Guides
Short guides on measurement, creative, operations and AI. Each one ends with what to do next.
Each guide ends with a next step
Slack
Shopify
Meta Ads
Stock photos and example labels, not customers.
Measurement
MER vs ROAS: which number an agency should report
Platform ROAS tells you how an ad platform scores itself. MER tells you how the business did. A client review needs both, clearly labelled.
6 min read→ Measurement
How to calculate break-even ROAS for an ecommerce client
Break-even ROAS is the line between an ad that loses money and one that pays for itself. It takes three inputs and one division.
6 min read→ Measurement
Blended CAC: what it is and when to use it
When platforms disagree about who deserves credit, blended CAC answers a plainer question: what did a new customer cost us in total?
5 min read→ Measurement
A UTM standard for ad accounts that stay consistent
UTM tags are only as useful as they are consistent. One standard, applied by tooling instead of memory, keeps reports readable.
5 min read→ MeasurementWhy your MER is wrong: currencies, time zones and refunds
Most disagreements between a store and its ad reports are not strategy problems. They are mismatches in how two data sets were cut.
5 min read→ MeasurementContribution margin for ecommerce ads
Revenue pays for nothing until the costs of the order are taken away. Contribution margin is the number that tells you how much room the ads have.
6 min read→ Measurement
Break-even MER vs break-even ROAS
Both numbers answer the same question, how much revenue each unit of spend must bring to avoid a loss, but at two different levels.
6 min read→ MeasurementAttribution windows explained for agency reports
Two reports on the same ads can show different results only because one used a seven day window and the other used a one day window.
6 min read→ Measurement
Daily, weekly, monthly: what to look at when
Most bad ad decisions are reactions to a number that is only noise at that time scale. Match the number to the cadence.
7 min read→ Measurement
Budget pacing for ecommerce ad accounts
A budget can fail in two directions: it runs out on the 20th, or a third of it is left on the 30th. Pacing is how you notice early.
6 min read→ Measurement
UTM troubleshooting: why traffic shows as direct
When paid traffic shows up as direct, the ads usually did their job and the tags were lost on the way.
6 min read→ Measurement
A quality check before a client report goes out
A report with one wrong number costs more trust than ten right numbers earn.
5 min read→ MeasurementCohort analysis for ecommerce: a practical setup
A cohort is a group of customers who made their first order in the same period. Comparing cohorts shows whether newer customers buy the way older ones did.
6 min read→ Measurement
Reporting discounts and promo codes without fooling yourself
A discount changes revenue, margin and the break-even point at the same time. If the report shows only revenue, the discount is hiding in the numbers.
6 min read→ Measurement
Putting shipping cost into the margin behind an ad
Shipping is a cost of each order, not an overhead. If the margin behind an ad leaves it out, small orders look more profitable than they are.
6 min read→ MeasurementSubscription and one-time orders in MER: keep them apart
A subscription store can see its MER rise every month without acquiring anyone new. Splitting renewals from first orders keeps the number honest.
6 min read→ MeasurementSeasonality in client reports: compare like with like
A November that beats October is not proof that the work worked. Most of the ecommerce calendar moves on its own, and the report has to say how much.
5 min read→ MeasurementWhy blended and platform ROAS disagree, and how to report the gap
Platform ROAS and blended ROAS answer different questions. A gap between them is normal, but an unexplained gap is not.
6 min read→ MeasurementA weekly metric tree: find which driver moved the number
A weekly number that moves for no clear reason is usually a sum of smaller moves. A metric tree shows which small move added up to it.
5 min read→ MeasurementAnomaly triage: a fixed order for checking a sudden change
When a number jumps, the first instinct is to change the ads. Check the measurement, the store and the market first, because a broken tag or a stock-out looks the same as a weak ad in a dashboard.
5 min read→ MeasurementA promo calendar that makes every report easier to read
A promo that is not in the calendar is a number nobody can explain. The calendar turns a messy month into a list of events that each have a start, an end and a purpose.
5 min read→ MeasurementA plain-language glossary for client reports
Clients who guess what a number means ask the same questions every month. A short glossary, kept next to the numbers, answers them before they are asked.
5 min read→ Measurement
Client dashboard basics: what to show and how to label it
A client dashboard is often read on a phone in two minutes. It should answer the same few questions each time, in the same order.
6 min read→ MeasurementA test and learn roadmap for a client account
A roadmap turns a pile of test ideas into an order. It shows which question each quarter answers and what waits to make room.
6 min read→Creative
An ad naming convention that survives a team of ten
Good names are a free analytics layer. Bad names mean exporting to a spreadsheet every month to work out what an ad was.
6 min read→ Creative
How to review a creative test by creative ID
A creative test is only readable if every copy of the same asset can be added up. A creative ID makes that possible.
7 min read→ Creative
Creative fatigue signals and what to do about them
Fatigue rarely shows up as one big drop. It shows up as several small signals that move together.
6 min read→ CreativeHow to brief a UGC creative for an ecommerce ad
A good UGC brief gives the creator a clear job and a lot of freedom in how they do it.
6 min read→ CreativeHow to organise a creative asset library
A creative library is only useful if someone can find the approved final in under a minute.
5 min read→ Creative
How to size a budget for a creative test
A test with too little budget cannot answer anything. A test with too much costs more than the lesson is worth.
6 min read→ CreativeBuilding a hook library your team will actually reuse
A hook is the first few seconds of a video ad. A library of hooks that were measured stops each new brief from starting with a blank page.
6 min read→ CreativeWhat a video editor brief should contain before the first cut
An editor who knows the goal, the approved claims and the formats needs fewer rounds. The brief is the place to put all three.
6 min read→ CreativeNaming creatives at scale: one pattern for hundreds of ads
When one account runs hundreds of ads, a name is the only link between a report row and the file that made it. Names that drift from the rule break that link without anyone noticing.
6 min read→ Creative
A creative test backlog: ideas, order and a weekly rhythm
A test backlog is the list of creative ideas waiting for budget. Without one, the team tests whatever was made last week, and the results do not build on each other.
6 min read→ CreativeA voice and tone sheet for ad copy and client-facing text
A tone sheet turns a vague brand feeling into rules a copywriter, a designer or an AI draft can follow. One page is enough if it has examples.
5 min read→ Creative
Creative asset QA: checks before an ad file goes live
Most creative mistakes are small: a wrong link, a stale version, a caption with a typo, a logo that is not allowed. A short QA check catches them before the budget starts.
5 min read→ CreativeA creative brief for performance ads that a maker can use
A performance brief is a working document. It tells the maker what to make, what to avoid and how the result will be judged, on one page.
6 min read→ CreativeUGC sourcing checklist: finding and vetting creators
UGC is only as useful as the person making it and the rights you hold to use it. Vetting before the first payment prevents most of the rework.
5 min read→ CreativeAd copy variant testing: change one element at a time
Copy tests fail when three things change at once. A clean test changes one element and keeps the rest of the ad the same.
5 min read→ CreativeAsset version control for creative files and ad exports
When three people export the same video in five sizes, an account can end up running a file nobody can name. A version rule prevents that.
5 min read→Operations
An approval workflow for changes to live ad accounts
Most expensive mistakes in ad accounts are small edits applied to the wrong thing. A short, boring workflow prevents most of them.
6 min read→ OperationsA client approval checklist for ad launches
Client approval goes wrong in the same ways: the wrong version is approved, the answer lives in a chat, and nobody can say later what was agreed.
6 min read→ OperationsHow to read back a change to an ad account
A success message from an API only says the request was accepted. A read-back says what the account looks like now.
5 min read→ OperationsA weekly client review agenda that stays short
A weekly review earns its place when it ends with decisions. Without an agenda it turns into a tour of dashboards.
6 min read→ Operations
The data definitions sheet every client needs
Most arguments about numbers are arguments about definitions nobody wrote down.
5 min read→ OperationsAd account structure for an ecommerce store
A structure that the whole team can read is worth more than a clever one that only its author understands.
6 min read→ OperationsA client offboarding checklist for agencies
A clean exit protects both sides. It also leaves the door open for the client to return.
5 min read→ OperationsNaming across many brands in one agency
The more clients you run, the more a shared naming pattern saves. The trick is letting each brand add its own code without breaking the pattern.
5 min read→ OperationsAn SOP library for an ecommerce ad agency
Agencies lose time and client trust when the same task is done three different ways by three people. A small library of written procedures fixes that.
6 min read→ OperationsHanding over a client account to a new account manager
When an account manager moves on, the client should notice only a new name. The handover is a written transfer of open work, promises and known problems.
6 min read→ OperationsA process for requesting access to client ad accounts
Every login an agency holds is a risk and a responsibility. A written request, a named approver and a planned removal keep the list short and explainable.
5 min read→ OperationsResponding to an ad account incident, step by step
An incident is any event that spends money wrongly, stops sales or hides data. The first hour decides how much it costs, so the steps are written before anything goes wrong.
6 min read→ Operations
Running a quarterly business review with an ecommerce client
A quarterly review asks whether the plan still fits the business. It is a different meeting from the weekly review and should be run as one.
6 min read→ OperationsNaming QA before launch: check every name before the first spend
Names are how a report finds a row. One misspelled campaign name can split its spend into a second line that nobody reads, so the check runs before launch, not after.
5 min read→ OperationsAd launch checklist for ecommerce campaigns, from draft to first day
Launches go wrong in small places: a wrong budget, a missing exclusion, a broken link. One checklist with an owner on each line catches most of them before money is spent.
6 min read→ OperationsBudget caps and guardrails: stop overspend before the client sees it
A budget cap is a number agreed before launch. A guardrail is the rule that acts when that number is about to break. Both need a named person behind them.
5 min read→ Operations
Audience exclusions guide: who to leave out of paid campaigns
An exclusion decides who a campaign does not pay to reach. Without one, a campaign can spend on people who would have bought anyway or who should never see the ad.
5 min read→ OperationsTracking QA before launch: test the path from click to order
A campaign that tracks wrong looks like a campaign that does not work. Test the whole path with a real order before the budget goes in, and keep the evidence.
6 min read→ OperationsWriting the weekly client update, section by section
A weekly update should be short enough to read in two minutes. It tells the client what moved, what caused it as far as known, and what they need to decide.
5 min read→ OperationsDelivering bad news to an ecommerce client, step by step
Bad news gets harder to deliver with every day it is held back. Clients usually accept a problem they hear about early more easily than one they find in a report.
6 min read→ OperationsA scope change process for agency retainers
A retainer covers an agreed scope. Extra work done without a written change turns into an argument about money, usually at the worst moment.
5 min read→ OperationsAn agenda for the first client onboarding call
The first call sets the tone for the whole account. A fixed agenda stops it from turning into a tour of the tools and leaves the client with clear next steps.
6 min read→ OperationsRunning the renewal conversation with an ecommerce client
A renewal is mostly decided in the months before it. The conversation confirms what the client has already seen in the reports, or shows where it has not.
6 min read→ Operations
Change requests for client ad accounts: a simple process
Clients ask for changes all the time, often in a quick message. A change request turns each one into a written record with an owner, a reason and a date.
6 min read→ OperationsApproval queue rules: who signs off what, and how long it waits
An approval queue works only when everyone knows which items wait for whom. Rules written in advance settle most arguments before they start.
5 min read→ OperationsSetting up a naming registry for client ad accounts
A naming convention says what a name should look like. A registry says which codes already exist and who owns them, so two people do not invent the same one.
5 min read→AI and automation
A safety checklist before an AI assistant touches ad accounts
An assistant that can read your accounts is a convenience. One that can write to them is a decision. This checklist separates the two.
6 min read→ AI and automationAI assistants and ad accounts: read, propose, apply
Connecting an assistant to an ad account is easy. Deciding what it may do without asking is the part that needs a rule.
7 min read→ AI and automationMCP permissions for agencies: a practical model
The question is not whether to let assistants near client accounts. It is which hands they get and who signs off.
7 min read→ AI and automationReviewing AI generated ads before they reach a client
AI tools make drafts quickly, and a draft can be wrong in ways that look convincing. The review checks facts, brand, people and rights before an ad goes out.
6 min read→ AI and automationPrompt standards for creative work: one format for every brief
A prompt is a brief that a tool reads. When every writer uses a different format, the outputs cannot be compared, reviewed or reused.
6 min read→ AI and automationBrand safety checklist for AI generated and AI assisted ads
AI tools speed up drafts and account work, and each one adds a way for a brand to be harmed. This checklist is short enough to run every time.
5 min read→ AI and automationA review loop for AI drafts before they reach a client
An AI draft is a starting point, not a finished deliverable. A fixed loop makes sure a person checks the claims, the numbers and the tone before anything reaches a client.
6 min read→ AI and automationAn AI usage policy for an agency: what staff may and may not do
Most AI mistakes in agencies are small: a client file pasted into the wrong tool, or an AI-written change that nobody checked. A short policy stops both.
6 min read→
Built for shop owners, creators and agencies. Stock photos, not customers.Run the next client review from one screen.
We open one agency at a time, with your own accounts connected read-only first.
Request access