Happy Monday! On this day in 1944, Allied troops stormed the beaches at Normandy, marking the beginning of the end of World War 2.
The oldest known living U.S. veteran of WWII was Lawrence Brooks, who died this past January at the ripe old age of 112. When asked about the secret to his unusually long life, he replied “be nice to people.” Amen to that 🙏
Now let’s get you caught up on what’s happening…
Making the Rounds
- Ad spend on search ads for ecommerce in the U.S. set to double by 2026. Intelligence from eMarketer projects 55.72 billion in ecom search ad spend in 2026, compared to 27.10 billion this year.
- Elon Musk announces plan to cut 10% of Tesla jobs, share price drops 8.5%. He wants to cut staff due to a “super bad feeling” about the economy. Musk later walked back his remarks, saying the 10% cut would only apply to salaried staff and not factory workers. But that didn’t stop the stock price from plunging 8.5% on Friday. Conflicting analysis on whether we’re headed for a recession or not continues to fly…
- Facebook and Instagram Reels can now be up to 90 seconds long. It’s a 30 second increase from the previous limit of 60 seconds, mirroring a similar update from TikTok, as they scramble to compete with the short-form category king. More on this in today’s Paid Ads section.
Working With Clients
What Makes a Great Hook, Email, or Ad Angle
Mainstream wisdom is everywhere.
Your audience is bombarded with the same advice all the time.
– cut back on lattes
– eat more vegetables
– go to bed earlier
– etc etc
But what sets you (or your client) apart from everyone else is where they disagree.
So ask yourself: what controversial opinions can I highlight?
What mainstream advice do I (or my client) DISAGREE with?
That’s often what makes for the best hooks, emails, or ad angles.
Now, a caveat:
You need to be able to make a logical case for why you disagree.
Don’t just disagree to be a contrarian or to grab attention… unless you can back it up.
Working For Yourself
Sorry, I’m OOO
The numbers are in:
For many of us, working from home often means working (a lot) more than 8 hours a day.
And with notifications pouring in from dawn ‘till dusk (and sometimes even long past then)…
Maintaining more than a shred of work/life balance is a constant battle.
So here’s a simple tip to help you stay stane:
Use “work speak” to set effective boundaries.
Since your home and your office may be the same place, being “out of office” doesn’t have to apply only when you’re away from the computer.
It can simply mean you’re unavailable.
Whether that’s because you’re doing deep work on a project or going deep into the latest season of Bridgerton.
And “meetings” don’t always have to be work-related — they can also be calls to catch up with family or friends.
Bottom line is:
Many people have an easier time understanding (and respecting) your boundaries when you use the right language to set them.
From The Paid Ads Gig
A TikTok Lead, a Facebook Lead, and a YouTube Lead Walk Into a Bar…
Advertisers have got plenty of options when it comes to running paid traffic on social these days:
- YouTube
- TikTok
Some are a helluva lot more popular than others these days (*cough* TikTok *cough*)…
But what many paid ad experts don’t realize is:
Different platforms produce different kinds of leads.
TikTok may be the ad platform du jour…
But because it emphasizes short-form content, TikTok leads are naturally less qualified compared to leads from Facebook or YouTube.
Now that doesn’t mean running ads on TikTok won’t work for you…
In fact, we know lots of people who are having success there…
Largely because the traffic is so much cheaper.
Cost per click is typically much lower than Facebook, YouTube, or LinkedIn.
So the economics still work out.
Especially if you’re selling ecom products or low-ticket impulse buys that don’t require a ton of context or qualification before making a purchase.
But if you’re selling a high-ticket product or service?
Not so much.
Ultimately, this is one of the reasons why Facebook is still our weapon of choice when it comes to running paid ads…
Because the amount of context people can get about your offer between long-form copy AND video is hard to beat.
Moral of the story is:
Not all leads are generated equal.
So keep that in mind when crafting your paid ad strategy.
Quote of the Day
“There is no failure. Only feedback.”
— Robert Allen