This issue you'll learn about the results of an interesting headline test we ran, where the results run counter to "conventional wisdom." And you'll learn about the new website I just launched with lots of free pricing information for marketers.

Free Pricing Strategy Resources on New Website

The new website is PricingStrategyResources.com. All the content on the site is free, and it includes:

* Articles for marketers & CEOs on practical pricing

* Research studies on pricing -- especially for pricing academics. However, practitioners can also learn from them if they're willing to wade through the academic language!

* A directory of pricing resources, including associations, software suppliers, and consultants. (There aren't too many entries in it just yet, but we're slowly building it up.) If you think YOUR company should be listed, please email me with details and your copy.

* A forum for people concerned about pricing. Again, it's just starting, but if you have a practical (or impractical!) question or problem with pricing, I recommend you post it in the forum. I'll be watching it and participating, and I invite others to join in with answers as well as questions.

If you think something is missing from the site, I'm open to all suggestions. I'd like to make it as helpful as posssible!

Surprising Headline Test

Now -- about that headline test.

I bought a "headline idea" report that lists a large number of the headlines that have proven successful over time. I used it to pick two possible headlines for my 46 WAYS TO RAISE PRICES ebook. I used both headlines on each ad, but the two ads differed as to which was the headline and which was the subhead. Here are the two headlines:

* The easiest price increases you’ll ever make – or your money back

* The secrets of making customers happy to pay more

Quick, before I give you the results, decide which one you think did the best! Maybe you'll guess right, because I did not!

I expected the headline with the "money-back" guarantee to pull best, but it did not. The "secrets" headline pulled 67% more book sales than the guarantee headline.

But the difference was even more dramatic than that. Our website offers a "basic" package at $75 and a "premium" package at $99. People seeing the "secrets" headline were more likely to buy the premium version. The difference in cash was 81% more for "secrets" than for the "money-back" headline.

So… here's my new question: Was the "secrets" headline that much better? (It did promise happy customers!) Or did having the guarantee in the headline make the whole offer sound defensive – as if it NEEDED the guarantee in the headline?

I love to ponder questions like these, but I don't need to know why before changing the ad (which I did the same day).

Headline Testing on Google

BTW, I tested these two ads using only Google's AdWords ads. For those who don't know how -- it's very easy to do. You must sign up for a Google AdWords account (see their "Advertise with us" link at the bottom of http://Google.com). Google lets you create two IDENTICAL text ads, but you can make the link from each go to a different page.

The pages you send the traffic to should be identical except for whatever you're testing, which could be a headline -- or could be prices!

Just make sure you un-check the box under "campaign management" which asks Google to "optimize your ads." If that box is NOT checked, Google will show each of your ads about the same number of times. That makes it really easy to see which of the two test pages becomes the winner.

Best wishes to you,

Marlene

Copyright 2005-2006 Marlene Jensen. All rights reserved.

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