I built and sold 2 ecommerce brands and generated $10million+ in revenue using direct response e-commerce funnels. I make YouTube content and write long-form value emails about copywriting, VSLs, advertorials, and direct response marketing.
The 3 Ad Types Working in Ecom Right Now
The Current State of the Market (Ecom & Supplements) When it comes to performance marketing in ecom/supplements, I see 3 main top-of-funnel ad types. First, image ads. Image ads can crush it at the top of the funnel, going to a listicle or advertorial (I prefer image to long advertorial). The best images drive curiosity clicks from the target audience. This means they are related to the niche in their visuals and first line of ad copy (calling out the problem in copy), and they incorporate weird, bizarre open loops like a strange mixture, a weird home remedy, or a complex 3D illustration. These ads work great top of funnel and work for huge audiences. They get high CTRs and drive traffic to the advertorial where we can educate and convert the prospects. Second, VSLs. The gold standard is the 5-10 minute VSL ad which crushes across niches and levels of market awareness on the top of funnel. When done right, these ads fly under the skepticism radar by being valuable, informative, interesting and fun to watch (drive emotional swings, interesting stories, shocking information, empathetic hero's journey). I also see plenty of 2-3 minute mini-VSLs that follow the same structure in their script as longer VSLs, but condensed for markets that don't need tons of education. And finally the monster VSL ad, which I'm seeing less of in feed, at 30-60 minutes. I usually see VSLs directing traffic to advertorials, and that's what I've always had success with (with $100+ AOV offers). Third, the performance short. These are 30-60 second ads that follow similar structures to VSLs, but extremely condensed. They pack a punch, and every sentence has direct response elements baked in. The visuals are either a mashup of viral-looking highly engaging action-based clips with minimal b-roll setting the scene, or a spokesperson taking up most of the scenes. These ads are great for capturing cold traffic in markets where a VSL wouldn't be profitable, such as low AOV products or markets that don't respond to long VSL ads. I think the future of performance marketing in ecom/supplements, with the direction Facebook is going with the ads algorithm, is more variety of creatives top of funnel (mainly these 3 plus direct response UGC) and strong BOF retargeting style ads for offer aware traffic. The core thread in all of this is copy and direct response skills. If I were just getting into the industry, my priority would be to improve my direct response and copy skills as much as possible. I would also use as much AI as I can, combined with a simple, organized creative testing system, to crank out as many high-quality DR ads as I could. If you want to learn more about these 3 ad types and become a master of direct response marketing, I've created the most comprehensive performance marketing community on the internet. Learn more here: https://www.skool.com/ecom-blueprint1 |
Fernando Oliver
I built and sold 2 ecommerce brands and generated $10million+ in revenue using direct response e-commerce funnels. I make YouTube content and write long-form value emails about copywriting, VSLs, advertorials, and direct response marketing.
The Meta Ads Algorithm Guide (Andromeda Update) Here’s a detailed breakdown of how the Meta Andromeda update affects the Meta Platforms (Facebook/Instagram) ads algorithm: what changed, why it matters, and how you should adapt. I’ll keep it as tactical as I can so you can apply it directly in your ad accounts. This is based on deep conversations with my custom GPT and some big players in the game who are on top of the new update. 1. What the Meta Ads Algorithm Is (Pre-Andromeda) The core ad...
Why the Close is More About Emotion Than Logic in VSLs Most ecommerce operators believe the close is where you hammer home logic: price comparisons, guarantees, proof. They think the close is where you convince. That belief costs them sales. The truth is this: by the time you reach the close, your viewer has already made an emotional decision. The job of the close is not to convince with logic—it’s to validate their emotional decision and push them to act now. The Psychology of a Close:...
Here is my take on the core fundamentals to succeeding in this industry. And there are many technical answers, but the overarching truth I keep coming back to is that skills combined with time in the game guarantee success, it's just a matter of time. Skills come from deliberate practice/learning and putting your learning to the test in the real world (in our case by launching ads, getting feedback, and iterating). The core skills in my career have been: 1) Direct response copywriting 2)...