Test-Guide focuses on offering free research assets for greater than 100 standardized exams together with observe checks, research guides, prep course critiques, and extra. Test-Guide is the biggest supplier of free observe checks serving to thousands and thousands of customers every year go their exams.
Throughout our interview with Dave, he expressed that experimentation and making an attempt new issues are an important traits an entrepreneur can have. He defined that numerous technical expertise may be extra vital, however what’s the usage of having technical expertise if you don’t put them to use and experiment with new issues and concepts?
Humble Beginnings
Dave’s story begins in early 2009. “I used to be working for a web-based schooling supplier and acknowledged the void within the take a look at prep business — there have been only a few free assets out there to college students on the web. If they may discover a free useful resource, there was at all times some angle; you had to both enter an electronic mail or join one thing,” mentioned Dave.
That prompted Dave to begin Test-Guide.com. His essential objective when beginning the location was to make sufficient cash to pay for lunch each day. After the location gained a lot of traction early, Dave realized he could have one thing particular.
The web site initially had a few observe checks and a few normal articles, however because the variety of customers on the location grew, so did the variety of observe exams. Dave rapidly met his objective of paying for lunch everyday- he had a new objective in thoughts. With aspect earnings, he needed to give you the chance to pay for his children’ actions.
Early successes and failures from 2009 to 2013 taught Dave how to use experimentation to assist the enterprise thrive and shortly sufficient, he had one other (greater) objective in thoughts: depart his company job and do that full time.
In early 2013, Dave took a leap of religion and stop his company job. Though scary at first, the expertise has been rewarding. He is in a position to run his personal enterprise, work on his personal time and assist thousands and thousands of scholars go their exams without spending a dime.
Experimentation is Key
No pun supposed, there’s at all times one thing being examined on Test-Guide.com. Whether it’s a small experiment like operating an A/B take a look at on a particular web page, or fully overhauling the promoting system, Dave and his workforce are at all times experimenting.
Here are two main experiments Dave has tried out which have paid off massive time.
Paid Advertising
While on household trip, Dave determined to launch some Google Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns. His essential objective was to see if the campaigns could be worthwhile sufficient to promote for the location whereas trying to enhance site visitors and income.
“My spouse and youngsters love the seaside, however I might solely spend three to 4 hours earlier than tiring out, so I might sneak off to the room and open up my laptop computer,” Dave defined whereas chuckling to himself.
Dave had heard folks speaking about PPC advertisements and the way they may assist a web site, however he wasn’t anticipating to win massive. Breaking even was ok, and he needed to get some bank card factors out of it. When reviewing his first marketing campaign, TEAS Practice Tests, to his shock, it was a main hit. That identical day, he added a couple extra campaigns.
Dave continued to add extra campaigns, and at one level, he was spending greater than $100,000 per 30 days on campaigns. This would have by no means occurred had he not experimented with PPC campaigns on trip.
Affiliates
Dave’s subsequent massive experiment got here within the affiliate marketing online area. We requested Dave to briefly clarify affiliate marketing online. Here was his response:
“In the world of digital advertising, affiliate marketing online is a massive business. Without overcomplicating issues, in case your web site sends a person to one other web site and so they purchase one thing, you get a fee. To enhance site visitors and income on Test-Guide.com, I create affiliated relationships with different websites.”
Dave had beforehand tried this in 2016, when he tried to create relationships with different firms, however the experiment didn’t prove how he anticipated.
Fast ahead to March 2020 and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Test-Guide’s promoting income was reduce in half. Companies have been afraid and stopped spending cash on promoting. To fight this downside, Dave determined to give affiliate income one other go.
Dave and his workforce determined to leap into an affiliate marketing online technique at full drive. They wanted it up and operating in underneath one month. The Test-Guide content material workforce created hyper-focused content material round what folks have been looking for. An instance of hyper-focused content material they created was the Best SAT Prep Courses.
While the workforce was creating content material, Dave was busy securing partnerships – “I spent most of that first month personally securing affiliate relationships with among the largest take a look at prep suppliers within the business. I might ship emails, name any quantity I might discover, and ship messages to executives on LinkedIn.”
Lastly, Dave had the analyst workforce create a reporting system to monitor all of those affiliate relationships.
According to Dave, this experiment began slowly, however picked up some headwind after about three months. The main distinction between this time and 2016 was the planning section. The Test-Guide workforce had a plan in place and the horsepower to make it occur. Dave additionally attributes among the success this time round to giving the experiment some extra runway and letting it run its course.
Dave’s Failure with Experimentation
Since 2009, Dave talked about having his fair proportion of failures and mishaps when experimenting with new issues. “The largest take away when failing is studying why it failed, what you can have performed in another way and the way you should utilize the failure to enhance,” defined Dave.
Link Building
Links assist inform Google’s search engine what websites are useful and bonafide. If you recognize something about Search Engine Optimization (search engine marketing) or constructing web sites, you recognize that hyperlinks are so vital.
In 2012, web site homeowners have been doing something to construct hyperlinks. During that point, Dave began experimenting with completely different strategies for incomes hyperlinks to the location. Unbeknownst to him, he was violating Google’s phrases of use through the use of black hat (frowned upon) hyperlink constructing strategies.
Google put a handbook penalty on the location and the site visitors dropped off the map and he had misplaced all the pieces.
Initially, Dave was discouraged from this failure, however tried his greatest to study from this failure and repair it. He answered the questions he wrote above:
Why did this experiment fail?
Dave had violated Google’s phrases of use (unintentionally) and was given a handbook penalty.
What might he have performed in another way?
Review these phrases of use earlier than making an attempt new issues.
How can he use this failure to enhance?
After this mishap, the Test-Guide workforce follows each greatest observe there’s. They guarantee they’re following correct tips, protecting up-to-date on coverage adjustments and reaching out to specialists when mandatory to keep away from one other state of affairs like this.
Although they suffered a setback in 2012, Dave is grateful this occurred when it did. “The web site was comparatively small again then and I used to be nonetheless working my company job. I used to be in a position to study from this expertise and guarantee it didn’t occur once more,” mentioned Dave.
Test-Guide’s Keys to Success
Test-Guide has tried many alternative issues all through the years. All of their profitable experiments have frequent themes in accordance to Dave:
Try new issues: If you by no means strive new issues, you’ll by no means develop to your potential. Complacency needs to be your worst enemy as an entrepreneur.
Let it play out: – Let your experiments play out. Give them a while to develop and work. This is likely one of the causes our first crack at affiliate relationships didn’t work.
See what others are doing: Look at what others are doing. This is how I received the thought to begin Test-Guide. I noticed different firms providing free materials and supporting themselves through promoting. No one was doing this within the take a look at prep business, so I took benefit.
Failures will occur: Failures are certain to occur. Make positive you might be studying out of your failures. Do not be afraid of failures — this may maintain you again.
Published December twenty second, 2021
https://www.influencive.com/how-dave-evangelisti-team-used-experimentation-to-create-a-thriving-business/
