A/B Test Generator

Generate A/B test variants for affiliate content — headlines, CTAs, landing page sections, email subject lines, and social post hooks. Each variant includes a hypothesis explaining why it might outperform the original. Output is a Markdown document with the original, variants, hypotheses, and a test plan.

Stage

S6: Analytics — Small changes in headlines and CTAs can swing conversion rates by 20-50%. A/B testing is how professional affiliates systematically find what converts best. This skill removes the guesswork by generating theory-driven variants using proven copywriting frameworks.

When to Use

• User wants to improve conversion rates on existing content
• User has a headline, CTA, or email subject line and wants alternatives
• User says "test my headline", "optimize my CTA", "A/B test ideas"
• User has a landing page section that isn't converting
• User wants to compare different messaging approaches
• Chaining from S2-S5: take any content output and generate test variants

Input Schema

yaml
original: string               # REQUIRED — the content to test (headline, CTA, paragraph,
                               # email subject line, or full social post)

content_type: string           # REQUIRED — "headline" | "cta" | "landing_section"
                               # | "email_subject" | "social_hook"

goal: string                   # OPTIONAL — "clicks" | "signups" | "purchases"
                               # Default: "clicks"

num_variants: number           # OPTIONAL — number of variants to generate (2-5)
                               # Default: 3

audience: string               # OPTIONAL — who sees this content
                               # (e.g., "SaaS founders", "content creators")

product: string                # OPTIONAL — product being promoted

Chaining context: If S2-S5 content exists in conversation, the user can reference it: "test the headline from my blog post" or "generate CTA variants for my landing page."

Workflow

Step 1: Analyze Original Content

Break down the original into components:

• Emotional angle: What emotion does it trigger? (curiosity, fear, desire, urgency)
• Specificity: How specific vs vague?
• Structure: Question, statement, command, statistic?
• Framework: Which copywriting framework does it follow? (PAS, AIDA, 4U, BAB)

Step 2: Identify Testable Elements

Determine what to vary:

• Emotional angle (switch from curiosity to urgency)
• Specificity (add numbers, remove vagueness)
• Structure (question vs statement)
• Length (shorter vs longer)
• Power words (swap key words for stronger alternatives)
• Social proof (add or remove)

Step 3: Generate Variants

Create num_variants alternatives, each using a different approach:

• Variant A: Different emotional angle
• Variant B: Different structure/format
• Variant C: Different specificity level
• Additional variants explore social proof, urgency, or contrarian angles

Each variant must:

• Preserve the core message and product reference
• Preserve any FTC disclosure from the original
• Be a realistic alternative (not just a word swap)

Step 4: Write Hypotheses

For each variant, explain:

• What was changed and why
• Which copywriting principle supports the change
• What behavior change is expected (e.g., "Higher CTR because questions create open loops")

Step 5: Suggest Test Plan

Recommend:

• Sample size needed (minimum 100 impressions per variant for social, 500 for landing pages)
• Test duration (7-14 days minimum)
• What metric to track (CTR, conversion rate, revenue per visitor)
• When to declare a winner (95% statistical significance or practical significance threshold)

Step 6: Self-Validation

Before presenting output, verify:

• ] 3-5 distinct variants generated (not just word swaps)
• ] Each hypothesis grounded in a copywriting principle or framework
• ] Sample size calculation is present and realistic
• ] Test duration is ≥7 days minimum
• ] Winner criteria defined with statistical significance threshold

If any check fails, fix the output before delivering. Do not flag the checklist to the user — just ensure the output passes.

Output Schema

yaml
output_schema_version: "1.0.0"  # Semver — bump major on breaking changes
test:
  original: string
  content_type: string
  goal: string

variants:
  - label: string              # "Variant A", "Variant B", etc.
    content: string            # the variant text
    change: string             # what was changed
    framework: string          # copywriting principle used
    hypothesis: string         # why this might win

test_plan:
  sample_size: number          # per variant
  duration: string             # recommended test period
  metric: string               # what to measure
  winner_criteria: string      # when to pick a winner

Output Format

1. Original — the current content being tested
2. Variants — each variant with its content, change description, and hypothesis
3. Test Plan — sample size, duration, metric, winner criteria
4. Quick Win — if one variant is clearly stronger based on copywriting principles, call it out

Error Handling

• Original too short (1-2 words): "I need more context. Paste the full headline, CTA, or email subject line you want to test."
• Content type unclear: "Is this a headline, CTA button text, email subject line, or social post hook? Knowing the format helps me generate better variants."
• Too many variants requested (>5): "I'll generate 5 high-quality variants. More than 5 makes testing impractical — you'd need a very large audience to reach statistical significance."

Examples

Example 1: Blog headline test

User: "Test this headline: 'HeyGen Review: Is It Worth It in 2026?'" Action: Generate 3 variants. Variant A: "I Tested HeyGen for 30 Days — Here's What Happened" (curiosity + personal experience). Variant B: "HeyGen vs Synthesia: Which AI Video Tool Wins?" (comparison + specificity). Variant C: "The AI Video Tool That Cut My Production Time by 80%" (result + specificity). Each with hypothesis.

Example 2: CTA button test

User: "Optimize this CTA: 'Start Free Trial'" Action: Variant A: "Try HeyGen Free — No Card Required" (reduces friction). Variant B: "Create Your First AI Video in 2 Minutes" (outcome-focused). Variant C: "Get Started Free →" (shorter, action-oriented). Test plan: minimum 500 clicks per variant, track conversion rate.

Example 3: Email subject line test

User: "I'm sending an email about Semrush. Test this subject: 'Check out Semrush — it's great for SEO'" Action: Identify weakness (vague, no hook). Variant A: "The SEO tool I use to rank #1 (not kidding)" (social proof + curiosity). Variant B: "Your competitors are using this — are you?" (FOMO). Variant C: "3 Semrush features that doubled my organic traffic" (specificity + result). Each preserves FTC compliance.

References

• shared/references/ftc-compliance.md — Ensure variants preserve FTC disclosure from original. Referenced in Step 3.
• shared/references/flywheel-connections.md — master flywheel connection map

Flywheel Connections

Feeds Into

• purple-cow-audit (S1) — winning variants reveal what resonates = what's remarkable
• performance-report (S6) — test results for reporting

Fed By

• viral-post-writer (S2) — posts to test variations of
• twitter-thread-writer (S2) — thread hooks to test
• landing-page-creator (S4) — landing page elements to test
• content-pillar-atomizer (S2) — volume mode variants for testing

Feedback Loop

• Test results directly improve all content-producing skills → winning headlines, CTAs, and angles feed into next content creation cycle

yaml
chain_metadata:
  skill_slug: "ab-test-generator"
  stage: "analytics"
  timestamp: string
  suggested_next:
    - "performance-report"
    - "viral-post-writer"
    - "landing-page-creator"