What's up, Marketers! This is Aazar.

This newsletter is about leveling up your paid growth marketing skills by analyzing the best brands' paid strategy, tactics, positioning, and value props.

This newsletter is divided into:

My favorite finds

AI is making everything look the same.

But one thing it can't replicate is you. Your story, your face, and your personality. That's what founder ads are built on, and that's why they still convert.

The hard part isn't knowing they work. It's picking the right format for you. 

So here are 11, each one different, each one doable. One format takes 5 minutes and just your phone. Two don't even need your face on camera, perfect if you're an introverted founder.

This is my ad. We deliberately made it very organic looking.

Pick a giant in your space and one specific product they sell.

Then show, on camera, exactly what's wrong with it.

This should not be a rant, just a demonstration. Something they can see with their own eyes.

(We ran this exact format for a tea brand, going head-to-head with Starbucks. It crushed in testing and scaling campaigns.)

Keep this in mind: The enemy has to be something your audience already uses or knows. The more familiar the target, the harder the hit.

Face the camera and talk about why you made the product.

Not the features. The moment you decided this had to exist.

The messier and more specific the journey, the better. 

Keep this in mind: One specific moment beats a full timeline. Find the moment everything clicked and start there.

Call out the shady thing the big brands do and be specific about it.

Then show up as the honest alternative. And show how you’re on the customer's side.

The visual hook matters here. Do something in the first second that stops the scroll before you say a word. Think funny.

Keep this in mind: Your startup size is your advantage here. A big brand can never say things like "we're just two brothers trying to help." You can.

Get someone to ask you questions about your product. On camera. Unscripted.

Don’t try to create a perfect script. Just you answering genuinely.

The stumbles, the pauses, the imperfect words are exactly what makes people trust you. Scripted feels like an ad. This feels like a conversation.

Keep this in mind: Prepare 30 to 40 questions covering every type of customer, curious, skeptical, ready to buy. Then break it into pieces. One recording session gives you months of content.

Tools worth checking out:

Atria: You're only as good an advertiser as your swipe file. Atria saves and analyzes ads, with AI to create concepts and scripts in seconds. Try it for free. It offers ad analytics, a swipe file, an AI creative strategist, collaboration tools, asset management, and competitor tracking. I’m not an ad genius, but Atria makes me one.

Some of the latest features I am in love with.

AI chat that’s basically media buyer and analyst on my finger tips.

and AI tagging to easily find what’s trending and what to double down on:

Check my YT video review for a full breakdown or check out Atria for free.

Start with something unexpected. A weird visual, a bold claim, a moment that makes no sense yet.

Then connect it to the problem your product solves.

The joke or visual isn't just for attention. It sets up the problem in a way that feels entertaining, not like an ad.

Keep this in mind: The opening moment has to earn the explanation that follows. If the hook doesn't create a "wait, what?" reaction, start over.

Your face doesn't have to be in it. Your voice is enough.

If you aren't naturally dynamic on camera. That's fine. Record your story as a voiceover, let the visuals do the showing while you do the telling.

Same authenticity without the pressure.

Keep this in mind: The story still has to be specific and real. A faceless format doesn't hide a weak story. It just removes the face.

This format also doesn’t require a studio or perfect script.

Just you, telling a personal story in the most natural setting possible. The kind of thing you'd say to a friend, not a camera.

The product comes in only after the story earns it.

Keep this in mind: The more specific and slightly embarrassing the detail, the more real it feels. Raw beats polished every single time.

Call your best customer. Record it. And that's the ad.

No script, no setup. Just a conversation between you and someone who genuinely loves your product.

You can literally make this in the next 5 minutes.

Keep this in mind: Always call your top customers, not random ones. This only works when your product is genuinely good. You can't make up what a true fan says on the phone.

I’d also like to thank CreativeOS. All these image ads in this newsletter were created with the help of CreativeOS.

A creative strategy thrives on more than a single standout ad; it excels through rapid execution, consistent output, iterative processes, and systematic harmony.

That's exactly what CreativeOS is built for.

Gain instant access to thousands of high-performing ad, landing page, and email templates from top brands. Start with proven structures, customize, launch, and move on to the next variation.

It's the fastest way to produce more winning creative without burning out your team or sacrificing quality. Whether you're testing new angles, scaling what's working, or building repeatable creative workflows — CreativeOS is the system that makes it happen.

Check out CreativeOS

Pick something everyone puts up with but nobody questions. Then question it out loud.

No specific competitor to call out. The enemy is the way things have always been done.

The anger has to feel real. If you're not genuinely frustrated by the problem, it won't land.

Keep this in mind: The stronger the "why are we still doing this" moment, the easier the sell. Your product is just the obvious next step.

This ad has no voiceover. No talking. Just text on screen and visuals doing the work.

Show the proof happening in real time. Let the viewer watch it.

Music, text, and a compelling visual is all you need.

Keep this in mind: The proof has to be undeniable and visual. If you can't show it happening on camera, this format won't work.

Put your personality front and center. All of it.

Show the product, demonstrate it, talk about it. But let your energy and humor do the heavy lifting. 

Keep this in mind: Your enthusiasm is contagious. If you're genuinely excited about what you built, the camera picks that up. Don't tone it down.

Credits: thanks to X creators like Nick, Fraser, and more, I found some formats from there too.

Happy Growing with Paid Social,

Aazar Shad

Since this newsletter is free, I do it to follow my curiosity. But I’d love it if you could leave some feedback so I know if I am helping you or not.