Is testing your headline really THAT important? In this split testπ , the winning headline lifted conversions by 93%.
That’s nearly DOUBLE the sales.
Click play to see what was tested and why the winner, well, won.βββββββ
TRANSCRIPT:
In today’s split test spotlight, we’re looking at a headline test that lifted conversions by 93%. Before we take a look, if we haven’t met yet…
Hi, I’m Paige. I’m a conversion copywriter. And I help founders and marketing teams boost the conversion rates for their most critical campaigns by focusing on how they communicate their products and services.
Today’s split test comes from cursorup.com.
Keep in mind, I don’t know much about this test other than it was conducted on a landing page and that the product on promotion is L’Axelle’s underarm sweat pads. I know absolutely nothing about the conversion context, the ideal buyer, the visitors who are landing on this page, or the traffic strategy.
Let’s take a look at the test.
On the screen, you can see the two versions of the hero that were tested, and as you can see, the only things being tested between the control and the variation are the headline, the subheading, and the supporting body copy. All the visuals, the product imagery, the colors, even the copy around the CTA are the same.
For the control, the headline reads: “Feel fresh without sweat marks.”
The subheading reads: “Underarm sweat pads, a quick help against sweat.”
And the supporting body copy reads: “Simply feel relaxed. Maximum freedom of arm movement through ultra-thin feather-light pads. Perfect fit to your body thanks to the unique fold line. Unusually high wearing comfort – doesn’t slip, reliable hold. Long duration protection without unpleasant odor building thanks to the absorbent soft tissue. Protects clothing.”
For the variation that won this test, the headline reads: “Put an end to sweat marks!”
The subheading reads: “Underarm sweat pads, the long duration protection against sweat.”
And the supporting body copy reads: “Everything under control. Long duration protection against unpleasant odor building based on absorbing soft tissue. Guaranteed maximum freedom of agility. Invisible and less than 1 mm or 1/25th of an inch. Perfect fit based on unique fold lines. Doesn’t slip, secure hold.”
Here’s why I think this variation performed 93% better.
#1, the winning headline is more strongly focused on escaping the problem of sweat marks, which I imagine is a very embarrassing problem.
The control headline, on the other hand, is more focused on the outcome of feeling fresh. And without knowing more about the conversion context, I’d hypothesize that the idea of feeling fresh is just not as strong of an emotional motivator as stopping sweat marks altogether.
#2, in the subheading, the words “long duration protection” do seem more robust than “quick help,” which may suggest that long-lasting sweat control is a more desired feature. And that makes a lot of sense to me.
And #3, even though there’s a lot of overlap in the supporting body copy between both versions, the winning variation appears to be more tightly tied to concerns prospective buyers might have, like: “Can you see it when I’m wearing it?”
One thing I believe would make this winning variation even stronger would be more specificity around the message of long-duration protection.
How long is long?
If I were buying these, I’d want to know how long they last in terms of actual hours. Will one pad last all day at work? Or will I have to bring backups so I can swap them out?
That’s an important detail that I feel is currently missing from this winning variation.
That wraps up this split test spotlight.
If you’d like my help optimizing your copy to see higher conversion rates in your campaigns, let’s chat.