OK, so we're going deep on A-B testing today,
looking specifically at how it works with WordPress
for affiliate marketing.
And you've given me quite a bit of material to work with here.
But that's great.
It looks really interesting.
Basically, we're going to figure out
how to turn visitors into buyers using data.
Who doesn't love that?
So just to get us started, A-B testing basically
means you show two versions of something
like a web page to different people.
Then you see which one performs better.
And in our case, we want to see what
leads to the most clicks and sales for affiliate marketing.
And the cool thing is the source you gave me
is actually from someone who used A-B testing
on their own affiliate marketing site.
They were using a WordPress plugin.
And they tested everything, from pricing and button color
to even whether using a personal photo instead
of a stock photo makes a difference.
And some of the findings are pretty mind blowing, honestly.
Did you know that simply changing the color of a button
can significantly impact how many people click on it?
Or that swapping a generic stock photo for a personal photo
can lead to a 30% increase in conversions, which is huge.
It really shows how even the smallest changes can
affect how people behave online.
But before we get too far ahead of ourselves,
I want to bring in our expert to help us break all of this down.
So why is A-B testing so powerful?
And what's the psychology behind it all?
Well, the great thing about A-B testing
is that it takes the guesswork out
of optimizing your website.
So instead of relying on gut feelings,
which is what the author initially did,
you can make decisions based on hard data.
And this is super important for anyone
who wants to improve their online presence,
whether you're running a business or just starting out
with a personal website.
Or even if you just want to understand
how marketing works in the digital age,
every single element on your website
from the headline to the color of your buy now button
can influence what your visitors do.
And without A-B testing, you're just
throwing darts in the dark.
But with A-B testing, you can figure out what's working
and what's not.
And then you can use those insights
to make better decisions for your affiliate marketing.
So the source you gave me actually
walks us through several different A-B tests
that the author ran, focusing on different parts
of their affiliate marketing website.
They started with pricing, which I thought was interesting.
They were selling their product for $29
thinking that was the sweet spot.
But the data actually told a different story.
Right.
So they tested two different price points, $29 and $19.
And the lower price point won by a mile.
Over just 10 days, conversions nearly doubled.
So that shows that sometimes making your product more
affordable is actually better than trying to make
it seem super valuable.
Wow.
That's really surprising.
I would have thought that a higher price would equal more
perceived value and more sales.
Yeah.
A lot of people think that, especially when they're
trying to build authority in a niche,
but this test showed that it's not always true.
Sometimes making your product more accessible
to a wider audience by lowering the price
can actually lead to more revenue.
OK.
So that's super interesting.
It looks like pricing is one thing.
But what about those call to action buttons,
the buy now buttons?
What did they find out about those?
You wouldn't believe the difference that changing
the words on a button can make.
So the authors started with buy now,
which seems pretty straightforward.
But then they tested it against get instant access.
So it's just a small change.
But it made a huge difference.
Yeah.
People want everything right now.
Exactly.
The get instant access button performed 18% better.
Because people love instant gratification.
And that's especially true for digital products,
like the ones often used for affiliate marketing.
That's so smart.
I love it.
So it's not just what you say, but how you say it.
And speaking of getting attention,
what about that button color test?
I remember reading something about red buttons doing really
well.
Oh, yeah.
This would surprise me too.
So at first they had a green button
that blended in with their website,
just trying to make things aesthetically pleasing.
But then they tested a bright red button.
Oh, that must really popped on the page.
It did.
And the click-through rate went up 22%.
Sometimes standing out is a good thing.
You want to draw the visitor's eye to the action
you want them to take.
It's amazing how much of a difference something
like that can make.
It's a good reminder to not be afraid to experiment.
What else did the author test?
I'm hooked on all of this.
So next they looked at headlines, which can be tricky.
The author said they spent hours trying
to come up with a perfect headline,
only to find out that it wasn't performing very well.
I think we've all been there.
You spend so much time on the content,
and then just throw any old headline on it at the end.
But headlines are really important.
Oh, they're super important.
So they were testing out two different headlines
for one of their products.
The first one was pretty generic,
get the ultimate guide to marketing.
But the second one was a lot more interesting.
Discover the secret to explosive growth
with this marketing guide.
Oh, yeah, I like that one.
Who doesn't want to know a secret?
Exactly.
That second headline with the secret
and the promise of fast results
did 25% better.
So just to show you that headlines
are more than just titles.
They're little mini marketing pieces
that are designed to make people want to click.
So it's not just what you say, but how you say it.
That's a good thing to remember
when you're writing headlines for your affiliate products.
What else did they test?
Well, the next thing they tested
was the layout of their landing page.
So at first they had this super visual page,
lots of testimonials and images and videos.
They thought they were giving people everything
they could possibly need to make a decision,
but conversions were still pretty low.
So sometimes less is more.
Yeah, exactly.
So they completely redesigned
their landing page beats super minimal,
just focusing on the essentials,
like a clear headline and a strong call to action.
And performance improved 15% almost overnight.
Wow.
I guess that shows that clarity and focus
are super important.
When you get rid of all the distractions,
it makes it a lot easier for visitors
to understand what you're offering.
Exactly.
And that's especially important for affiliate marketing.
Because you want to make it as easy as possible
for people to buy the product.
So decluttering your website is a good thing.
Yeah.
Okay, what else did they find out?
So the next thing they focused on was social proof,
like testimonials.
They knew testimonials were powerful,
but they weren't sure if putting them
at the bottom of the page was the best approach.
Yeah, that makes sense.
Most people don't scroll all the way down
to the bottom of the page.
Exactly.
So to test this, they moved the testimonials
up closer to the call to action button
and conversions increased by 20%.
That's a great idea.
Because it puts those testimonials
right where people need them,
right when they're about to make a decision.
Right, it's all about making it as easy as possible
for people to convert.
So we've talked about headlines and layouts
and testimonials.
What other kind of crazy things did they test?
Believe it or not, they even tested the background color
of the landing page.
So they started with a plain white background,
which is pretty standard.
And then they tested a light gray background.
Really, I would have never thought to test that.
What happened?
The light gray background increased engagement by 12%.
So people spent more time on the page
and conversions went up too.
Wow.
I'm starting to think that every single detail
on a website matters.
It really does.
It's all about creating a good user experience,
one that encourages people to take action.
So A-B testing is all about constantly experimenting
and trying new things.
Sometimes the smallest changes
can make the biggest difference.
So we've covered a lot of ground here,
from pricing strategies to the power of words and visuals.
This is amazing.
And there's more.
They also experimented with different types of content.
And they even tested how effective video was.
This is like a master class in optimization.
But I think it's time for us to take a step back
and think about what all of this means,
especially for our listeners
who are new to affiliate marketing.
Yeah, that's a good idea.
I think the main takeaway here is that A-B testing
takes the guesswork out of building a website.
You can let the data guide your decisions.
So instead of saying, I think this will work,
you're saying, let's test it and see what happens.
Exactly.
And the best part is you don't have to be a tech expert
to run A-B tests.
There are so many easy to use WordPress plugins out there.
That's good to know.
So what other A-B testing adventures did this author go on?
All right, so let's get back to those A-B tests.
What else did they look at?
Well, since content is so important
for affiliate marketing,
they wanted to test out different types of content
to see what worked best.
Oh, that's a good idea.
So did they compare long blog posts
versus shorter videos or something like that?
They actually did something even more interesting.
So they were promoted in this online course,
and they had two different ways to present it
on their website.
One way was to use really detailed descriptions,
like outlining all the different modules
and learning objectives.
It's almost like a syllabus.
Yeah, exactly.
But the other approach was a lot more visual.
They made this really short video trailer
highlighting the benefits of the course
and included some testimonials from students.
I bet that did really well.
It's one thing to read about a course,
but it's a lot more engaging to actually see it in action.
It was.
The video trailer got 40% more people
to sign up for the course.
Wow, that's a huge difference.
Video marketing is so powerful.
It really is.
And it's because it appeals to a lot of different people.
Yeah, some people prefer to read,
and some people prefer to watch.
Okay, so video is a good thing.
What else did they test?
Well, they also wanted to optimize their email opt-in forms.
Right, because email marketing is super important
for affiliate marketers.
Exactly, so they had two different forms.
One was just a basic form asking for your name
and email address,
and it promised valuable content and exclusive offers.
Okay, pretty standard.
Yeah, but the other form was a pop-up,
and it appeared after the visitor
had been on the page for a little while,
and it used some really powerful language
about scarcity and exclusivity
to try and get people to sign up.
I bet that one did better.
It did.
It got 30% more sign-ups.
Wow, that's incredible.
So sometimes you just need to be a little more persuasive.
Yeah, but you don't want to be pushy.
You just want to make sure people understand
the value of what you're offering.
Okay, so we've covered a lot of ground here.
Content formats, video marketing,
and email opt-in strategies.
Is there anything else?
They actually tested a whole bunch of other stuff,
like the placement of their social media buttons
and the design of their pricing tables.
Every test they ran helped them
make their website even better.
This has been so interesting.
I feel like I've learned a ton.
I'm ready to start A-B testing everything on my website.
That's the spirit.
Remember, A-B testing is all about continuous improvement.
The more you test, the better your results will be.
Yeah, it's really empowering to be able
to make decisions based on data instead of just guessing.
It is.
And there are so many tools out there that can help you.
You don't need to be a tech expert to do this.
This has been a great deep dive into A-B testing.
We've learned so much about how powerful it can be,
especially for affiliate marketing.
We talked about using data to make decisions,
the psychology of persuasion,
and why it's so important to constantly be testing
and improving your website.
So what are some of the key takeaways for our listeners?
Well, I think the biggest thing is to just get started.
Don't be afraid to experiment.
Start with some small tests and see what happens.
Even small changes can make a big difference.
And most importantly, have fun with it.
A-B testing is a great way to learn more
about your audience and figure out what works best
for your business.
That's all the time we have for today.
Thank you for listening to our deep dive
into A-B testing for affiliate marketing.
We hope you learned a lot,
and we encourage you to start testing
and experimenting on your own website.
Until next time.
Happy testing around the ball.