Day 193: Updating the Blog Hook & YouTube Shorts Strategy

Sometimes the biggest moves you can make aren't in your ad account — they're in the organic foundations you've been putting off.

Today we're walking through the exact changes made to the Guitar Coach Magazine blog and what's coming next on the YouTube side of things.

- New blog sidebar hook is now live — a more intriguing opt-in proposition replacing the generic free book offer.

- No split test on this one — low traffic volume means a month-on-month comparison is the smarter approach.

- YouTube Shorts strategy launching next week — repurposing existing channel content to drive fresh visibility and traffic.

- Upsell price test incoming — the in-course offer is converting at 33% at £47, and we're about to test £67.

Yesterday's Performance Snapshot

Friday the 13th, and the numbers felt like it. Yesterday came in at $7.96 in sales against an ad spend of £373 ($4.94 equivalent), generating $302 in profit on the day.

That's an okay day, but not where we need to be. We really need to be hitting the $400+ profit mark consistently to feel like we're closing the gap. Today is tracking at just $2.95 at half three in the afternoon — so it's a tough one. We park that and focus on what we can control.

The New Blog Sidebar Hook

The original opt-in proposition on the Guitar Coach Magazine blog was straightforward — a free classic guitar tab book. Functional, but not particularly compelling.

The updated version brings in a bolder headline, a clearer value proposition, and a hook built around the idea that these pieces are easy to learn — no theory, no prior skills, just pick up and play. It's the same offer, reframed with more intrigue. That's now live in the sidebar across posts and pages.

Why I'm Not Split Testing This

The honest answer is that the organic traffic volumes coming through the blog simply aren't high enough to make a split test practical. Dividing already-limited traffic between two versions would mean waiting even longer for meaningful data.

Instead, the approach is to make the switch, let it run for a full month, and compare it against the previous month. We made the change on 13th March, so we'll be looking at this properly at the end of March at the earliest — more likely mid-April. The opt-in page stats and sales funnel data will tell us if it's moved the needle.

The YouTube Shorts Strategy

The YouTube channel has been somewhat neglected — and that's being honest about it. Rather than committing to shooting a load of new long-form content right now, the plan is to create a series of Shorts by repurposing existing videos already on the channel.

The goal is straightforward: increase visibility, grow channel awareness, and drive more traffic back to the landing page. This is kicking off next week and will need consistent effort for at least a couple of months before we'll know whether it's genuinely worth the time investment.

The Upsell Pricing Test: £47 vs £67

Here's an interesting one. The in-course upsell offer — currently priced at £47 — has been converting at 33% through March. That's a strong conversion rate, and it's making a real contribution to the back-end profitability of the funnel.

The question now is: what happens if we push that price to £67? Does the conversion rate collapse, making it not worth it? Or does it hold close enough that the higher price point more than compensates? At £67, it's still genuinely good value — but we need the data to know for sure.

Developing New Hooks and Propositions

One of the bigger pieces of work still on the list is developing a wider range of hooks and angles for the ad campaigns. Having seen how well the new hook has worked on the ads side, there's a clear need to build out maybe four or five fresh propositions to keep campaigns from going stale.

This work has started but it isn't done. It's also — let's be honest — one of those tasks that's easy to push down the list in favour of more mechanical work. It's on the plan for later in March.

Expanding the Auto Responder

Also on the to-do list for March is expanding the email auto responder sequence. It's not glamorous work, but it matters. A longer, well-structured sequence means more opportunities to build trust and convert subscribers into buyers over time.

It keeps getting pushed back in favour of more immediately visible tasks — but it's staying on the plan.

What's Coming Next Week

The focus for next week is clear: kick off the YouTube Shorts strategy and get the upsell price test implemented. Both of those are concrete, actionable changes that could move the numbers.

The proposition development work and auto responder expansion will follow later in the month. The organic foundations are being built steadily — it just takes time before the results show up in the data.

Closing Reflection

Days like today — where the ad numbers are soft and the profit feels distant — are exactly when the organic work matters most. We're building something that isn't dependent on any single traffic source.

The blog hook is updated, the YouTube plan is in motion, and a pricing test is about to go live. None of this is dramatic — but it's consistent, deliberate progress. That's what the long game looks like.

Resources & Next Steps

Free Top 10 Split-Tests: https://www.jonathanhowkins.com/split-testing

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