Day 136: Early Signals From New Split Tests

Yesterday came in strong. Sales finished at $1,308, which is one of the better days I’ve seen for a while.

Ad spend is now split across two ad sets, the original long-running one and the new ad set containing the fresh creative. Total spend came in at around £484, which is roughly $651, leaving a profit of $657.

That’s almost exactly a 2x return on ad spend, which is where I want this to be.

Today is much slower so far. At half past ten in the morning we’re sitting at $178, so there’s a long way to go. I won’t be checking again until later in the day to see how it shakes out.

Landing Page Split Test Update

This split test is still very early, but the initial data is genuinely interesting.

I’m testing my long-running control page against a stripped-back, simpler version that’s designed to feel less like a traditional sales page and more like something you read through.

The idea behind this was simple. People see a lot of sales pages. I wanted to see whether removing most of the design elements and making it more informational would help people engage and convert more easily.

Looking at results from the 12th to the 14th of January, the control page is converting at around 2%, which is roughly in line with expectations. The new “anti-design” version is showing closer to 4%.

What really stands out is the volume. The initial opt-in and purchase numbers are almost double on the stripped-back page compared to the control. If this holds up after validation and more volume, it could be one of the most impactful split tests I’ve run.

That said, I’m deliberately not rushing this. I want significantly more data, ideally at least 100 sales through each page, before making any decisions. For now, it keeps running.

New Facebook Creative Performance

The second area I was watching closely is the new Facebook ad creative.

Yesterday I duplicated the existing ad set, left the original untouched, and added all new creative only into the new ad set, with the budget controlled at campaign level.

So far, Facebook has pushed a lot of the spend into the new ad set. The new ads are getting impressions, clicks, and purchases, and CPMs are coming in nicely low.

That’s encouraging, especially given they’ve only been live for around 24 hours.

Nothing looks broken. The campaign hasn’t fallen over. The new creative is getting traction.

That’s about as much as I can ask for at this stage. Over the next few days, I expect the budget to distribute more evenly as Facebook figures out what it prefers.

For now, it’s very much a case of watching and waiting rather than interfering.

A New VAT Problem to Solve

The final thing I wanted to talk about today is a new challenge that’s come up as a result of growth.

Because revenue has increased, the business now has to be VAT registered.

That means I effectively have to account for around 20% VAT on sales. I can’t realistically absorb that entire amount without destroying margins, so I’ve got a decision to make.

The options I’m considering are testing a visible sales tax at checkout, increasing prices by 10–15% and absorbing part of the VAT myself, or some combination of the two.

None of these options are particularly appealing, but ignoring it isn’t possible either.

This will almost certainly mean another split test to see how price increases or tax handling affect conversion rates. It’s frustrating, but it’s also just one of those problems that comes with scaling a business.

What Happens Next

For now, the plan is simple. Let the landing page split test continue. Let the new ad creative settle in. Watch the numbers closely without making reactive changes.

At the same time, I’ll spend a bit of time thinking through the VAT strategy before committing to another test. It feels like one step forward and one step back, but that’s the reality of running and growing a business.

I’ll update you again tomorrow with how things progress.