Don't Get Emotionally Attached to Your Ads

So it occurred to me recently that there's a central cause of many of the advertiser behaviors that frustrate me: the need to create complexity.

Old targeting strategies. Ad copy and creative testing strategies. The problem isn't necessarily that they demand control, even though that's part of it. The need for control often comes from something else—an emotional attachment to their ads.

They’ve spent time and energy creating an ad, and they want to make sure it gets a chance.

Now, I’ve realized there’s something different about me and other advertisers who don’t require that same control. We lack that emotional attachment to our ads.

Let me explain.

In my private community, we have a strategy session every Tuesday. Ten to twenty of us get together and talk through what we’re seeing. If someone is running into a problem, we share it and offer suggestions. It’s an awesome experience, and I look forward to it every week.

One of our members recently shared her challenge. She wasn’t getting great results, so she wanted to create a new video ad. But she was afraid. If she added that ad to the current ad set, she believed it would get very few impressions. That had been her experience in the past. She figured the algorithm would prefer what was already running.

So instead, she created a separate ad set for the new ad. That way, she could guarantee it would get shown.

What happened?

It hurt overall performance. The original ad set wasn’t doing great to begin with, and now it was only breaking even.

Honestly, this wasn’t a surprise. In an effort to force delivery, she created a new ad set with one new ad. She didn’t know if it was good or bad. But by creating a new ad set, she essentially forced Meta to spend a certain amount on that ad—targeting the same pool of people as the original set. Even on a small scale, that can lead to auction overlap.

Her budget wasn’t high, so fluctuations could also be totally random.

But the results of this test aren’t really the point.

What matters is that what she did is not something I’d recommend. It’s not something I’d feel the need to do.

If it were me, I’d simply add the new ad to the current ad set.

Will that restart the learning phase? Yes. But that might actually help in this case. If you're not getting the results you want anyway, why be scared of restarting learning? It gives the algorithm a bit of a reset.

Sure, the algorithm might prefer the old ads, especially at first, because of their history and social proof. Your new ad may not be better. But preferences can shift over time.

So I’d add the new ad and let it be. No judgment.

Maybe it doesn’t get shown much. Maybe it gets deprioritized. Or maybe it becomes the new favorite. We’ll see.

But I’m not emotionally attached to that ad.

I only care about data and results. If the ad doesn’t take off, I’m not going to try to force it. It may be disappointing, but I won’t see it as a problem that needs to be fixed.

If performance is bad across the board and the new ad isn’t getting impressions, maybe I pause the original and see what happens. But I wouldn’t expect miracles. The algorithm already gave me clues.

During that discussion, one of our members, Ryan, made an awesome analogy. He said:

“This is like fishing. If you don’t get any bites, you change the bait and cast again.”

That really hit home. I’d take it even further.

You don’t have an emotional attachment to the worm or the lure. Either the fish like it, or they don’t.

If they don’t, you try a different bait. You move to a different location.

That’s how I see ads.

They’re bait. They’re the worm on the hook.

You chose the bait with purpose. You think it’ll work. But if it doesn’t, you make a change.

You try again.

That’s what I do. And it’s what so many advertisers do who get it.

Let’s push this fishing analogy just a little more.

You think about what the fish want. You plan your bait accordingly. But if it doesn’t work, figure out why.

What do they actually want?

Then try again.

Bottom of the Glass

The lesson today is to consider your own emotional attachment to your ads.

Your results depend on your ads. Not campaign structure. Not which ad Meta prefers.

Own your performance.

If you’re not getting the results you want, look at your ads and ask:

• Why isn’t my ideal customer responding?

• What can I do differently?

• How can I inspire the action I want?

Think about the psychology behind it.

When you do that, you’ll find yourself approaching advertising with a lot more calm and a lot more clarity.

Oh, and if you want to join us on these strategy sessions, go to jonloomer.com/elite to learn more.