Marketing Experiments Don’t Have to Be Fun: A Scientific Approach to Testing What Works

I talk a lot about marketing experiments, but not in a “let’s have fun and see where this goes” way. 

Because honestly, at this season of my life — my brain could never. For lack of a better way to say it, I don’t have time to play around. I’m not super young (I know, I know, that’s relative) and I have responsibilities (yes, like Angelica from the Rugrats because that’s how not young I am), so business doesn’t really feel fun for me.

via GIPHY

For a long time I made that mean something about me. 

That I wasn’t doing it right. That I wasn’t fun. That I’d never be successful if I didn’t lighten up. 

If you also get asked “why are you always so serious?!”, throw me a line so I know I’m not alone. 🗣️

I think I’m coming around to the fact that I can be serious — and successful. 

If you’re thinking, “well, duh.” Lucky you!  You must not have ended up on the side of Instagram that tells you owning a business  is cupcakes & rainbows.  

“C’mon you don’t really even need a website!”
“Just offer things that light you up and people will buy”
“Show up and have fun, and people will buy”
“If you build it they will come” 

Okay, maybe that last one came from somewhere else…

But you get my drift. 

I got a little sweaty just thinking about it. 

But ya know what? Marketing experiments don’t have to be fun. 

They can be scientific – after all isn’t that what they are for?! Hubspot says marketing experiments are a form of market research where a company tests different marketing materials, communication methods, or strategies on a small scale to see which results generate the best results. 

These experiments in marketing help businesses make data-driven decisions rather than relying on guesswork.

Nothing about fun there!

I’m also not sure I have to be “having fun” to be really good at something. 

The definition of fun is “amusing, entertaining, or enjoyable.”

The definition of skilled is “having or showing the knowledge, ability, or training to perform a certain activity or task well”

See – being skilled and having fun have nothing to do with each other! 

So, if marketing experiments don’t have to be fun, and being skilled has nothing to do with having fun at work –  why can’t you just use your brain in the way it functions best for work so that you can make money (because unfortunately you live on this floating rock where we need money), so that you can have a really beautiful life outside of what you do for work? 

What if you don’t have to be obsessed with your business?

What if you just need to be really good at your craft? 

Produce quality work.
Have a solid lead generation system.
Have solid client processes.
Publish quality case studies.
Build a community of peers and referral partners. 

And then literally do whatever you want to outside of your set working hours? 

I think you can! 

That’s exactly what I want to do.

I want to spend time exploring with my family. I am a lady with many hobbies — sewing, crocheting, embroidery, basically any kind of craft. I like to read, and nap. 

All of those reasons are why I keep coming back to how important measuring your marketing is. 

If I want my business to be the most well oiled machine it can be so that I can live a beautiful life — I have to know how the machine is running. 

And in order to understand how the machine is running I have to execute marketing experiments. 

Not quite sure what a marketing experiment is? No worries, I gotcha  – check out my blog post “The Beginner’s Guide to Data Driven Decision Making”  to get the full scoop, and some marketing experiment examples.

The key to successful marketing experiments is in the details! 

How do you execute successful marketing experiments?
By measuring your marketing experiments and all the effort included in said experiment with precision

How do you measure your marketing experiments with precision?
By using marketing analytics tools and a custom dashboard to visualize your data so that it is easy to read. 

So, if you’re ready to also understand how your machine is running so you can live the life you want to live outside of your business, you’re in the right place. 

 Here are three ways I can help you set up and track your marketing experiments effectively:

  • Understanding your numbers doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With easy-to-follow setup guides and conversion-tracking essential steps, Analytics Uncomplicated makes marketing analytics crystal clear.
  • The DIY Marketing Measurement Bundle is for you if tech isn’t scary and you know you can set up your marketing analytics and install your own dashboard yourself, with a little bit of self study guidance. (the Website Traffic Dashboard Template is included)
  • The Custom Marketing Analytics Dashboard is for you if your marketing is more complicated, with various funnels and platforms. If you are looking to measure multiple funnels you’ll need a custom solution so that you can begin making data driven decisions for your business.

And before you go, I want to pose a small caveat with this blog post: I just want to be clear – I’m not saying marketing experiments can never be fun! I’m just saying that they aren’t always fun.

Sometimes we gotta weigh the result of the thing you don’t like doing gets you vs. how much you don’t like doing the thing and make educated decisions that benefit your life. 

(Unfortunately, I’m here to report that Instagram is in fact a necessary evil for ME. 🫠)

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