Day 87: Short-Form Video Tests and Rising AOV

Today is Wednesday the 26th of November, Day 87 of this year-long journey, and I’ve got a solid update on performance, the new funnel, and some creative changes that I’ve just pushed live.

Yesterday came in at $741 in sales, with ad spend of £402 (about $532), giving a profit of $209 for the day.

It’s steady—not yet the margin I’m aiming for—but solid enough in the middle of Black Friday week when auction pressure is at its peak.

What’s interesting is that since I reduced the budget of the Riffs campaign by around £40 a few days ago, the campaign has actually begun performing better.

Whether that’s coincidence or related to spending less during a highly competitive week is hard to say, but the cost per sale has definitely come down.

Meanwhile, the new funnel continues to show really positive numbers, particularly around average order value.

The new funnel’s AOV over the last week has been hovering around $68–$70, compared to roughly $40–$42 in the Riffs funnel.

That difference is massive in terms of margin potential.

Even though the return on ad spend hasn’t fully caught up yet, the higher AOV gives me more room to scale once conversion rates stabilise.

I started with a carousel and three static images for the new funnel, then added a one-minute video.

Today, I introduced a 15-second condensed version of that video along with a pack shot.

It only went live a few hours ago, but Facebook is already giving it substantial delivery.

Early numbers show stronger outbound click-through rates and a much lower cost per landing page view, although it’s too early to draw conclusions.

As of 6 p.m., today’s sales sit at $598, and it looks likely that we’ll finish above $700 again.

Tomorrow I’ll be updating the carousel ad and breaking down exactly how I’ve structured it.

What You’ll See

• Yesterday’s sales of $741 and ad spend of $532
• Profit of $209 during peak Black Friday auction week
• Better performance from the Riffs campaign after reducing spend
• New funnel AOV around $68–$70 versus ~$40 in the original funnel
• Initial ad setup: carousel plus three static images
• Addition of a one-minute video and now a new 15-second version
• Facebook favouring the new short-form video within hours
• Higher outbound CTR and lower CPLPV from the new video
• Plan to rebuild and relaunch a fully updated carousel tomorrow
• Six creatives now active across the new funnel’s ad set
• Steady sales today with potential to surpass $700 again

Strategy Breakdown

The main strategic development today is the ongoing contrast between the two funnels.

The original Riffs funnel has a stable but limited AOV around $40.

The new beginner-focused funnel is delivering an AOV close to $70, which dramatically improves the economics of scaling.

Even if conversion rates vary, that extra $25–$30 per customer gives me a much higher margin buffer and a better chance of hitting the “spend $1, make $2” target consistently.

The decision to reduce the Riffs budget continues to look like the right move. It may simply be benefiting from less exposure during a chaotic week, or it may be that the algorithm needed a reset at a lower spend.

Either way, pulling money from a lower-performing campaign and redirecting it towards a higher-potential funnel aligns with the long-term goal: pushing the new funnel out of the learning phase and into active mode.

Creatively, today marks the beginning of an expanded testing sequence.

The new 15-second video serves as a fast, high-energy version of the longer video.

Shorter videos often perform better during competitive weeks because Facebook can deliver them cheaply and because people are more willing to watch the entire clip.

The early metrics reflect this: despite the campaign only running a few hours, outbound click-through rates are already strong and the cost per landing page view is significantly lower than the longer video.

Across the ad set, I’m now running six creatives:

• Pack shot static
• Andy playing (static)
• A quirkier static image
• The carousel
• Long one-minute video
• Short 15-second video

This combination follows Meta’s current best practices: variety and volume.

The algorithm will automatically decide how to sequence these creatives for individual users—hooking their attention with a video, then serving a more direct-response static image later.

My job this week is to improve the carousel and add more short videos so the algorithm has more options to work with, especially as we approach the transition out of the learning phase.

Once the new funnel hits 30–50 conversions in a rolling 7-day period, it should move out of learning.

That’s where I’m expecting more stable CPMs and a clearer understanding of actual long-term performance.

If CPM can be reduced significantly from its current elevated level, I’ll be in a strong position to scale.

Focus

My focus today is expanding the creative library—especially short-form videos—and preparing the updated carousel so the new funnel has enough variation to exit the learning phase smoothly.

Insight

Short-form creatives can dramatically change the pacing of a campaign.

A one-minute video might build connection, but a 15-second clip can hook attention fast, gather cheap engagement, and push more people into the conversion flow.

Combined with a higher AOV offer, even small improvements in click-through rate have an amplified effect on profitability.

The key is to keep layering creatives, keep testing formats, and let Meta find the combinations that work—especially during noisy auction periods like Black Friday week.