The Real Reason Behind Testing

The danger to society is not merely that it should believe wrong things, though that is great enough; but that it should become credulous, and lose the habit of testing things and inquiring into them; for then it must sink back into savagery.

William Kingdon Clifford

Recently, we’ve been talking a lot about testing, and for good reason. Though it seems as though there may be some confusion about why.  I’d like to clear this up once and for all. There’s more to it than just economics.

In discussing the importance of testing, many people might suggest that the money is in the data. They are right of course although there may be other reasons why testing is equally crucial.

One of the critical reasons why testing should always be a part of every product, funnel, and the offer gets back to doing what you say you will do, what you committed to in the first place. 

It's largely a matter of not having a scarcity mindset. You do the work and test every offer because if you don't you are simply guessing. If you guess, you put your credibility on the line. You risk other people's money. From a business perspective, not only is this foolish, it is flat-out wrong.

When someone commits to doing a mailing for you, they are taking all of the risk. They are trusting that you have done the work on your end to optimize your offer. Everyone has dozens of offers that they can mail for at any time. The fact that a partner selects you over others implies that they have confidence that you have gone through the process of testing and maximizing their potential return from that mailing. 

That is the covenant and unspoken agreement that is in place with all affiliate partners. If you violate this agreement, you put both your business and theirs at risk. This can never be the basis for a long-term business relationship.

Think about it. You test your offer, optimize your conversions and generate a good result for your affiliate partners. What does that cause them to do? Invariably, they will sign up for your next promotion, and the one after that. In other words, you are building recurring revenue with that partner.

Consider the alternative. You don't test your offer. You guess at the results. certain affiliate Partners mail for you and don't get the return that they expected. What do you think they will do? You're right. They will cross you off the list for next time.

Here's the point that most people miss. Those dissatisfied partners may never say a word to you. They are all busy and have other offers to promote. You may or may not get any complaining phone calls.

One thing is for sure, however. You will definitely not get any repeat business with those partners. Any desire to build a long-term recurring revenue business is certainly not the path you want to take.

So test your offers. All of them. Do the work. Honor the relationship with your partners by doing the right thing. Not only is this economically intelligent but it's also the real reason behind testing. 

Glen Ledwell is the co-founder of JV Hacking, the revolutionary program and software that teaches affiliates how to make a fortune doing Joint Venture Marketing. Find out more at www.JVHacking.com.