Yesterday we talked about a split-test that a friend of mine ran. Here are the three headlines he used:

52 Ways To Win, Where Everybody Else Loses

52 Little Things That Make A Big Difference In Your Life

52 Thoughts To Change Your Life

I literally received dozens of comments and thoughts posted to my blog about which of these was the likely winner, and I have to say, the overwhelming majority… was right!

7% chose headline #1

8.3% chose #2, which was the winner just beating #3 by a hair…

8.1% chose #3

This is a pretty big margin, whether you realize it or not. See, #2 didn’t beat #1 by 1.3%, it beat #1 by 24%, and this is quite a significant difference. (8.3% is 24% greater than 7%)

Lets talk about why this may have happen, and I say “may” because this is all assumptive theory at this point. Many of these comments were already identified by various people who posted yesterday.

#1 / Reality is, most people don’t want to do well at someone else’s expense (even New Yorkers, Dave) when it comes down to it. I think the “dog eat dog” mantra is professed by many but executed by few.

I also think “winning” in and of itself, may be a little too vague and undirected, as opposed to “winning a race,” for instance, or “winning a contest.” This may have had something to do with the outcome as well.

#2 / “Little things” – this is nice and easy, soft and gentle. Doesn’t seem like too much work or too much of a burden. And besides, who doesn’t like “little things?” And if these little things make a big difference in your life, that’s even better.

One more thing that might be a little complicated, but it’s very true because I’ve done it dozens of times in my copy. The little/big is a juxtaposition of opposites that actually offers closure that is very compelling.

In plain English, what I’m saying is that sometimes opposites, when placed near each other, offset each other and provoke curiosity.

#3 / Just isn’t as powerful and may be too vague. Perhaps if you said, “52 Thoughts To Change Your Life In 30 Days Or Less” it may have been stronger — who knows?

Anyway, this was fun and I hope you got a lot out of it.

If you’re smart, you’ll notice the formulaic nature of each of these headlines and how easily they can be adapted to almost anything — but if you didn’t, don’t worry — I’ll talk about that on Friday.

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. There’s a HUGE difference between “Who You Are” and “What You Do.” Discover how to leverage them both on page 2 of this month’s Seductive Selling Newsletter. Test-drive it free and get 15 REAL bonus gifts, right here : http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl (make sure you watch the video!)

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