funnel diversity - creative diversity
The speaker argues that funnel optimization matters more than creative diversity in advertising. A well-optimized funnel (high conversion rate, AOV, EPV) makes all creatives perform better, while a poor funnel makes even great creatives underperform—the metaphor being that the funnel is the ocean and creatives are boats that rise and fall with the sea level.
Summary
The speaker challenges the conventional focus on creative diversity in advertising, asserting that funnel diversity is actually more important. Using the metaphor of an ocean and boats, the speaker explains that the funnel's performance fundamentally determines the success of all creative assets. When a funnel's sea level rises (improved conversion rates, average order value, and earnings per visitor), every creative boat rises with it. Conversely, when the sea level drops, all boats sink together.
The speaker illustrates this with two scenarios: a D-tier funnel produces minimal ROAS (return on ad spend), making scaling impossible, and even the best creative barely achieves 1x ROAS. When that same funnel is improved to B-tier status, creatives that were previously losing money become profitable, and the worst creative now performs at 1x ROAS—the same creatives yielding completely different results.
The speaker concludes that chasing new tools, workflows, and trendy solutions (like AI tools) doesn't address the core problem: a broken funnel. If your funnel is fundamentally flawed, AI simply accelerates the production of ineffective ads. The solution is to fix the funnel first, because 'a rising tide raises all ships.'
Key Insights
- The speaker claims that funnel performance functions as a multiplier for all creative assets—a D-tier funnel keeps even top creatives barely above 1x ROAS, while a B-tier funnel makes previously unprofitable creatives profitable without changing the creative itself
- The speaker uses the ocean and boats metaphor to argue that raising funnel performance (sea level) simultaneously improves all creative performance, and conversely, poor funnel performance drags down all creatives regardless of quality
- The speaker asserts that new AI tools and trendy workflows don't solve fundamental funnel problems—if your funnel is broken, AI simply enables faster production of ineffective ads
- The speaker argues that a terrible funnel prevents the ability to produce winning creatives or scale ad spend, establishing funnel quality as a prerequisite to effective advertising
- The speaker claims that the same creative assets produce drastically different results depending on funnel tier, demonstrating that funnel optimization has greater leverage than creative optimization
Topics
Transcript
[0:00] Everybody's out here yapping about creative diversity, but nobody is talking about funnel diversity. And I think funnel diversity actually matters more. Think of it like this. A funnel is like the ocean, and every single one of your creatives is a boat. If you raise the sea level, meaning you raise the performance of your funnel, every single boat rises with it, which is every single creative rises with. And in the same manner, if the sea level drops, all the boats will drop, too. So, let's say you have a D-tier funnel. Your ROAS is trash, you're not producing any winners, and you can't scale your ad spend. Now, if you improve that funnel, you increase [0:30]…
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Your funnel is a creative multiplier
A funnel acts as a creative multiplier that can dramatically improve the performance of the same creatives. By upgrading your funnel's conversion rate, average order value, or LTV, creatives that previously underperformed can become winners, making it easier to discover high-performing creative without necessarily creating better ads.
Don't split test the first page
Facebook penalizes split testing on landing pages after ad approval because it views post-approval changes as potential cloaking or non-compliance. The speaker demonstrates this through a failed listicle test that only succeeded when retested using new post IDs instead of modifying the original approved landing page.
Why winnings ads eventually die
Winning ads don't actually die; they hit a profitable spending cap that can be extended through strategic media buying, funnel testing, and improved unit economics. A creative is only truly dead after exhausting all optimization options within these levers.
Comparison is a net negative
The speaker argues that comparison is harmful before achieving initial success, but becomes motivating afterward. Social media distorts reality through lies and exaggeration, making premature self-comparison counterproductive and emotionally damaging.
f*ck it. ZERO to $1k/day in 3 days with ai dropshipping. [full case study]
Mark documents achieving $1,000/day in dropshipping sales within 3 days by emphasizing that winning products are created through marketing rather than found, using AI tools for product research and ad creation, and focusing on creatives and funnels over product selection. He details his product criteria, store setup, ad account structure, and AI-generated creative strategies while acknowledging areas for improvement like conversion rate and AOV.