Content that connects: a step-by-step guide to testing messaging that works

Ready to take the guesswork out of your messaging?

Content and message testing helps teams make smarter, audience-informed decisions about the words they use—before they go live. Instead of relying on gut instinct or internal opinions, testing ensures your content is clear, compelling, and aligned with what your audience actually needs to hear.

So, what can you test? Just about anything with words. Headlines, value propositions, product descriptions, in-app messages, onboarding flows, help articles, CTAs, emails, error messages—even tone of voice or different ways to explain a benefit. Whether you're refining a few lines or comparing multiple content directions, testing gives you the confidence to communicate with impact.

In this guide, we’ll walk through how to effectively test and optimize your content and messaging, so you can reduce confusion, increase engagement, and build stronger connections with your audience. Let’s get started!

Why content and message testing matters

When words shape experiences, clarity and relevance are everything. Content and message testing ensures your ideas land as intended—whether it’s a headline, help article, value proposition, or onboarding flow. By testing with real audiences, teams can craft messages that are easier to understand, more engaging, and more likely to drive the right outcomes. It reduces ambiguity, aligns teams, and creates confidence that every word works harder—wherever it shows up.

Key reasons to test content and messaging

• Increase clarity: ensure content is easily understood and interpreted as intended
• Improve engagement: identify the language and tone that resonates most with your audience
• Communicate value effectively: test how well your product, service, or solution is understood and perceived
• Support key actions: optimize content to guide people toward desired behaviors or outcomes
• Align messaging: test and refine to keep language consistent across touchpoints
• Minimize confusion: catch unclear, misleading, or ineffective messages before they reach your audience
• Refine tone and voice: ensure messaging reflects your brand and connects appropriately in each context
• Boost confidence: make informed decisions with data, not guesswork

Common challenges teams face

Tight timelines, limited resources, and pressure to move quickly can make it hard for teams to properly test content and messaging. Reaching the right audience—especially niche or hard-to-reach segments—is often difficult. Even when testing is done, feedback may lack context, making insights harder to interpret. Cross-functional input can also slow progress, as misalignment among stakeholders leads to conflicting feedback or delayed decisions.

Key challenges to content and message testing

• Limited time and resources: fast-moving projects can leave little time for iteration, especially when teams are balancing multiple priorities
• Reaching the right audience: testing is less effective if participants don’t reflect the actual target customers or decision-makers
• Shallow feedback methods: traditional surveys or A/B tests often miss the why behind reactions—like confusion, hesitation, or unmet needs
• Difficulty interpreting results: teams may struggle to extract clear, actionable insights from A/B tests or surveys
• Misalignment across teams: content and messaging often touch many functions, making it tough to align on direction and finalize decisions
• Scaling learnings: even when useful insights are found, they’re often not shared or applied consistently across channels or teams

What happens without this approach?

When time or resources are limited, teams often rely on assumptions, internal opinions, or performance metrics after launch to guide messaging decisions. Without direct input from the intended audience, it’s easy to miss the mark. This reactive approach can lead to unclear, ineffective, or inconsistent messaging that underperforms or causes confusion.

Common workarounds and their risks

• Relying on internal opinions: messaging is shaped by stakeholders rather than real audience needs or language
• Guessing based on past performance: teams assume what worked before will work again, even if the audience or context has changed
• Launching without testing: messaging is pushed live without validation, increasing the risk of miscommunication or poor engagement
• Using only post-launch data: metrics like clicks or open rates provide limited insight into why something worked—or didn’t
• Applying a one-size-fits-all approach: Messages are reused across audiences or channels without adjusting for context.
• Prioritizing speed over clarity: tight deadlines lead to content being rushed through review cycles without proper validation
• Relying on A/B testing alone: quantitative results don’t provide the why behind user preferences

The impact of not testing content and messaging

Skipping content and message testing can have a ripple effect across the customer experience and business outcomes. Without validation, messaging may confuse, mislead, or fail to connect with the intended audience, ultimately reducing engagement, slowing conversion, and damaging trust. Teams also miss opportunities to learn, improve, and align around what works.

Potential impacts of not testing

• Confusing customer experiences: unclear or inconsistent messaging can frustrate customers and increase drop-off
• Missed opportunities to convert: value propositions or calls-to-action may fall flat if they don’t resonate
• Increased support volume: poorly worded help content or product copy can lead to errors and more support tickets
• Wasted resources: time and budget go toward content that doesn’t deliver results
• Slower decision-making: without data, teams struggle to agree on the right direction
• Erosion of trust: misaligned or off-brand messaging can weaken credibility with customers
• Inconsistent messaging: lack of testing leads to varied language across teams and channels, reducing clarity and impact

Solution

Leading organizations use feedback from real people to inform their content and messaging strategies, ensuring that every word, headline, and value proposition truly connects with their audience. Rather than relying on guesswork or internal opinions, they validate content with the people it’s meant to reach. This results in clearer, more impactful messaging that improves understanding, drives action, and supports business goals.

Here’s how you can put that approach into action:

Step 1: Define testing objectives and key questions

Before testing content and messaging, establish clear goals to ensure your test is focused and actionable. This helps teams understand not just what works, but why.

• Clarify the purpose of the content: is it meant to inform, persuade, guide an action, or explain a concept?
• Identify what you want to learn: are you testing clarity, tone, perceived value, or overall effectiveness?
• Set success criteria: define what a successful message looks like, such as high comprehension, alignment with brand tone, or increased confidence to act

Step 2: Select the right audience for testing

Accurate, actionable insights come from testing with people who reflect your real customers or target audience.

• Define audience characteristics: think about roles, behaviors, goals, or familiarity with your product or category
• Capture a range of perspectives: include both experienced users and new prospects to see how messaging lands across the journey
• Prioritize inclusivity: consider accessibility, language comprehension, and cultural nuances to ensure messaging works for all