There is something cathartic about one of the things I do every day.

For some people it’s reading a few chapters of their favourite book, for others it’s sipping on a chilled glass of white after a long day of work.

But for me? It’s reviewing other people's Ads.

Sounds like a weird hobby? Not if this is the world you live in.

So here’s what we’re going to do this week - we’re going to analyse two of the BIGGEST mistakes I see people make with REAL EXAMPLES.

First things first…you might be wondering “Josh, how do you see other people’s ads?”.

Great question - it’s called the META Ad Library.

All you do is go to this URL;

Then, simply type in the company you want to spy on. It will then show you all the ads said company is running currently. Like so;

Looks like Mr. Howley has been a busy man indeed.

So class, before I lose you all let’s dive right in and discuss MISTAKE NO. 1.

Mistake 1 - Creative

This should seem obvious by now but clearly it’s not landing.

Here it goes (I’m shouting it really loudly for those at the back)

STOP USING STILL IMAGES AS YOUR CREATIVE IN ADS

If you don’t know what I mean let’s take a look at an example;

The White Kitchen Company have a lovely-looking product but as you can see they’re running ads with a creative that is a still image.

So now I hear you ask - “Why is this a big deal?”

Well listen up - people scrolling on social media are so used to being advertised to that they’re pissed off. At this point, if they even smell something that seems like it COULD be an ad, they’re scrolling straight on past.

People scrolling past means they’re not clicking.

And if they’re not clicking, they’re not converting.

A highly edited lovely photo like the above? It couldn’t look more like an Ad if it tried.

Oh sorry it could - negative bonus points if you use your logo as a watermark.

Here’s what you ACTUALLY need to do - produce short-form video that starts life off as an Instagram reel that looks authentic and native to the app. Film it on an iPhone, and put text on the screen that was inputted via the app not some third-party software.

If you do this properly I guarantee your click-through rate and ultimately your cost per lead will fall through the floor by at least 20%. MINIMUM.

Here are some more creatives that are a definite DON’T;

No kitchen companies were harmed in the making of these ads

Okay so now you’ve had the starter, let’s dig into the main course.

Mistake 2 - Conversion Objectives

Okay this one literally kills me.

I have mentioned it a number of times on my LinkedIn posts but if you see anyone running ads and you see this button on it saying “Visit Instagram” (like the below);

They are lighting their money on fire.

You are telling Facebook/Instagram to find you the lowest-quality traffic to send to your page so that you get lots of likes and follows and you’ll certainly get a hit of dopamine.

But guess what?

None of those people will ever buy anything from you.

It’s garbage traffic.

The only objective you should have when running ads to cold traffic is…. CONVERSIONS.

People that are in the buying mindset, ready to book design appointments.

Now, there are two ways of doing this.

1. Send the ad traffic to a lead form directly on Meta - this will reduce friction as no one has to leave the platform but will result in a slightly lower quality of lead (balances out with the fact the leads are cheaper this way)

2. Send the ad traffic to YOUR CONTACT PAGE on your website. It has to specifically be the contact page.

Why is the contact page important? Very good question…

If you send them to your home page you are relying on your website to do a huge amount of heavy lifting to get the customer to take the action you desire i.e. book an appointment.

I have looked at literally HUNDREDS of websites in the KBB industry and I’m sorry to say, 99% of them are terrible.

Not that they don’t look great - they do. But they’re not built to convert.

So don’t rely on your site do that for you unless you want to spend the big bucks hiring a CRO specialist (they ain’t cheap).

If you’ve made it this far in the email there are two things going on;

Number 1 - you have way too much time on your hands as you don’t have enough leads coming in the door.

Number 2 - you have a feeling your ads aren’t performing as well as they should be so you’re looking for any way to fix them.

We can help in either scenario - just click the button below to schedule a free call with me to discuss how we do what we do;

If you found this newsletter helpful or insightful please forward it on to others in the KBB industry. We’re out here doing God’s work.