Day 88: Strong Profit and Launching the New Carousel Ad

Today is the 27th of November, Day 88, and it turned out to be a very strong day in the middle of an otherwise unpredictable Black Friday week.

Yesterday delivered $1,053 in revenue against $546 in total ad spend, giving a profit of $508.

That’s the type of result that feels like genuine momentum—almost a perfect doubling of ad spend, which is exactly where I ultimately want the business to be operating most days.

What was equally interesting is how the Riffs funnel responded to the recent budget cut.

Since reducing spend on that campaign, performance has noticeably improved, which is a pattern I’ve seen before during high-competition weeks. Lowering spend seems to reduce volatility and may give the algorithm room to find better pockets of traffic.

I’m not increasing the budget just yet, but it’s something I’m watching closely.

Most of today’s update is about creative—specifically, the new carousel ad for the beginner-focused funnel.

My original carousel didn’t perform well and barely received any impressions.

It was rushed, AI-generated, and didn’t follow the structure of the carousel that has worked consistently in my other campaign.

So today I rebuilt it completely, following the storytelling format that has proven strongest across my account.

As of this afternoon the new carousel hasn’t had time to gather meaningful reach, but it’s now part of a balanced creative set that also includes static images, the one-minute video, and the short 15-second video.

Together, these six creatives form a proper mix—and I’m expecting this broader variety to improve delivery once the new funnel exits the learning phase.

What You’ll See

• A strong sales day of $1,053 in revenue
• Total ad spend of $546 and profit of $508
• Improved performance from the Riffs funnel after reducing budget
• Full rebuild of the carousel ad for the second funnel
• Breakdown of the creative structure used in the new carousel
• Use of square-format images for maximum placement compatibility
• Seven-frame carousel: pack shot, step-by-step lesson, testimonial, course guide, teaching credibility, and guarantee
• Six active creatives now inside the beginner funnel’s ad set
• Static pack-shot ad continuing to drive the majority of purchases
• Video ads playing a “hook first, convert later” role in the sequence
• 36 purchases so far in the new funnel this week, nearing the learning-phase threshold
• CPM comparison: £7 in Riffs vs £22 in the new funnel
• Today’s slow start at $347 by 4 p.m. and the need for late sales to stay profitable

Strategy Breakdown

The highlight of today’s strategy discussion is the launch of the new carousel ad.

Carousel has historically been my best performer inside the original Riffs funnel.

The first version I built for the beginner funnel didn’t have a strong conceptual foundation—it was produced too quickly and lacked a clean narrative structure.

Today’s version fixes that entirely.

The new carousel is built using seven square-format cards, each designed to act as a stepping stone in the decision-making journey.

It begins with a simple pack-shot as the “anchor,” then moves into the step-by-step lesson structure, a testimonial for social proof, a breakdown of included resources, teacher credibility, and finally the guarantee.

This mirrors the buying psychology built into the funnel itself: clarity, reassurance, authority, and risk reversal.

Alongside the carousel, the funnel now contains a full creative stack:

• Pack-shot static (primary converter)
• Two variations of static images featuring Andy
• One-minute “average guitarist” video
• Short 15-second condensed video
• The rebuilt carousel

Meta’s current delivery model thrives on this type of variety.

A user might first see the video, watch five to ten seconds, then later be shown a static image that converts them.

Video builds recognition; static ads close the sale.

This is exactly what the data has shown so far—the pack-shot ad continues to drive the bulk of purchases even though video often takes the lion’s share of impressions.

On the learning-phase front, the second funnel is closer than ever to exiting.

Over the last week it has generated around 36 purchases, so I’m approaching the 30–50 conversions Meta typically needs to shift a campaign into “active.”

Once that happens, I expect CPMs to drop. Right now the beginner funnel CPM is £22—more than triple the £7 CPM in the Riffs campaign.

Even a partial decrease would create a huge improvement in overall profitability.

Finally, creative volume remains a priority. I plan to record more video assets over the next week and further refine the carousel structures, especially if the new one gains traction.

More variety equals more testing capacity, which equals a faster path to optimisation.

Focus

My focus today is expanding the creative mix in the new funnel—particularly through the rebuilt carousel—while continuing to drive enough conversions to move the campaign out of the learning phase.

Insight

Carousel ads work when they act like a mini sales page, not a collection of random images.

Each card should communicate a different piece of the purchase story, moving the viewer one psychological step closer to buying.

Paired with video hooks and high-intent static images, a well-structured carousel can anchor a campaign and dramatically improve consistency.

Creativity is not about finding one perfect ad—it’s about assembling a system of creatives that support one another in sequence.