Happy Q4 Eve {{First Name | Friend}} 😉

Q4 will be here in less than 24 hours, and I am really looking forward to it. Q4 can be a prosperous time for ecommerce business owners, but I won't ignore the nervousness and anxiety that comes with it. I am back today with some helpful guidance to navigate the rest of the year.

Last week, I challenged you to post video content for seven days straight. Behind the scenes, new products, best sellers. If you did it, I’d love to know how it went.

If you missed last week's issue or did not do the challenge, that is fine. You can still use everything I share today. You can find last week’s publication here.

Because the seven days of video was not just content practice. It was raw material for something bigger and useful for your ads funnel. 

Last week at one of my client's stores, total sales went up 55 percent. Conversion rate went up 47 percent. Facebook and Instagram sales alone went up 89 percent. And sessions actually went down 12 percent. Fewer visitors, but the right ones. That is what video content does when you use it as ad material, not just a post.

Today I want to show you how to turn your best video from that week into a Meta ad that runs into Q4. Most ecommerce owners think content and ads are separate workflows. They are not anymore. The video you posted on Tuesday is the ad you run on the same day. Existing posts perform nicely for ads, and you don’t have to do double work.

How to turn your best video into a Meta ad

1. Pick the video that had the most saves, shares or comments.

Ignore the likes! Likes are a vanity metric in all honesty, and that is what we tend to value the most for some reason. Saves, shares and comments = purchase consideration.

If someone saved your video, they are keeping it for later. That is real intent. If someone shared it, they are giving you their trust with someone else. If someone commented with a question, they are already thinking about buying and just need one more push.

2. Trim the first three seconds.

Video for organic and video for ads are different animals. Organic video gets a warm up. The viewer is already following you, they are patient, they let you build up to the point.

Ad video does not get that. You have three seconds to earn the scroll stop. Whatever your original video does in the first five seconds needs to move to frame one.

Open the video in Instagram, CapCut, or whatever you edit in. Watch the first ten seconds. Find the moment where the actual value shows up, the product hits the screen, or you make your first real point. Trim everything before that.

3. Add a call to action in the last three seconds.

Every ad needs one clear next step.

Add a text overlay at the end of the video that tells the viewer exactly what to do. Something like "Shop the drop, link below" or "Get 15 percent off your first order.”

If you are on camera, you can say it out loud instead. Same rule though, one CTA only.

4. Set up the Meta ad.

Keep this simple. You do not need to overthink the settings.

Campaign type: Sales (Advantage+). This is Meta's smartest campaign type for ecommerce right now. Let the algorithm find your buyers. Yes, we will test that for now! 

Audience: We’re going broad here. Advantage+ Audience with no interest layers. Feed Meta your customer list as a signal and let it work. I do suggest selecting gender and your main age group. 

Budget: Start at $15 to $25 a day. Do not go bigger until you know the ad is working. You can always scale up.

Placement: Advantage+ Placements. Let Meta distribute across Feed, Reels, and Stories.

Creative: Just the one video you picked.

5. Watch three numbers in the first 72 hours.

You do not need to look at everything. You need to look at three things.

Cost per click. If it is under $1, you are doing well. Between $1 and $2 is normal. Over $3 and you need to look at the ad creative or the audience.

Click through rate. Above 1 percent means the creative is working. Below 0.5 percent means the video is not stopping the scroll or the copy is not landing.

Thumb stop rate. This is the percentage of people who watched at least three seconds. Above 30 percent means your first frame is doing its job. Below 20 percent means go back to step 2 and trim harder.

That is the play. Video to ad, in five steps, in one afternoon.