Over The Shoulder (OTS) MBD Ad Strategy
A new broom sweeps clean. In May, we decided to start running ads to show you, over the shoulder, what it looks like. Once a quarter (maybe even once a month) we’ll do a deep dive into the strategy, ecosystem, and results.
We set up a new ad account, a new pixel, and even a new page. It will take us a little longer to optimize an entirely new account, but we felt it would be the best data to share with you.
Warning:
This is not a direct response funnel or strategy, it’s an ecosystem play built to increase antifragility and sustainability over time. I think it’s important to understand this because your strategy might be different, which means your plan and hypothesis will also be different.
Adspend: $1,507.03
The ad spend for the month is low because 1) a new ad account can’t spend much per day and 2) we micro-step into everything and let data lead the way. Remember, spending more does not mean making more; a mouse cannot be the size of an elephant.
Revenue (collected): $10,540
This is only counting the revenue collected on the initial purchase. It does not account for payment plans, LTV, or backend purchases.
ROAS: 6.993x
Once again, this is collected on the first purchase and does not account for any subsequent payments, upsells, or downsells.
Plan & Hypothesis:
The hypothesis was simple: We believe that if we build a “collaborative” ecosystem, we can break even or better on the very first transaction*. As long as that is true, we’re groovy. To keep it simple, we’re only tracking the very first transaction. *We only need to break even on the first purchase because the back-end subscription, upsells, etc are already proven to convert at a high level - R3 principles are baked in throughout.
If you’re not a paid Man Bites Dog member, that’s okay, I won’t leave you hangin’ - below is everything you need to pull it all together for yourself. If you’re a paid subscriber, I’ll pull it all together for you in a detailed breakdown (two short videos) behind the paywall.
The Products:
Champion’s Perfect Day
TGA+ & Man Bites Dog (Substack Publications)
You’re on Man Bites Dog right now.
The Strategies:
Substack (Man Bites Dog and TGA+)
The advertising strategy. The advertising strategy is only partially deployed and it is being handled by the one and only Laurel Portie.
Laurel’s program is on a waitlist, but if you get on the waitlist the first email is a full ecosystem overview (for free).
The email strategy (outside of substack)
Every email automation and strategy within the ecosystem follows this general structure.
There will be advanced strategies layered on in the coming months, which we will share with you. You can figure out everything you need to know with the resources above. Study them, take what is useful to you and I hope you find unique ways to reinvent them and make them better.
ONE MORE WARNING!
If you’re just getting started, do NOT try and model this strategy. You need at least one reliable way to get traffic and at least one proven conversion mechanism. If you don’t have either of those yet, go to the Laurel Corner or get on the waitlist for Laurel’s program and implement what’s already there.
Now, the deep dive on ecosystem building, anti-fragility, and how we’re thinking about the whole thing…