# Split-Test Insights & Marketing Bullets -- Gary Bencivenga Method

## Proven Split-Test Results

These are findings from Bencivenga's 40+ years of scientific split-run testing, with documented results.

### Headline Tests

| Test | Winner | Margin | Principle |
|------|--------|--------|-----------|
| "May rise steeply" vs. "Will rise steeply" | "May" | ~200% | Soft language snoozed skepticism alarm |
| Headlines with authority words ("doctors") vs. without | With authority | Significant | Authority embeds proof in the headline |
| IF...THEN construction vs. direct claim | IF...THEN | Consistently higher | Conditional frame disarms skepticism |
| Specific numbers vs. round numbers | Specific | 15-30% | "$47,382" beats "almost $50,000" |
| Headlines with embedded proof vs. promise-only | Embedded proof | Consistently higher | Never separate claims from proof |

### Offer Tests

| Test | Winner | Margin | Principle |
|------|--------|--------|-----------|
| BOGO vs. equivalent % discount | BOGO | 40%+ | "Buy One Get One Free" beats "50% off" |
| Strong guarantee vs. weak/no guarantee | Strong | Significant | Bold guarantees increase trust, not refunds |
| Proof-embedded offer vs. proof as supporting copy | Proof-embedded | Consistently higher | Structure the offer itself around proof |
| Free + shipping vs. discount on main product | Free + shipping | Consistently higher | Lower first barrier (Monkey's Fist principle) |
| Two-step sell vs. direct sell for cold traffic | Two-step | Consistently higher | Warm up before asking for the sale |

### Copy Structure Tests

| Test | Winner | Margin | Principle |
|------|--------|--------|-----------|
| Reason-why copy vs. claim-only | Reason-why | Significant | "Because" + compelling reason bypasses skepticism |
| Copy with "because" vs. without | With "because" | 33-55% | Even weak reasons with "because" boost compliance |
| Long copy with fascinations vs. short copy | Long + fascinations | For complex sales | More bullets = more hooks for different reader segments |
| Credo/belief-driven opening vs. generic | Credo | Significant | Boldly stating beliefs attracts aligned buyers |
| Metaphor-rich vs. literal-only copy | Metaphor-rich | Variable but positive | Metaphors bypass critical analysis |

---

## The 29 Marketing Bullets -- Quick Reference

Bencivenga published 29 "Marketing Bullets" as free educational content. Each contains a master principle:

### Bullet #1: The Credo Technique
**Principle:** Stand for something and you'll never stand alone.
**Application:** Open your copy with bold beliefs. Repel the wrong people to attract the right ones.

### Bullet #2: Advertising is War, Minus the Venom
**Principle:** Apply 80/20 rule. Focus on the vital few factors.
**Application:** Don't try to win on every front. Identify and dominate the 2-3 factors that drive 80% of results.

### Bullet #3: "Yeah, Sure" -- The Skepticism Checkpoint
**Principle:** Every claim triggers internal skepticism. Match EVERY claim with sufficient proof.
**Application:** After every bold statement, immediately provide evidence. Never let a claim stand alone.

### Bullet #4: What Are We REALLY Selling?
**Principle:** Identify deeper desires beyond features. You're selling hope, status, transformation, relief.
**Application:** Before writing, answer: "What does the buyer REALLY want this to do for their life?"

### Bullet #5: The Secret of Red Shirts (Intention = Perception)
**Principle:** You find what you actively look for. Seek one thing specifically, exclusively, persistently.
**Application:** Focus your research on one specific breakthrough at a time. Don't scan the crowd -- look for red shirts.

### Bullet #6: SCAMPER (7-Letter Creativity Multiplier)
**Principle:** Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to other uses, Eliminate, Rearrange.
**Application:** When stuck, run your concept through all 7 SCAMPER filters to generate new angles.

### Bullet #7: Can You Pick the Winning Headline?
**Principle:** Never separate claims from proof. Believable promises to appropriate audiences.
**Application:** Every headline should embed at least one proof element.

### Bullet #8: Turning Setbacks into Triumph
**Principle:** Extract learning from failures. Ask why you lost.
**Application:** When copy fails, analyze WHY. The loss teaches more than the win.

### Bullet #9: Reason-Why Copy (Most Persuasive Tool)
**Principle:** Provide 3 compelling reasons: (1) why yours is best, (2) why it's believable, (3) why act now.
**Application:** Structure your entire piece around answering these three questions.

### Bullet #10: The "Because" Trigger
**Principle:** "Because" bypasses skepticism. 60% → 93% compliance in Harvard study.
**Application:** Fill copy with "becauses" followed by compelling reasons.

### Bullet #11: The Secret of Happiness
**Principle:** Demonstrate genuine care. Authenticity builds trust.
**Application:** Write to help, not just to sell. The reader can feel the difference.

### Bullet #12: How to Get Anything You Want
**Principle:** Find out what others want and help them get it.
**Application:** Deep audience research before writing. Know their wants better than they do.

### Bullet #13: How to Be Lucky
**Principle:** Build risk tolerance through persistence. Clarify goals.
**Application:** Keep testing. The "lucky" copywriter is the one who ran 50 tests, not 5.

### Bullet #14: 6 Little Words (5W1H)
**Principle:** Who, What, Why, How, Where, When. Gather 7x more research than needed.
**Application:** Before writing, research obsessively. Multiple "whys" daily.

### Bullet #15: The Monkey's Fist
**Principle:** Lower entry barriers dramatically. Offer irresistible first steps.
**Application:** Free ebook, quiz, assessment, free + shipping. Get the first YES.

### Bullet #16: The "Fuzzy Dice" Secret
**Principle:** Go vertical/specialized, not horizontal/general.
**Application:** "The #1 CRM for dentists" beats "A CRM for everyone." Niche down.

### Bullet #17: How to Name Your Product
**Principle:** Embed benefits directly into names (Easy Off, Blu Blockers).
**Application:** Product names should communicate function instantly.

### Bullet #18: 7-Step Formula for Online Success
**Principle:** Niche → Free offer → Multi-channel promotion → Email capture → Value → Two-step sell → Physical addresses.
**Application:** Build the funnel in this exact sequence.

### Bullet #19: The 9 Most Important Words
**Principle:** "A gifted product is mightier than a gifted pen."
**Application:** The product IS the genius. No amount of copy saves a bad product. Choose gifted products.

### Bullet #20: Controversy Over the "9 Words"
**Principle:** Strategy > technique. Content substance > delivery style.
**Application:** Get the strategy right first. Beautiful copy with wrong strategy = beautiful failure.

### Bullet #21: Which Offer Pulled Best?
**Principle:** BOGO beats discounts by 40%+. List > Offer > Copy in importance.
**Application:** Improve your list first, then your offer, then your copy.

### Bullet #22: 16 Rules for Success
**Principle:** Exit comfort zones, persist through resistance, quantify worst-case, focus forward.
**Application:** Measure everything. The discomfort of testing is the price of winning.

### Bullet #23: The One Word That Teaches Everything: "Why"
**Principle:** Question assumptions. Share valuable news. Be interesting, real, original.
**Application:** Ask "why" about everything in your current approach. Why this headline? Why this offer? Why this audience?

### Bullet #24: The Borden Formula for Headlines
**Principle:** 4-stage test: "Ho-hum!" → "Why bring that up?" → "For instance!" → "So what?"
**Application:** Every headline must electrify, be relevant, promise specifics, and drive action.

### Bullet #25: The Golden Key of Persuasion
**Principle:** Metaphors bypass critical analysis. Transfer qualities instantly.
**Application:** Use metaphors from Bible, fairy tales, sports, movies. One great metaphor > ten arguments.

### Bullet #26: The Pareto Principle Deep Dive
**Principle:** 80% effort on 20% highest-impact tasks. Create not-to-do lists.
**Application:** Don't optimize bullet #47. Optimize the headline, the offer, and the guarantee first.

### Bullet #27: 3 Greatest Copywriting Lessons
**Principle:** (1) Copywriting = salesmanship in print. (2) Research before writing -- 7x more than needed. (3) Think on paper before drafting.
**Application:** Never write without exhaustive research. Never draft without thinking on paper first.

### Bullet #28: 3 Secrets for Multiplying Productivity
**Principle:** Pareto universally + morning high-impact work + subconscious overnight problem-solving.
**Application:** Write headlines first thing in the morning. Sleep on problems. Test ruthlessly.

### Bullet #29: How to Sell Anything
**Principle:** Build on strongest proof. Find motivated audiences. Help them get what they want.
**Application:** Lead with your strongest proof element. Everything else supports it.

---

## The Marketing Maxims (Key Principles)

### Maxim #1: Make Your Advertising Itself Valuable
Leave prospects better off for reading your promo, whether they buy or not. If your ad educates, entertains, or genuinely helps, response increases.

### Maxim #2: Aim Headlines at Heavy Users
Know who your "heavy users" are (the 20% who buy 80% of your product) and target headlines specifically at them.

### Maxim #3: The Importance Hierarchy
**List > Offer > Copy.** The audience matters most, then what you're offering them, then how you say it. Most people optimize copy when they should be optimizing list and offer first.

### Maxim #4: A Gifted Product > A Gifted Pen
The magic is in the product. A great copywriter with a mediocre product will lose to a mediocre copywriter with a great product. Find "faster horses" to ride.

### Maxim #5: Advertising is Multiplied Salesmanship
One promotion can close thousands of sales simultaneously. This is the leverage that makes direct response the most powerful force in business.

---

## The Captain John Rade Principle (Think Like a Fish)

Captain John Rade, a Long Island fisherman, consistently caught hundreds of pounds of fish daily from a small motorboat while others caught little.

His secret: **"Don't think like a fisherman -- think like a fish."**

**For copywriting:**
- Don't think about clever ways to sell your product
- Think about what your reader wants RIGHT NOW
- Then work on how your product delivers that
- Spend your life studying your prospect: what they want, when they want it, what conditions affect their decisions
- The product that solves an urgent, current problem will always outsell the product that solves a future, hypothetical one
