Groupon-style Click Test: prove demand before you pitch

There is a fast way to figure out what your city wants. You do not need meetings. You do not need contracts. You do not even need an affiliate link on day one. On the Titanium Tech call, Chad showed how to put three or four local deals on a simple page and let your readers vote with clicks. The top box is your signal. That is the one you take to the business with proof in hand.

 

The idea is calm. You are not guessing what might sell. You are seeing what got attention. That changes the first conversation. You are not saying “we think a deal could work.” You are saying “our readers clicked this the most, here are the counts, we can send you buyers.” That is a different door to knock on, and it opens faster.

 

Here is how it looked on the call. Chad mocked up a “deals” page in MintBird with a clean four-box grid. Under each offer he placed one big button. Not an affiliate link. A tracking link. The click went straight to the real Groupon page. The only goal at this stage was to measure interest in a clean way.

 

“I don’t think I would do more than four offers on this page… you can create a tracking link, like a PopLink, for your URL.”

 

He also kept the copy tiny. A photo. A price. One line on who it is for. Then the button. That is all you need for a fair vote.

 

If the spa box wins by a mile, great. If the tacos win, also great. You are happy either way because you now know where to invest one level deeper.

 

Once the clicks roll in, you have your winner. This is where most people overcomplicate the next step.

 

You do not pitch a generic ad package. You bring a specific, better offer than Groupon. Lower fee. Warmer traffic. A human they can email. And proof that your readers want this exact thing.

 

On the call, Chad said to keep the line simple and factual: “Every single time somebody clicks this, I’m gonna track it.”

 

Optional: earn on test clicks with Groupon’s CJ affiliate program
If you are not ready to pitch a merchant yet, you can still make a little back while you test. Groupon’s in-house Groupon Partner Network closed on June 15, 2022, and Groupon now runs its affiliate program on CJ Affiliate. Groupon+1

 

Getting set up is simple. Create a free CJ Affiliate publisher account, then apply to Groupon North America from your CJ dashboard. After approval, you can generate deep links to the exact Groupon offers on your test page and swap your plain tracking URLs for CJ affiliate links. signup.cj.com+1

 

A quick note on terms. Commission rates and cookie windows are shown inside CJ on the Groupon advertiser page and can change, so treat the in-dashboard details as the source of truth. Groupon’s public page only confirms the move to CJ, not the specific percentages. Groupon

 

Use plain tracking links when you want the cleanest “votes” to take to a merchant. Use CJ links when you want to offset some traffic cost during longer tests or when you plan to feature Groupon deals on a regular schedule.

 

Let’s walk the full move end to end. We will stay light, so you can build it in an hour.

 

Build the test page

Start with three or four offers. Stay in one theme. Four different spas. Or four food spots. Or four kid-friendly things. Pull a clean image for each. Write one friendly sentence for each. Add one big button under each box. Make the button a tracking link that redirects to the real deal page.

 

Publish.

Now send a short note to your list. Keep it casual. “We’re testing a few local deals this week. Pick the one you like best.” Add the page link. That is it. You want clean clicks from regular readers, not hype.

Watch the counts for a day or two. One box will almost always rise. If the difference is small, let it sit another day. If one is a clear winner, stop the test and move.

 

Approach the business with proof

Your outreach is not cold. It is warm with data. You can walk in or email. Lead with the signal. “We just ran a click test for [city]. Your [service] got the most clicks from our readers.”

 

Share the numbers. Then make a simple offer. You will send them leads for a lower fee than Groupon. You control the message. They get buyers who already showed intent.

 

Businesses will ask what the deal looks like. Keep it fair. A small discount or a nice add-on is plenty to start. You do not want a margin-killer. You want something that makes the first yes easy. You can tune the details after the first week.

 

What this earns you

 

First, speed. You can go from idea to signal in one send. Second, positioning. You show up with evidence, not theory. Third, leverage. Even if the answer is no, you now know what category your readers want. You can test two more offers in that lane, then try again.

 

Here are three clean examples you can ship today.

 

Example 1: Spa focus

 

Four boxes. One is a massage. One is a facial. One is a float. One is a sauna club.

 

Your readers click the facial the most. You take the counts to the facial spot and offer to run a one-week feature to your list and site for a simple referral fee on completed bookings. If they agree, you swap the tracking link for your order form or a unique booking code and run with it.

 

Example 2: Family deals

 

Four boxes for families on a budget. Trampoline park. Mini golf. Kids cooking class. Museum day pass. If mini golf wins, you pitch a “family four pack” that includes a free drink or a token bundle. The park gets warm families. You get a small cut per redemption. Your readers get a simple weekend plan.

 

Example 3: Food nights

 

Four boxes around “date night under $40.” Taco flight. Pasta for two. Sushi sampler. Burger and shakes. If taco flight wins, you offer a Tuesday push with a code so the restaurant can track redemptions. If the night fills, you have a case study for the next restaurant on the same street.

 

A few details that matter

 

Keep it to four offers. More than four blurs the vote.

 

Use one type of offer per page so the test is fair. Do not bury the button.

Put it right under the image and price. Use the same button label on each box so your numbers reflect the offer, not the wording.

 

Make your tracking links clean. Use Page Sprout that creates links that redirects fast. You want clicks, not lag. Name each link so the report is easy to read later. (Spa-A, Spa-B, and so on.)

 

Save a screenshot of the counts. That visual helps when you show the owner.

 

You can run this with your current email list, or you can pair it with the Reimburse Your Ad Cost flywheel and drive a small batch of fresh readers to the page. Both work. The test is cheap either way, because you are not buying conversions yet. You are only buying a small set of clicks to get a read.

 

What about next steps after a win.

 

You have two good paths. Path one, keep sending to the merchant and earn a referral.

 

Path two, package the winner into your own $17 local bundle on the thank-you page and use it to help pay for tomorrow’s ads.

 

Both paths feed the list. Both paths build local relationships that last.

 

Two short quotes to keep in view as you build:

 

“I don’t think I would do more than four offers on this page… you can create a tracking link, like a PopLink, for your URL.”

“Every single time somebody clicks this, I’m gonna track it.”

 

Summary

You do not need permission to test your city. Put four real deals on a page. Let your readers click. Take the winner to the owner with proof and a simple better-than-Groupon offer. You move fast. They get customers. Your list learns something real. Then you do it again next week.