The reading room / 02
Guides to Assistant ads and ad performance
Practical reading for ecommerce founders: using the Assistant for ad concepts, understanding the numbers, and testing without wasting budget.
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- Creative and copyA creative brief template for product adsA compact ad brief that gives makers a buyer question, verified product facts, claim limits and a clear approval path.2 min read · Updated
- Creative and copyA product photography checklist for adsPlan product photographs that make materials, scale and included items clear across mobile ad placements.2 min read · Updated
- Creative testingAd creative fatigue: how to spot and fix itLearn the signs of ad fatigue, which metrics to check, how frequency misleads, and practical ways to refresh creative without restarting from scratch.7 min read · Updated
- Creative testingAd frequency and fatigue: read the signal, not a magic numberUse frequency alongside delivery and outcome trends to decide whether people may be tiring of an ad.3 min read · Updated
- Creative and copyAd hooks: how to write them, with 33 examples by angleHow to write ad hooks that earn the next second, with 33 hypothetical examples across six angles for ecommerce products, plus rules for testing them.8 min read · Updated
- Creative and copyAI ad copy that does not sound like AIHow to brief, prompt and edit AI-written ad copy so it sounds like your brand, stays truthful and fits platform limits, with before-and-after examples.8 min read · Updated
- Creative testingAI ad creative testing: more concepts, less wasteHow to use AI to generate more ad concepts and test them with a small budget: concept batches, naming, thresholds, sample size cautions and decisions.8 min read · Updated
- AI adsAI ads for Shopify stores, step by stepA step-by-step guide to using AI for Shopify ads: product data, briefs, tracking, creative, testing and measurement, with cautions about attribution.8 min read · Updated
- AI adsAI ads: how to use AI to make better adsA practical 2026 guide for ecommerce founders on using AI for ad concepts, copy, images and testing, and where human judgement still decides.9 min read · Updated
- Creative and copyAI UGC ads: what works and what to avoidHow ecommerce founders can use AI for UGC-style video ads responsibly: scripts, briefs, real creators, disclosure and the risks of synthetic testimonials.8 min read · Updated
- AI adsBest AI ad generators: how to compare themA fair, criteria-led way to compare AI ad generators, with factual notes on AdCreative.ai, Canva, Adobe Express and Madly. Editorial criteria only.8 min read · Updated
- Ad economicsBreak-even ROAS explained with examplesBreak-even ROAS is the return you need to cover costs and ad spend. See the formula, examples with fees and returns, and how to use it as a target.8 min read · Updated
- Getting startedChoose a Meta campaign objective that matches the business resultA practical decision guide to Meta's six campaign objectives, the outcome each optimises towards and how a founder should choose an objective without confusing activity with impact.3 min read · Updated
- MeasurementConnect Shopify to Meta: pixel, Conversions API and a proper testA founder's guide to connecting Shopify's Facebook and Instagram by Meta channel, choosing data sharing, avoiding duplicate tracking and checking real store events.3 min read · Updated
- Ad economicsCPA vs CAC: the difference and why it mattersCPA is the ad cost per conversion; CAC is the full cost of acquiring a customer. Learn how they differ, with examples, and which to use for decisions.7 min read · Updated
- Ad economicsDaily vs lifetime budgets: choose the right spending controlA practical guide to choosing between a daily average and a fixed total budget for Meta ads, with guardrails for new founders.4 min read · Updated
- Creative and copyUK finance product ads: a product-specific claim-review checklistA UK, product-specific review record for financial promotions; specialist review is required.2 min read · Updated
- Budgets & deliveryHow founders should interpret ad CTRLearn what click-through rate measures, why CTR variants matter, and how to use the metric as a diagnostic rather than a sales verdict.3 min read · Updated
- Creative testingHow to A/B test ads without wasting budgetA practical guide to A/B testing ads on a small budget: one variable, sample size cautions, pre-set rules, reading results and avoiding common errors.8 min read · Updated
- Ad economicsHow to allocate an ad-testing budgetA founder-friendly process for dividing limited paid-social spend across hypotheses without mistaking a small test for certainty.4 min read · Updated
- Creative testingHow to design useful ad variants for a testCreate creative variants that answer different buyer questions while keeping the comparison interpretable.1 min read · Updated
- Creative and copyHow to match an ad to its landing pageAudit the hand-off from ad promise to page content so visitors find the product, offer and detail they clicked for.2 min read · Updated
- Creative and copyHow to plan ad sizes across major platformsBuild a format matrix for Meta, Google and TikTok without relying on a stale universal ad-size cheat sheet.2 min read · Updated
- Creative and copyHow to research buyer language for adsA practical way to collect customer language, separate observation from assumption and turn recurring questions into ad ideas.2 min read · Updated
- Creative and copyHow to structure a Meta ad from message to destinationDraft a Meta ad with one visual proposition, supporting copy and a destination that answers the same shopper question.2 min read · Updated
- Creative and copyHow to turn reviews into ad angles without inventing quotesUse customer reviews to discover buying questions while keeping endorsements accurate, permissioned and substantiated.2 min read · Updated
- Creative and copyHow to write a clear ad call to actionChoose calls to action that set accurate expectations about the next page rather than relying on vague urgency.2 min read · Updated
- Creative and copyHow to write the first three seconds of an adBuild opening frames that identify the product and the useful point quickly, then test hooks without making unsupported promises.2 min read · Updated
- Ad economicsInterpret ROAS without mistaking it for profitUnderstand the ratio, its attribution boundaries and the margin context needed to use it.3 min read · Updated
- Ad economicsLTV to CAC ratio for ecommerceHow to calculate customer lifetime value, compare it with acquisition cost, and use the LTV to CAC ratio carefully, with margin-based examples.8 min read · Updated
- Ad economicsMER vs ROAS: which should you trust?MER divides total revenue by total marketing spend; ROAS credits revenue to ads. See how they differ, how to use both, and what each hides.8 min read · Updated
- Creative and copyMeta ad sizes and specs: how to check themHow to find and apply current Meta ad sizes, ratios, safe zones and text limits, with a workflow, a pre-flight checklist and a last-checked date.8 min read · Updated
- Creative and copyMeta Feed versus Stories: how to adapt creativeAdapt a single product message for Feed and Stories without letting cropping or interface elements hide what matters.2 min read · Updated
- Ad economicsPlan a first-month Meta ads budget you can afford to learn withA founder-focused method to set a capped first-month media budget, translate business economics into a decision limit and pace a small, interpretable test.4 min read · Updated
- Ad economicsRead CPA against contribution margin, not wishful revenueA practical way to compare acquisition cost with the money each order can actually contribute.3 min read · Updated
- Getting startedSet up Meta Ads Manager without losing control of your accountA practical first-time setup guide for founders connecting their business, advertising assets, access, payment and campaign workflow in Meta Ads Manager.3 min read · Updated
- Creative and copySkincare before-and-after ads: what to reviewA cautious review process for skincare transformations, image editing and implied efficacy claims in UK ads.2 min read · Updated
- Creative and copySupplement ad claims: a cautious creative checklistUnderstand why supplement copy and testimonials need claim-by-claim review before a UK campaign is published.2 min read · Updated
- Budgets & deliveryThe Meta learning phase and approximately 50 optimisation eventsUnderstand what Meta’s learning phase means, why the often-quoted 50-event guide is approximate, and how to respond without over-editing.4 min read · Updated
- Creative and copyTikTok ad specs: what we checked and what to verifyHow to find official TikTok ad specs, design for the interface and plan creative, plus what this page deliberately does not claim.7 min read · Updated
- Creative and copyUGC or static ads: which should you make?Choose between creator-led video and still-image creative according to the question the ad must answer and the evidence you can show.2 min read · Updated
- Budgets & deliveryUnderstand CPC and CPM without losing sight of salesA plain-English guide to cost per click and cost per thousand impressions, the relationship between them, and the limits of each metric.4 min read · Updated
- MeasurementUTM parameters for Meta, Google and TikTok adsHow to use UTM parameters on Meta, Google and TikTok ads: the five fields, naming conventions, examples, common errors and what UTMs cannot tell you.8 min read · Updated
- MeasurementUTM tracking for ads: a naming system you can trustTag paid links consistently so analytics reports can organise visits by source, medium and campaign.3 min read · Updated
- Ad economicsWhat is a good ROAS for ecommerce?There is no universal good ROAS. Use this method to find yours from margins, returns and goals, then compare campaigns fairly without borrowed benchmarks.7 min read · Updated
- Ad economicsWhat is ROAS and how to calculate itROAS is revenue divided by ad spend. Learn the formula, worked examples, what it leaves out, and how to turn it into a profit decision.8 min read · Updated
- Creative testingWhen to pause or scale an ad testSet decision rules before launch, protect the learning you have bought and change budget deliberately.4 min read · Updated
- Creative and copyWrite your first paid-social creative briefA practical brief-writing method for founders who need a clear, testable first Meta ad concept before asking a team member, freelancer or studio to make assets.4 min read · Updated
From reading to making
Make the next idea count.
Bring your product and your context. Explore a direction, then decide what belongs in the final ad.