🚀 Unveiling the 20% Conversion Boost: Join AI, Video Tactics & ToFu Mastery!

Your Blueprint for Marketing Supremacy!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Hello, marketing wizards!! In the dynamic realm of digital marketing, staying ahead of the curve is not just a strategy—it's a survival skill. That's why, in this edition of Inceptly's newsletter, we've blended cutting-edge AI with time-tested marketing principles to brew a potion so potent even the most seasoned marketing wizards will be reaching for their notepads! Are you ready to unveil the magic? Here's what we're serving up today: 🚀 Inceptly’s Secret Sauce: Discover how we leverage the power of AI to turbocharge brand growth and why it’s a game-changer in the realm of scaling. 📏 Aspect Ratio Alchemy: Is there really a formula for a 20% conversion rate boost? We delve into this pixel-perfect trick that might be your golden ticket. 🎥 Mastering Video Conversions: From YouTube to TikTok, get your director's hat on. We’ll guide you through edits that can send your conversion rates soaring to stratospheric levels. 🎯 ToFu PMax Mastery: Don't let your top-of-funnel campaigns be just starters. Learn to create killer ToFu PMax campaigns and leave your competitors in the digital dust in just four steps. So, whether you're looking to sprinkle some AI magic, craft compelling videos, or design dominating campaigns, this newsletter is your cauldron of coveted secrets. Get ready to concoct some next-level strategies 👇 Holly Preston, Inceptly’s Lead Copywriter, brings you the first bite of Inceptly’s AI breakdown. 🤖 Unless you’ve been chilling on some remote island with no internet… You’ve probably realized we’re smack dab in the middle of an AI fiesta. At Inceptly, we’re leveraging AI across all marketing domains to accelerate research, idea generation, and testing like never before. This means we’re able to scale brands more quickly than ever before, and we’d love to share our experience with you. So here we are—your guide to keeping up with the AI Joneses. Expect news, tools, and practical hacks to bolster your marketing arsenal.🥷 And here’s what’s on the menu today: - Our Chat GPT Marketing Tips 🤖 - Steal My Prompt 🦾 - Copywriting Corner ✍️: Meet the Perfect AI Co-Pilots for Crafting Kick-Ass Copy Without further ado, let’s delve into the tool everyone’s talking about: ChatGPT. Our Chat GPT Marketing Tips 🤖 👉 1. Ask it to analyze your work: Whether it’s an email, tweet, or blog post, simply paste your text into ChatGPT and ask for its insights. The AI will read your work, get a sense of your message, and offer constructive feedback line by line. 👉 2. The second trick? Ask ChatGPT to score your work out of 10: Be prepared - it doesn’t mince words, and you might need to defend your style, especially if it’s offbeat or unconventional. But, it’s a great way to get unbiased feedback on your writing’s clarity, engagement, language usage, and relevance. So, that’s a couple of ways ChatGPT can boost your copy. 🧪 Now, let’s talk about prompts. In short, the better your prompt, the better the AI’s response. It’s the only way to really maximize Chat’s potential, and it’s notoriously hard to get right. So, we want to share some go-to prompts that save us time and amp up our marketing game. Steal My Prompt 🦾 Here’s one we got for you today: Generate [number] TikTok content ideas that leverage current trends and showcase our client’s brand personality in a fun, engaging manner. Context: Target audience: [your target audience here, e.g. “Young parents aged 25-35″] Client’s brand personality: [your client’s brand personality here, e.g. “Eco-friendly, modern, and playful”] TikTok goals: [your TikTok goals here, e.g. “Increase brand awareness and drive website traffic”] Inspiration: [TikTok inspiration 1] [TikTok inspiration 2] [TikTok inspiration 3] For example: “A fun, quirky dance challenge where participants use reusable items in unique ways.” “Short tutorials showing eco-friendly hacks for home.” “Heartwarming clips of parents and kids having playful, sustainable fun.” Formatting guidelines: [your formatting guidelines here] For example: “Videos should be between 15 to 30 seconds long.” “Use the brand colors (green and beige) prominently.” “Include the brand logo subtly in the bottom right corner.” ☝️ Like it? What prompts would you find helpful? Let us know by replying to this email or tagging us on [LinkedIn]( or [Instagram](, and we’ll pick one at random to feature in one of our next posts! Copywriting Corner ✍️: Meet the Perfect AI Co-Pilots for Crafting Kick-Ass Copy Here are some AI tools our team finds super helpful: ✍️ #1: [Chatsonic]( – Your AI chatbot sidekick 🤖 Meet the crème de la crème of the AI chatbot univers! This versatile tool is here to rescue you from writer’s block and help you find the perfect words to express your ideas. From crafting captivating Facebook ad copy to devising top-notch digital marketing strategies, Writesonic has got your back. It can even generate AI images and provide human-like customer service responses. 💬 #2: [ClosersCopy]( – A copywriting game-changer 🚀 An incredible AI copywriting tool that empowers marketers to create SEO-optimized content leveraging proven copy secrets effortlessly. It offers customizable frameworks and continuous updates, ensuring marketing success and helping you drive sales to new heights. ✨ #3: [Shortly]( – Boost your writing productivity & creativity🖊️ Make writer’s block a thing of the past! At the click of a button, Shortly can continue writing for you, help you get your thoughts on paper, and more. That’s it for now, folks! Until we meet again, Holly Holly Preston, Lead Copywriter Holly is behind most of Inceptly's successful creatives, supporting the team with her experience and imagination, making her an invaluable asset to Inceptly. - This newsletter is brought to you by - Inceptly: the performance video ad team behind $950M+ in direct response revenue Inceptly High-Performance YouTube Advertising Agency Inceptly builds YouTube ad creatives & manages over $5M/month in YouTube ad spend for companies like ClickFunnels, Descript, MindValley, Advanced Bionaturals, Organifi, and many more. [Find out more at Inceptly.com]( Are you spending over $1K/day on ads and looking to scale your business with YouTube ads? Schedule your free performance ad brainstorming call here: [👉 Book a call]( If you’re reading this, you probably already know that video ads have become a dominant force in the world of digital advertising. They consistently outperform static image ads in terms of engagement and conversion rates. So it’s no wonder they account for more than one-third of total social network ad spending. Today, we're excited to share with you some tricks and techniques that will supercharge your video marketing strategy: 1) 💸 20% Conversion Rate Boost from This Aspect Ratio Trick? 2) 🎞️ How to Edit Videos for Skyrocketing Conversions on YouTube, TikTok, and More 🤓 Curious? Keep reading… First up is Mirna Peric, Inceplty’s Lead Media Buyer. With years of experience and millions of dollars in revenue-generating ad spend, she is sharing some of the CR boosting strategies our team has been testing over the last 3-4 months—and seeing great results (we’re talking up to 10-20% higher conversion rate)! So, without further ado, let’s dive right in…👇 A savvy Media Buyer is constantly on the lookout for opportunities to bump up the CR, and using this aspect ratio trick is a no-brainer (photo by Campaign Creators on Unsplash) Are You Overlooking Aspect Ratios in Your Campaigns? 🤔 With more than 50-60% of paid traffic coming from mobile devices in 2023, your best bet for engaging YouTube viewers on mobile devices is to run campaigns with creatives in horizontal, square, and vertical formats. The Benefits Speak for Themselves Implementing a multi-aspect ratio strategy for video ads brings several benefits that can significantly impact campaign performance. Here’s what we’ve seen first-hand: 📈 Increased Conversions Campaigns that incorporate all three aspect ratios of the same ad achieve 10-20% more conversions. By diversifying the creative assets, advertisers can reach a wider audience and improve overall campaign performance. 📱Optimized Mobile Experience With the majority of users accessing various platforms on mobile devices, it’s crucial to optimize video ads for the portrait mode. Vertical videos, in particular, provide a larger canvas to deliver product messages and offers, resulting in improved conversion rates. 🤳 Wider Creative Asset Variety Embracing different aspect ratios provides advertisers with a more diverse range of creatives. This variety allows for greater flexibility in getting the brand message across and capturing the viewer’s attention. 🤑 Improved In-Feed Results Google recommends using both horizontal and square videos for in-feed placements, making a multi-aspect ratio strategy a must for ensuring that your in-feed ads truly deliver. While we’re on the subject, you might ask why do you want to run in-feed ads in the first place. Let me tell you: - Increased engagement: In-feed ads are designed to mimic the look and feel of the content surrounding them, making them more likely to capture users’ attention and encourage interaction. - Cheaper traffic: a no-brainer for anyone trying to get the most out of their advertising budget. - Lower ad fatigue: Since in-feed ads match the form and function of the platform they appear on, this leads to a more natural and less intrusive advertising experience. In addition to higher user engagement, this promotes lower ad fatigue. Hopefully, by this point, you can see that not producing creatives in a variety of aspect ratios will be detrimental to your campaigns. Now, let’s move on to the nitty-gritty of it all. There are two ways to go about it. The choice is yours (photo by Rosie Steggles on Unsplash) Multi-Aspect Ratio Campaigns: Which Path to Choose? While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to implementing a multi-aspect ratio strategy, here are some ways you can go about it: Option 1️⃣: Multiple Creatives, Same Ad Group One approach that we found particularly effective is to upload the same ad or ad with the same messaging in all three aspect ratios (horizontal, vertical, and square) and run them as part of one campaign (or, more specifically, the same ad group). This allows for comprehensive coverage across different platforms and placements, ensuring maximum reach and engagement, not to mention the best possible in-feed exposure. Option 2️⃣: Let Google Handle It for You Google recently introduced a Video Enhancement tool (currently only available in beta). Its purpose is to automate the process of adapting video ads to different aspect ratios using AI. By enabling this tool, advertisers can upload a single ad creative to their campaign and let Google handle the editing process, including cropping and adding call-to-action elements. The benefits of using this tool are obvious: not only are you saving yourself time, but also money and resources you would otherwise spend on producing creatives yourself. Moreover, Google states that if you have Video Enhancement enabled, their systems will only run the newly generated vertical and square ads if those ads are likely to improve your campaign performance. That all sounds amazing, but there’s a catch! Enabling Video Enhancement takes away the media buyer’s ability to view specific performance insights per each creative/aspect ratio, as all the data is bundled under the original ad you upload to the tool. Essentially, by using this tool, you are giving up your agency to optimize campaign performance. So if you prefer to have full control over your campaigns, we recommend creating ads in the different aspect ratios on your end and uploading them to your ad group yourself. Don’t miss out on easy tweaks that can bring you up to 20% more conversions (photo by [rupixen.com]( on Unsplash) TL;DR In our experience, optimizing video ads for multiple aspect ratios can increase conversion rates by 10-20% or more. Whether you choose to manually upload ads in different aspect ratios or utilize Google’s Video Enhancement tool, optimizing for aspect ratio is a proven way to boost conversions and get the most out of your ad spend. We’ve seen the conversion rate lift first-hand when testing campaigns featuring creatives with different aspect ratios versus a single aspect ratio. Don’t leave this quick win on the table. Incorporate aspect ratio optimization into your next video campaign and watch those conversion rates climb! So, take the leap and unlock the full potential of your video ads with a multi-aspect ratio strategy. Your brand will thank you for it! But wait, there’s more! 🎬 If you want to know how we manage to produce dozens of ad creative variations and seamlessly adjust video ads to various formats without compromising quality or message clarity, Marin Loncar, our Video Editing Whizz, will reveal his tips and trade tricks next. So keep reading to learn how to craft impeccable video ads tailored for every screen size and orientation. 👇 Stay curious, and see you soon! Mirna Mirna Peric, Lead Media Buyer Mirna is a top-notch Media Buyer with years of experience and millions of dollars in revenue-generating ad spend to prove it. Her insatiable curiosity combined with a strategic mindset helps her stay ahead of the game when scaling our clients' offers. - This newsletter is brought to you by - Inceptly: the performance video ad team behind $950M+ in direct response revenue Inceptly High-Performance YouTube Advertising Agency Inceptly builds YouTube ad creatives & manages over $5M/month in YouTube ad spend for companies like ClickFunnels, Descript, MindValley, Advanced Bionaturals, Organifi, and many more. [Find out more at Inceptly.com]( Are you spending over $1K/day on ads and looking to scale your business with YouTube ads? Schedule your free performance ad brainstorming call here: [👉 Book a call]( How to Edit Videos for Skyrocketing Conversions on YouTube, TikTok, and More? Now, when Mirna has revealed to you the benefits of using creatives in all three aspect ratios in your video campaigns, you might be curious about how to generate all those ad variations without spending too much time or effort on them. Well, you’re in luck! My name is Marin, and as a seasoned Video Editor, I am here to share some tips that will make your life easier and your video ad campaigns more effective. So let’s get started! Understanding Aspect Ratios First things first, let’s get the basics out of the way. “Aspect ratio” refers to the proportional relationship between the width and height of a video frame. It determines the shape of the video and plays a significant role in how it appears on various platforms. Common aspect ratios include 16:9 (horizontal), 1:1 (square), and 9:16 (vertical). Each aspect ratio has its own advantages and is best suited for specific platforms and viewing experiences. Using the correct aspect ratio for each platform/campaign is essential to ensure that your video ad appears as intended without distortion or cropping. When a video is not properly formatted, it can appear stretched, squeezed, or have letterboxes (black bars) on the sides. This can negatively impact the viewer’s experience and make your content less engaging. Being strategic about your editing is instrumental for creating aspect ratio variations with ease Best Practices for Creating Ad Variations Converting a video from one aspect ratio to another can be challenging, especially if you have many assets and need to make significant adjustments. Of course, you should be smart about utilizing any relevant features your editing software provides (like Smart Conform in Final Cut Pro or Auto Reframe in Premiere Pro). However, those don’t always do the trick. So here are the techniques and shortcuts our team at Inceptly uses to optimize video ads for various aspect ratios: 1️⃣ Shoot wide for the presenter or narrator footage When shooting footage that includes a presenter or narrator, it’s recommended to shoot it wider than necessary. This gives you more freedom when it comes to cropping your shot and allows you to have some extra space between the head and the top of the screen, ensuring that the video looks good when viewed on mobile devices. Note the wide angle of the shot above that leaves the Editor lots of options for reframing for different platforms 2️⃣ Start with a 16:9 horizontal video If you are creating videos in multiple formats, starting with a 16:9 horizontal video as the base is best. This video can then be repurposed for square and vertical formats by adding headline text at the top and bottom of the frame. This approach saves time and allows you to test different headline variations easily. An example of repurposing Another example 3️⃣ Choose wider compositions for stock footage When selecting stock footage for your video ad, opt for wider compositions. This will make adjusting the footage from horizontal to vertical and square formats easier. 🌟 Bonus tip: If you have no option but to repurpose a vertical video for a horizontal format, play around with the split screen approach and place a vertical video on one side while showcasing a product or using animated captions on the other side. Be creative with split-screen techniques 4️⃣ Use panning to showcase multiple subjects Static shots can be enhanced in vertical formats by panning across the scene. If you have a shot with multiple subjects, such as three people, you can pan the shot to show all three individuals or highlight different elements within the frame. This technique adds movement and visual interest to your video ad. See an example below. [YouTube video by VidTao]( inceptly blog post pan motion 5️⃣ Rotate templates and assets When working with templates and other assets across different formats, having them available in all aspect ratios is helpful. However, if you can’t find templates specifically designed for vertical or square formats, you can try rotating your horizontal template by 90 degrees. This allows you to utilize the entire template and create visually appealing videos across all formats. Rotating the template can save you loads of time in editing 6️⃣ Account for user interface overlays This might be obvious, but it still needs to be said: Remember that each platform has its own user interface overlays, such as comment buttons, like buttons, and share buttons (and those move around based on what device a viewer uses to consume content on said platform). It’s important to position key elements of the video, such as text animations, captions, and callouts, so they don’t clash with the app’s UI, preventing the user from completing the desired action and, thus, wasting your ad budget. Use the guidelines above to account for social media user interface overlay ([free download here]() By following the strategies mentioned above, you can ensure that your video ad looks great in every format and effectively communicates your message to your target audience, thus boosting your ad conversions by up to 20%. If you have any life hacks like that of your own, or if you would like to learn more about video editing geared for maximizing creative performance results from me and our team, let us know. Until next time, Marin Marin Lončar, Video Editor Quick, efficient, and focused, Marin is an editing whizz behind many of the videos that helped Inceptly bring $950+M in attributed revenue for clients. In addition to producing visually compelling ads that convert, he's a treasure trove of editing hacks. - This newsletter is brought to you by - Inceptly: the performance video ad team behind $950M+ in direct response revenue Inceptly High-Performance YouTube Advertising Agency Inceptly builds YouTube ad creatives & manages over $5M/month in YouTube ad spend for companies like ClickFunnels, Descript, MindValley, Advanced Bionaturals, Organifi, and many more. [Find out more at Inceptly.com]( Are you spending over $1K/day on ads and looking to scale your business with YouTube ads? Schedule your free performance ad brainstorming call here: [👉 Book a call]( How to Create Killer ToFu PMax Campaigns & Crush Your Competition in 4 Easy Steps With its massive user base and video-centric approach, YouTube provides a fertile ground for advertisers to showcase their products or services, offering opportunities to unlock massive scale. But there’s a catch: YouTube can be a tough nut to crack. No worries, though. My name is Bruno Vidić, and as Director of Media Buying at Inceptly, I have some tricks up my sleeve to help you get ahead of your competition and not break the bank. In this email, I will share the easy steps to set up killer PMax campaigns on YouTube that are geared specifically to drive conversions and maximize ROAS for ToFu (top-of-funnel). Understanding PMax Campaigns Before we dive into the specifics of the tactics I want to share with you today, it’s important to remember that [PMax (aka “performance maximization”) campaigns]( are designed for retargeting. While they excel at re-engaging existing customers, many media buyers struggle to set up PMax campaigns for top-of-funnel advertising, missing out on opportunities to leverage PMax for cold audience targeting on YouTube. But now, you can make that a thing of the past by following the 4 simple steps I will outline below. Step 1️⃣: Choose the Right Bidding Strategy The first step in setting up a high-converting PMax campaign optimized to serve as a cold campaign is selecting the appropriate bidding strategy. There are two main options to consider when setting up campaigns for ToFu traffic: Maximize Conversion Value bidding and target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) bidding. Both strategies have their merits, and the choice depends on your specific goals and preferences. Maximize Conversion Value is the best bidding strategy to start with ⤴️ Maximize Conversion Value Bidding This strategy is ideal if you want to focus on maximizing the total value of conversions generated by your campaign. It allows YouTube’s algorithm to optimize your bids to get the most value out of your ad spend. By selecting this option, you enable the customer acquisition feature, which is crucial for bidding only on new customers. It’s important to note that this feature only works with Maximize Conversion Value bidding, not with other bidding strategies like target CPA (Cost per Acquisition). 🎯 Target ROAS (tROAS) Bidding If your primary objective is to achieve a specific return on ad spend, target ROAS bidding is the way to go. This strategy allows you to set a desired ROAS percentage, and YouTube’s algorithm will adjust your bids accordingly to meet that goal. While Target ROAS bidding can be highly effective, I’d recommend that you start with Maximize Conversion Value bidding and switch to Target ROAS after collecting a sufficient number of conversions (around 30+). Step 2️⃣: Set Customer Acquisition to Bid Only for New Customers Since your goal is to convert cold traffic, you want to turn this feature on and ensure you are only targeting new customers with your PMax campaign. Note that this customer acquisition option will only work for tROAS or Maximize Conversion Value bidding campaigns (selecting other bidding options, like Target CPA or Maximized Conversion bidding, won’t work here). But since you chose one of the correct bidding two options in the previous step, you should be all set to proceed. Make sure to only bid for new customers Step 3️⃣: Upload Your Customer List (and Keep It Updated!) Once you have Customer acquisition set up, it’s time to move on to the next stage: uploading your customer list. This step is crucial if you want to utilize the customer acquisition feature and bid exclusively on new customers. By uploading your customer list, you provide Google with the necessary information to identify and exclude existing customers from your PMax campaign. Here's where you upload your customer lists It’s important to keep your customer list updated to ensure accurate targeting and avoid wasting ad spend on users who have already converted. Step 4️⃣: Exclude Brand Traffic To fully focus on ToFu advertising and avoid converting branding traffic, it’s essential to exclude brand-related keywords and placements from your PMax campaign. YouTube offers a powerful feature called Brand Exclusion, which allows advertisers to specify their brand name and related terms they don’t want their ads to appear for. By leveraging Brand Exclusion, you ensure that your ads are served to new potential customers who are not already familiar with your brand. Don't forget to exclude brand traffic Bonus Tips for New Accounts If you’re setting up a PMax campaign for a new account, there are a few additional tips that can help you optimize your campaign and get the best results: Exclude Mobile App Traffic Mobile app placements often have lower conversion rates than other placements. To ensure your ads are displayed only on high-converting placements, consider excluding mobile app traffic on the account level. You can do this through the settings in your Google Ads account. Exclude Display Traffic Similarly, excluding display traffic can help you focus your ad spend on placements that are more likely to drive conversions. By excluding display traffic, you can narrow down your targeting and increase the efficiency of your PMax campaign. Cheat exclusion code: googleadsense_without_[youtube.com]( Excluding display traffic will yield better results Start with a Small Budget When launching a new PMax campaign, it’s wise to start with a lower budget and gradually increase it as performance improves. This approach allows you to gather data, analyze the campaign’s effectiveness, and make informed decisions for scaling or optimizing. I recommend starting with $100/day (no matter the target CPA) and giving the campaign a minimum of 5 days to gather some data before making any optimization decisions. Be Patient PMax campaigns typically take some time to begin delivering conversions. It’s important to be patient and give your campaign at least 5-7 days (or 30+ conversions) before making any significant changes. The initial days may not yield the desired results, but with time and optimization, you can unlock the full potential of your PMax campaign. Watch Bruno walk you through his whole process in the video below 👇 [YouTube video by VidTao]( How to Create Killer TOFU PMax Campaigns and Crush Your Competition in 4 Easy Steps TL;DR Setting up killer PMax campaigns geared specifically towards converting cold traffic on YouTube requires a strategic approach and a deep understanding of media buying, but it can yield amazing results in terms of conversions and ROAS. By following the steps outlined in this email, you can leverage the power of PMax campaigns to their fullest. Remember to choose the right bidding strategy, keep your customer list up-to-date, and exclude brand traffic to focus on top-of-the-funnel advertising. Start with a small budget and a Maximize Conversion Value bidding strategy, and wait to collect 30+ conversions before switching to target ROAS bidding. Expect to see a drop in delivery once you switch to tROAS bidding, but don’t worry—the campaign should get on track within a matter of two days. If your PMax campaign is still struggling after switching to tROAS, don’t be afraid to lower your target ROAS or go back to the Maximize Conversion Value strategy if it works for you. So, go ahead, give these tips a go, and watch your PMax campaigns become a powerful tool not just for retargeting but for converting cold traffic for you. Cheers, Bruno Bruno Vidić, Director of Media Buying Having managed campaigns for some of our most well-known clients, Bruno has over $40M USD in profitable ad spend behind his belt. His experience and his insatiable drive to find better ways to get clients results that exceed expectations help him steer the Media Buying team at Inceptly and make him our go-to guy for Media Buying know-how. 💌 Like this newsletter? Let's continue the conversation! Get in touch with us by responding to this email or tagging us on [LinkedIn]( or [Instagram]( and sharing your thoughts. Your feedback helps us keep our newsletter relevant and interesting. - This newsletter is brought to you by - Inceptly: the performance video ad team behind $950M+ in direct response revenue Inceptly High-Performance YouTube Advertising Agency Inceptly builds YouTube ad creatives & manages over $5M/month in YouTube ad spend for companies like ClickFunnels, Descript, MindValley, Advanced Bionaturals, Organifi, and many more. [Find out more at Inceptly.com]( Are you spending over $1K/day on ads and looking to scale your business with YouTube ads? Schedule your free performance ad brainstorming call here: [👉 Book a call]( [ig]( [in]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here]( © Inceptly 2407 Ward Road Sacramento, California 95827, United States