christian james | ads & growth

writer-operator documenting how brands grow 🤙 notes on ads, creative testing and leverage. ↓ thinking in public

[christian james | ads & growth @nameschrisjames]

I’m setting out to understand something: why some brands grow and others sputter and stall.

Most advice makes it sound controllable — pull the right levers, ding the right bells, and growth will appear.

But in reality, it’s so much messier than that.

[Toby @TobyWalleruk]

One ad concept → 10 variations:

1️⃣ Change the hook
2️⃣ Change the first frame
3️⃣ Change the angle
4️⃣ Change the visual style
5️⃣ Change the CTA
6️⃣ Change the tone
7️⃣ Change the audience
8️⃣ Change the length
9️⃣ Add testimonials
🔟 Add urgency

No excuses for running stale creative.

[christian james | ads & growth @nameschrisjames]

brand owners with tight budgets run ads for a week and say: "man, this isn't working."
ads compound.
Meta takes around a week to learn.
after a week?
that's where the results are.

[christian james | ads & growth @nameschrisjames]

@nichdo_ fuckkk

[christian james | ads & growth @nameschrisjames]

most brands skip at least one of these things

and then complain that their ads aren't working?

[christian james | ads & growth @nameschrisjames]

before you test your creatives, check you have:

a clear customer pain point

one angle per creative you approach the pain point with

overdelivery on the hook + re-hook

some kind of social proof native to your page

a strong cta that matches awareness (cold, warm, engaged)

...

[christian james | ads & growth @nameschrisjames]

a clearly defined testing variable (isolation)

a landing page and copy optimised for sales verified by A.I.

some kind of brand story native to your page

[christian james | ads & growth @nameschrisjames]

@readswithravi i feel unproductive reading from my phone

[Rax Alpha @raxthealpha]

Men only want two things

[christian james | ads & growth @nameschrisjames]

this doesn't surprise me

[Kiro @kirotheway]

you wouldnt believe me but these ads are are PRINTING

[christian james | ads & growth @nameschrisjames]

good ads can't make up for a bad product
good ads can't make up for a bad landing page
good ads can't make up for a bad market

make sure your funnels are water-tight before you start blaming your ads for wasted spend

[christian james | ads & growth @nameschrisjames]

@lorenzo_pravata this is smart af

[christian james | ads & growth @nameschrisjames]

CBO Advantage+ > ABO any day

[christian james | ads & growth @nameschrisjames]

@Dearme2_ put yourself in a situation where speaking is survival

record yourself speaking freely, post it online every day, repeat.

discomfort and suffering are the best teachers.

[christian james | ads & growth @nameschrisjames]

how much growth have you seen for your brand in the last 6 months?

what's the biggest lever you pulled?

[christian james | ads & growth @nameschrisjames]

personal growth and brand growth are tightly linked

you start before you’re ready
you do more than you’re capable of
you grow into someone who can handle it

[christian james | ads & growth @nameschrisjames]

your friend gives you £5000 to spend on ads

you make a 9x return and walk away with £45k

how much are you giving your friend?

[christian james | ads & growth @nameschrisjames]

founders can get so wound up in their own product vision that they forget how to talk to their avatar

being passionate about your product is great, but never lose sight of how your customers think, feel about the problem you're solving, and, most importantly, how they talk.

[christian james | ads & growth @nameschrisjames]

run some ads bro

like, genuinely you have nothing to lose and everything to gain

[Brew Markets @brewmarkets]

"It's generally human nature to overestimate risk and underestimate opportunity."

— Jeff Bezos

[christian james | ads & growth @nameschrisjames]

get this right, and all you'll ever have to worry about is the rest of your business

don't overcomplicate things

[christian james | ads & growth @nameschrisjames]

one of the worst habits in paid acquisition isn't wasting spend

it's thinking you're smarter than meta's algorithm

let's say you start running a batch of 8 new creatives

[christian james | ads & growth @nameschrisjames]

secondly, give your ads a hard stop

don't try to read the algo, you'll flop harder than a whale in a diving competition

say: 'i'll stop running each ad at 2000 impressions'

then, you keep your testing controlled

your metrics will be easy to read and compare