Aaron Orendorff has written a fantastic piece highlighting 8 of the best optimizers in the business where he finds out what separates the pros from the fakes. You'll learn what Peep Laja, Michael Lykke Aagaard, Talia Wolf, Ton Wesseling, Chris Goward, Tim Ash, Brian Massey, and André Morys have to say about what you need to make it as an expert in CRO.
What do you all think?
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Johnathan Dane
This is painfully how we started out lol! Luckily we get to follow in the foot steps of the pros as they help makes us CRO peasants better.
Aaron Orendorff
Exactly my sentiments in pretty much ALL things. :)
Sol Orwell
PLEASE more of this - less people trying to make a name for themselves with absolutely suspect and garbage testing and more from people who have real experience making legitimate impact with proper sample sizes and testing methodologies.
Aaron Orendorff
Value finds it's way out in the end. Or it finds you out. In my case, the latter. But hopefully this is good repentance. :)
Aaron Orendorff
Thx so much, Jen!
I hope this moves the CRO conversation in the right direction.
For myself, I really did get caught up "playing the part." One of those "believe my own hype" kinda things. Until the rude awakening ... but reality has a way of doing that (esp. when the data is staring you in the face).
Plus I gotta give HUGE props to Michael Aagaard. After one of my posts, he spent like 45 minutes on the phone with me walking through exactly where I was going wrong. It was hard to hear, but incredibly kind. :-)
Joei Chan
sure, curiosity, their process, "what book they like to read" may be implicit indicators, but the best way to tell if a CRO is any good is perhaps to compare numbers before/after...?
Aaron Orendorff
Yeah ... a WIDE variety of previous cases (and not just a few glorious examples) is a must.
Tom Bukevicius
Thoughtful questions that brought CROs together. Few things that struck my chord:
1. "Focus on finding out what the problems are before coming up with solutions" by @peeplaja. This is applicable not only in CRO, but in all industries. You don't want prescription before the diagnosis.
2. Process and rigor. Real experts have a process and execute it. They don't look for the CRO tip of the week. I live by this motto: "Magic bullets are for losers. Execution is key."
3. Ninjas calling themselves ninjas. Real experts don't call themselves experts. Their work speaks for itself.
Aaron Orendorff
Yeah ... loved number one. Crazy idea, right? Find the problem BEFORE the solution. It's crazy how often I just jump to the solution, thinking I know best. The emphasis on humility throughout was incredible.
Tom Bukevicius
Exactly!
Johannes Ceh
Lovely!
Aaron Orendorff
Much appreciated. Plus it helps to get to work with amazing people who're way smarter than me.
Shanelle Mullin
This one didn't disappoint, Aaron. Really refreshing to read such an honest article.
Aaron Orendorff
Long time coming. Thx, Shanelle. I feel ... unburdened. :)
Jason Quey
Great write up Aaron!
Understanding and focusing on just what you are great at is a tough pill to swallow.
There are many areas of marketing I'd love to get better at (CRO, FB ads, etc). And it's easy to fake it too (especially with all those expert roundups too).
But I realize I'm hurting my clients, and myself, by spreading out too thin.
Aaron Orendorff
Couldn't agree more. I loved Talia's contribution on this front: "a passionate, dedicated attitude and a desire to continuously learn, grow and drive the company forward, are rare and very hard to come by."
Where in life is that NOT true?
Bill Widmer
Takes guts to admit what you just did, man! It's so true though - very eye opening.
Aaron Orendorff
You know what though? The folks who contributed were so quick to jump in for exactly that reason.
Really hope this piece helps more than a few businesses from getting taken advantage of.
Kaleigh Moore
High five on this. Such a good read.
Jeff Cox
Really great post Aaron! You definitely have to watch out for those who create hypotheses based on opinions instead of the research and refuse to change their mind.
CRO is all about researching the process, THEN identifying areas for potential improvement through testing. You can never be afraid to admit you were wrong or change course once you start looking at the data.
Aaron Orendorff
Such good points. Honestly, I wish I would have written this earlier. Not just to save myself the heartache ... but because those two lessons -- planning then hypothesis and "never be afraid to admit you were wrong or change course once you start looking at the data" -- are vital in all marketing.
And really, all of life. :)
Stanley Tan
Any post that covers thoughts from experts in their field has a thumbs up from me.
The way I approach CRO is simpler than most.
1. What is the problem that your visitor has or is trying to accomplish?
2. What is the easiest way for your visitor to solve his problem?
Once you got those 2 questions down, build a landing page that helps the user solve their problem in the quickest and fastest way possible with minimal friction.
If you don't know the problem your visitor is having, no matter how many A/B tests you do, you are not going to achieve the conversion rates you are looking for. No matter how many button colours you have tested, how many headlines you have went through, etc your conversion rate is going to suck.
Find the problem then find the simplest way for your visitor to solve them.