Even More About Testing (Because the Last Post was Getting Long)
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Continued from the previous post Continually Improving Your Communications
At the highest level of testing, you will need to test all the persuasive elements in your site so you can create the best system for closing the sale possible. And don’t underestimate the importance of any element on your site; something that seems unimportant to you could make all the difference to your users. Every element on your website is meant to persuade users to take a certain action; therefore, every element needs to be tested in some way. Luckily, on the internet, testing is easy and inexpensive (well, it can get expensive if you want it to, but it can just as easily be done cheaply.)
Don’t rely on what you would want, or what you think your users want; not everyone wants the same thing you want, or wants to be treated the way you want to be treated. That’s why testing is so important – so you give your users what they’re looking for, not what you think they’re looking for, or what you want to give them. You can apply all the research and knowledge that you’ve gained in your niche that you want, try to adhere all the marketing rules that you can find, but you will never know exactly what your users really want until you start testing.
Essentially, through testing, you will be letting your buyer personas design your site for you. You start out with a plan and a best guess, but be prepared to make changes and let go of your favorite design elements if they prove to not be what your users want. Ignore the ‘rules’ of online marketing. If the internet has taught us one thing, it’s that marketing rules were made to be broken. If the internet or online marketing never changed, then rules would be ok. But it is a fluid, constantly changing thing, and while there are some guidelines you could keep in mind, don’t be married to any one strategy if is stops producing results for you.
Through testing, you are empowering your users to decide what works best, and since they’re the ones paying the bills, it’s best to listen to them. Using Google’s Website Optimizer, you don’t have to guess what they want, the report results will quickly tell you what they like, what they don’t like, and most importantly, what will make them buy and what makes them not.
Remember – it’s about what your customers want, not what you like!
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I believe that everyone leaves out testing when creating a squeeze page or sales letter. I think it is the most important part because you need to know what converts and what does not
Nice to see your blog about even more about testing to improve our communication. Thanks to visit your blog again and again to get more information about to improve our skill power.
Nice to see your blog about even more about testing to improve our communication.
Sometimes it blows me away the results I get from testing and tracking. I just don’t do enough of it. It can get very deep.
Sometimes, even the most unnoticable stuff can get your conversions going down. Most of the time I discover these by accident, but that is just because I constantly test and retest everything about my blog.
Igor