Scaling E-Commerce with Bestseller Ads Strategy | Agencies and Brands, FYI

Bestseller ads are a game-changer, enabling brands to acquire new customers profitably while rapidly increasing market share—all without relying on discounts or sales. This strategy works in any market condition, whether the cycle is up or down. If you're looking to revolutionize your e-commerce sales and marketing funnels, here's a step-by-step guide to scaling this powerful approach.

The Core Concept of Bestseller Ads

Bestseller ads are specifically designed to scale at the top of the funnel (TOF)—the most critical stage for growth. Why? Because TOF represents the largest untapped market segment: people who don’t yet know your brand.

The Common Challenge

Most fashion brands—or their agencies—spend over 10% of their ad budget on the middle and bottom of the funnel (MOF and BOF) for remarketing. While this often makes EOAS (Effective Overall Ad Spend) appear favorable, it doesn't deliver the desired growth or match competitor performance.

We suggest allocating 96% of the ad budget to TOF campaigns and only 4% to MOF. This approach ensures:

• Efficient ad spend that avoids eroding profitability.
• Sustained growth, as new customers form the largest segment of your market.
• Freedom from constant product launches since TOF audiences are unaware of your existing offerings.
• Accurate attribution, enabling faster scaling and surpassing competitors.

Campaign Types for TOF

The key to implementing bestseller ads effectively lies in structured campaigns, divided into:

1. Creative Testing: Regularly test and identify high-performing ads every 3-4 days to understand why they convert.
2. Audience Testing: Use proven creatives to find converting audiences.
3. Scaling: Maximize the reach of winning creatives and audiences.

Exclusions for TOF Campaigns

To avoid wasting resources on existing customers, exclude:

• All customers (lifetime).
• All email subscribers (lifetime).
• Website visitors from the past 180 days.
• Social media engagers from the past 180 days.

Automation tools like Klaviyo ensure these exclusions are always updated in real-time.

The Importance of Creative Testing

Consistent creative testing is foundational to avoiding ROAS plateaus and maintaining steady growth.

The Problem

Many brands fail by either not testing at all or testing inconsistently, leading to:

• Unpredictable ROAS.
• Over-reliance on scaling fatigued ads without understanding why they worked.

The Solution

By always testing and rotating creatives, you ensure a pipeline of winning ads. This approach eliminates performance plateaus and enables consistent scaling. Even as current ads fatigue, fresh, high-converting creatives are ready to deploy.

Audience Testing for Optimal Results

Audience testing allows you to identify and scale converting audiences effectively.

Recommended Testing

1. Lookalike Audiences: Test 1%, 3%, 5%, 7%, and 10% for:Purchases in the last 30, 60, 90, and 180 days.High-order-value purchasers (top 25%).Customers with the highest LTV (top 10% and 25%).
2. Interest Audiences: Leverage proven interests like Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Fendi, and YSL based on market research.

Scaling Campaigns

Scaling campaigns include:

• Advantage+ Campaigns (ASC): Allow Meta’s algorithm to optimize delivery but require strict exclusions to prevent targeting existing customers.
• Interest & Lookalike Campaigns: Separate campaigns for controlled scaling.
• Broad Campaigns: Use minimal targeting to maximize reach.

Scaling Techniques

• Incremental Budget Increases: Raise ad spend by 20% daily while maintaining profitability.
• Vertical Scaling: Increase ad spend by 30% every 48 hours to stabilize ROAS.
• Quick Fire Scaling: Boost ad spend by 20% incrementally without resetting the learning phase.

MOF Campaigns

MOF campaigns focus on re-engaging audiences, targeting:

• Social media engagers (past 180 days).
• Website visitors (past 180 days).
• Video viewers (25% completion).

These campaigns often feature testimonial-based ads and proven TOF creatives to reinforce trust and drive conversions.

Creative Strategies

High-performing creatives rely on simplicity and relatability:

• Direct, concise ad copy.
• Minimal emojis and hashtags.
• Avoidance of discounts to maintain long-term brand value.

Carousels and Dynamic Product Ads (DPA) are particularly effective, offering audiences a glimpse of your brand’s offerings and driving curiosity without immediate commitment.

Tracking and Attribution

For accurate tracking and performance insights:

• Use tools like Elevar to send first-party data directly to Meta for precise optimization.
• Avoid sole reliance on Google Analytics due to limitations introduced by Apple’s link-tracking protection in iOS updates.

The Takeaway

Scaling an e-commerce brand to $4M+ online is achievable with bestseller ads. Here’s why this strategy works:

• It prioritizes TOF campaigns to acquire new customers profitably.
• It employs raw, relatable creatives and targeted audience testing.
• It utilizes advanced attribution and tracking methods to maximize efficiency.

By implementing this approach, brands can achieve consistent growth, dominate their markets, and sustain profitability in any economic cycle.

Sales pitch! :) If you’re looking for help crafting your campaigns or optimizing your eCommerce platform, feel free to reach out to our team. We’d love to help you turn this holiday season into a major success for your business.

To your business success!

Hamid Mahmood

— Certified Digital Marketing Strategy, Harvard Business School

— Buy 7-Figure Agency Mindset A-Z Book & Get Coaching @ - Hamid The Pro

— Group Lead,

Ecom Development NYC | E-commerce Development & Online Marketing Agency

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