The YouTube "Value-Ad"

After being on YouTube for over 13 years & running YouTube Ads for the last 8 years I’ve seen a thing or two about what converts & what doesn’t on YouTube.

And the Biggest mistake most Entrepreneurs & Marketers make when they create YouTube Ads is they create ads that lack substance & true value.

How often have you seen an Ad on YouTube that goes like this: “Do you have xyz problem, well then go sign up for my webinar” – Haha No, Thank You!

Why doesn’t this work? Or at least work as well?..

It’s because there’s no actual value delivered WITHIN the video itself that proves to your ideal clients that your CTA is actually valuable.

If you have a Webinar or a VSL/Training you’re trying to get people to opt into if you don’t provide some form of value on your YouTube Ad, why should your ideal clients expect you to provide value on your Webinar? Or when they become a Client?

That’s why I’ve created a Simple 3 Step Framework for what I call the “YouTube Value-Ad”

This is the Exact same Framework we’ve helped Thousands of Businesses implement with their own YouTube Ads. And guess what? Across Countless industries, client avatars & even countries – this 3 part framework converts every time.

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- Hook

- Educate

- Call to Action

Now let’s break each of these down step by step…

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You want to capture your ideal clients attention at the beginning of your Ad (you probably already knew this)

But what you may not know is that you also want to DETER people who aren’t your ideal client away from your video.

This way, you train YouTube's AI to target MORE & MORE of your Ideal Clients, saving money on ad spend towards people that aren't a good fit.

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● Pattern Interrupts (Could be a Polarizing Hook that Captures Attention)

● Question Hooks (Starting a hook with a question, such as “What If…”)

● Problem & Solution Hook (Pointing out a Problem and Offering a Solution)

● Funny / Clever Hook (Adding some Humor into the Beginning of your Ad)

● Story / Case-Study Hook (Showcasing Results, Case Studies or Stories)

● Education / Value Hook (Leading with Value from the Start of the Ad)

A few examples of great hooks:

“YouTube Ads Beat Facebook Ads Every Time, let’s face it, Facebook Ad Costs are going through the roof, and Even when you have a great ad, they’re almost impossible to scale. In this video I’m going to show you how you can use YouTube Ads to scale your business to 7-8+ Figures…”

This is one of our Best Performing Ads of All Time, it hits many different points - it starts off with a Pattern Interupt in the form of a bold polarizing statement, backed up by a Problem-Solution hook, hitting pain points about Facebook Ads & then introducing a Solution to their Problem: YouTube Ads.

Here’s another one that’s produced great results for us:

“What if you could Ethically Hijack your Competitors Traffic & Send it Directly into your own Funnel? Well in this video I’m going to show you exactly how to do just that using laser-targeted YouTube Ads”

This is a Curiosity Question-based hook designed to capture attention & then promises to deliver value throughout the video itself (what we do in the Value-Ad).

Starting off hooks with “What If…” is a great way to spark curiosity & create an open-loop. (Just make sure to deliver on your promise within the ad)

Other great Hooks Call out a Problem, Call out the Ideal Client, Showcase Proof/Credibility in the beginning and/or start with a more straightforward “How To” style.

After the first part of your hook I always like to continue with the phrase “In this video I’m going to…” to set the stage for the Education section of the video & the Value you’re about to provide!

I recommend creating at least 5 Hooks every time you go to create new YouTube Ads so that you can split test which hooks work best (I’ll share a Pro Tip to record all 5 versions of your ad quickly a bit later on in this post)

Once you have a few great hooks ready to go it’s time for the next section of your ad…

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This is the KEY to your “Value-Ad” and the section most Entrepreneurs & Marketers leave out or get wrong.

In order for your ads to convert the best you need to know WHY people are on YouTube to begin with…

Everyone on YouTube is there for 1 of 2 Reasons:

- To be Entertained

- To Learn

We want to reach the people on YouTube who are looking to LEARN

They’re in what I call the “Learner’s Mindset”

They’re specifically looking to learn about something on YouTube & that’s why they’re watching Videos.

That’s why if you just create an ad “Have this problem? Sign up for my Training” it doesn’t work – because viewers on YouTube are looking for Value IN the videos (think about it, you likely consume content this way too!)

It’s all about providing Enough Value on your YouTube Ad to show your ideal clients that you’re serious about providing Value AND that You’re an expert that can actually help them!

What I usually recommend doing is showcasing 2-5 KEYS within the education section of your ad & provide high-level value & advice that your ideal clients can use to solve their problems.

I like to focus on the WHAT & WHY but not the How

What are the Keys that can help them solve their problem?

And why are these Keys important / Why are they better than what else is out there?

What I love to do is to share 2-5 keys at a High Level (What & Why) and then I say that “I’ll dive deeper into these on our Webinar/Training”

This provides actual value & then teases the fact that you’ll expand on this value inside the Next Step (boosting conversions)

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The key with your Call to Actions are to keep them “Stupid Simple”

You need to make it very clear what the next step is for people to take action after your video & the value that they’ll get from taking that next step.

I like to transition my ads by saying something like “Now that you’ve seen ____, I want to invite you to sign up for my _____ where I’ll dive deeper and show you Exactly how to _____”

This allows you to link the value you just provided with even DEEPER value when someone takes action (especially if the next step is a Webinar or a VSL/Training)

I then also like to say the words “When you click the link right here on the screen you’ll get to a page that looks just like this..”

And then I actually SHOW the page that they’re going to see when they click on the link.

We’ve split tested this numerous times & you often get a low single digit % boost in Conversion rates when you SHOW the next steps from your ad – and it’s not a surprise.

^ This is because you’re able to demystify what’s going to happen when someone clicks the link & you add familiarity to the landing page & exactly what the viewer needs to do to take action.

Also if you’re confused why I’m so excited about a “low single digit % boost” in conversions – that adds up FAST, every few % you can increase your conversions is more conversions with turns into a higher ROAS (return on ad spend)!

After this, I like to reiterate the value they’re going to get from opting into the CTA and finally end with a final invite to “Click the Link” before showing the page a final time to create a “Squeeze” in the video.?

You want to leave your CTA up on the screen for at least a few seconds to give slower viewers the chance to click your ad links. (This creates another single digit % increase in conversions, that add up fast!)

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This is where a lot of people go wrong, they feel that they need “fancy equipment” cameras or production gear to create a great YouTube Ad…

But in reality, you have all you need to start with your iPhone Camera (seriously they shoot 4k these days!) and a $149 Gimbal.

We’ve found that the key with your videos is to be seen as the “Authentic Authority” in your industry – and a great way to do that is by filming a *natural* YouTube Ad with a simple setup!

If you haven’t heard of a Gimbal before, it’s an amazing tool that allows you to stabilize your iPhone from moving around while recording videos – this creates a smooth, clean feeling for your videos & paired with an iPhone you can create some high quality footage!

The main one I recommend is the DJI Osmo Mobile 6 from Amazon.

You can either record yourself using this setup (for a natural “YouTube-Style” feel) that converts quite well!?

Or you can hand the setup off to someone with you who can record you directly.

(Now in the future, OR if you’re a larger business already, that’s when you can get into more higher-end production – if/when you do that though, I always recommend making the videos still

have an Authentic & Natural feel by filming either on-location or in an Office/Home Office.?

That said you can graduate to higher quality camera equipment, just maintaining the authentic feel. – You almost never want to use a Green Screen or a Big Studio for Direct Response YouTube Ads)

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Now I’m really pulling back the curtain on one of our YouTube Ad Production Secrets!

Of course you know one of the most important things to test is your video ad creative itself – you want to split test what works the best!

But the problem with that is filming 10 different videos to test takes a LOT of Time… That’s why we created our “Lego Blocks YouTube Ad Strategy”

Our Copywriters write 5-10 different hooks for our clients on their YouTube Ads Copywriting Calls (following the frameworks above)

As well as 1-2 different Educate Sections (depending on if there’s multiple ways to teach it)

And a Solid Call to Action (usually no variations necessary for the CTA unless split testing different funnels)

Then we have our clients record each section individually, like this:

- Hook 1

- Hook 2

- Hook 3

- Etc.

Recording JUST the hook of the video for each hook we scripted (~10-30 seconds usually each) & making sure they have at least one good take of each hook.

Then they film:

- Educate 1

- Educate 2

- Call to Action

Individually recording each section.

By the time our clients are done it feels like they filmed 2-3 videos…

BUT they actually end up with 12-24 different YouTube Ads!

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Hook 1

Educate 1

CTA 1

Hook 2

Educate 1

CTA 1

Etc.

We then put all of the videos together from each possible variation just like lego blocks!

This allows us to rapidly Create & Test 12-24 different YouTube Ad Variations in the time it would take to record only 2-3 videos!

^^ Now this is a Pro-Tip & can save you a lot of time!

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We’ve helped our clients write over 4,000+ YouTube Value Ads!

Hopefully, you found this valuable & I can’t wait to see your YouTube Ads!

- Aleric