On this page
When an ad wins, the instinct is to leave it alone and go looking for the next idea. The better move is the opposite. The winner has already proved that something in it works on your merchants, and the cheapest next winner is a version of it Meta has not shown to anyone yet.
The ten
| Variant | What it is |
|---|---|
| Static | A new still layout of the same offer |
| Video | The offer as a short video |
| UGC | A person talking it through, shot on a phone |
| Carousel | The offer across several swipeable cards |
| Reel | A vertical, short-form cut |
| New photo | A different picture of the same industry |
| New headline | Different words at the top, the same offer underneath |
| Industry cut | The same ad aimed at another industry |
| State cut | The same ad with a state named in it |
| Text on photo | The copy laid over a real photo of the business |
The first five are formats, the next two are fresh executions, and the last three aim the ad at a new pocket of merchants; in the terms of the creative pipeline, all ten are new executions of a proven angle, which is the cheap kind of creative work. For the true winner on that board we went well past ten and made fifty: static images, video, UGC and carousels, in different colours, with different images and different numbers, looking for the common denominator of what worked and recreating it in other variables. That produced more winners.
Why it is the lowest-risk spend there is
Every other creative in the account is a guess. The winner is not: you know it works, and you know it has made you money. Running more variations of it is the most risk-averse way to spend on ads, and anything else is risking money for no reason. You do not need to know what it is about the winner that works, either. Something in that ad works; the variants keep the message and change what is around it, and Meta sorts out which of them carries it best. Variants also extend the winner’s life, so that when the original dies another winner is already running.
And keep making wildcards
Variants of winners are the safe half of the pipeline. The other half is new ideas, because every winner started as something untested. Alex makes five new creatives for MCA brokerages every day — weekends, sick days and travel days included — and deliberately makes them as different from each other as he can. His reasoning is that most brokerages are copying LendingTree, businessloans.com and the rest of the ad library, which is a reliable way to end up with nobody’s winners. Both halves are sized to the budget: roughly 20 to 30 new creatives a month at $100 a day, and ten to twenty times that at $1,000 a day.
Questions brokers ask
What should I do when a Facebook ad starts winning?
Leave it running and make ten to fifteen variants of it straight away: new formats, a new photo, a new headline, an industry cut and a state cut, all with the same message. The winner will fatigue within a month or two, and the variants are where the next one comes from.
How many variations of a winning ad should I make?
At least ten, and often fifteen. For one true winner we made fifty, across static, video, UGC and carousels, with different colours, images and numbers.
Do I need to know why an ad is winning before I copy it?
No. Something in the ad works; the variants keep the message and change everything around it, and Meta finds which version carries it best. The data does the diagnosis.
Is it risky to make more ads like a winner?
It is the least risky spend in the account. The winner has already proved it converts and made money, so its variants start from a known result. Everything else is a guess by comparison.
How many new ad creatives should I make?
Enough to cover what the budget burns: roughly 20 to 30 a month at $100 a day, and ten to twenty times that at $1,000 a day. Alex makes five new ones himself every day, as different from each other as possible.
Alex Makowski
Founder, Infinite Bookings
Runs the lead generation operation behind Infinite Bookings — paid traffic, the funding application, and the delivery pipeline that puts records into brokers’ CRMs.
Reachable directly at alex@infinitebookings.com or 732-609-7182.