Picture Reveals How To Get Seven Times More Clicks On Your Links
If you’re in business or marketing then this simple 15 minute change can multiply your income by as much as seven times.
Mind you… if I multiplied my income by seven times you’d still need a microscope to see it! However, you may be in position to take advantage of this simple little insight.
So what the heck am I talking about?
Well, if you’ve read the marketing books and listened to the gurus then you know they have a simple answer for everything.
When in doubt… test!
A test is simply an experiment in results. The key is to measure them and to only test for big differences.
For instance, you might write two headlines and measure which one pulls in more visitors for your blog.
Or you might measure the amount of inquiries you’re getting from two almost identical classified ads with different contact methods.
All in all… It really sounds pretty boring, but let me tell you something:
It isn’t by far!
And I can give you a great example of a test that thrilled me. I was so excited I almost couldn’t sleep. Heck, my girlfriend was laying there in bed behind me… waiting for me… and here I was measuring the results of two headlines I’d written for a blog post.
One headline read:
“16 Spicy Tweets For Hotshot Marketers”
The other headline read:
“16 Ways To Write A Tweet”
One of those headlines pulled 6 clicks in about 12 hours. The other headline pulled 42 clicks in less than two hours and after reposting it… IT PULLED 109 CLICKS!
Not to mention the “retweets”. Seven people “retweeted” my blog post to their followers on Twitter! Seven… and this post is still pulling.
So, can you guess which headline pulled in those hundred visitors and which headline fizzled out and only pulled in 6?
Guess!
Then check out this little picture of my bit.ly stats…
Seriously, check this out:
Hmmm…
Well, I can’t blame you if you guessed wrong because I really thought: “16 Spicy Tweets For Hotshot marketers” would pull… It just sounded fancy and cool to me.
But… I was shocked when the simplest description of my blog post: “16 Ways To Write A Tweet” pulled seven times more visitors into my blog!
Can you imagine?
I mean, really think about this. If you ran an ad in your local paper (Let’s pretend you have a commercial cleaning business) and each customer was worth about two hundred dollars a month to you. Let’s say you’re pulling in three solid customers a month running your ads then all of the sudden… with one little change you pulled in 21! The same ratio (seven times) as my simple little headline change.
If you were making $600 in sales a month… now you’re making $4200 extra a month! And of course, in a business like cleaning your customers often sign in to year long contracts with you. So in reality you’re making: $50,400 dollars extra in the span of a single year. And this is on top of your existing client base!
Not bad eh?
All because you changed the headline of your ad and tested the results.
But the funny thing is… no one does this.
I’ve tried to get clients in my hometown by explaining this simple principle to them. They just don’t get it. They’d rather spend a thousand bucks a month running ads that simply aren’t getting the results they could be with a few simple tweaks. And the really sad part is that almost nobody measures their results.
It’s a weird world we live in.
And this is why I know my future is secure.
Because “In the land of the blind men the one-eyed man is king.”
Something to think about.
If you enjoyed this article then your followers will too. Simply click the little green “retweet” button at the bottom of this post and share it with them. Break up their dreary day.
Your obvious friend,
Courtney James
A.K.A. Obvious Writer
This is really amazing. I wish I took the time to test headlines in bit.ly more as you do. I’ll have to work on it for testing out headlines, since I’m in charge of the social media promotion at the new group. Awesome post as always CJ!
Also..if my girl was waiting for me, I would not be checking my stats. I’m not at that level of geekdome yet, and for that I am proud.
Corey Freeman | Writing Whale
23 Jun 09 at 5:51 pm
Corey,
I was pretty amazed too.
I mean, I’ve known about the value of testing for
three years now but it’s quite a different thing
to really see it in action.
But it’s worth it.
I can only imagine how easy it would be for some
small businesses to cash in big with this little tip.
cjhoude
24 Jun 09 at 2:31 am
I re-tweeted the second one and I’ll tell you why.
The first was way too hypey – unbelievable even. I’d have looked at it and said, “Yeah, right! So what’s new?”
The second offered to teach me something, to help me write better. I’ve realised that the best benefit you can give to others is to MAKE THEM LOOK GOOD. I’m not a hotshot marketer, but I’d sure like to impress my followers with better tweets and the second offered a way to do that.
Priya Florence Shah
24 Jun 09 at 4:42 am
Yes,
The first one was a little too slick to work.
Hype kills and at the time I thought I was being clever.
Bad idea. But what really amazed me was how many
clicks the second link received.
I mean, it’s now up to almost 10 times the clicks of
any link I’ve ever posted with the exception of one
link I re-use all the time.
Crazy…
Goes to show the power of words.
And almost forgot…
Thank you for stopping in and
commenting! Really cool of you.
I hope to see you back again Priya.
cjhoude
24 Jun 09 at 5:18 am
I so agree! Testing is sensible, scientific, and reassuring. Why flounder around not knowing, when you can pinpoint exactly what’s going on? (Er… was that a bit of a mixed metaphor, there?)
But, sadly, although Testing is Good, try getting clients to agree – or even know what you’re going on about! I’ve found most people don’t want to think and consider – they want it done! now! no time to waste!
Sigh.
I’m not sure people really understand what words do. They think one sentence is as good as another so long as they both say the same thing. They don’t realise that *how* you say something is as potent as *what* you say…
Oops… best stop rant now!
Love the blog, BTW. Got to get mine going again, and you’re great inspiration
Jane Howitt
24 Jun 09 at 6:02 am
Great testing, Courtney! I look forward to reading more of your tests and copywriting tips
Priya Florence Shah
24 Jun 09 at 6:12 am
I know the feeling!
Getting clients to agree to anything is an
exercise in persuasion itself.
I’ve started avoiding any client that doesn’t
understand the power of words because it’s a
losing battle from day one.
Too much work… too little pay.
I’m curious though…
Heading over to your blog to see what’s up.
cjhoude
24 Jun 09 at 6:15 am
Courtney, nice one for testing your headlines – as you said, most people don’t bother to do that.
Unfortunately, the story may be a little more complicated than a traditional split test. If a tweet is retweeted by a big name on Twitter, then that headline will naturally get more clicks, and be retweeted again and again.
I call it the “amplification effect”. More retweets will fuel yet more visitors and retweets. On the other hand, the second headline clearly got the attention of more people, and was retweeted perhaps for the reason Priya pointed out.
Anyway, scientific or not, you can’t argue with the results
Paul, copysnips.com
24 Jun 09 at 12:28 pm
Hi Paul,
Thanks for stopping in.
Of course you’re right!
Much of the results are due to the amplification effect.
And there are a lot of factors you can’t account for. Even the weather
can influence the response of ads!
The cool thing about bit.ly is it actually shows you who’s “retweeted”
your links… so you can actually see what’s happening and account for
a few more variables.
I have no gripes about the results!
Which you can measure of course…
even if you can’t always replicate them
cjhoude
24 Jun 09 at 3:31 pm