A/B Testing the Signs Homeless People Write

[IMPT] This post is likely to offend a few people – I decided to post it anyway. If you’d like to tell me your opinion about this article? Tweet me @tylerwillis.

Have you ever wondered how much money homeless people make? I can’t answer that question for you. But I can help you optimize your signage campaigns should you ever find yourself out on the streets.

Check out Advice for Making Signs which breaks down the copy on 10 funny signs penned by english speaking homeless folks. Judging from the creativity — these folks probably belong working at an ad agency.

Aside from seriously entertaining copy, the site also provides a simple lesson from each example that you can use to improve your own skills. I can tell you right now, these lessons are not to be ignored just because they are funny.  While I would happily give money to anyone I saw on the street with penwork this clever — it would probably come in the form of paying them to write some content.

Like any good marketer, I want to see some data to validate my assumptions. So, I put together an A/B test to see which of these 10 homeless wordsmiths you’d rather give your hard earned cash too. I’ve created a simple poll of all 10 images below, and I invite you to vote.

To vote for your favorite, just scroll to the bottom of this post, or click here if you can’t see the poll.

Sure, a poll isn’t the most perfect test — but short of skipping a week’s worth of shaving and hitting the streets to test some theories, an online poll-based battle royal seemed like the best way to test this. So, let’s start with this. Want to see me out on the streets for real?

If you submit a better sign slogan in the comments — I’ll see if I can go test my favorite submission against the best performing sign from the poll out on a street corner near me (with all proceeds going to charity).

These graphics originally appeared on 9gag, and were quickly picked up by buzzfeed thereafter. Thanks to Ish, who tweeted them out which is where I saw them.

Which homeless person would you give money too?Market Research