Did you know that TESTING MARKETING STRATEGIES is one of the most important things to do in your business? ?

In fact, I always tell my clients, “Trial and error is one of the best and worst parts of my job.” ?

It’s one of the BEST because I’m able to stay on top of changing trends and adapt / adjust accordingly so that the marketing strategies are actually working.

But it’s one of the WORST because it can also take a good amount of time to figure out what exactly works. (Fun fact: It took me about ONE YEAR to get what type of content works best on my own Facebook page!)

Trial and error is so important because if you don’t INNOVATE and ADAPT, it will affect your business. Think about ToysRUs, for example. They didn’t adjust to the change of how their consumers enjoyed toys and games, so it negatively affected their business.

That’s why I’m SO HAPPY to be covering various testing I’ve done for my OWN brand over the past year and a half I’ve owned Dash of Social® — so that way it can inspire you, too.

Let’s dive in!

? INSTAGRAM STORIES >> Love ’em? Hate ’em?

I now LOVE using them once I started to force myself to get into them. So many people ask me WHAT they should be using Instagram stories for, and honestly, the answer is — ANYTHING!

Share your workout, your morning routine, the book you’re reading, etc. You’d be surprised at just what people find interesting. This also allows people to learn more about the person behind the business, which helps to establish that know / like / trust factor – and people do business with people that they know / like / trust.

After my testing of using no Instagram stories to frequently posting them every day, I found people love…

? STORIES THAT RESONATE WITH THEM >>

People love feeling like they can relate to others! I literally posted a photo of a notebook I was using and Trello on my laptop and asked if anyone else was constantly switching between digital and paper to-do lists. I received SEVEN replies to my story of women telling me they do the same! If you post something that RESONATES with others, you’ll be more likely to receive a response.

? STORIES THAT GIVE A PEEK INTO YOUR LIFE >>

I always say that people do business with people that they know, like, and trust. Instagram stories are a great way to give a “peek” into your everyday life, because people LOVE getting to know the person behind the business / brand. You easily get to know others better!

? STORIES THAT PROVIDE VALUE >>

I made a few Instagram story videos talking about why you shouldn’t put all of your eggs in one basket (meaning you shouldn’t put all of your marketing efforts in one outlet – more to come on this later!). Three people responded and said it was great advice that also made them realize they need to rethink their marketing strategy. People love getting free advice, and Instagram stories are an easy outlet for providing that.

In addition to doing my own Instagram stories, I make it a habit to watch the stories of the accounts I follow and reply to them if they apply to me! Doing so has increased my followers by AT LEAST 20 in one week because I’m engaging with others who may not have been following me before.

? EMAIL MARKETING >> Do you do it?

The tactic that you should DEFINITELY be testing. In fact, that’s why A/B testing is always an option when sending newsletters!

In the time that I’ve changed the layout of my email newsletters TWICE, I’ve noticed a major change in engagement.

My newsletters before were just MEH. They always included a LOT of text, barely any color, and a CTA button at the end (usually to sign up for a consultation call with me). With that old layout, BARELY anyone replied to my emails and I therefore didn’t convert any subscribers to paying clients.

But with my new layout, my email marketing game changed ENTIRELY ? In the past two months that I’ve been using this layout, with one email per week, I…
1️⃣ Received three replies to every email
2️⃣ Converted a subscriber into a paying client
3️⃣ Discussed working with another subscriber in a few months for a big launch she’s doing

And this ALL happened just by changing the look! With my new layout, I…
✅ Created a new header that’s my clean, simple logo
✅ Added free resources and a ton of links to encourage my subscribers to learn more about me
✅ Separated various sections of the email with headers and emojis to make the email easy to read

You see, I didn’t change the CONTENT I provided — I just changed the LOOK. When people open up an email and see a whole bunch of text, it’s like INFORMATION OVERLOAD ? But when you break it down, it becomes EASY TO CONSUME ??

? WEBSITE >> Is it lead-friendly?

WHAT A DIFFERENCE it can make for your business and conversions when you get a brand spankin’ new website — seriously!

There are SO many things that need to be thought about when creating your website — colors, CTAs (what they are + placement!), copy, and a million others.

But when I had Dash of Social® for a little over a year, I felt it was time to invest in a new site. So I did.

My old design was pretty, but it didn’t feel very “me” even though I loved the pink & gold combo. I didn’t love all of the stock photos, instead of having photos of me. And this is all because my website design was literally JUST a template — it wasn’t a truly custom site like it is now.

My new design? I’m obsessed. I love the colors, my copy suits me, the CTAs are in all the perfect spots, and so much more. My entire site is COMPLETELY customized for ME — my friend Liz and her team built it from the ground up ?

Here are some things that changed with my new site with this testing…

? ALL of my copy was rewritten, which felt so much more like me
? Spots to opt-in to my newsletter and sign up for a consultation call with me were placed on my site
? Professional images of me were placed throughout for familiarity

And once my site went live, HERE is the big factor that allowed me to know that this “test” of my new design was working >> I received SEVEN inquiries through my website alone within ONE MONTH of having my new design. SEVEN!

I know that’s not a lot, but I was averaging 1-2 inquiries with my old design. ALL of my clients had come from social media or referrals.

I was quite honestly shocked when I discovered this — but I also wasn’t surprised. There were SO many strategic details that went into my design that I wouldn’t have known about otherwise.

Your website represents YOU — so it’s important to make sure that you truly resonate with it, or else you won’t be attracting the right people you want to work with.

I know that this is probably information overload ? But it’s really important to continue to test the strategies that you use. Think about it: If you’re putting all of this time and effort into your marketing, but IT ISN’T WORKING, it’s basically a waste of your hard work. Save yourself and ONLY use strategies that are paying off for you!

NOW TELL ME >> Have you tested your strategies? What worked and what didn’t?