5x Engagement + 10x Conversions + 4x AOV = ???

Howdy, fellow optimization nerds! It has rained a bit here in Texas lately, so we’ll all have drinking water for a little longer now. 🫠 (Kind of joking but also not.)

Here’s the lineup for this week’s newsletter edition:

• Tool Promises = nonsense ❌

• Offer: Get 24 site insights for free by just signing up for a free summit

• The system of CRO never fails, only the humans running it do

• Open jobs

• Founder learnings of the week (general marketing ones)

• New newsletter referral program (get more free site insights)

Tool Promises = Nonsense ❌

I recently posted on LinkedIn about this: Teams think if they just buy the right tools, growth will follow. Here’s what happens…

Credit for the content and the image goes to JJ Reynolds.

They invest in AI this and AI that and then wonder why nothing is improving. (Side tangent: Or they don't know the results they're seeing are invalid, which the sales person who sold them on it obviously isn't going to tell them...or probably doesn't know either.)

Tools can’t optimize by themselves. There's never a silver bullet, especially a cheap one. They often show you the "what" of something but don’t explain the "why.” They don’t turn data into strong, comprehensive hypotheses. They don’t design experiments. They don’t align leadership, marketing, product, design, and dev around real decisions. You don't have tool problems. Most likely, you have capacity and/or KSA problems (knowledge, skills, and abilities).

Growth requires interpretation. Strategy. Testing. Judgment. And more. That doesn’t come out of a tool alone. Without a human team driving the work, even the best tools just sit there—surfacing problems no one’s solving. Humans and tools must work together in smart ways.

A team must have both sides of the equation.

Chime in and tell us your experience or what you think about this.

Limited Offer for Registrants of This Year’s Free Virtual Summit!

I 💜 the Women in Experimentation (WIE) group. I 💜 Convert’s team. They’re coming together for the WIE Summit this year in a few weeks.

It’s a FREE virtual summit for ANYONE to join. There’s my offer. There are tons of other offers. Lots of top-tier practitioners. There’s no reason not to sign up even if you can’t attend live.

My Offer: 24 Prioritized Website Insights for Your Company in 24 Hours 😮

Get the analysis for free just by registering and claiming the offer. The report will be generated by me and my team. Not by tools. Not by AI. Not from recycled playbooks. They’ll be compiled using senior strategy and expertise taking into consideration the complexities and specifics of YOUR situation.

Was this email forwarded to you? Like it so far? 🤞

The System Never Fails, Only the Humans Running It Do

The only function I’ve seen truly connect the dots across a business is Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO).

It’s the one place where research and testing aren’t separate conversations. Where data leads to action. Where design, dev, marketing, and product don’t work in silos—but in sequence. That’s what makes CRO different.

One that forces coordination, closes feedback loops, and makes your site smarter over time. One that always works when it's ran correctly (but will almost always fail you if ran incorrectly).

I always say the system never fails...only the humans that run it.

Most teams are drowning in insight with no clear path to apply it. Or shipping changes without ever learning if they worked.

CRO is the missing link.

Looking For a New Job?

Here are a few that I think are exciting opportunities.

• The Home Depot: Online Sr Decision Analyst- Experimentation (Apply)

• Valentino: Digital Optimization & Conversion Specialist (Apply)

• Surfshark: CRO Manager (Apply)

• FareHarbor: Team Lead, Conversion Rate Optimization (Apply)

• Hootsuite: Web Experimentation Strategist (Apply)

Founder Learnings of the Week

• Newsletter formatting in Beehiiv: To achieve an optimal design, people aren’t showing the header inputs from the editor. I wasn’t happy with my formatting until this week because this hadn’t occurred to me until now. It’s such a “duh”. moment. I’ve been studying newsletters for a long time but somehow this slid over my head. Now, it’s much better and looks more like regular newsletters.

• My new marketing project management system: I’ve been wanting to set up a marketing flywheel since I started Chirpy. Long story short, the best operational system for this is ClickUp in my opinion. I was going to hire someone. Then, I started playing around with ChatGPT, which helped me create a custom workspace. To make extra sure I had the most optimal setup, it later occurred to me to just check ClickUp’s templates. Not surprisingly, they offered the best setup. I’m using that now, and I’m absolutely thrilled. Could’ve saved a lot of time here but I’m not mad about all of my learnings through the process. Here’s the template I used in case you’d like to try it, too:

I optimize DTC digital journeys for a living. I love what I do, and I appreciate you giving some of your time and attention to my newsletter.

Stay Chirpy this week!

Haley 🤘

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