I Lost the Split Test (Big Time)

August 11, 2008

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Dear Copywriter,

I lost my first split test with another copywriter. It wasn’t even close…

You could say I got creamed.

And today’s issue is about what I learned and how I’m turning this little development into a HUGE plus for my business.

Let’s get to it…

Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk

I guess everyone loses at some point. But I don’t think you ever get used to the feeling.

It sucks.

I “lost” my first real split test with another copywriter recently. Actually, I didn’t KNOW I lost until well after the promo ran.

Heck, I didn’t even KNOW my promotion was going to be part of a split test.

I was just curious about the results of a promo I knew was mailing, so I wrote my client an email.

“Hey, didn’t see the promotion launch, did it go? How did it do?”

A few days later, back came the response. Here’s the summary:

“Yeah, it went. To our full file. Split-tested with another promo. You lost.”

(It’s nice when they let you down easy :)

In the interest of being transparent, I’m going to let you in on my thoughts and emotions immediately after I found out about this.

Pardon the stream of consciousness effect here. This is how it happened…

“Insert explicative…”

[Anger turns to feeling of betrayal…]

“THEY didn’t tell me they were going to split test it… That would have been nice to know.”

[Insert quiet rage, building slowly…]

[Rage turns inward…]

“You didn’t ASK them if they were going to split test it stupid…”

[General “I feel stupid” type of feeling…]

“That sucks… Now what?”

[Anger, disappointment and annoyance turn to something positive…]

“How can I USE this for something good?”

One Foot in the Winner’s Circle,
the Other in the Loser’s Circle

The most bizarre part of this is how it feels when you have one client where your promotion goes down in flames…

But you have ANOTHER client where things are rocking and rolling.

One foot in failure, one foot in success.

Just imagine sticking one foot in really hot water and your other foot in really cold water.

That’s a pretty weird feeling.

Same feeling here.

In my case, one of my other clients is tickled pink with me helping him generate about 2,000 new qualified leads a MONTH for his business… And we’re just getting started.

So what’s the BIG IDEA here, the big LESSON I’m learning from all of this?

And what’s the difference between these two clients I’m telling you about?

Choosing Your Battles

Here’s the quick explanation:

I’m not Gary Bencivenga. And I’m not Clayton Makepeace. I don’t have 35 years of copywriting experience under my belt. And who knows if I’ll even be doing this 10 years from now.

The bottom line for me is that it’s just not my aim to be the best copywriter in the world. That’s just not my goal. And I’m not going to pull all nighters, delay time with my kids, never see my wife, JUST to develop my craft to be in the top .5% in the world.

I did it with music… and the payoff wasn’t worth it for me. It just isn’t the way I’m wired.

Challenge is good. But it’s also good to choose the challenges where your odds are good for success. I don’t consider that being lazy. I consider it to be smart.

So here’s where I went wrong with my client.

I chose the wrong client. (Probably.)

I was JUST a copywriter. They hired me to write copy. That’s it.

In my case, that’s a BIG potential problem. And it was my first mistake.

Because sometimes I write stuff that sells like crazy and sometimes I don’t.

But limiting my success so that it only comes when I write stuff that SELLS? That’s just silly for me.

Particularly when I can offer a whole lot MORE value to my clients. To the clients that view me more as a MARKETING expert… and as a BUSINESS expert.

Those are the clients where my copywriting is just a tool to turn the marketing expertise into results.

Those are the clients that get HUGE returns for their money.

But here I didn’t do that.

This client wasn’t looking for that type of a “total package.”

They were looking for a “copywriter” and I stepped right into their copywriting box.

And how do you measure the “worth” of a copywriter? There’s really only one way. You see how the copywriter’s writing performs.

But sometimes you only get one or two chances…

So like I said, it’s silly for me to play a game like that when there’s a much BIGGER game to be played.

And I’m playing that BIGGER game (the marketing expert game) with the client where things are rocking and rolling.

Coincidence?

Probably not.

Think about it… There’s no right answer here. There’s only the right answer for YOU.

Are you stepping into a box that’s going to limit your success?

If so, consider smashing that box to pieces starting today.

And then ask yourself this question:

“How can I redefine what I do and add to what I do, so that I no longer fit in the ‘I’m a copywriter…’” box?

Your answer could really, really change your life.


Posted by Jason | Filed Under Blog 

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