The $47K mistake that changed everything

My buddy just screwed up. Big time.

Let's call him "Nondisclosure Nick" (he made me promise not to use his real name).

Last week, Nick sent out a sales page for his client's course launch. Everything looked perfect. They'd tested the headline, optimized the offer, even A/B tested the button color.

Three days later, Nick's client calls him.

"We're getting complaints. People are saying they can't find the course they paid for."

Nick's stomach dropped.

He pulled up the sales page. There it was, staring him in the face like a neon sign he'd somehow missed.

The checkout button linked to the wrong product.

Not a similar product. Not an upsell. A completely different course that didn't even exist yet.

They'd collected $47,000 in sales for a product that wasn't there.

The refund emails started rolling in immediately.

Here's what Nick learned from that disaster: Your conversion optimization means nothing if your basic mechanics are broken.

I see this all the time now. After watching Nick's disaster unfold, I started noticing it everywhere.

Business owners obsessing over headline variations while their contact forms don't work. Copywriters split-testing subject lines while their links go to 404 pages.

It's like polishing the paint job on a car with no engine.

So here's what I do now before any launch (and what Nick does too, after learning the hard way):

• I click every single link. On mobile and desktop.

• I fill out every form with fake information.

• I go through the entire customer journey like I'm actually buying.

Takes me maybe 20 minutes. Has saved me from at least six major screw-ups since Nick's $47K incident.

Your fancy copy can't fix broken infrastructure.

But here's the thing that really pisses me off: This stuff isn't hard. It just requires you to actually test your own work instead of assuming it's fine.

Most business owners never buy from themselves. They never see what their customers see.

That's insane to me.

How can you improve something you've never experienced?

So here is my action steps for you this week:

• Go through your entire sales process as a customer would. Right now. Don't delegate this.

• Buy your own product.

• Sign up for your own newsletter.

• Book a call with yourself.

You'll find at least three things that are broken or confusing. Fix them before you write another word of copy.

Because the best headline in the world can't overcome a broken buying experience.

Trust me on this one.

— Shashank

P.S.

Nick's client? They fixed everything within 24 hours, re-launched the next week, and ended up doing $73K instead of the original $47K. Sometimes disasters force you to get your fundamentals right.

Nick still won't let me use his real name though.