By Ryan Richardson · Published 8 October 2026
12 different book-cover designs were run as ad creative on the same offer (the Accidental CTO / Non-Technical CTO field guide), screening for which cover design gets attention before committing budget to it.
The other 7 cover variants each drew under 1,000 impressions or under A$20 spend, too thin to read at all.
| Cover | Ads | Spend | Impressions | CTR | Landing page views | Purchases | CPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cover 36 | 2 | A$129.49 | 10,908 | 3.96% | 219 | 0 | no purchases |
| Cover 28 | 2 | A$70.29 | 5,261 | 3.04% | 98 | 0 | no purchases |
| Cover 39 | 2 | A$57.44 | 5,718 | 2.45% | 80 | 1 | A$57.44 |
| Cover 03 | 2 | A$32.54 | 9,412 | 1.13% | 69 | 0 | no purchases |
| Cover 01 | 1 | A$29.72 | 8,831 | 1.05% | 60 | 0 | no purchases |
This is 1 purchase across the whole 12-cover test (on cover 39), so no cover can be called a winner on sales. What the test does show plainly: the two covers with the strongest engagement, cover 36 (3.96% CTR, 219 landing page views) and cover 28 (3.04% CTR, 98 landing page views), produced zero purchases between them, while the single purchase came from a mid-engagement cover. High click-through on a cover image did not predict a sale in this test.
| Claim | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Number of cover variants tested | 12 | Sixty Steps ad account, Meta Ads data |
| Cover 36 spend/ads/impressions/CTR/LPV/purchases | A$129.49 / 2 / 10,908 / 3.96% / 219 / 0 | Sixty Steps ad account, Meta Ads data |
| Cover 28 spend/ads/impressions/CTR/LPV/purchases | A$70.29 / 2 / 5,261 / 3.04% / 98 / 0 | Sixty Steps ad account, Meta Ads data |
| Cover 39 spend/ads/impressions/CTR/LPV/purchases/CPA | A$57.44 / 2 / 5,718 / 2.45% / 80 / 1 / A$57.44 | Sixty Steps ad account, Meta Ads data |
| Cover 03 spend/ads/impressions/CTR/LPV/purchases | A$32.54 / 2 / 9,412 / 1.13% / 69 / 0 | Sixty Steps ad account, Meta Ads data |
| Cover 01 spend/ads/impressions/CTR/LPV/purchases | A$29.72 / 1 / 8,831 / 1.05% / 60 / 0 | Sixty Steps ad account, Meta Ads data |
| Total purchases across the 12-cover test | 1 | Sixty Steps ad account, Meta Ads data |
| Thin-data exclusion threshold used across this dataset | under 1,000 impressions or under A$20 spend | SUMMARY.md, Top 5 robust findings heading |