It still feels surreal to write this, but my store once hit $264,590 in a single day.
No fancy agency. No million-dollar investors. Just me, my laptop, and a chaotic folder full of ad ideas.
But let me tell you something that most “Shopify success stories” don’t say — that number didn’t come from luck. It came from hundreds of failed ads, sleepless nights, and a complete obsession with understanding why some ads convert and others don’t.
This is the story of how I built my winning ad creative process — and the few mindset shifts (and tools) that changed everything.
The messy beginning
When I started running Facebook ads for my first Shopify store, I thought success was about budget.
If I spent more, I’d earn more — right?
Wrong.
I threw money at every possible creative: product demos, UGC, stock footage, text overlays, even a dancing dog video once. But nothing consistently worked.
Some ads got clicks but no sales. Others had great ROAS for two days and then died.
The real problem?
I didn’t have a system. My “ad testing” was basically guessing with fancier words.
The turning point
One night, after burning through $800 with zero conversions, I decided to stop.
I pulled open my spreadsheet and wrote one line in frustration:
“What makes an ad actually make people buy?”
That question became the foundation of everything that followed.
Instead of trying to “be creative,” I started studying creativity that converts. I stopped reinventing the wheel and began analyzing top-performing ads across my niche — structure, emotion, pacing, and hooks.
I’d ask myself:
Why does this opening grab attention?
What visual element keeps people watching?
How is the CTA placed?
That’s when I realized — winning ads have patterns. Once you recognize them, you can replicate them without copying.
My winning ad creative process
After months of testing, breaking, and rebuilding, here’s the exact creative process I use today.
- Research before creation
Before filming or designing anything, I spend hours studying competitor ad trends.
I look for what’s actually working now — not just what looks nice.
That’s where Denote comes in.
I use Denote to explore ad libraries across platforms — Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube.
It’s like a visual search engine for ads. I filter by spend level, region, and audience type, and I can instantly see what’s performing in my niche.
Instead of guessing, I start with real data and proven creative angles.
It’s not about copying — it’s about understanding why certain stories resonate and how you can tell yours differently.
- Find emotional angles, not product features
People don’t buy features. They buy better versions of themselves.
So I always ask:
“How does this product make the customer feel?”
If it’s a fitness product, it’s not about the resistance level — it’s about the confidence after two weeks.
If it’s skincare, it’s not about the ingredients — it’s the glow in the mirror.
Once I find that emotional core, the ad writes itself.
- The 5-second rule
Your first 5 seconds determine if people watch or scroll.
My goal is always:
Shock (surprise visual or bold statement)
Relate (emotionally or situationally)
Promise (show what’s in it for them)
If I can hit those three things within 5 seconds, I’m already halfway there.
- Test fast, iterate faster
Most creators overthink “perfect ads.” I prefer messy speed.
I launch multiple short creatives, test hooks and formats, and kill losers quickly.
Denote helps again here — I can benchmark my ad against what’s trending in real time. If something flops, I can check similar ads and spot what I missed.
Tools that changed my workflow
Aside from Denote, I use:
CapCut Pro for editing (clean, mobile-friendly, fast)
ChatGPT (yes) for copy tweaks and brainstorming new hooks
Notion to organize ad data and creative feedback
But Denote remains my “cheat sheet.” It gives me that bird’s-eye view of the ad ecosystem — what’s hot, what’s fading, and what’s next.
Without it, I’d still be scrolling endlessly through random Facebook pages or TikTok videos, trying to figure out what works.
The mindset shift
Here’s the truth:
Every creative process looks sexy in hindsight.
But in reality, it’s chaotic, full of uncertainty, and you’ll second-guess yourself constantly.
I used to think that “creativity” meant being original.
Now I think it means being curious enough to find what already works — and being brave enough to make it your own.
Once I stopped trying to “invent” and started to observe, analyze, and apply, my ads stopped being random experiments and became predictable money-makers.
A final thought
That $264,590 day didn’t happen because of one perfect ad.
It happened because of a system that allowed imperfect ads to improve quickly.
If you’re reading this and still struggling to make your ads convert — you’re not failing. You’re just one process away from seeing patterns others miss.
And honestly?
You don’t need to be a genius. You just need curiosity, discipline, and the right tools.
I still test, fail, and learn every single week. But now, it’s a controlled chaos.
Because behind every viral ad, there’s a creator who learned how to listen — to data, to emotion, and to what people actually care about.
And that’s the real secret to a winning ad creative process.
If you’re deep into ad creation like I am, check out Denote — it’s not a sponsor plug, just genuinely one of those tools that made my workflow saner. I’d probably still be stuck in spreadsheet hell without it.
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