Testing Everything (Even Reindeer Routes)

The North Pole, December 9th, 9:00 AM

Santa walked into the workshop to find Mrs. Claus and Bernard arguing.

“The red button feels more Christmas-y!” Bernard said.

“But the green button converts better,” Mrs. Claus replied.

"What does the data say?" Santa asked.

Mrs. Claus showed the results from 1,000 visitors each:

• Red button: 4.2% clicked
• Green button: 5.1% clicked
• Winner: Green (+21% improvement)

“The data wins,” Santa concluded.

“But red is Christmas-y!” Bernard insisted.

“Bernard,” Santa said, “the kids like green, and that’s what matters.”

He turned to Mrs. Claus. “What else are we testing?”

The Testing Mindset

Mrs. Claus said, “You can’t trust your gut. You have to test.”

She showed Santa how often his instincts were wrong:

Santa's Assumptions vs. Test Results:

"Half of your assumptions were wrong," Mrs. Claus said. "And the only way we knew was by testing."

Santa stared at the list. "I've been doing this for 300 years. How could I be wrong about so much?"

"Because what worked 50 years ago doesn't work now. What works for one audience doesn't work for another. And sometimes, things that seem right are actually wrong."

"So what do we do?"

"We test everything."

What Santa Tested (And What He Learned)

"Show me what we've tested so far," Santa said.

Mrs. Claus pulled up the testing log:

Test 1: Landing Page Headline

• Control: “Welcome to Santa’s Workshop”
• Variation: “Hey! Ready to Write Your Letter to Santa?”

Winner: Variation (+21% CTR)

Learning: Casual, action-oriented language works better.

Test 2: Santa's Picture

• Control: No picture
• Variation: Large picture of Santa

Winner: Control (picture hurt conversion –19%)

Learning: Kids don’t need to see Santa—they know him already. The photo just distracted them.

Test 3: Letter Template Length

• Control: Simple 5-question template
• Variation: 12-question detailed template

Winner: Control (+52% higher completion)

Learning: Too many questions overwhelms kids. Simple wins.

Test 4: Button Color

• Control: Red (4.2% CTR)
• Green: 5.1% CTR (+21%)
• Blue: 4.8% CTR (+14%)

Winner: Green

Learning: Brand colors don’t predict performance. Always test.

Test 5: Social Proof

• Control: No social proof (4.8% conversion)
• Variation: “Join 2.4 million kids who’ve written to Santa!” (5.5% conversion)

Winner: Variation (+15%)

Learning: Kids follow what other kids do.

Test 6: Offer Timing

• Control: Show bundle after letter is submitted (38% attach rate)
• Variation: Show bundle during writing (27% attach rate)

Winner: Control (+29%)

Learning: Timing matters. Let kids finish the main task before offering extras.

Test 7: Urgency Messaging

• Control: “Write your letter to Santa” — 31% same-session conversion
• Variation: “Write your letter before Dec 20th to guarantee delivery!” — 44% conversion

Winner: Variation (+42%)

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Learning: Real, authentic deadlines boost action.

The Transformation

Santa stood at the window, watching Bernard run another test in the workshop, this time testing different reindeer flight routes for efficiency.

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"A month ago," Santa said, "I thought I knew what worked. 300 years of experience."

"And now?" Mrs. Claus prompted.

"Now I know I don't know. And that's okay. Because we test. We measure. We learn. We improve."

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He turned back to her. "Every assumption I had, we questioned. Every element of the experience, we optimized. And we're 458% better because of it."

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"And you'll be even better next year," Mrs. Claus said. "Because you'll keep testing"

"I'll keep testing," Santa confirmed. "Even the reindeer routes."

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