects into customers was the lack of

credibility and trust. But, did you spot the root cause of the problem our ontrepreneur failed

to confront and beat? Yes? Good. No? OK, let me spell it out.

In Internet marketing there are three key elements.

1. The Product

2. The Offer The price and associated bonuses.

3. The Creative The website copy, fonts, formatting, images and positioning of these

items on the page.

Our ontrepreneur has a product. Now let us assume that the product is a good one. I know we

should never assume, but if we do not make a few assumptions, this e-Book will go on for ever.

Being a good student of what the Internet gurus have

told him in their never ending e-mails, Splitter

secured the sole rights to a compatible bonus

product as his freebie giveaway. His own product

plus the bonus puts him ahead of others selling

similar products. He has his USP.

The web designer he retained did an excellent job


9/35



Split Testing.

9

and gave the site a professional look and feel. There are navigation menus around the site as

well as relevant images that load quickly. And, although he is not a copywriter, he did a

decent job with the web copy.

This is where the problems started. During the year of trading, Splitter did everything to drivetraffic to his site and with some success it must be said.

But, he did not test his site to ensure that prospects were being engaged by what they found

when they got there. Why did he fall into this very common trap?

Splitter is a wannabe marketer. He has good ideas, but the thought of doing a lot of work does

not really excite him. That is why he chose to start an online presence instead of renting

premises in town to sell his product from a brick outlet. He figured it would be easy. Get the

site up, put the offer on and bingo, millionaire!

He made the same assumption made by 99% of ontrepreneurs. They ASSUME that they have

the offer and the creative just right to convert prospects into customers.

How do they know this? Well have you heard these kinds of comments?

I did English at school, I can write good copy.

I have studied great copy from a library book. I know what works.

This product is so good, it moves itself.

The simple answer is this. On the Internet, you do not get to meet your prospects andcustomers. You have very little chance to ask them what they like or do not like about your

website. You do not always know if your offer is over or under priced.

Any AND all conclusions you arrive at about your offer and your creative,

without any testing is PURE GUESSWORK. Guesswork, like throwing dice, is

more often than not the first step to failure.

Please read that many, many times. And then read it once more.

If there is one thing that guarantees you will look at your Paypal account and find little in there

it is a failure to test, test and then test some more.

This is the secret that differentiates the big guys from the minnows of the Internet marketing

world. The big guys are ALWAYS testing.

The failure to test is the root cause of why Splitter, a wannabe marketer, had a bad year.

OK so what sort of testing will help Splitter in his hour of need?

Before we look at this question and answer it at length, we need to define and describe a few

concepts.


10/35



Split Testing.

10

Definitions

Convert More Sales.

If your website sells a product or services, your definition of converting more sales, is easy.

You want to engage with prospects who visit your website and turn more of them into cash

paying customers, more frequently.

But, what if your website is an information portal, providing free and paid information to

visitors?

You know the type of thing. A directory of other important websites in a particular sector or an

article directory hosting publications from Splitter and his friends.

What is your convert more sales, proposition in this case?

You could define it as getting more prospects to leave their e-mail addresses for future opt in

mailings and perhaps back end upsells.

You might define it as getting them to sign up to a renewable, fee paying, membership part of

the site where they receive specialist info products unavailable elsewhere.

And what if your website is a gateway to another site? What does convert more sales, mean

in this case? It could be increasing the click through rate to the other website. It could be the

amount of time the prospect spends on the landing page reading and understanding your

business.

You can define your convert more sales, proposition in almost any way that makes sense for

your online business.

You have a website and you have some traffic. I know. Another assumption! You, have to

decide what you want that traffic to do on your website. That thing they do more of, is your

convert more sales, proposition.

Split Testing.

This type of testing has its pedigree going back to the early 20 th Century with one of the Worlds

most famous ad men, Claude Hopkins.

The concept of split testing is quite simple. It means that you take your original creative, also

known as the control, and test it against alternatives.

Why would you want to do this?


11/35



Split Testing.

11

Because it is the ONLYway to identify what rocks, MOST of your prospects and makes them

part with their cash to buy your product or service. You will never sell to everyone, but you can

sell to a lot more than you are now if you test out what works for the majority of visitors.

When you, or Splitters web designer creates original copy , if you do not test it for all variables,you can only guess as to whether it is the best copy for converting your traffic and prospects

into customers.

You have no way of knowing if the attention grabbing headline is drawing readers into the

body of the copy. You do not know if your introductory paragraph is turning hot prospects

off and wasting all the time, effort and money, you have spent getting them there in the first

place.

What about that image you painstakingly developed and put up in the top right hand corner of

the table? Is it doing your product offer any favours? Well if you do not test, I can guaranteeyou will not know for certain. You will be guessing. It could be that removing that image or

placing it somewhere else may assist your convert more sales, proposition. But you will not

know without testing.

By testing alternative creatives against your original, over time you get statistics, that tell you

clearly what prospects like and dislike about your website. You stop guessing and start homing

in on what they want.

Your credibility rises and your trust building with prospects improves as you communicate

more sympathetically through your web copy and creative. As your credibility and trust

relationship building improve, so too does your conversion of sales, rate.

Let us now look at variants of online split testing. (Offline splits work slightly differently but the

big principles are the same.)

Manual Split Testing.

Before FREE tools, like the one we will look at became available, better marketers used to pay

a fortune for commercial products or they used to engage in simple, manual split testing.

Manual split tests are typically what are known as A\B Splits.

An A\B Split test consists of an original webpage which runs for several days, weeks or months,

depending on the volume of traffic going to that website. The higher the traffic the shorter the

run period needs to be and vice versa. During the run, statistics are manually compiled to

determine the conversion of sales proposition for that website.

At the end of the original run period, a new alternative page is loaded and run for an

equivalent period.


12/35



Split Testing.

12

The difference between the original and the alternative pages is held to one single item such

as headline, offer, introductory paragraph or image.

The reason the change is limited to only one item is because, if you made more than one

change and the alternative converted more sales, you would not know what change toattribute the increase to.

At the end of the alternative pages run period, a manual comparison of the conversion rate

statistics takes place. If the new page achieved better conversion results, it becomes the new

control and another alternative is created with a different modification in one item. If it was

worse then it is discarded and the cycle starts all over again.

The main problems with manual A\B split testing are:

1. It is sloooooow, testing only one change at a time over a period that can be up to

several months long.

2. It is inefficient depending as it does on manual recording of statistics.

It sounds like the definition of tedious work.

Can you see why Splitter was not very keen on doing this type of testing? Unfortunately,

because he did no testing at all he had a miserable trading year!

Automated A\B Split Testing.

It was not long after split testing became a tightly guarded secret amongst the early Internet

marketing superstars, that a clever technology type decided, We can automate A\B splits.

And so the first automated tools started to appear. Initially they were crude and quite

technical but without exception, they were all expensive.

They did exactly the same thing as manual A\B splits, but with a twist.

Using the expensive techie software, the ontrepreneur created many alternative test pages

and embedded some code in the HTML before loading these pages onto his server and starting

the test.

The split test software would use the embedded code to serve a different page on a rotational

basis to website visitors. It would also compile statistics on the fly about which page was

converting more sales. Web masters and ontrepreneurs would then review these statistics

and make changes to the website to ensure they were showing the best performing page to

visitors.


13/35



Split Testing.

13

The limitations of the manual A\B split test had been overcome. Now the tests were quicker

and the statistics more accurate. However, a few new problems cropped up.

Firstly, the new tools were expensive. A recent search revealed that even today a simple A\B

split testing tool will set you back just under $150.00. Splitter made no money in his firsttrading year. $150.00 in that context is a lot of money!

Secondly, even though the tools make testing quicker you are still only ever testing one

condition against the control at a time. Many different conditions on a website influence

visitor behaviour. Changing one condition per page and comparing it against the original or

control is still a long process even with an automated tool.

Multi Variate Testing

Advances in software based testing linked to statistical algorithms eventually led to multi

variate or multi variable testing.

In this form of testing, a single page is marked up with code tags. Each tag allows the software

to rotate a pre defined variation of that section of the webpage. Therefore, with multi variate

testing you can test an almost unlimited combination of changes to a webpage. You can have

several headline changes served up to your visitors with several different image locations and

many different first paragraphs and so on.

Each combination served up is statistically analysed for conversion rate using algorithms that

go by names such as Taguchi.

As the test is running you can review ongoing results on the fly to determine which

combination of headline, offer, images and copy is converting more sales.

Brilliant! Except that for this level of sophistication and quick results you must pay a new

higher level of premium.

Another recent trawl through the available software uncovered one gem selling for a little

under $1,000.00. That was for an outright purchase that you can host on your web server.However, the software is such a highly technical piece of kit it requires the creator to install it

for you!

For a more user friendly package which you are not permitted to host on your own server, the

annual ongoing subscriptions are about $600.00 per annum. Yikes!

So again, we have a cost issue despite the undoubted advantages of multi variate testing

software.


14/35


15/35



Split Testing.

15

Creating An Account

You must log into Googles Website Optimizer and set up an account before you can use thesoftware. This simple process requires that you sign up to an agreement which is standard fare

these days.

Figure 1 - Sign Up \ login page for Google's Website Optimizer

When you have set up your account, you will be taken to your account page where there are

numerous aids and links to help.

If you are not very clear on technical matters, I assure you this looks far more scary than it

really is.

In any event, techie or not, it is always a good idea to read the material on such pages so that

you get a feel for what you will soon be able to do with your new software.

Assuming (oh not again,) you have read the really quite useful help topics, you are now ready

to plunge into the world of the big guys. You are now ready to eliminate guesswork from your

marketing strategy and begin to convert more sales.

A word of caution. Testing is not an end in itself.

Testing your websites is all about one very simple thing. It is about improving or increasing

your conversion rates.


16/35



Split Testing.

16

Some software out there almost seems to justify its existence on how many different tests it

can do. These tools use increasingly complex statistical algorithms and report outcomes by

giving complicated views and slices of reports.

This is fine if techie testing is your main priority, but as I have said, testing is not an end initself. In the tradition of Claude Hopkins, the tests have to benefit your bottom line not your

technical ego.

Testing has a very real and very practical purpose.

It is about comparing web creatives and offers, to improve and increase

your sales conversion rates. Nothing more or less!

You set the tests up, you monitor the results, and you change your website to better

converting combinations of conditions. Simple!

Googles Website Optimizer gives you major league testing features without bogging you down

in testing for testing sake. This is one more huge plus for this software.


17/35



Split Testing.

17

Testing

A\B Split Test Or Multi Variate Test?

The first question you have to decide on is are you going to perform an A\B split test or a multi

variate test.

If your website is a simple one page landing and sales page in one, you may choose to do A\B

splits.

If your website has many different pages, with many different convert more sales,

propositions you may feel more comfortable using the multi variate features as these give

more testing flexibility.

If undecided, you can start with the simple A\B split test and then progress to multi variate

testing once your control is converting well. In this situation, your multi variate tests would

serve to fine tune what your A\B tests had revealed as, credible and trust building, web pages.

(Do you remember those two factors of successful marketing?)

Googles Website Optimizer allows you to choose between simple automated A\B split testing

or more sophisticated multi variate testing.

Figure 2 - Test Type Selection Screen


18/35



Split Testing.

18

A\B Split Testing.

Google suggests you use this A\B Split Test if the following conditions apply:

1. You can publish an original control page AND an alternative test page or pages

2. You want to test the overall look and feel of the page.

Note - These are recommendations and not prescriptions. You have the choice to use multi

variate testing, if that suits your purpose better, even if these conditions apply.

The A\B split tests require you to start with an original or control web creative. You then create

several different alternatives in which each alternative varies from the control by one

condition. This is so you can tell what specific change is generating increases (or decreases) in

converting sales.

Figure 3 - Setting up an A\B Split Test

The four stage sequential set up process is

1. Determine a name for your experiment.

2. Select your control or original test page.


19/35



Split Testing.

19

3. Create several alternative test pages. Vary each by one condition so you can tell what

change has contributed to a change in your convert more sales, proposition.

For new testers, I suggest you use something like Excel spreadsheet to list out all your

test conditions. Use a column to list the test name and next to that add a test

description. For example Test 1, Heading change to


20/35



Split Testing.

20

If Figure 5 - Software creates code to Copy and tells you where to Paste it in the pages

If you can Copy and Paste and can find your web pages on your local machine, you can achieve

this task yourself easily and quickly.

The software will generate the code you need to copy AND it will tell you where to paste it.

See Fig 5 above.

Unless you really struggle with basic computing techniques and have zero knowledge of HTML,

you do not need your webmaster or anyone else to do this task for you.

If however, you choose to let someone else handle this task for you, the software will give you

a URL they can use to log in and complete the work before loading the pages back up to your

server.

Figure 6 - Link a webmaster would receive to with instructions to add page tags


21/35



Split Testing.

21

When you (or your webmaster) have finished Copying and Pasting the code in your test

pages, you load them back up to your server and then the software validates that you have

done everything correctly.

Figure 7 - Verify pages after inserting the code and loading them back to host server

Once you trigger the test to start, the code tags serve the control and the alternative pages to

visitors on your site in a random, rotational basis. The software starts to track and calculate

which page is converting best and shows you the results on the fly in clear easy to read

reports.

A visitor to your site will always be shown the same page they saw on first visit because the

code incorporates cookies to recognise returning visitors.

Being a Google creation you can be sure this code will not affect your web pages ranking onthe search engine either.

This is excellent introduction to split testing and an important part of this hugely important

marketing strategy.

Advantages of Google Website Optimizer for A\B Split Tests

1. Automated software tool, accurate statistics with clear reporting.

2. Test multiple pages simultaneously.

3. Created by Google and fully compatible with their other software such as Google

Analytics.

4. Does not adversely affect your Google page rank.

5. Simple to implement and requires no technical expertise if you are comfortable with

very basic HTML editing and can copy and Paste.

6.

It is FREE


22/35



Split Testing.

22

For the remainder of this e-Book I will discuss multi variate testing as this gives you more

options for testing more conditions simultaneously.

This quickens your testing cycles and that must be good for your ability to convert more

sales. After all, when you have a low visitor or traffic throughput to your new site, you cannotafford to lose those prospects because you have a disengaging creative. Remember this was

the problem with Splitters website.

Multi Variate Testing.

To start, you select multi variate testing from your account dashboard. See Figure 2.

Google suggests you use a multi variate test if these conditions apply:

1. Your test page receives more than approximately 1,000 visits per month.

2. You want to test multiple changes in different parts of the page simultaneously.

Note - These are recommendations and not prescriptions. You have the choice to use A\B Split

testing if that suits your purpose better, even if these conditions apply.

The multi variate option in Googles Website Optimizer requires that before you begin you sit

down with your team and make a few decisions.

1. What aspects or conditions, (headlines, copy, images, offer,) of your website do you

want to test? Google Web Optimizer calls these conditions sections.

2. What is your convert more sales proposition? Do you have more than one such

proposition?

3. What sort of traffic volume do you have on your website and consequently how long

do you want to run the tests for?

4.

Identify a page where a conversion success is recorded, if your visitor gets there. This

is typically a Thank you page shown to your customer after they have completed a

purchase. But, remember from our definitions, your convert more sales proposition

can be anything you want to test and not just hard cash sales.

You are interested in setting a test that shows what is getting your visitors to do what

you have defined as convert more sales best.


23/35



Split Testing.

23

This pre-planning allows you to set up test, what the Website Optimizer calls experiments,

with much more clarity of purpose.

Figure 8 - Planning before setting a multi variate test

Once you and your team have decided on what sections to test and why you want to test

them, you are ready to add the experiment to the Web Optimizer.

The following figure demonstrates the type of information required.


24/35



Split Testing.

24

Figure 9 - Multi variate test setup

The five stage sequential process for setting up and initiating a multi variate test is:

1. Determine a name for your experiment.

2. Select your control or original test page.

3. Identify a conversion page this is the page that visitors will go to which signals a

successful conversion.

4. Add the tags (code) to the pagesThis is a Copy and Paste job.

5. Trigger the test.


25/35



Split Testing.

25

Figure 10 - Software generated code for copying and pasting into named places on test pages

On completion of the setup the Optimizer generates the code you or a webmaster must copy

and paste to your test pages. The software tells you in detail where the code must be pasted.

If you are competent with very basic computer techniques such as Copy and Paste and have a

little HTML experience, so you can for instance find the tag, you can do this work

yourself without problem.

On completion of the copy and Paste exercise, you just load your test and conversion pages

back up to your server and then ask the Optimizer to verify the site. This ensures you have

added the code correctly. See Fig 7.

Figure 11 - Example code copied and pasted into test page


26/35



Split Testing.

26

The figure above shows example code that goes into you test pages to track your conversion

rates.

The figure below shows the in stream section tags that are wrapped round each situation or

condition you want to test. This code allows you to set the different variations for your test.

Each section you want to test is wrapped with the code in blue and given a unique name.

Figure 12 - Examples of test situations

In this particular experiment, there is a test section on the pages headline, an image and on

the pages call to action.

These in stream HTML tags allow you to set several different variations of headlines,

paragraphs, images and so on for testing automatically. Each new visitor will see a different

combination of the sections you have defined.

Figure 13 - Setting variations for each section


27/35



Split Testing.

27

Figure 13 shows the screen where after defining your sections you can add and edit as many

variations of that section as you want to test.

In this case, the test is for a headline which will be tested against different alternatives to see

which one pulls visitors into the copy most effectively.

Each new variation for a given section, in this case the headline section, must be given a new

name so that a track can be initiated for it when you trigger the software.

Figure 14 - Naming a section's variation test. A section can have several variations undergoing test simultaneously

When you have added all variations you want to test for all the sections you have defined, you

can preview the combinations that visitors will see when they visit your site.

Figure 15 - Two headline variations


28/35



Split Testing.

28

Figure 15 shows two headline variations. The top heading is the original or control. The bottom

is a variation on the heading section that the web owner wants to test. Each will be shown at

random to visitors and over time statistics will emerge showing which one converts more

sales.

Figure 16 - Example report page

A running experiment will generate statistics on the fly which you will be able to review from a

report page as in figure 16.

Clicking on the links drills down deeper to more information about how the different tests are

performing.

A visitor to your site will always be shown the same page they saw at first visit because the

code uses cookies to recognise returning visitors.

This code will not affect your web pages ranking on the search engine either.

Advantages of Google Website Optimizer for Multi Variate Tests

1. Automated tool, accurate statistics with clear reporting.

2. Test as many variations and combinations of creative as make sense for improving

your conversion rates.

3. Created by Google and fully compatible with their other software such as Google

Analytics.


29/35



Split Testing.

29

4. Does not adversely affect your Google page rank.

5. Simple to implement and requires no technical expertise if you are comfortable with

very basic HTML editing and can copy and Paste.

6. It is FREE

Conclusions

1. The difference between successful Internet marketers and the rest is TESTING.

2.

If you do not test your web creative and offer, you are GUESSINGat what converts

more sales.

3. Guessing means, you cannot change your web sales copy effectively to convert more

of your precious visitors into cash paying customers.

4. A\B Split Testing is a simple straightforward comparison of two or more web pages to

see which converts better.

5.

Multi variate testing takes the concept a stage further and allows testing of manycombinations of conditions on a page to identify which combination visitors respond

to better.

6. Googles Website Optimizer allows you to set up easily and quickly A\B and Multi

variate tests.

7. Googles Website Optimizer is big league software with full functionality but use of the

product does not require advanced technical ability.

8.

Testing has a hard edged practical purpose.

It determines what combination of offer and creative converts more sales.

Testing for the sake of testing a products many complex features, is a waste of time

if it does not lead directly to increased knowledge of what converts better.

9. Googles Website Optimizer is FREE.


30/35


31/35



Split Testing.

31

3. Eliminating and getting rid of problems.

4. A quicker way to do things.

5.

Secrets and little known ways to do something revealed.

Once you have your headline using these formulaic approaches, play around with the

formatting.

Have you ever noticed how newspapers and magazines use headline formatting to encourage

you to read the story? Sizes of font, colours, punctuation are all seemingly irrelevant attributes

but research has found repeatedly people react to these differently depending on the setting.

For instance, which of the two headlines (same words) below strikes you on first look as more

powerful?

Get rid of your boss and achieve financial freedom.

GET RID OF YOUR BOSS, AND ACHIEVE FINACIAL FREEDOM Your main headline pulls the reader into the sub headings if any exist. These should be crafted

using the same approach as the main headline, and build on the main headings story line.

The sub headings pull the reader into the first paragraph.

First Paragraph.

The headings set the tone for credibility. The first paragraph begins to set the tone for trust.

This is where you start to involve emotionally your visitors with your business.

Emotional involvement begins with what is often described as the sizzle.

Successful marketers know that you must sell the sizzle not the steak. You sell the destination

not the journey. Sell the dream not the sleep.

To do this, you must get emotional content into your top paragraph as quickly as possible.

Encourage your visitors to engage their imagination and think of what might be, using your

product or service, rather than launching into the products features straight away.

Your copy will have time in later paragraphs to spell out the benefits of your product or

service, but at this early stage where you are building rapport with your prospect you must

develop early credibility and trust. This comes from emotional contact which makes them feel

as though you know them personally and are talking to them and them alone.


32/35



Split Testing.

32

Is this difficult?

Ofcourse it is. That is why a good copy writer can charge 100s of dollars per hour to write a

small creative. They know the power of their words and their constructions and even they

would be the first to say you should test different copy.

For non professional copy writers, like Splitter and his web designer, the next best thing is

testing.

When you have made your initial stab at copy writing, you must use automated split testing

software to test the propositions. Test until you are sure you have the best converting

combination of headlines, top paragraph and offer.

Increase Your Credibility And Build Trust

Testimonials.

Credibility and trust are the absolute gold standard bedrock of web marketing. People buy

from those they inherently like and trust.

The easiest sale you will ever make is a repeat sale to an existing customer. They have

previously bought from you and therefore know you and trust you. You are a credible sourceof products and services.

The second easiest sale you will ever make is to a referral. If a customer tells their friends, they

are more likely to buy from you as well. This is where the power of testimonials kicks in.

A testimonial with full names of your customer, applied to your web copy with permission

from the customer, is a valuable referral for visitors even though they do not necessarily know

the customer.

People like to feel part of a group and when making a purchase of more than a few dollars in

value, they want to know others have bought and recommended the product previously. It

gives them a safe feeling.

Qualifications.

If you have qualifications, academic or experiential, add these to your about us pages. Prove

you are an expert in your sphere. Even if you have only attended a weekend course that gave

you the right to add certain letters after your name put them out there.


33/35



Split Testing.

33

People like to deal with experts and specialists.

Media Recognition.

If your product or service has won awards or been represented in the local or national media

you must add this to your site. Recognition of your product or service by peers in your industry

or by objective outsiders who have credibility is an important marketing strategy for building

credibility and trust.

Contact Information.

Do not hide behind an e-Mail address with no physical address in sight and then ask a visitor topart with a great deal of money. The first thing they smell is a rat with this kind of marketing.

Not exactly, what you want!

You must have a physical address to build confidence in your prospects. Now, if you are

concerned about giving your home business address out, rent a disguised mail box and give

that out instead. A disguised mail box does not appear to be a mail box. The operator has an

address that makes it seem like a normal office or building address.

Your Offer.

Make this realistic. If you have a product available on eBay for pennies and you are asking for

100 of dollars, you are not being real. You must offer your product and service at a price that

gives your prospect value for money.

Add FREE giveaways to your products and services to enhance their value in the eyes of your

prospect. The freebies must be valuable in their own right and not junk. Write up the benefits

of the bonus gifts with as much care as you do your own product. You never know people may

buy your product just to get at the bonus!

While on the subject of your offer, make it easy for your prospects to buy from you. Have

sensibly placed buy now buttons and ensure all payment options are covered. Be thoughtful

in how your online store presents itself to a mature buying public and then test to convert

more sales.


34/35



Split Testing.

34

Thank You

Thank you for taking the time to read this e-Book on split testing.

It is my intention to coach and mentor entrepreneurs both off and online to achieve the best

they can for themselves.

Testing separates superstar marketers from also-rans. At one time, it was a closely guarded

secret and even those in the know needed deep pockets to buy the test software they needed

to convert more sales.

Now with tools like Googles Website Optimizer we have all been given a huge lifeline to a

marketing strategy and all for the grand sum of zilch.

Failure to use this strategy is folly because it leaves you guessing in the dark about what works

best for your business conversion rates.

I hope you found this information interesting and instructive.

I would love to hear your views and perhaps answer any questions you might have about

anything to do with business.

My support e-mail address [email protected] where you can write to

me with observations and questions.

Finally, if you liked this e-Book you may care to have a look at another of my programs for

anyone who wants to become financially independent.

Just visitwww.wealthcreatingprogram.comfor full details.

To your wealth,
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.wealthcreatingprogram.com/http://www.wealthcreatingprogram.com/http://www.wealthcreatingprogram.com/http://www.wealthcreatingprogram.com/mailto:[email protected]


35/35


Table Of Figures

Figure 1 - Sign Up \ login page for Google's Website Optimizer ............................................... 15

Figure 2 - Test Type Selection Screen ...................................................................................... 17

Figure 3 - Setting up an A\B Split Test...................................................................................... 18

Figure 4 - Screen to elect who will add code to web pages ...................................................... 19

If Figure 5 - Software creates code to Copy and tells you where to Paste it in the pages .......... 20

Figure 6 - Link a webmaster would receive to with instructions to add page tags .................... 20

Figure 7 - Verify pages after inserting the code and loading them back to host server ............. 21

Figure 8 - Planning before setting a multi variate test.............................................................. 23

Figure 9 - Multi variate test setup ........................................................................................... 24

Figure 10 - Software generated code for copying and pasting into test pages .......................... 25Figure 11 - Example code copied and pasted into test page..................................................... 25

Figure 12 - Examples of test situations .................................................................................... 26

Figure 13 - Setting variations for each section ......................................................................... 26

Figure 14 - Naming a section's variation test. .......................................................................... 27

Figure 15 - Two headline variations ......................................................................................... 27

Figure 16 - Example report page ............................................................................................. 28

eliminate guesswork from your markting strategy and convert more sales

Documents