How to Run Successful A/B Tests for Your Ads - Issue 285

Morning Marketers!

Want to know the difference between a good ad and a great one?

📊 One was tested. The other was guessed.

Most brands set and forget their ad creatives.

But the highest-performing teams?

→ They test every assumption.

→ They iterate fast.

→ They build winners through data.

This week, we’re diving into how to run A/B tests that actually move the needle and how even small tweaks can drive big ROI.

Let’s stop wasting ad spend. Let’s start optimising.

🚨 The Problem: You’re Scaling Paid Spend Without Clarity

You launch ads. You increase budget.

But performance plateaus… or worse, declines.

Here’s why:

❌ No structured testing framework

❌ You’re guessing what works

❌ You’re relying on gut, not data

❌ You kill tests too early, or run them too long

The result?

Bloated CAC. Wasted spend. Underperforming campaigns.

✅ The Fix: Run Strategic, Iterative A/B Tests Across Your Funnel

Testing = learning.

And in paid media, learning = earning.

But A/B testing isn’t just “change the headline and hope.”

It’s structured. It’s measurable. And it compounds.

A B2B SaaS company wanted to improve demo signups from LinkedIn Ads. Their initial headline:

CTR was 0.79%.

They A/B tested 3 new headlines:

• “See How [Brand] Can 2x Your Pipeline”

• “Get a Personalised Demo, No Pitch”

• “Why 1,000+ CMOs Choose [Brand]”

💥 Winner: “Get a Personalised Demo - No Pitch”

CTR jumped to 1.89%.

CPL dropped by 38%.

And that headline became part of their landing page H1.

The test took 7 days. The impact lasted 7+ months.

5 Key A/B Testing Strategies That Drive ROI

1️⃣ Always Test One Variable at a Time

Why it works: Isolating variables = clear insights.

🎯 Don’t change headline and image and CTA, you’ll never know what moved the needle.

📌 Start with:

→ Headlines

→ Primary images

→ CTA button copy

→ Offer positioning

2️⃣ Run Tests for a Minimum Viable Duration

Why it works: Ending too early = bad data.

🎯 Let the algorithm optimise, and ensure statistical significance.

📌 Tip: Run each variant until you hit 95% confidence or a minimum of 1,000 impressions per variation (depends on channel).

3️⃣ Use Micro-Conversions as Early Indicators

Why it works: Don’t just wait for purchases.

🎯 Track clicks, scroll depth, form starts, these show early momentum.

📌 Tip: Especially useful for higher-ticket or B2B funnels.

4️⃣ Track & Reuse Winning Assets

Why it works: What works in one campaign often works in others.

🎯 Build a swipe file of high-performing hooks, angles, formats, and creative types.

📌 Tip: Winning email CTAs? Try them in your ad headlines.

Best-performing testimonial? Make it your ad copy.

5️⃣ Test New Ad Formats & Placements

Why it works: Sometimes the channel is the bottleneck.

🎯 A great ad in the wrong format = poor performance.

📌 Try:

→ Video vs static

→ Stories vs feed

→ Carousel vs single image

→ LinkedIn Text Ad vs Sponsored Post

✅ Action Plan for This Week:

Choose one underperforming ad to test

Pick one variable to isolate (e.g. headline)

Launch a clean A/B split (same budget, same targeting)

Let it run until statistically significant

Document your findings for future reuse

A/B testing isn’t just for growth marketers, it’s for smart marketers.

You’re not guessing anymore. You’re learning. And that’s how you scale.

Talk soon,