I sat down with Chandler Bolt from Self-Publishing.com for a value-packed podcast interview, & break down the exact formula our clients have used to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue with video ads.
I loved this conversation because Chandler asked the right questions – the kind that forced me to distill 8+ years of YouTube Ads & Video Marketing expertise into something you can actually go out & implement today.
So in today's Newsletter, I want to pull back the curtain on everything we covered. By the end of this email, you'll have a simple, repeatable framework to create video ads that actually convert – regardless of whether you're running on YouTube, Meta, or any other platform.
Here's a Sneak Peek at What's Inside This Email:
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The 3 Core Ad Elements every high-converting video ad MUST have (miss one & you'll leave money on the table)
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The 3 Targeting Elements that separate profitable campaigns from expensive lessons
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The #1 Secret I shared with Chandler on how to scale client acquisition while keeping CAC low (this is my favorite strategy in all of marketing)
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A Golden Nugget “Trojan Horse” Funnel that lowers lead costs while still warming leads with a full VSL
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Plus – my real answer to the “Should I reallocate my ad budget from Meta to YouTube?” question
Alright, let's Dive In…
Watch the Full Video on YouTube:
The 3 Core Ad Elements of a High-Converting Video Ad
After creating & testing thousands of video ads across Countless industries, I can tell you with total confidence that every winning ad we've ever run comes down to 3 Core Elements:
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The Hook
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The Educate Section
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The Call-to-Action
Let's break each one down…
Element #1: The Hook
Here's the biggest mistake I see people make with their hooks – they try to sell the offer in the first 5 seconds.
The hook isn't selling people on your service, your coaching program, your book, or your high-ticket package.
The hook is selling people on watching the video.
That's it. Your entire job with the hook is to capture attention & get them excited to stick around for the rest of your ad.
One of my most popular hooks of all time is:
“YouTube Ads Beat Facebook Ads Every Time. Let's Face it, Ad Costs are Going Through the Roof & Even When You Have a Great Ad, They're Almost Impossible to Scale. In this Video, I'll Show you how you can use YouTube Ads, Just Like the One You're Watching Right Now, to Scale your Business to 7 or even 8 Figures…”
Look at what that hook actually does:
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It opens with a Pattern Interrupt – a bold, polarizing statement
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It calls out the ideal audience (anyone running ads)
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It creates curiosity & a little controversy (people want to see what I'll say next)
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It repels the wrong people & pulls in the right ones
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It hits pain points (rising ad costs, hard to scale)
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It promises a clear goal (scale to 7-8 figures)
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It adds proof (“just like the one you're watching right now”)
That's the anatomy of a Winning Hook.
Another great example I shared with Chandler was a nutritionist client who held up a measuring cup of oil & said:
“This is 2,000 calories of oil. If a calorie is a calorie, why can't I just drink this every day and be healthy?”
That's a visual Pattern Interrupt that instantly pulls in anyone interested in nutrition, weight loss, or health – & it sets up the Educate section perfectly.
Element #2: The Educate Section
This is where most people fall flat.
They nail the hook & then immediately jump to “book a call” or “sign up for my webinar” – with zero value delivered in between.
The problem? You haven't demonstrated your expertise yet. You haven't built any trust. And especially right now, in what I'm calling the “Trust Recession” – it takes longer than ever to build trust with cold audiences.
I'm a huge believer in over-delivering value at every single step along the way:
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Over-deliver on your ads
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Over-deliver on your trainings & VSLs
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Over-deliver on your sales calls
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Over-deliver when they become clients
If you want to build know, like & trust quickly – you need to actually teach something IN the ad itself.
Here's the key though: Teach the What & the Why – but NOT the How.
The How is what you sell.
Share 2-5 keys at a high level. Explain WHY those keys matter. Bust a few industry myths. Reframe limiting beliefs.
You're not trying to teach them the full strategy in 60 seconds. You're trying to prove to them that you know what you're talking about & that there's a better way than what they've been doing.
Element #3: The Call-to-Action (CTA)
The key to a great Call-to-Action is to keep it Simple.
Don't overcomplicate it. Don't send people to multiple places. Don't make them hunt for the offer.
I like to use a transition like:
“Now that you've seen [X], I want to invite you to sign up for my [Training/VSL/PDF] where I'll dive deeper & show you exactly how to [Get the Result]…”
Then I add this line that's been a game-changer for us:
“When you click the link right here on the screen, you'll get to a page that looks just like this…”
And I actually SHOW the landing page on screen.
We've split tested this dozens of times & it consistently creates a low single-digit % boost in conversion rates. That might not sound like much – but when you're spending serious money on ads, those percentages compound fast into real ROAS gains.
This Edition of the Marketing Minds Newsletter is Sponsored by:
Why does every QBR sound like it took an hour to prep?
The strategic-account QBR has a different feeling. The CSM walks in knowing the buying committee, usage trends, support history, news on the company. They've blocked an hour to prep. The customer feels seen.
The other 190 QBRs don't get that hour. The CSM scans the dashboard five minutes before the call. They wing it. The customer answers the same baseline questions for the third time this year.
What if every QBR was a strategic-account QBR? Two minutes before the call, your CSM has the full brief in Slack: usage trends, support history, NPS, news on the company, what their champion just posted on LinkedIn.
Every customer feels like your top customer. Even when there are 200 of them.
3,000+ tools connected. SOC 2 certified. Your data never trains models.
“It was almost instantly adopted by the bulk of my team.” Boris Wexler, CEO, Space Dinosaurs
The 3 Targeting Elements (The Right Person, at the Right Time, with the Right Message)
You can have the best ad in the world – but if you don't target the right people, you'll never make the cash register ring.
Here are the 3 Targeting Elements we use to make sure every ad dollar is working as hard as possible:
#1: Reach the Right PERSON
This is all about WHO someone is. Is this your ideal audience?
One of the biggest targeting mistakes people make is casting too wide a net. When you do that, you get leads who might be curious – but they'll never actually buy your high-ticket offer.
On YouTube specifically, we stack targeting layers:
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Demographic targeting (age, gender, household income)
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Top 10% income targeting (huge for high-ticket offers – fun fact, this is actually banned in the EU, which tells you how well it works 😉)
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Pre-built & Custom Audiences built around interests, behaviors & purchase intent
#2: Reach them at the Right TIME
This is where YouTube crushes every other platform in my opinion.
On YouTube, you can target people based on:
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Recent Google or YouTube searches (real-time intent)
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URL Affinity Audiences (people who recently visited a specific site)
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Similar / Competitor Sites (target people going to your competitor's content)
That's Alpha-AI Targeting at its finest – you're not just reaching your ideal customer, you're reaching them at the exact moment they're searching for a solution.
#3: Reach them with the Right MESSAGE
This one loops right back to the 3 Core Ad Elements we just covered.
Hook. Educate. Call-to-Action.
Because here's the thing – if a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million. Video is the highest-fidelity way to build know, like & trust with a cold audience.
When you put it all together, the full formula looks like this:
Reach the Right Person, at the Right Time, with the Right Message.
Simple – but most people overcomplicate it.
The ONE Secret that Changes Everything: OmniPresent Retargeting
This is my favorite strategy in all of marketing – & it's what Chandler specifically wanted me to break down at the end of the podcast.
OmniPresent Retargeting is how you become the definitive choice in your prospect's mind.
Here's the analogy I use:
Imagine all of your leads are popcorn kernels. OmniPresent Retargeting is a gigantic microwave. You're warming those kernels up from every angle until they pop into clients.
Studies show that only 3-7% of your leads are ready to buy right now.
That means 93%+ of your leads aren't ready today – but at some point, they will be.
The question is: Who will they think of when that moment arrives?
If you're OmniPresent, the answer is always YOU.
How to Actually Do It
Most businesses focus 100% of their ad spend on top-of-funnel (cold traffic) & completely ignore retargeting.
That's a massive mistake.
Once someone enters your funnel – whether through YouTube Ads, Meta Ads, a book, a podcast appearance, a QR code, Amazon, organic search, anywhere – you want to be EVERYWHERE they look:
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YouTube Ads
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Google Display Network
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Meta (Facebook + Instagram)
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LinkedIn Ads
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AdRoll (banner ads across thousands of sites – news, weather, Reddit, Snapchat, etc.)
Here's the magic part: you might only spend $5/day per platform.
But across 5-10 platforms, you're now everywhere in your prospect's world.
And the Customer Acquisition Cost?
It’s LOW.
When a client is worth $1,000, $5,000, or $15,000+ to you – spending $5-10/day per platform to stay in front of warm leads is one of the highest ROI moves you can make in your entire business.
That's why when people meet me at conferences they say, “Aleric, I see you EVERYWHERE.”
That's when you know it's working.
Bonus Golden Nugget: The “Trojan Horse PDF” Funnel
I'll give you one more secret I dropped on the podcast.
On some of our campaigns, our CTA is to download a 19-page YouTube Ad Strategy PDF.
But here's the trick…
When someone opts in, we don't just give them the PDF. We send the PDF to their email inbox – & then on the Thank You page, we immediately give them a full Video Conversion Training (VSL).
The page essentially says: “Great! Your PDF is on the way. Now watch the video version of the PDF right here.”
Why do we call it the Trojan Horse PDF?
Because people are more willing to opt in for a PDF (low-commitment) than a full training. So we get cheaper lead costs on the front end – but we still deliver the full VSL experience on the back end.
And 50-70% of people actually start watching the VSL after opting in.
Best of both worlds.
Should You Reallocate Your Ad Budget from Meta to YouTube?
Chandler asked me this directly on the podcast since Self-Publishing.com is currently running roughly 80% Meta / 20% YouTube Ads.
My honest answer:
Meta is easier to get into, but YouTube is far more scalable on the back end.
Meta ads often look cheaper on the front end (lower cost per lead). But when you look at the full funnel metrics – consumption rates, lead quality, booked call show rates & ultimately Return on Ad Spend – YouTube consistently wins.
The reason is simple: YouTube is the best platform on earth for warming up leads. People aren't mindlessly scrolling like they are on Meta. They're in a “Learner's Mindset” – actively consuming video content & building trust with whoever shows up in their feed.
My advice to Chandler (& to YOU if you're in a similar position):
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Don't just look at cost per lead.
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Look at cost per booked call, show rate, close rate & ROAS.
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Test a small YouTube Ads budget, prove it out, & scale.
Watch the Full Podcast Interview on YouTube
If you want to go deeper on every single one of these frameworks – including the exact case study discussion with Chandler & more behind-the-scenes examples – I highly recommend watching the full interview.
We packed a LOT into this one.
Click Here to Watch the Full Interview on YouTube!
Watch The Full Video on YouTube:
Complimentary Video Marketing Strategy Call!
Are you looking to Scale your Business with Video Marketing?
I want to invite you to a 1-1 Strategy call with my Team to map out a YouTube Ads & Video Marketing Strategy specifically for your Business!
This is a 45-minute call where we’ll dive into your Business, your Goals & map out a Custom Strategy to help you Achieve them through YouTube!
Fill out the Quick Booking form to Schedule your Strategy Call.
More Value Coming Next Friday!
I hope you found this Newsletter valuable! Between the 3 Ad Elements, the 3 Targeting Elements, OmniPresent Retargeting & the Trojan Horse PDF Funnel – there's enough in this email to rebuild your entire video ad strategy from scratch.
Stay Tuned for More Great Value & Content Coming your Way!
Here’s a Sneak Peak at What’s Coming Next:
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More Free Trainings & Resources — In your Inbox!
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Real Case Studies & Examples of the Marketing Funnels that Scaled Coaching Businesses past 7 & 8 Figures
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The REAL on-the-ground insights into what’s going on in the Online Marketing & Coaching/Consulting/High-Ticket Industry (Based on our Insights working with Thousands of Clients)
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The Latest YouTube Ad & Marketing Strategies as we Discover Them – So that you’re Always on the Cutting Edge
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Guest Articles, Videos & Podcasts from the Top Marketing Minds of Today — Stay tuned for some exciting announcements around this 😉
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And a LOT More…
I’m serious when I say I want this to be The Most Valuable Newsletter You’re Subscribed to — Look out for us in your Inbox Every Friday!
I’ll see you in the next one!
To Your Success,
– Aleric Heck |Â Founder & CEO of AdOutreach



