tripleclicks.com
To: All Sponsors
From: SFI President Gery Carson
What's the biggest obstacle to success in SFI? Most would agree that it's all about the lack of activity on the part of new affiliates. Indeed, if the "front-end" of SFI could be more efficient in creating engaged, active new affiliates, business and income would EXPLODE for all.
"Cracking this code" has proven elusive. I really should say "re-cracking," because, in years past, we've been able to engage a much higher percentage of new people. But the numbers have fallen off, despite our best efforts.
Why have they fallen off? That's the million dollar question. But I can tell you that, over our now-20-year history, the marketplace has shifted many, many times. What worked last month/last year no longer works this month/this year. Technology changes, governments change laws, behaviors change. What was once novel and exciting now no longer works...and visa versa, too! For example, email used to work wonderfully. Today, we're probably lucky if 5% receive and/or open the emails we send them.
So, what's the answer? The answer is that we have to start testing new approaches. Moreover, we have to start doing it more scientifically, instead of simply trying to interpret the numbers on our data reports.
That scientific approach is known as "Split" testing or "A/B" testing. Here's essentially how it works:
Let's say I've got a new product I want to sell. I create two different ads (an "A" ad and a "B" ad). Each is distinctively different from the other. I expose my two ads each to the same number of people. The ad that produces the most sales is considered the winner. The ad with the lesser results is discarded. I now might take the winning ad and create two variations of it.
For example, I might try two different headlines, or two different images, or different color schemes. From my NEW "A" and "B" I now determine again which produces the most sales...and I discard the other. I keep repeating this process until there's essentially no difference in results. At this point, I should have a solid, proven ad to generate optimal results from my advertising (well, at least for now, at least until the marketplace shifts).
See how that works? You've removed guessing, speculation, instinct, "gut feeling," etc...and you've replaced them with scientific testing and good ole math.
And that, my friends, is what we're going to put to work for us on the front-end. That is, effective immediately, we will begin A/B testing a variety of new landing pages/Smart Start approaches. And, actually, because we typically generate THOUSANDS of new sign-ups a day, we have the ability to do A/B/C or A/B/C/D or even A/B/C/D/E testing.
That is, because we have such a large sample size available, we can actually effectively test 3, 4, 5, or more distinctly-different front-ends at the same time, putting each of the different approaches in front of an equal number of randomly chosen sign-ups. It also means we can much more quickly determine what approach is the most effective.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU
It means, VERY CLEARLY, that you need to make sure you keep your welcomes and initial contact/training GENERIC...because, at this time at least, you're not going to know which approach your new sign-ups sees.
The good news is, a generic approach is always what I've recommended be used.
There's an old saying that people don't care what you say until they know you care. A very wise saying that is! It's also true that throwing lists of things to do, lots of links, etc. at new people is, more times than not, going to confuse and/or overwhelm them. And as a good friend has told me many times over the years, "A confused mind says no."
So keep it brief, keep it friendly, and don't get into any potentially-confusing specifics (no matter how harmless it may seem).
"HOW CAN I HELP YOU?"
All of your messages should revolve around helping and serving your new PSA. Make sure that this theme comes through loud and clear! Introduce yourself of course, but otherwise stick mainly to...
"Do you have any questions I can answer for you?"
and
"If there's anything I can help you with, don't hesitate to ask."
There will be plenty of time later to recommend LaunchPad, the To-Do List, or whatever. And, don't forget, in the welcome letter they'll get from SFI we'll let them know about how to get started. So don't even worry about that, just break the ice and make sure they know you're there to help them!
So...look over your welcomes/getting started materials and edit as needed. Then stay tuned as we embark on this very important test that, with any luck, will lay the foundation for a vastly more effective front-end within a few months.
Here we go!
From: SFI President Gery Carson
What's the biggest obstacle to success in SFI? Most would agree that it's all about the lack of activity on the part of new affiliates. Indeed, if the "front-end" of SFI could be more efficient in creating engaged, active new affiliates, business and income would EXPLODE for all.
"Cracking this code" has proven elusive. I really should say "re-cracking," because, in years past, we've been able to engage a much higher percentage of new people. But the numbers have fallen off, despite our best efforts.
Why have they fallen off? That's the million dollar question. But I can tell you that, over our now-20-year history, the marketplace has shifted many, many times. What worked last month/last year no longer works this month/this year. Technology changes, governments change laws, behaviors change. What was once novel and exciting now no longer works...and visa versa, too! For example, email used to work wonderfully. Today, we're probably lucky if 5% receive and/or open the emails we send them.
So, what's the answer? The answer is that we have to start testing new approaches. Moreover, we have to start doing it more scientifically, instead of simply trying to interpret the numbers on our data reports.
That scientific approach is known as "Split" testing or "A/B" testing. Here's essentially how it works:
Let's say I've got a new product I want to sell. I create two different ads (an "A" ad and a "B" ad). Each is distinctively different from the other. I expose my two ads each to the same number of people. The ad that produces the most sales is considered the winner. The ad with the lesser results is discarded. I now might take the winning ad and create two variations of it.
For example, I might try two different headlines, or two different images, or different color schemes. From my NEW "A" and "B" I now determine again which produces the most sales...and I discard the other. I keep repeating this process until there's essentially no difference in results. At this point, I should have a solid, proven ad to generate optimal results from my advertising (well, at least for now, at least until the marketplace shifts).
See how that works? You've removed guessing, speculation, instinct, "gut feeling," etc...and you've replaced them with scientific testing and good ole math.
And that, my friends, is what we're going to put to work for us on the front-end. That is, effective immediately, we will begin A/B testing a variety of new landing pages/Smart Start approaches. And, actually, because we typically generate THOUSANDS of new sign-ups a day, we have the ability to do A/B/C or A/B/C/D or even A/B/C/D/E testing.
That is, because we have such a large sample size available, we can actually effectively test 3, 4, 5, or more distinctly-different front-ends at the same time, putting each of the different approaches in front of an equal number of randomly chosen sign-ups. It also means we can much more quickly determine what approach is the most effective.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU
It means, VERY CLEARLY, that you need to make sure you keep your welcomes and initial contact/training GENERIC...because, at this time at least, you're not going to know which approach your new sign-ups sees.
The good news is, a generic approach is always what I've recommended be used.
There's an old saying that people don't care what you say until they know you care. A very wise saying that is! It's also true that throwing lists of things to do, lots of links, etc. at new people is, more times than not, going to confuse and/or overwhelm them. And as a good friend has told me many times over the years, "A confused mind says no."
So keep it brief, keep it friendly, and don't get into any potentially-confusing specifics (no matter how harmless it may seem).
"HOW CAN I HELP YOU?"
All of your messages should revolve around helping and serving your new PSA. Make sure that this theme comes through loud and clear! Introduce yourself of course, but otherwise stick mainly to...
"Do you have any questions I can answer for you?"
and
"If there's anything I can help you with, don't hesitate to ask."
There will be plenty of time later to recommend LaunchPad, the To-Do List, or whatever. And, don't forget, in the welcome letter they'll get from SFI we'll let them know about how to get started. So don't even worry about that, just break the ice and make sure they know you're there to help them!
So...look over your welcomes/getting started materials and edit as needed. Then stay tuned as we embark on this very important test that, with any luck, will lay the foundation for a vastly more effective front-end within a few months.
Here we go!
No comments:
Post a Comment