Tuesday, [11:29] AM

Dear Friend,

I just finished an online split test in one of my niche businesses.

The new control beat the old one by 60%.

Not bad, huh?

I also recently implemented some innovative online and offline techniques that have SIGNIFICANTLY bumped up initial purchases AND lifetime customer value… so this 60% boost in people “coming in the front door” is going to add up to a much bigger back end.

And I LOVE a nice, big back end… don’t you? 🙂

OK, what you probably want to know is… what exactly did I do that completely SPANKED my existing control… which has been the control for three years now.

Well, I’ll be happy to spill the beans…

Online Video!

And a big shout out to “kick gluteus booty-maximus” copywriter, Caleb Osborne, for making it all happen.

Here’s the deal…

Caleb took the existing control and made a PowerPoint-type presentation out of it. Then he narrated as the words appeared on the screen… and did a screen capture video of the whole deal.

Now I personally hate to get product info this way. I prefer to read it in hard copy. And if it’s online and not in hard copy, I print it out.

The very second I arrive at a website and video is the only presentation… I’m gone. Sale lost… and I’m looking for another vendor.

But apparently my market thinks otherwise.

Actually, I have a theory about why this online video did so well.

Based on customer service e-mails I’ve seen handled by my fulfillment center, I believe a large portion of the customers in this market are functionally illiterate. Especially the ones under 40.

I KNOW they can’t write a coherent sentence… so I also have to assume they’re not very good at comprehending what they read.

As a brief side rant, this was deliberately engineered over a period of decades. Just check into the history of the public school system, initially started in Massachusetts. Creating good little soldiers, completely unable to think rationally and only able to follow orders from their superiors was the stated goal.

Seriously! Check it out. The goal was never hidden.

Anyhoo… now that I’ve pissed off all the teachers, let’s get back to biz.

So yeah, this simple little video is kicking big ole butt… and is going to pay BIG dividends on the back end.

(What’s with all the butt references today? Geez, I’m a pervert!)

Now stay tuned… because I’m going to save you a lot of money, time and possible heartache.

Here’s what always happens in the incestuous, monkey-see-monkey-do Internet Marketing community after a report like this.

People will accept what I just said as “the marketing gospel according to Doberman Dan”, take down their perfectly good sales pages, and replace them with a video sales letter.

Dumb… dumb… dumb.

First of all, don’t get stuck in ANYBODY’S dogma… including mine.

Second of all, you’ve forgotten one of the most important direct response principles…

Test, test, test!

Yes, this simple little sales letter video kicked boo-tay (geez, more butt references) in MY niche… with MY product… at MY price point… for MY business…

… But that doesn’t mean it will do well in YOUR niche… with YOUR product… at YOUR price point… for YOUR business.

Ya dig?

You gotta test.

Don’t kill a perfectly good promotion to implement something that SUPPOSEDLY worked well for somebody else.

After all, the guru could be lying. (I assure you, I am not. I have no reason to… and I’ve ALWAYS been honest with you… even when being less than honest would make me a LOT of money.)

So you need to split test this stuff yourself. You can’t be lazy and rely on other marketers’ results.

Hey, I’ve got an idea…

Why not start a new split test… today.

I can guarantee you one thing… you’ll get results.

All the best,