📦 - Is WordArt the Best Art???

Scrappy Creative, Non-Skippable Ads, Zero-Party Data, Podcast Intros, Meta Q3 Friday, October 27, 2023 In this newsletter, you’ll find: - 📦 Scrappy creative is good creative - 📦 You only have 5 minutes to hook your podcast listeners. Are you maximizing your potential? - 📦 YouTube changes channel owner ad placement controls Let’s dive in: 👇 META 🚀 Let Us Help You Get The Most Out of Meta Ads in 2023 (And Beyond) 2023 has been a challenging year for a lot of brands and marketers. The growth that came easy during the last three years has been a struggle for many, especially on Meta Ads, where iOS14.5 changed the game… That’s why we rebuilt and 2023-ified our Meta Ads Scale School — a [step-by-step guide to the same media buying strategies](used to generate $500M in value for Pilothouse clients. We collaborated with Pilothouse’s Meta Ads team leads to bring you: - The foundations of Meta Ads; - How to build a successful content strategy; - The Pilothouse method to media buying; - Methods of using landing pages and CRO to boost CVR, and; - Strategies for scaling your ad campaigns. We’re so confident in the value of this course that we’re offering it to you, our DTC readers, for 75% off until October 31st. No matter where you are on your Meta Ads journey, Scale School has something for you. 🚨 Don’t miss your chance. There’s only 5 days left to [join DTC’s Meta Ads Scale School for 75% off](. CREATIVE 🧑 🍳 Let Them Cook Is WordArt truly the forgotten art of graphic design? 😂 Not every ad image in your account needs to be perfectly polished, scrappy creatives like this one certainly catch the eye and send a very clear message. YOUTUBE 📹 Times They Are A-Changin’ (On YouTube) This just in from the [Pilothouse Google team](: YouTube channel owners will no longer have control over the types of ads shown in their videos. 👀 What does this mean? Check this out 👇 Historically, YouTube gave owners some control over: - The types of ads - The location of the ads Additionally, YouTube has always strongly suggested to creators that they allow: - Non-skippable ads - Mid-roll ads These suggestions were made because more non-skippable ads means more revenue for YouTube in the form of ‘cost per view’ paid by advertisers. The inevitable increased prevalence of non-skippable ads leaves viewers with two options: (1) watch the whole ad, (2) navigate away from the YouTube video they’re watching. If you’re thinking, ‘I don’t have a YouTube channel, why should I care?...’ This update could mean changes for two important advertiser metrics. 1️⃣ Cost per view Cost per view (CPV) for non-skippable ads will likely decrease due to the increase in available placements. 2️⃣ Engagement rates Chances are, if people are drawn into a video, they’re now more likely to watch the entire ad in a non-skippable mid-roll placement to finish watching their video. What does this mean, and what should your next steps be? These changes mean new opportunities for advertisers! Because we know that (a) engagement rates for non-skippable ads are likely to increase and (b) CPVs will likely decrease, you have the opportunity to start testing non-skippable ads to your remarketing audiences. Remember, your remarketing audiences have the highest chances of conversions, and Q4 is the highest converting time of the year… Get testing those non-skippable ads! ZERO-PARTY DATA 🤔 The holidays are coming... is your store ready?* Brands collect nearly 5X more customer data during the holidays than at any other time. Capitalize on BFCM traffic using [Shopify's most popular survey tool](, Zigpoll, to collect customer feedback that will inform your planning and drive your revenue for the year ahead. Use Zigpoll to: - Run post-purchase surveys to understand attribution - Generate AI insights to learn how you can quickly increase revenue - Segment Klaviyo audiences to optimize marketing campaigns - Understand customer preferences and optimize forecasting Use the code GwT8z5FCQ for 50% off any plan (yes, you heard that right!) [Get Started Here]( PODCAST 🎙️ The Secret to Podcast Growth: Hook Your Audience in the First 5 Minutes Did you know there are over [5 million]( podcasts globally with a cumulative 70 million episodes between them? If listeners aren’t keen from the very beginning, chances are they’ll simply find another. 🤷 That’s why your podcast intro really matters — especially when capturing new listeners. An intro that hooks an audience can mean the difference between growing exponentially or getting lost among the millions (literally!) of other podcasts. 😥 But good podcast intros can be a science, an art… or a little bit of both. 🎨🧪 There’s an infinite spectrum of intros — from the “rolling start” Joe Rogan Experience to the super-polished NPR news show. All of them can work! Your job is to craft the best podcast intro for *your* unique show and listenership. In this post, you’ll learn: - Podcast intro basics and best practices - The science of a good intro with real-life examples - And when it can work to break all the rules and take a more “artistic” approach Your podcast intro should give your listeners enough reason to stick around – in 5 minutes or less. [Click here to learn the science behind hooking your audience with your intro – and when to break all the rules with a more “artistic” approach](. META 📈 Think Facebook is Just For Boomers? Think Again In Q3 2023, Meta reported significant growth, adding 19 million users to Facebook, reaching a total of 3.049 billion. Most of this growth was from the Asia Pacific region, specifically India and Indonesia. However, North America saw modest growth, and Europe experienced a decline. The company's emphasis on AI-driven content recommendations, notably through Reels, led to a 31% year-over-year increase in ad impressions. Financially, Meta's Q3 was stellar, recording a revenue of $34.15 billion, a 23% growth from the previous year, surpassing its Q4 2021 results. [Click here to read more about Meta’s Q3 results.]( SPONSOR DTC 📥 Promote your product to 160,000 digital marketing professionals DTC Newsletter + Podcast reaches a highly qualified audience of Shopify merchants, eCommerce founders, and digital marketers. [Talk to our team to learn more](. ⚡ QUICK HITS 🎵 [TikTok in the Mix is a live music event hosted by TikTok]( to showcase the biggest music trends on the platform. Performers include Cardi B, Niall Horan, Anitta, and Charlie Puth live in Arizona on December 10th, 2023. 🧵 [Polls and gifs are coming to Threads]( as per a confirmation post by Mark Zuckerberg. The format will be accessible through an icon that taps into Giphy’s database. 🤖 OpenAI forms team to study [‘catastrophic’ AI risks](, including nuclear threats. 📺 [Amazon Prime]( video ad package receives advertiser pushback. 👀 BANTER Anyone else?? 👀 Have you heard our latest podcasts? - 🌧️ [Owning the Weather and Scaling Through Nine Figures]( - Vessi's Tony Yu and Mikaella Go - 🚗 [AKNF 346](: Maximize Your Road to Q4 - 💋 [Form, Function, and Fragrance](: Cosmetic Industry Vet Sherry Jharwar on her Beautiful Journey in DTC - 👀 [AKNF 344](: Is Amazon Anti-Consumer? - 💤 [Pillows, Sleep, and the Journey of a DTC Founder]( - Larissa Hildebrandt and Henrie.com - 🚀 [AKNF Archive](: Rux Rockets to Meta Ads ROAS with the Pilot Test Don’t forget to [rate the DTC Podcast]( on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) Got an awesome DTC brand story to tell? Calling all brand-side founders and team leaders! Fancy joining us on the DTC Podcast as a guest? [Tap the link to toss in your application](. DTC Newsletter is written by [Rebecca Knight](, [Kelsey Hess](, and [Michael Venditti](. Edited by [Claire Beveridge]( and [Eric Dyck](. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. NEED MORE DTC? 🚀 [Advertise]( in DTC Newsletter. Please note that items in this newsletter marked with * contain sponsored content. [Direct To Consumer]( Pilothouse, 1011 Government St., Victoria, BC V8W 1X6, Canada [Advertise with DTC]( | [Work With Pilothouse]( [Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe](