In today’s newsletter, we’re going to turn our attention back to YouTube ads and how to make them work for e-commerce brands.

Before continuing, make sure to check out a case study I put together on an eight figure brand using “mini-VSLs” to scale with YouTube ads.

What’s Working with YouTube Ads Right Now

The top performing ads on YouTube all contain the following elements:

1. Actor voiceover or speaking directly to the camera

2. A mix of UGC focusing on product demonstration showing the benefits of the products

3. Heavy testing of the first five seconds of each ad with strong direct response copy and attention-catching visuals

Nearly every ad that racks up millions of views on YouTube has a combination of UGC product demonstrations and a strong script that relies on direct response copy.

For example, this ad for a common household item has received 2.6 million views in the past five months, which indicates an ad spend of about $130,000.

What sets this ad apart is its rapid montage of the different use cases (cleaning appliances, cars, blowing leaves, etc.) while the voiceover focuses on the benefits and discusses its unique features.

Overall, the visuals play the most important role as the multifunctionality of the product is what drives the sales.

On the other hand, another ad has scaled up to 6.2 million views in just four months using a story-based mini video sales letter.

It starts with a common hook (“[__] don’t want you know about this”), which is a traditional direct response tactic that incorporates the conspiracy and “anti-big corporation/government” angle.

The ad positions the product as a newsworthy innovation and discusses the story behind its creation by the founders.

By using simple B-roll and a solid direct response script, this ad has been able to scale a generic product to multiple seven figures in sales.

Another key element in all this is the landing page. Advertorials are quite effective for YouTube traffic.

For the second ad I referenced above, the landing page is this news article advertorial.

YouTube ads aren’t for the feint of heart. They require strong direct response marketing skills, which are outside the range of most DTC marketers.

Because when you combine YouTube ads with a strong brand identity and direct response marketing, you get something like the eight figure brand we’re going to discuss next.

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How a Makeup Brand has Effectively Used YouTube Ads

Fiera Cosmetics is a makeup brand targeting women over the age of 40. This is a very lucrative market as another marketer has demonstrated before.

Using UGC with before and after demonstrations and storytelling, ads like this (2.4 million views) and this ( 3.3 million views) have been backed by multiple 6 figures of ad spend in just four months.

The first ad starts off with a before and after hook in the first 10 seconds while the second ad starts off with a bold, informative hook (“2 makeup looks you’re too old for”), but both then transition to similar body.

Going through these ads and the rest Fiera has launched, you can see their process of iterating on a variety of hooks and angles in real time.

The angle that has worked best is visual and powerful: traditional liquid concealers don’t work for mature skin.

By showing how poor traditional liquid concealers work for women over 40, discussing the ingredients, and providing social proof, these ads establish a unique position in the market.

The landing page for these YouTube ads is a quiz funnel. By collecting information relevant to providing guidance on the right makeup to choose followed by the website visitor’s email, Fiera’s quiz funnel is effective because it not only engages the user with personalized content but also strategically builds the email list. This targeted approach allows Fiera to follow up with tailored marketing emails, thereby increasing the likelihood of conversions.

Another landing page that Fiera uses is this advertorial. Congruence between the ad and landing page is key, so the angle for this advertorial is suitable for those ads that align with the angle (warning signs to switch to cream makeup).

Again, you can see the role direct response copy and and the funnel structure play in making this a profitable funnel with YouTube ads.

The key takeaway from all of this?

I posted this a little while back:

So if you’re looking to make YouTube ads work for your business, make sure your copy and funnel structure are on point.

It also doesn’t hurt to learn how to write a high converting advertorial…

I’ll be back with more retention analysis and Meta ads breakdowns for you next week.

Talk soon,

Sharad

@pmktg00

Next Steps

If you own or operate an e-commerce brand generating at least $1,000,000 in annual revenue, feel free to book a call with me to discuss how we can improve your ad creatives, landing pages, and email/SMS marketing strategy.

To further enhance your e-commerce and marketing skills, you may be interested in signing up for one of the options below:

1. Learn branded direct response copywriting and how to create high converting cold traffic funnels here.

2. Learn how to write advertorials here.

Sponsorship Opportunities

This newsletter is growing rapidly, and at the current rate, we should hit 50,000 subscribers by the end of the year. I’m looking for sponsors who want to reach a highly engaged audience (over 50% open rate and 9% click rate) consisting of owners and operators of 8 figure brands, agency owners, and other marketers. For more information and detailed newsletter metrics, feel free to reach out to me by replying back to this email.