Most accounts i look at don't have a targeting problem. they have a messaging problem.
the targeting's usually fine. but everyone wants to keep tweaking the media buying, because it feels like work.
the gain's almost never there. it's in what the ad actually says.
and here's the thing few wants to hear: the best-converting ad isn't the one with the biggest promise.
it's the one that says the thing the customer's been feeling for years but couldn't put into words. you're not creating desire. you're handing them an explanation.
most people in a category aren't short on options. they've tried five things.
what they're short on is a reason all five let them down.
once they get why nothing worked, they'll finally listen to why this might.
weak brands talk about the product. better ones talk about the life the customer's already been living.
a decent ad shows up with a solution. a great one makes the customer rethink their own past.
and when someone feels understood, the skepticism drops. not because you sold them — because for once they're actually listening.
—
but this is where most people stop, and it's where they get it wrong.
not everyone's carrying pain. not every purchase comes from frustration.
some buy to become someone.
some buy to show who they already are.
some buy because the thing just looks fun and they want it.
so leading with hooks is backwards.
you start by figuring out what's actually moving the buyer.
sometimes that's frustration. sometimes aspiration. sometimes identity.
the mistake is treating every market like it runs on the same fuel.
the acne scar person is a good example.
she wasn't after excitement, she wasn't buying status.
she'd carried the same thing for years and just wanted it gone.
that's why taking the blame off her worked.
run that exact angle in a market that buys on aspiration and it dies.
so the move was never to force an angle. it's to read what's already driving the market and build around it.
that's the part that happens before the creative. and it's the part most people skip.
@ecombatman Exactly. revenue is the easiest number to flex. they just can't accept it they need to change something they knew it, but choose to waste time by themselves .
they deserve it that's why winners are few
pathetic instant gratificators
Most accounts i look at don't have a targeting problem. they have a messaging problem.
the targeting's usually fine. but everyone wants to keep tweaking the media buying, because it feels like work.
the gain's almost never there. it's in what the ad actually says.
and here's the thing few wants to hear: the best-converting ad isn't the one with the biggest promise.
it's the one that says the thing the customer's been feeling for years but couldn't put into words. you're not creating desire. you're handing them an explanation.
most people in a category aren't short on options. they've tried five things.
what they're short on is a reason all five let them down.
once they get why nothing worked, they'll finally listen to why this might.
weak brands talk about the product. better ones talk about the life the customer's already been living.
a decent ad shows up with a solution. a great one makes the customer rethink their own past.
and when someone feels understood, the skepticism drops. not because you sold them — because for once they're actually listening.
—
but this is where most people stop, and it's where they get it wrong.
not everyone's carrying pain. not every purchase comes from frustration.
some buy to become someone.
some buy to show who they already are.
some buy because the thing just looks fun and they want it.
so leading with hooks is backwards.
you start by figuring out what's actually moving the buyer.
sometimes that's frustration. sometimes aspiration. sometimes identity.
the mistake is treating every market like it runs on the same fuel.
the acne scar person is a good example.
she wasn't after excitement, she wasn't buying status.
she'd carried the same thing for years and just wanted it gone.
that's why taking the blame off her worked.
run that exact angle in a market that buys on aspiration and it dies.
so the move was never to force an angle. it's to read what's already driving the market and build around it.
that's the part that happens before the creative. and it's the part most people skip.
Most ecom ads do one thing and hope. a clever hook. a clean edit. a discount slapped on top. The ads that actually print money do seven things, and they do them in order.
Miss one, and it dies, no matter how good the product is. breaking all seven down around this week.
Most ecom brands write ads about a problem the customer just discovered.
The ones that scale write about a problem the customer has carried for years.
She's not lazy. She's been blaming herself for something that was never her fault.
Name that, and she finally trusts you.
Most ecom brands write ads about a problem the customer just discovered.
The ones that scale write about a problem the customer has carried for years.
She's not lazy. She's been blaming herself for something that was never her fault.
Name that, and she finally trusts you.
Inherited frustration is the most underused ad angle.
Your customer has been annoyed by this problem their whole life.
They didn't choose it. Life gave it to them. speak to how long they've been carrying it.
The best performing ads don't introduce new ideas. They validate existing feelings that the customer was embarrassed to admit.
Understanding it is marketing knowledge, applying it consistently is creative strategy.
Inherited frustration is the most underused ad angle.
Your customer has been annoyed by this problem their whole life.
They didn't choose it. Life gave it to them. speak to how long they've been carrying it.
The best performing ads don't introduce new ideas. They validate existing feelings that the customer was embarrassed to admit.
Understanding it is marketing knowledge, applying it consistently is creative strategy.
Inherited frustration is the most underused ad angle.
Your customer has been annoyed by this problem their whole life.
They didn't choose it. Life gave it to them. speak to how long they've been carrying it.
The best performing ads don't introduce new ideas. They validate existing feelings that the customer was embarrassed to admit.
Understanding it is marketing knowledge, applying it consistently is creative strategy.
Clarity in copy doesn't come from knowing more. It comes from removing everything that isn't true. That requires stillness, not more research,
And those brands with the most distinctive voice didn't find it through A/B testing. They found it by sitting with who they actually are long enough to say it plainly.
Only creative strategist knows it; most ecom dudes just let it go on with themselves for years, years of trying, then get to the actual point.
Life is all about choice.
Clarity in copy doesn't come from knowing more. It comes from removing everything that isn't true. That requires stillness, not more research,
And those brands with the most distinctive voice didn't find it through A/B testing. They found it by sitting with who they actually are long enough to say it plainly.
Only creative strategist knows it; most ecom dudes just let it go on with themselves for years, years of trying, then get to the actual point.
Life is all about choice.
@adamtaylorl There is nothing new just go deep in existing stuff people hold past existing things for long there is nothing to invent so do what's working in the market and you will find the real gold