Entrepreneurship #9 - Testing, Testing

Is this thing on?

Steve Franks

May 22, 2023

LOL, no, I’m not testing a mic. Nor am I testing to see who is reading this Substack.

I’m writing about testing your business ideas. Taking small steps to confirm your beliefs about what will work for you - before you invest huge amounts in an idea that may or may not work.

This is on my mind because lately I have been testing Facebook ads. I have conducted some small tests (cutting off the ad spend after just a small amount) that have shown me what headlines and creatives (i.e. photos / videos) work well. But, my body copy tests keep getting a mediocre response - not terrible, but not wonderful either. I published another test this morning. We’ll see how it does - I’ll keep testing until I find at least one alternative that performs wonderfully.

Some of the nice things about small tests are …

Because they are inexpensive, I can run multiple tests at once without breaking the bank. That can get me an answer more quickly. It lets me be creative and try ideas that are all over the waterfront - and see what works. That’s how I confirmed my ad headlines and creatives.
Because they are inexpensive, I can also relax and take my time. Right now I am testing body copy alternatives one at a time. Because I’m not spending a ton, I don’t feel a sense of urgency to get it done and move on. I can be more thoughtful.
In both cases, when I test one thing at a time I can isolate what I am testing. I can be sure of what works (or doesn’t). I can test headlines, creatives, and body copy separately - one by one. If I were to change many things at the same time, I would have no clue what is working or not working. But, if I were throwing down huge amounts of money for tests, I’d be tempted to try a combination that my gut says “ought to” work well.

Soon I hope to have dialed in some alternatives for headlines, creatives, and body copy that I know are solid. Then I’ll invest more - in the ideas that I know work well.

I love my gut instincts, but I love tested and proven ideas even better.