TLDR at the end ;)
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There’s too much noise around Meta Ads.
(Gurus use fear tactics to get new clients)
Every week there’s a new update, a new outage report, a new “Meta is dead” take.
If you build your strategy around platform drama, you’ll always feel behind.
Growth doesn’t come from reacting to noise. It comes from operating on principles.
Principles come from strategy. Strategy comes from mission.
And both are business-level decisions — not Ads Manager settings.
Everything you do in marketing must align with that foundation.
After more than a decade in the space, spending over €500,000 on ads personally and generating millions in revenue for clients, I’ve settled on a few core principles for running Meta Ads.
Consider this my Meta Ads Manifesto.
How to Think About Meta Ads
Meta Ads are a channel. A distribution engine that helps you achieve your business goals and fulfil your company’s mission.
Here are my 9 principles for Meta Ads — in no particular order.
Principle 1: Meta Ads Amplify & Expose
Meta doesn’t build your business. It exposes it.
If your offer, positioning, or margins are weak, ads will make that painfully clear.
If they’re strong, Meta becomes a powerful sales channel or lead generator.
It’s distribution, not a demand creator. And definitely not magic.
Principle 2: Judge Ads by Business Metrics
ROAS, CTR, and CPM are diagnostics. Not strategy.
Useful companions, but not leaders.
What matters is profitability: whether your CAC works, your MER makes sense, your POAS is sustainable, and your LTV supports scale.
Performance is measured by contribution to revenue and profit — not engagement.
Principle 3: Strong Messages Work in Any Format
A strong sales message worked in direct mail, newspapers, TV, and landing pages — and it works on Meta.
Format is secondary.
Static, video, carousel, UGC, AI — none of it saves a weak message.
If the core message is strong, the format becomes leverage.
Principle 4: Ads Require Investment
Meta is an auction. You compete with brands that spend aggressively.
More budget means more exposure and faster learning — that’s the hard truth.
Small budgets can work, but underfunded accounts move slowly and make reactive decisions.
Even so, Meta remains more affordable and definitely more measurable than traditional media for most small businesses.
Principle 5: Fundamentals Beat Noise
Meta evolves constantly. That’s normal.
Algorithms shift, features get renamed, gurus panic but human psychology doesn’t reset every quarter.
Clear value, strong offers, and relevant messaging still win.
Test. Observe. Adapt. But don’t abandon fundamentals.
Principle 6: Creative Starts With the Customer
Ad concepts don’t come from trends. They come from customer knowledge.
A well-defined ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) and real buyer personas give you pain points, objections, and language.
That foundation makes creative repeatable. Without it, you’re guessing.
Principle 7: Simple Outperforms Sophisticated
The best-performing ads are often simple. Clear problem. Clear solution. Clear benefit.
Over-designed creatives that don’t solve a real customer problem quietly burn budget.
Trends are waves.
Problem-solving messaging builds customers.
Principle 8: Copywriting is Key
Every ad starts with words. Before production, before editing, before design — there’s a headline, a promise, a structure, and a CTA.
Strong copy makes static, video, UGC, and AI ads work.
Execution amplifies the message. It doesn’t replace it.
Principle 9: Change is the only Constant
ASC+, CBO, ABO, iOS updates — Meta will always evolve.
That’s the reality of playing on a living platform.
Your job isn’t to resist change, but to test and adapt while keeping your principles intact.
Features are tactical.
Thinking is strategic.
Conclusion
Principles don’t change.
Tactics do change. And you need to adjust accordingly.
If you anchor yourself in fundamentals, platform updates become adjustments, not existential crises.
TLDR (for skimmers)
Stop reacting to Meta “Guru drama”.
Meta Ads don’t build businesses — they amplify them.
If your offer, margins, and positioning are weak, ads expose it. If they’re strong, ads scale it.
Vanity metrics are diagnostics. Profit is the scoreboard.
Formats change. Features change.
Tactics change. Principles don’t.
Anchor yourself in fundamentals — and platform updates become adjustments, not emergencies.
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