Sponsored by

$3.5 million spent on YouTube ads over the course of a year.

At least 800 ads tested during that time.

6 ads with at least $100,000 of spend.

One scalable winning ad with $1.3 million of spend behind it.

That’s what it took for one brand in 2023 to grow to multiple seven figures of revenue from YouTube ads alone (not to mention the multiple eight figures of revenue it generates overall from Meta ads).

In today’s newsletter, we’ll dissect the strategy behind creative testing and how to find your next winning ad that can withstand seven figures of ad spend or more.

Importantly, what you’re about to learn can be applied to not only YouTube ads but also Meta ads.

In fact, the analysis I’m about to share will be split into two parts. In today’s newsletter, we’ll look at the YouTube ads funnel, and in the next edition, we’ll examine the Meta ads strategy.

Let’s dive in.

How a Fire Safety Brand Generates Multiple Seven Figures in Sales with “Mini-VSLs”

Launched in 2019, Prepared Hero sells fire protection products to help customers avoid in-home emergencies.

Prepared Hero’s most popular product that is running on the front end is the emergency fire blanket, which is priced at $29.99 per unit but is offered in bundles of up to 12 packs. With the four pack priced at $79.98 and anchored as the most popular choice, it’s easy to see how the average order value is easily well over $50.

According to VidTao, a spy tool I recommend for any brand owners looking to succeed with YouTube ads, Prepared Hero has spent $3,459,356 to date in the past year.

You can view all of their ads here after creating an account.

Nearly all of its 800 YouTube ads were launched in 2023, meaning that the brand has relentlessly tested a variety of hooks and angles to find its winning ads, one of which accounts for over $1.3 million of ad spend and has garnered over 19 million views to date since August of last year.

All of the YouTube ads clock in between two to three minutes and incorporate user generated content with firefighters, the customer avatar, and b-roll to create what I like to call mini-video sales letters (VSL).

This is the secret to Prepared Hero’s success.

Note that Prepared Hero is already in an important niche that evokes fear and drives action to ensure protection and home safety.

This makes Prepared Hero a natural fit for what I call branded direct response, the combination of brand building and direct response marketing that allows a business to build a long-term relationship with customers while prioritizing immediate action and measurable results that often lead to first order profitability, a rarity in today’s challenging e-commerce environment.

As you’ll see, Prepared Hero’s best ads focus on one main idea: the emergency fire blanket can save lives from deadly kitchen fires that are preventable.

A mini-VSL is the perfect medium for utilizing this branded direct response approach. Here’s how.

How Mini-VSLs are Used to Create Winning Ads

Let’s break down how a mini-VSL works after which we’ll apply the framework to Prepared Hero’s top ad.

A mini VSL is a condensed version of a traditional VSL lasting between two and 10 minutes that is designed to quickly capture the audience’s attention and persuade them to make a purchase.

Here’s the typical framework for a mini-VSL and how it applies to Prepared Hero’s ads:

Attention-Grabbing Introduction: Open with a hook that grabs the viewer's attention within the first few seconds. This could be a startling fact, a question, or a compelling statement related to the product or problem it solves.

Application: Prepared Hero’s top ad begins with a montage of startling UGC: fires in homes being exacerbated by using water. Instead of being put out, the fires burn with more intensity. A nightmare scenario. Notice how the opening of the ad fits in seamlessly on YouTube like a viral video that would be posted organically; it doesn’t feel like an ad.

Identify the Problem: Clearly articulate the problem or pain point that your product or service addresses. Make sure the viewer can relate to the issue being discussed.

Application: In this case, the visuals alone identify the problem without any text or voiceover.

Agitation: Agitate the problem by emphasizing its consequences or the challenges it presents. This helps to heighten the viewer's emotional engagement and desire for a solution.

Application: The ad agitates the audience’s pain and fear through the following quotes from the firefighter spokespeople:

"If it hadn't been for one simple safety item, this could have been a family tragedy" - Evokes fear and curiosity at the same time.

"House fires occur in this country every 87 seconds" - Provokes a sense of frequent danger with the use of statistics to boost credibility.

"Nearly 3,000 people lose their lives" - Another use of shocking statistics to further agitate the urgency of dealing with the problem.

“The number one place they start is right here in the kitchen” - Increases the stakes by showing how close to danger the audience potentially is.

Introduce the Solution: Present your product or service as the solution to the problem identified. Highlight its key benefits and how it can alleviate the pain points experienced by the viewer.

Application: After spending about 60 seconds hooking and agitating the audience, the solution is introduced: “the one essential item…that can be the difference between avoiding tragedy”

How it Works: After presenting the problem and introducing your solution, seamlessly transition into explaining how your product or service works. Emphasize the key features or components of your product or service that enable it to deliver results. Clearly articulate how these features address the problem identified earlier.

Application: The ad shows how simple it is to use the Emergency Fire Blanket with clear demonstrations and articulates the benefits and key features.

Social Proof: Incorporate testimonials, case studies, or user reviews to demonstrate the effectiveness and credibility of your product. This helps build trust and confidence in your offering.

Application: The ad doesn’t spend much time on social proof, which is implied through the UGC montage in the beginning and the firefighters speaking on camera. The ad makes a quick reference to the fact that “You need something that’s recommended by firefighters across the country that is safe and works every time.”

Call to Action (CTA): Clearly instruct the viewer on what action to take next. Make the CTA compelling and urgent to prompt immediate action.

Application: The ad directly encourages viewers to click the link below. Urgency and scarcity are introduced by asking viewers to “check availability” and noting that bundle discounts are available for a limited time only

Why Didn’t the Other Hundreds of Ads Work?

As you many have noticed from the naming structure of the ads, Prepared Hero has been testing a variety of different hooks while keeping the body of the ad the same in addition to testing out numerous different angles.

This indicates a robust ad creative process and testing strategy. I want to note that it’s important not to get emotionally attached to the ads you create.

When you view the failed ads (like this one), you notice many of them are similar to the winning ads. So why didn’t they work?

Sometimes it’s hard to pinpoint specifics. All you can do is continue to test and iterate based on your winning ads.

One important note I want to make is that all the winning ads focus on evoking fear and urgency without deviating and mentioning less relevant facts.

On the other hand, many of the failed ads deviate from the fear and immediate benefits of the fire blanket by focusing on the fact that most people don’t have a fire escape plan or by failing to use firefighter spokespeople to convey authority and credibility.

This shows how important choosing the right UGC creators for your ads is. Some may resonate with your audience with their authenticity and relatability. Others may not.

The only solution is to keep testing, which brings me to this edition’s sponsor:

Send products to Influencers and 5X revenue!

Drive traffic to your Amazon store with influencer partnerships and 5X revenue. Boost your sales with our unique approach to influencers and UGC. Carefully selected micro influencers purchase your product and get reimbursed for their expenses only if they complete a social promotion.

See how brands like Unilever and Magic Spoon have been able to 5X revenue in 2 months and decrease ad costs using Stack Influence.

As we wrap up the analysis of Prepared Hero’s YouTube ads funnel, we have to take a quick look at their landing pages.

The Importance of Landing Pages

Prepared Hero’s YouTube ads are directed to short sales pages like these. Because the mini-VSL does most of the selling, Prepared Hero can utilize streamlined sales pages that highlight the key benefits and features while adding elements of social proof and credibility.

With the addition of a short FAQ section and a 30 day money back guarantee, this sales page has all the basic elements needed for a high conversion rate.

Multiple CTAs, including a sticky one, ensure a high click-through rate to checkout.

The checkout page itself anchors the four pack bundle, ensuring a higher average order value.

What’s Next?

In the next newsletter edition, we’ll take a look at Prepared Hero’s Meta ads funnel and contrast it with its YouTube ads funnel.

Talk soon,

Sharad

@pmktg00

P.S. 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 creative or 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. If you’d like to learn the marketing strategies we use at Hidden Tempo to work with prominent clients and drive results for them, check out the AI Powered Marketer.

2. If you’d like to learn how to write high converting advertorials, check this out.