Performance marketing is like Vegas with spreadsheets: you can win, you can lose, or you can quietly walk away with profits while everyone else is crying at the ATM. Running ads isn’t hard. Running them profitably? That’s where the craft comes in.
Here’s how I keep ad spend from turning into smoke signals.
Google Ads: The Intent Magnet
✔ Capture demand in real time – Search users basically announce, “Please take my money.”
✔ Smart bidding with guardrails – Great when it works, raccoon-in-the-trash when it doesn’t.
✔ YouTube & Display for reach – Eyeballs without becoming digital wallpaper.
Meta (Facebook & Instagram): The Veteran Workhorse
✔ Targeting that still delivers – Interests, lookalikes, custom audiences—yes, they still work.
✔ Creative testing as religion – Hooks, visuals, formats: test fast, scale winners.
✔ Polite retargeting – Nudges that remind, not stalk.
TikTok: Attention at Warp Speed
✔ Native > polished – If it looks like an ad, it’s dead.
✔ Iterate daily – New hooks and formats keep the algorithm happy.
✔ Fast feedback loops – Perfect for testing creative that other platforms yawn at.
Reddit: Niche Trust, No Gloss
✔ Communities, not just audiences – Subreddits are self-labeled obsession hubs.
✔ Straight talk > polish – Redditors can smell BS from space.
✔ Perfect for hyper-specific offers – Where weirdly specific products find their people.
X (Twitter): The Sleeper Platform
✔ Ride live conversations – News, sports, events = real-time intent gold.
✔ Direct-response native – Short, sharp, and CTA-heavy works here.
✔ Low-cost reach – CPMs that don’t make finance cry.
Apple Search Ads: Install Intent at the Door
✔ Bottom-funnel gold – People search, you show, they install.
✔ Keyword hygiene matters – Exact + discovery splits for clean SKAN reporting.
✔ Creative sets by query – Align messaging with intent for better conversion.
CTV/OTT & Programmatic Display: The Big Screen Assist
✔ Addressable TV audiences – Reach users on the couch, not just their phones.
✔ Incrementality focus – Measure lift, not just “views.”
✔ Simple creative rules – One idea, one CTA, 6–15 seconds max.
Attribution That Doesn’t Lie
✔ AppsFlyer, GA4, SKAN – Because I prefer receipts over vibes.
✔ Cross-platform stitching – Map journeys so budgets go where results live.
✔ Real metrics – CAC, FTDs, LTV—not vanity fluff.
Creative: Where the Money Hides
✔ Hooks over headlines – The first second decides if your ad survives.
✔ Test clean – Change one variable at a time, learn fast.
✔ Scale winners, retire losers – Ruthless iteration = healthy ROI.
How I Actually Run Performance Marketing (The Boring but Effective Stuff)
✔ Balance budgets across platforms, then double down where CAC and LTV high-five.
✔ Use AppsFlyer/GA4/SKAN to separate real results from pretty charts.
✔ Build creative matrices (hooks × formats × offers) and test like it’s a gym routine.
✔ Guard margins with bid caps, negatives, and frequency controls.
✔ Run Apple Search Ads with tight keyword themes and structured campaigns.
✔ Use CTV/OTT with geo holdouts + brand lift tests so it’s performance, not theater.
✔ Retarget with sequenced storytelling, not desperate “You forgot us!” blasts.
✔ Kill losers fast. Scale winners shamelessly. Repeat without mercy.
At the end of the day, anyone can “run ads.” The difference between a marketer and a money-pyromaniac is knowing when to push, when to pivot, and when to cut bait before your budget bursts into flames.