Five lessons. Read the full ad in all it's glory.

Credit Scrapbook where I saw this

I got 97 cold emails last month.

The only one I replied to didn't ask me to.

Lizzy told me that's her secret.

“I stopped asking for a quick call and clarified I wasn't asking for anything. Responses went from 5% to 25%.”

Don't ask, don't get.

PS. I did sign up, and loved it!

Tabs makes “sex chocolate”. Last month they sold half a million worth.

Oliver is the founder. A 21-year-old college kid from New York. I spoke to him on Friday. And there's one thing Tabs do ridiculously well:

Short-form vertical video.

They have several hundred videos with one million views. Oliver tells me the only secret is sheer output.

“No one knows what the algo is going to like. So don't look for the needle in the haystack. Cop the whole haystack, you'll get the needle.”

Oliver’s got thirty creators on retainer. Each with different Tabs accounts. Each making 1-3 videos / day which get reposted as Shorts, Pins, Reels, etc.

Every day one-hundred Tabs videos hit different pockets of the web. It’s a Walter White-scale operation. And it works.

One viral video is luck. One-hundred is design.

What about the actual videos?

Well, they're ten seconds long, made by actual TikTokers, and crucially look nothing like ads. No CTAs, no big logo. The goal is curiosity, not clarity.

“Let em feel like they discover us, not the other way around.”

[1] [2]

If I met Oliver two years ago I'd have put on my silly little “expert” hat and told him:

Grow one brand account. Run PPC ads. Add a clearer CTA.

Well, he's done precisely the opposite of all that: hundreds of brand accounts, UGC content, no CTAs.

As I end this story I remind myself — What do I know!

Off the back of Tabs' success Oliver's set up a TikTok agency that helps brands go viral. If you're intrigued do message him on Twitter (also an good follow).

Thanks for reading — Harry

What if you replace your homepage with your product?

Well. Rows did. Conversions doubled.

Will this work for you? Probably not.

• Rows is freemium

• People already know how to use a spreadsheet

• The market size is huge

All perfect for product-led growth.

But, it is a reminder to be bold. What if you're wrong? Who cares.

“If you're not failing, you're not innovating enough.”

— Harry

Brand Storytelling 101. You're the guide, not the hero.

No-one watches TikTok for brand self-adultation. What's the coolest thing you can do with Photoshop, without mentioning Photoshop?

“Redesigning signs in New York without anyone asking me to”

4.2M views

Story first, product second. That's the recipe. Anyone can do it. Here's three more I wrote. Nothing fancy. Just A to B.

• “Day 42 learning Mandarin so I can chat with my Grandma” - Duolingo

• “From stay-at-home dad to software engineer at Apple” - Udemy

• “Me and the guy I met on Club Penguin 9 years ago just married!”

Credit to Jack's social strategy newsletter where I saw this :)

— Harry

Take a guess.

I don't know.

“Marketing is just 9-letter jargon for test”

h/t (the indomitable) Danny Postma

• Less polished, more authentic

• Can test ten in an afternoon

• $50K return on a “Post-it”

Cc: “Ugly Ad” forefounder Barry Hott & Ash for the numbers.

The same interview reposted four years later.

Don't redirect people. Hook them as they scroll.

Or to quote Amanda Natividad, “zero-click your content”.

The ultimate abandoned cart flow.

“I see you started an order but didn’t get round to completing it. Here’s a free one to try...”

Does it work? Frank tells me yes:

“The cost of posting a can is $10. People get hooked and buy subscriptions. And the lifetime value of a subscriber is $3,000!”

So if you convert 1/300 “freebies to subscribers” you're profitable.

It's a ridiculously well targeted direct mail campaign. Throwback marketing.

Credit to Randy McHugh whom I got this from

“How many people are trying to reach the prospect exactly the same way as me?”

The lower the number the better chance you’ve got.

Automating sludge? Hundreds!

Finding a company whose problem you solve, solving it (without permission), and sharing with them on social media? Probably just you.

The proof is the pudding.

The trouble with brands on social media is (no matter how hard you try) you're a brand on social media.

So what if you hire an influencer. Give them the keys. “Work your magic”.

Well. That's what Slice did.

Out with posts of garlic bread. In with “Take Me to Your Slice”. Hosted by pizza influencer Ricky. His Instagram pals for guests.

Four months in and impressions just hit 1.8 million / month. Maybe they're onto something.