[mladenkovacevic]

Allow me to flip your methodology upside down.

So one article converted well because you actually had hyper-linked calls to action and the article was half the length. Well duh.. you didn't need to run an A/B test to crack that nut.

So 700 leads compared to 30 - seems like a pretty definitive victory for the first article, right? Not necessarily. Consider the quality of these leads. In one scenario, signing up was served up on a silver platter and as soon as the word "free" was baited, a lot of freeloaders probably bit the hook. Yes, they might enjoy your service and some might even convert to a paid customer when they can afford it... or maybe not. How many of them even need your service? How many just wanted to scope out what the author was actually selling because they are at the budding stages of some get-rich-quick scheme (a likely scenario considering the entrepreneurial, "how-to" content of the article).

I think your second article is much more brilliant, and barring the absolute absence of clickable links to your actual product, would actually produce much more qualified leads for you. I like that it talks about working with family, subtly suggesting the respect with which you treat your customers as well. This lends genuine credibility to your business and excites happy/warm feelings in me about working with you and giving you money for your services. The 30 leads that put in the effort to seek your product out after reading all that are far more likely to convert to a paid customer later on than the gang of what could very well be 700 hormonal over-caffeinated teenagers with big business dreams but no cash (gross hyperbole but you get my point).

So in conclusion I think yes, calls to action and clear succinct messaging is important - no secret there. But the content is even more important for the long term results. The story you tell should be crafted with the customer in mind that'll ultimately pony up the cash for quality service. I think you should've run with the family narrative, but included a few calls to action.