Jake Abrams

Odyssey

The lean DTC growth marketing partner that I wish existed when I was an in-house marketing lead. 

At Odyssey, we help 7-9 figure DTC brands increase revenue & ROAS by finding the right combination of:

- Messaging
- Audience targeting
- Media channel allocation
- Creative

https://www.odysseyagency.com/

Founder

Embr Labs

- Took a pre-revenue product named Wristify and renamed it within 4 weeks of start date. 
- Launched a Kickstarter 1 month later.
- Raised $630k in funding. 
- Kept growing. 
- Got featured on Most Expensivest with 2Chainz and Good Morning America in the same year. 
- Succeeded. 
- Failed. 
- Sold over 50,000 units with a team of contractors. 
- Learned so much about selling things online that I had the privilege to launch a DTC agency. 
- Now helping other brands navigate their growth journey.

VP Marketing

Head Of Marketing

Firehose Project

Firehose is an Immersive Online Coding Bootcamp designed to help people become professional developers or launch their own ideas. 

Accomplishments:

- Grew monthly site traffic 2.5x
- Grew monthly leads 8.5x
- Grew monthly organic leads 4.1x
- Grew Facebook audience 7.3x
- Scaled Quora to largest source of traffic
- Built paid acquisition engine from scratch across FB, Adwords, Quora, and coding platforms
- Led RFP and integration of Kissmetrics to solve attribution problem
- Grew prep course engagement 3x
- Generated 37 media mentions / syndicated pieces in publications like Forbes, Quartz, and Inc

Head of Marketing & Growth

Arnold Worldwide

- Led cross-functional team responsible for New Balance's Global Baseball business
- Oversaw end to end execution of launch campaign for New Balance's signature 2015 baseball product, exceeding sales goals by 30%
- Pitched for and won New Balance's Global Men's Training business
- Played key role in launch of New Balance's $5MM+ Always in Beta global rebrand
- Wrote winning 2016 Effie case in the David vs Goliath category for launch of New Balance's 4040v3 baseball cleat

Marketing Manager

Associate Marketing Producer

Streetwise Media

- Worked with channel partners to develop relevant, site-worthy content
- Offered full-time position in DC office upon completion of internship

Marketing Intern

Boston College

- Turned 1 year of high school tennis experience into the best paying job on campus

Tennis Instructor

SnapApp

My first experience in the startup world.

Learned a lot about the Internet, product development, and making sure the fridge was stocked with soda.

Marketing & Sales Intern

FunnyAthleteTweets.com

In college, I started a website detailing the absurdities of "athlete twitter" years before it was part of the mainstream sports conversation. 

Generated enough AdSense revenue to pay for a few college textbooks.

- Refereed high-level intramural basketball games
- Gave out technical fouls as necessary, even to football players
- Successfully learned and enforced the notoriously complicated over-and-back rule
- Selected as Intramural Basketball Supervisor based on high performance

Intramural Referee

I help 7-9 figure DTC brands with revenue & CAC | I write The Process, a newsletter about modern growth marketing | Sold 100K+ personal cooling devices

Consumer Marketing & Growth Leader.  

Grew a DTC from 0 to 100,000+ units sold, then started a new kind of agency to help more brands grow.

---

Odyssey is the lean DTC growth marketing partner that I wish existed when I was an in-house marketing lead.

We help 7 & 8-figure DTC brands grow sustainably through media buying, creative, conversion rate optimization, and email/SMS.

Need to scale revenue, improve CAC, or just talk DTC strategy? DM me to chat about things like:

Paid Media Management
- TikTok
- CTV
- Youtube
- FB & IG
- Google

Creative
- UGC ads
- Iterative video edits

Conversion Rate Optimization
- A/B testing
- Shopify website development
- Human insights & messaging iteration

Email & SMS
- Klaviyo email growth
- Attentive SMS growth

The lean DTC growth marketing partner that I wish existed when I was an in-house marketing lead. 

At Odyssey, we help 7 & 8-figure DTC brands increase revenue & ROAS by finding the right combination of:

- Messaging
- Audience targeting
- Media channel allocation
- Creative

https://www.growodyssey.com/

I rejected a candidate, then hired him 2 days later. 
 
He was running his own DTC brand, and I viewed that as a distraction. 
 
Here’s the rejection email I sent at 7:53pm: 
 
“I just don't think you're the right fit for our Creative Strategist role at this time. Your priorities, rightly, should be with [brand], and we need someone on our side who can give 100% to Odyssey from the jump.” 
 
Here's the response he sent at 1:05am: 
 
“I respect your decision and the reasoning behind prioritizing a candidate who can dedicate 100%. While I am fully committed to [brand]'s success, my enthusiasm for contributing to Odyssey's creative remains strong. With this in mind, I couldn't resist the opportunity to demonstrate my capabilities and how I can indeed deliver beyond expectations, even while steering [brand].” 
 
He attached an 11-page creative brief that he made that night for one of the brands we mentioned during the interview process.  
 
It was really good.  
 
So, we jumped on 1 more call.  
 
And 2 days later I offered him the Creative Strategist position.  
 
He’s come in firing: 
 
- Writes better scripts than me 
- Always has an out-of-the-box creative idea 
- Clients already like & trust him 
 
Here’s your reminder to: 
 
- Hire A players 
- Make decisions based on the actions people take 
- Be ok with changing your mind 
 
You never know who you might miss out on.  
 
P.S. Have you ever changed your mind on a hiring decision? How did it work out?

What are the key components of a successful creative brief?

What are some factors that may lead to changing a hiring decision?

What are the key responsibilities of a Creative Strategist?

Traditional UGC isn’t dead.

But quality is making a comeback.

If you’re not running Premium UGC alongside your Traditional UGC, you should rethink your strategy.

We’ve made 100+ pieces of premium UGC over the last 6 months for brands like Caraway, Rise Gardens, and Revive.

We’re seeing strong results and will continue to invest in this format.

Premium UGC follows these rules:

💡 Shot in great (not good) lighting
🎥 Use professional-style camera like a DSLR or Mirrorless
🤏 Feature zoomed-in product shots that allow the viewer to “feel” the product
🙂 Authentic delivery by the creator
🧱 Mix of product shots and lifestyle shots
🫀 Leverage the heartbeat editing method to maintain attention

If you want to build a premium brand, you need premium content.

It’s not as expensive as you might think.

Send me a DM if you want more ads like these.

This ad instantly became a winner.  
 
We knew it would work.  
 
Because it uses an Enemy framework.  
 
Which is the most reliable way of grounding an audience in an understanding of the problem.  
 
👿 The Enemy:  
 
Traditional ramen noodles 
 
🚩 The Problem: 
 
While traditional ramen noodles are easy to make and taste great, they are unhealthy and made from low quality ingredients.  
 
💡 Solution: 
 
Momofuku noodles, which are just as fast as the Enemy, but: 
 
- Air dried (never fried) 
- Made with ingredients you can pronounce 
- Come in unique, high-quality flavors 
 
If you’re struggling to get traction with your ads, pick an Enemy and write a bunch of scripts from that reliable foundation. 
 
--- 
 
Get started with my Enemy Marketing Notion board with examples from Athletic Greens, Harry's, ARMRA, and more: https://lnkd.in/eb9RFrrz

I’ve paid over $100k to creators and influencers.  
 
Here are my 3 most common deal structures. 
 
[And how much to pay for each deal]  
 
1. Standard UGC Creator 
 
Type: Ad Content Deal 
 
Cost: $850 
 
Deliverables: 
 
- 3 video ads (not posted) 
- 3 extra hooks 
- Raw footage 
- Ad rights in perpetuity 
- 6 months of whitelisting 
 
2. Influencer With Small Following (< 20k) 
 
Type: Ad Content + Organic Deal 
 
Cost: $1050 
 
Deliverables: 
 
- 2 video ads (not posted) 
- 1 organic reel (posted) 
- 4 story posts 
- 2 extra hooks 
- Raw footage 
- Ad rights in perpetuity 
- 3-6 months of whitelisting 
 
3. Influencer With Large Following (100k - 125k) 
 
Type: Ad Content Deal 
 
Cost: $3,000 
 
Deliverables: 
 
- 3 video ads 
- 3 extra hooks 
- Raw footage 
- Ad rights for 1 year 
- 3-6 months of whitelisting 
 
Onboarding a creator or influencer takes time.  
 
Go for a higher number of deliverables to make that upfront investment worth it.  
 
--- 
 
Want the full Notion table with all 8 deal common structures, including: 
 
- Types 
- Deliverables 
- Costs 
 
Plus 6 best practices for creator negotiation?  
 
You can grab it here: https://lnkd.in/ennGBbKq

Athletic Greens, SHEIN, and V Shred all use whitelisting to make millions from Meta ads. 
 
Why? Whitelisting is the scalable way to create the feeling that everyone is talking about your brand.  
 
But I haven’t read a LI post that:  
  
-> Outlines the 5 different types of whitelisting  
-> Explains the pros and cons of each option  
  
Let’s break down all 5. 
  
1. Post Boosting  
  
Influencer posts organically and tags you as a brand partner. You run the existing post as an ad. 
  
Why it works:  
  
-> The easiest way to get started with whitelisting  
-> You get social proof from that OG organic post  
  
Why it’s not great:  
  
-> You don’t have control over the ad copy  
-> You can’t iterate b/c you’re limited to boosting that one post  
  
2. Traditional Influencer Whitelisting   
  
Influencer grants you permission to run ads through their Facebook and Instagram pages.   
  
Why it works:  
  
-> You control the ad copy, destination, etc...  
-> You can launch iterative creative, since you’re renting out their pages  
  
Why it’s not great:  
  
-> You’ll run into issues with comment moderation  
-> Need to ensure the influencer is ok with your messaging 
  
3. Branded Content Site Whitelisting  
  
An existing “publisher”, The Quality Edit, grants you permission to run ads through their social pages and drive their website.   
  
Why it works:  
  
-> Great for advertorial-style funnels  
-> Easy to get set up with pixels and tracking  
  
Why it’s not great:  
  
-> Loses credibility if the publisher partners with too many brands  
-> Buying process requires one extra step for the customer  
  
4. True Publisher Whitelisting  
  
A real publisher (blog, website, etc…) grants you permission to run ads through their social pages and drive to a piece of sponsored content on their website.   
  
Why it works:  
  
-> The most authentic style of whitelisting  
-> Borrow the publisher’s credibility to empower your message  
  
Why it’s not great:  
  
-> Many publishers aren’t set up to make this process easy  
-> Content needs to be very educational and not selling-focused  
  
5. Brand-Created Publisher Whitelisting  
  
You create your own publisher presence: website, FB & IG pages, etc… and run “whitelisted” ads through that presence.  
  
Why it works:  
  
-> Spend on upfront costs for a domain, but that’s it  
-> Still get the benefit of a 3rd party brand  
  
Why it’s not great:  
  
-> Not as credible as a real publisher  
-> Takes time to set up the pages, website, etc…  
  
---  
  
Ok, let’s summarize the 5 options:  
  
1. Post Boosting  
2. Influencer Whitelisting  
3. Branded Content Site Whitelisting  
4. True Publisher Whitelisting  
5. Brand-Created Publisher Whitelisting  
  
If you’re a 7-9-figure DTC brand, you should be testing most if not all of these over the next 12 months.

12 months ago I decided to take LinkedIn seriously.  
 
Last week I hit 26K followers and landed another project with an 8-figure brand that discovered my agency through content like this. 
 
So, felt it might be time to re-introduce myself: 
 
- In 2013, I was a lazy senior at Boston College that nobody wanted to hire.  
 
- I made $35k / year at my first advertising job, working 65 hours per week. 
 
- I sold 100k+ personal cooling devices, mostly through Facebook ads. 
 
- I stumbled into launching my growth agency, Odyssey, after deciding to try freelancing. 
 
- I recently turned 33 and moved to a small seaside town to work remotely. 
 
- I named my newsletter “The Process” for 2 reasons: it captures how I think about marketing + I’m a fan of the Philadelphia 76ers (most won’t understand this reference) 
 
I write about growth marketing, creative strategy, and building a brand. 
 
Enough about me, though.  
 
Tell me about you. What is everyone working on? 
 
--- 
 
P.S. You can join "The Process" to get step-by-step growth marketing breakdowns delivered to your inbox 2-3x / month: https://lnkd.in/eAyAaugf

What are some best practices in growth marketing?

How can I improve my Facebook ads strategy?

The comment section is killing your CAC. 

And your brand. 

Take this example from Taylor Stitch. 

The creative itself is rock solid:

- High quality product image
- You can see the texture of the pants
- Social proof ad copy

But the top 2 comments undermine everything. 

My impression from the full ad experience is that Taylor Stitch:

- No longer stands for quality
- Is cutting costs while still charging $100+ for pants
- Makes uncomfortable and poor-fitting pants

The comment section confirmed every buying objection I had.

Now I will never buy these pants, and my perception of Taylor Stitch is forever changed. 

Why spend 99% of your time on the creative itself, when the content in the comment section can matter just as much?

Stop ignoring the comment section.

Start managing comments, because doing so will help you make more money. 

In the short-term and the long-term. 

Here’s a 5-step approach you can implement this week:

1. Create a dynamic list of your top-performing ads for easy access
2. Respond to objections with your existing marketing copy
3. Add links to 3rd party articles to increase social proof
4. Email your VIP customers asking them to comment on specific ads for a reward
5. Use whitelisting to incorporate feedback from influencers

Focus your time on the ads that are getting the most spend. 

See what happens to your CPA’s on those ads.

Taylor Stitch Comment Fail

$9,080,000 from TikTok Shop in the last 30 days.  
 
This weird company called “Microingredients” is making a killing.  
 
And it’s all based on a lie.  
 
(I’ll explain at the end) 
 
First, let’s break down how they are printing so much $$.  
 
1. Affiliates 
 
99% of Microingredients' TTS revenue comes from affiliates.  
 
They are working with hundreds of affiliates, but 18 affiliates have driven over $100K of revenue EACH in the last 30 days.  
 
That is insane.  
 
2. Product Volume 
 
The average sale price for Microingredients products is only about $25.  
 
But they’ve sold 175,850 units of Collagen Peptides in the last 30 days.  
 
Every time I refresh the data, there are thousands of more sales. 
 
Crazy volume.  
 
3. A home-run hook, that’s totally a lie 
 
If you’re on TikTok, you’ve probably seen a video that starts like this: 
 
“Did you see the video of lady who started crying b/c she started taking collagen and all of her wrinkles disappeared?” 
 
The hook works because it: 
 
- Feels 100% organic 
- Sells a quick fix outcome 
- Leans aggressively into FOMO 
 
After the hook, the creator holds up the Microingredients package and tells you that this is the magical collagen powder that “the woman” used. 
 
There are hundreds of TTS affiliates using this same exact script. 
 
HOWEVER. 
 
I searched for the viral video. 
It does not exist.  
There is no woman.  
 
In fact, a quick Google Reverse Image Search shows that “the woman” shown in the before / afters in these TikTok videos is from an old article about the benefits of botox and filler.... 
 
--- 
 
Ok, so what is the #1 takeaway for DTC brands? 
 
→ Focus on affiliates, volume, and scaling killer hooks across hundreds of creators to make a killing on TikTok Shop. 
 
And the #1 reminder for consumers? 
 
→ Don’t believe everything you watch on the Internet… 
 
Hope you found this dive down the TTS rabbit hole interesting.

How can affiliates help DTC brands make a killing on TikTok Shop?

How can DTC brands create a killer hook for TikTok Shop?

9 things clients say about good agencies: 
 
“They actually understand our customer” 
"They have a gift for improving our numbers”  
"They are good with data and creativity” 
 
“They proactively tell me when they mess up” 
"They find insights our internal team can’t find” 
"They perfectly communicate exactly what needs to be done"  
 
"They get s**t done"  
“They understand how urgent things are without me saying it” 
"They know when to hit the brakes or step on the gas" 
  
Being a good agency comes down to 3 things: 
 
1. Ownership 
2. Honesty 
3. Action 
 
You’re ahead of 99% of agencies if you do those 3 things well.

The 7-part UGC brief my 8-figure agency used to generate over $25M in attributable Meta revenue.  
  
1. The Concept Statement  
  
The most important part of your brief is the 1-sentence concept statement.   
  
This helps the creator understand the high-level vision for the video, so that you know you'll get what you need. 
  
2. The Hero Reference  
  
Using Foreplay, include a link to 1 (just 1) video that best represents the end deliverable you're shooting for.   
 
3. The Mood Board 
 
1-2 images that give a gut check of your vision for the visuals. I often use the ChatGPT image generator to make these. 
 
4. The Script 
 
You want the creator to get “creative,” but the  video needs to be grounded in what you already know works.  
 
Write a full script with the words, shot types (b-roll, green screen, talking head), and corresponding visual direction for each section of your video. 
 
Your script should follow proven framework, like:  
  
- PAS  
- AIDA  
- QUEST   
 
5. The Extra Shots List  
  
Outside your main script, ask the creator to capture 5-7 additional shots that will give you flexibility in the edit.  
 
For your hook, maybe you want a green-screen version in addition to a POV shot.   
 
6. The Music Direction  
 
Music is more important than ever, so give your creator 1-sentence of direction for the type of music you envision. 
  
7. The Deliverables List  
  
Your brief needs to provide instructions for handing off assets in a way that maximizes value.   
  
Outline the exact number of:   
  
- Edited videos  
- Extra hooks  
- Raw files   
  
That you need in the final delivery.  
  
---  
  
Are you a DTC marketer that wants to create better UGC briefs in less time?  
  
Follow me, like this post, and comment "UGC" on this post. 
  
And I'll send you the Notion template we've used to make thousands of videos.

What are the benefits of using the Notion template for UGC briefs?

What is the attributable revenue generated by Meta?

What is the PAS framework for video scripts?

If I had to start an agency from zero again.  
 
Here are the 2 questions I'd ask myself: 
 
Which disciplines should an agency execute? 
Which disciplines should an agency advise? 
 
(2024 Agency Growth Strategy) 
 
Things I would execute:  
 
- UGC creative for paid social 
- Email flows 
- Offer testing 
- Organic MOF content (Youtube reviews) 
- Landing pages 
- 3rd party advertorials 
 
Things I would advise: 
 
- Media buying 
- Static ad designs 
- Email campaigns 
- Product & pricing strategy 
- Projections and inventory planning 
 
Agencies should execute the things that automation can't do.  
 
And be a strategic partner based on their knowledge of other businesses.

What are some best practices for media buying?

What are the key considerations when starting an agency?

How can UGC creative be used for paid social?

In 2024, we’ve produced 1200+ UGC videos.  
 
But to be honest, I worry that traditional UGC is getting stale.  
 
The sad cycle of marketing goes like this: 
 
Something works 
Every brand starts doing it 
It gets old, so it stops working 
 
So we’re doubling down on Premium UGC in 2024.  
 
No self-recorded videos in bad lighting 
No lame AI Agent green-screen videos 
No “I’m obsessed with X” hooks 
 
Instead, we’re investing in shooting a portion of our own content.  
 
This past week, it was just me, our videographer, and talent from Backstage. 
 
No other crew.  
 
Here's our 9-part equipment list: 
 
Sony FX6  
Sachtler Ace XL M System  
EasyRig Minimax 
Sony 16-35mm GM F2.8 
Sony 24-70mm GM II F2.8 
iPad monitor 
Aputure 600x w/ 48inch Angler softbox  
Fiilex P360S LED Light Kit (3-Pack) 
Senheiser MKH Shotgun Mic 
 
Our full-time video editors are handling the post production.  
 
So from a cost standpoint, the model works. 
 
Quality is making a comeback.

What are the features of the Sony FX6 camera?

How can cost-effectiveness impact content creation?

No alternative text description for this image

I’ve written 154 posts on LinkedIn in the last 12 months.  
 
These have generated: 
 
- 19,813 likes 
- 8,548 comments 
- 2,865,633 impressions 
 
Here are my 21 most successful hooks: 
 
1. I spent 50+ hours analyzing our top-performing Meta video ads. 
 
2. DTC brands, please STOP sending Meta traffic to your homepage. 
 
3. I landed a Head of Marketing role as a 25-year-old. 
 
4. Steal these 5 ad copy frameworks to drive 3.5X+ ROAS. 
 
5. This ad instantly became a winner. 
 
6. I’ve closed $127,000+ for my agency with these 5 sales emails. 
 
7. Marketers have saved 5,600+ FB ads from MAËLYS, Dr. Squatch, and True Classic on Foreplay. 
 
8. Media buyers, want to scale your Meta spend to $500k / month? 
 
9. A brand we work with just increased monthly revenue by $100k with $20k less spend. 
 
10. I grew my DTC agency 52% this year. 
 
11. DTC brands, please STOP running every ad through your brand pages. 
 
12. I've audited 40+ Meta ad accounts in 2023. 
 
13. My agency has created 1,800+ video ads in 2023. 
 
14. 6-8 figure ecommerce brands, let me help you make more profit in 2024. 
 
15. Everybody in DTC is hyping up whitelisting. 
 
16. I’ve driven $20M+ in DTC revenue this year. 
 
17. Here’s the math behind why DTC brands driving less than $2.5M / year need to go narrow for massive growth. 
 
18. Media buyers are getting pummeled. 
 
19. Are you a DTC brand that wants to go $0 - > $5M in the next 24 months? 
 
20. I run a 7-figure DTC agency, and I used to waste so much time and $$ on UGC outreach. 
 
21. Steal these 4 landing page templates to increase CVR from cold traffic. 
 
Want the Notion resource with all 154 posts from the last 12 months, sorted by views? 
 
Grab it here: https://lnkd.in/e5vK47_A

What’s it’s like to work with 99% of video editors: 
 
- Need to give excruciatingly detailed direction 
- Small mistakes lead to rounds of feedback 
- Slow and boring edits 
- Rough motion graphics that “just don’t work” 
- Lack of cohesive story unless fully dictated to them 
 
What it’s like to work with the top 1% of video editors: 
 
- Works with very high-level direction 
- Detail oriented, few rounds of feedback 
- Innate understanding of Heartbeat editing method 
- Crafts the hook and tells a cohesive story 
- Serious mograph skills that enhance the creative 
 
If your video editor workflow is painful, you’re working with the wrong video editor.  
 
Start working with the top 1% of video editors, and you’ll immediately feel the difference.

I drove 172,290 monthly visitors from Quora for $0.  
 
And gained zero personal leverage from figuring out the growth hack.  
 
This was back in 2017, when I was leading growth at a coding bootcamp.  
 
I figured out a repeatable 6-step process for writing viral Quora posts.  
 
1. Find a question with b/w 20 and 50 answers, but no home run answer. 
 
2. Answer the question by telling an emotional personal story. 
 
3. Write a hook, like: “I made a mistake that cost my company $10,000.” 
 
4. Bold the transition points in the story to make it skimmable. 
 
5. Make the single most important takeaway 100% clear. 
 
6. Once the post goes viral, add a CTA that drives to a piece of bonus content on our blog. 
 
It worked like 75% of the time. Wild. 
 
My answers drove 8M+ views, and Quora became the #1 traffic driver to our website. 100% organic traffic.  
 
The problem was that I was ghostwriting this content for our leadership team. 
 
So I gained zero following of my own. 
 
And zero leverage in my professional life. 
 
For the next 6 years after that experience, I told myself I needed to create content as myself.  
 
I knew how to do it, but I never made the commitment.  
 
I finally changed that 12 months ago, when I decided the “creators” were no different from me.  
 
25k+ followers later, I have more leverage than I ever imagined.  
 
Creating your own content is the highest-compounding action you can take.  
 
Just start.

You only need to know 3 things to understand client management.  
 
I could have saved myself thousands of dollars if I learned these sooner.  
 
1. Ownership 
 
Care more about solving the problem than the client does.  
 
When the barrier to solving the problem falls outside your responsibilities, keep chasing the solution.  
 
Don’t make excuses or blame third parties. Take the feedback and improve.  
 
2. Honesty 
 
If you say you’ll do something, actually do it.  
 
If you messed up, proactively say it.  
 
If things are not going well, state it and explain what you’ll do about it. 
 
3. Action 
 
Operate with a constant sense of urgency.  
 
Always think about the action you can take today to start fixing a problem. 
 
Understand that the worst thing you can do is nothing at all.  
 
--- 
 
You’re ahead of 99% of agencies if you practice these 3 things.

Why is ownership important in client management?

What are some best practices for client management?

How does honesty impact client management?

723 people retweeted a video ad featuring an “AI actor.” 
 
[video link is in the comments] 
 
Everybody says it's a breakthrough.  
 
Feels like the plot of a Black Mirror episode to me.  
 
Creators need to protect themselves from this type of AI.  
 
AI actors = real people who have given authorization to be used as AI.  
 
Meaning their face and voice are owned by the platform. 
 
Any brand can type in a script, and the AI actor will read it.  
 
Boom - you’ve got a new Meta ad in seconds for a fraction of the price. 
 
I think it’s dystopian.  
 
There’s a massive difference between: 
 
1. Using generative video AI, like Sora, to create new visuals from text prompts. 
 
2. Using AI actors, in which you’re manipulating a real person’s face and voice to say what you want.  
 
Imagine selling your likeness in perpetuity for $1000 to a platform that doesn’t care about you: 
 
- Your face and voice can be used to say anything. 
- With high ad spend, “you” could be blasted to hundreds of millions of people. 
- Brands that you don’t support will use your likeness to sell products. 
 
I’m not an AI expert, but I work with AI tools to be more efficient.  
 
This specific space gives me the ick. 
 
Creators need to tread carefully.  
 
Be very careful about what you sign.

A middle-aged man created 1 video that sold $142,350 in collagen supplements. 

He recorded in bad lighting on this phone.
He most likely never tried the product.
He used the same script as hundreds of other TikTok Shop affiliates. 

Let’s break down the 6 core components of this wildly successful video. 

1. The Hook

“Did you see the video of the lady that was just crying because she started taking collagen and all of her wrinkles started disappearing?”

2. The Interest Driver

“People were literally mistaking her for 45 years old but she was actually 65 and she was taking this exact brand of college peptides.”

3. The Mechanism Of Action

“It has actual multiple collagens. It also has biotin, vitamin C, and hyaluronic acid.”

4. The Outcome

“That means that you get skin hair nails joints and overall health support in that one bag.”

5. The Social Proof

“I personally dealt with bad dermatitis.”

“I started taking collagen and after a couple of weeks that completely disappeared for me.”

6. The CTA

"I'm gonna leave a link because they finally just restocked and it's on flash sale right now.”

---

Now, this video is based on a woman who does not exist. 

There is no original video of a crying woman.

And there is something very MLM-ish about the growth of Microingredients on TikTok Shop this past month.

However, as a marketer I find it fascinating that someone wrote a script so good that middle-aged men are selling hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of collagen on TikTok.

What are the key elements of a successful script?

I went from 0 to 26K LinkedIn followers and 2.86M+ impressions in the last 12 months. 
 
Here are the exact hooks from my 7 most popular posts. 
 
(I’ve exported a Notion table with all 154 posts... it’s linked at the end) 
 
1. I spent 50+ hours analyzing our top-performing Meta video ads… 
 
- Views: 202,266 
- Engagements: 2,431 
- Engagement Rate: 1.20% 
 
2. DTC brands, please STOP sending Meta traffic to your homepage. 
 
- Views: 147,205 
- Engagements: 1,313 
- Engagement Rate: 0.89% 
 
3. I landed a Head of Marketing role as a 25-year-old. 
 
- Views: 102,471 
- Engagements: 932 
- Engagement Rate: 0.91% 
 
4. Steal these 5 ad copy frameworks to drive 3.5X+ ROAS. 
 
- Views: 67,046 
- Engagements: 515 
- Engagement Rate: 0.77% 
 
5. This ad instantly became a winner. 
 
- Views: 64,599 
- Engagements: 196 
- Engagement Rate: 0.30% 
 
6. I’ve closed $127,000+ for my agency with these 5 sales emails. 
 
- Views: 59,057 
- Engagements: 1,142 
- Engagement Rate: 1.93% 
 
7. Marketers have saved 5,600+ FB ads from MAËLYS, Dr. Squatch, and True Classic on Foreplay. 
 
- Views: 49,012 
- Engagements: 393 
- Engagement Rate: 0.80% 
 
Just like with Meta ads, what works with organic LI content is: 
 
- Outcomes 
- Pain points 
- Specific numbers 
 
If you're a good marketer, you can become a creator.  
 
Grab the full Notion resource with all 154 posts here: https://lnkd.in/e5vK47_A

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