Identify scalable ads before you burn your budget

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Good morning!

In today’s newsletter,

This issue takes 2 minutes to read.

Check out our DTC tool stack here

Let’s dive into it👇

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Most teams just make more ads and hope something sticks.

By the time they figure out what actually works, they’ve already spent a chunk of budget and their audience is tired of seeing the same brand over and over.

Kaushal Sen's Context Value Matrix solves this.

The framework: Plot your creative ideas on 2 axes before you produce them

Context (Y-axis) = How much does this ad educate the customer?

Value (X-axis) = How clear is the offer?

The pattern:

Example for a skincare brand

Hook:
“Why your acne keeps coming back (even after antibiotics).”

Context:

Value:

High education + clear promise + price + timeline.

Post Credit: Kaushal Sen

Bret's Question:

"My biggest challenge is learning and posting content for social media...Just starting out."

Our Response:

Hey Bret,

Good news is you're not alone. Most founders freeze up here because they think content needs to be perfect. It doesn't.

Here's what I'd focus on if I were just starting:

1. Pick one platform first

Don't try to be everywhere. If your customers are on Instagram, start there. If they're on TikTok, go there. One platform done well beats three done poorly.

2. Study what's already working

Find 3–5 brands in your space (or adjacent) who are doing social well. Screenshot their top posts. Notice the patterns. What formats do they use? What hooks? What topics get engagement?

You're not copying. You're learning the language of the platform.

3. Start with education, not promotion

People scroll social to be entertained or learn something. They don't want ads.

So if you sell skincare, post about ingredient myths. If you sell fitness gear, post about common workout mistakes.

Give value first. Selling comes later.

4. Batch and repurpose

You don't need to create something new every day. Film one piece of content, then turn it into:

Same message, different formats.

5. Don't overthink it

Your first 20 posts will probably be mid. That's fine. You'll get better by doing, not by planning.

And if you get to a point where you want help with strategy or production, Hana on our team handles social for DTC brands. But early on, especially if you're working with a tight budget, try it yourself first, so you learn what works.

Let us know by simply replying to this email, and we’ll have an expert reach out to you and answer that, and you can also expect to receive some helpful resources.

Many brands optimize ROAS by channel. 

On paper, every channel is “working.”

But when you compare total revenue to total marketing spend, the business tells a different story.

Northbeam’s 2025 DTC data showed median brands grew revenue by 9%, yet marketing efficiency dropped by 2.6%.

Basically, sales increased, but it cost more to generate them.

The gap comes from focusing on ROAS instead of MER.

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) means:
How much money did this one channel make compared to what I spent on it?

Meaning, Revenue from one channel ÷ Spend on that channel

MER (Marketing Efficiency Ratio) means:

How much money did all my marketing make compared to everything I spent?

Which means Total revenue ÷ Total marketing spend

Why this matters

You can have:

• 4.5x on Meta
• 3.2x on Google
• 8x on Email

And still barely break even once all spend is accounted for.

ROAS makes individual channels look efficient.
MER tells you whether the entire marketing engine is healthy.

If MER is weak, scaling spend will magnify inefficiency.

What you can do:

Track both metrics, but make budget decisions based on MER, not ROAS.

Source: Northbeam - Top Marketing Metrics to Track for Long-Term Success

The best marketing ideas come from marketers who live it. That’s what The Marketing Millennials delivers: real insights, fresh takes, and no fluff. Written by Daniel Murray, a marketer who knows what works, this newsletter cuts through the noise so you can stop guessing and start winning. Subscribe and level up your marketing game.

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