Here’s an excellent post from my friend and colleague, John Manley. If you don’t know John, he’s a fellow freelance copywriter who has conducted dozens of copy tests.

So when I stumbled upon this “lost” email he’d sent me a couple years ago, I asked for his permission to share it with you. Thankfully, he agreed. Enjoy!

Why Did This Price Test Fail: Price Point or World Events?

From September to November 2008 I executed a test on copy I wrote for one of my alternative health clients.

Up until the test this online copy routinely produced an average of $2.25 in sales for every $1 spent on generating traffic.

Not bad, for a front end product, eh?

The copy promotes an ebook (plus other digital bonuses) for $37 and upsells to the audio version for an extra $10.

I decided to test what would happen by dropping the price by $10. The results were truly shocking…

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Two months ago I created a video showing you how to set up a split-test using Google’s Website Optimizer.

I used my own opt-in page for the test — and I actually didn’t know which variation was going to win. Well, now I know.

In fact, one version absolutely killed the other version. I don’t use the term “killed” lightly. The winning page won by almost double.

I recorded a new 6-minute video for you. In this video I reveal the winning page, plus a few thoughts as to why the winning version won.

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If you’re publishing your sales letter online, then clearly your order links and order buttons will be a critical part of your sales process.

But this raises a bunch of questions. For instance:

• How many order links should you include?
• Where should they be placed on the page?
• What’s better: order links or order buttons?
• Which colors work best?

The answers to these questions are not always black and white, but there are a few time-tested principles you can use to help boost your conversions.

So in this post, I’m going to share with you everything I know about order links and order buttons…

How do you know where to place your “order now” or “add to cart” button? How many of them do you use?

Claude Hopkins once wrote that any obvious attempt to sell will cause your prospect to raise his buying defenses.

I believe any kind of order link or “add to cart” button is an obvious attempt to sell, so I generally will avoid using them until…

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I’ve set up somewhere between 50 and 100 different split-tests. I don’t know the exact figure because I’ve never tracked it. Plus, the tests I’ve conducted are divided between multiple Google accounts, therefore difficult to track.

Anyhow, during the last video, I shared some interesting split-test results with you.

Today, I want to show you how to set up your first split-test. It’s actually not that difficult. Once you get the hang of it, it should take you no more than about 5-10 minutes to set up a new test.

What’s interesting about this video is you get to see me set up a new test on my own web site, but you don’t get to see the outcome… yet. That’s because this is a brand new test. I don’t even know the outcome!

So as you watch, take a look at both versions of the page and decide which one you think will win, and why. I’ll create a new video in a few weeks to let you know the outcome of this test.

Alright, enough of my yapping. Watch the 21-minute video “Setting Up Your First Split-Test” below.

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Have you ever heard of Kaizen? It’s the idea of constant gradual improvement. If you can get just a little bit better every day, it won’t be long before you’ve made huge, noticeable improvements.

One way you can apply the concept of Kaizen to your copywriting is to start split-testing. This is one of those things lots of people talk about, but few people actually do.

In case you don’t know, a basic A/B split-test is where you compare two different versions of a sales letter to see which one converts more prospects into customers.

Each version of the letter might be wildly different. Or, if you’re short on ideas, the two versions may actually be quite similar, with only minor differences.

I’m always amazed by the little changes that make a big difference. For instance, in the 7-minute video that follows, I share with you a two-word change that increased response by 28.2%. What two words am I talking about? Well, you’ll have to click the Play button to find out…

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I’ve been working with one of my copywriting clients for more than 3 years now. And during that time, I’ve had the opportunity to test a number of elements on his sales page.

One time he got a new testimonial that I thought was really good.

Before I tell you about the testimonial, it will help to explain to you the market my client is in.

He sells trading software for $99 a month. The software issues trading signals in real time so you know exactly when to enter or exit a trade.

The challenge is that the trading market is filled with all kinds of “bots” and software that don’t work. So when my client got a testimonial from a guy who’d made $600,000 in a week, I thought we’d struck pay dirt…

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