Aazar Shad

"So um I do basic simple message testing to figure out what is resonating with a simple image. So as you see here like I try to like keep the headline. Simple also try to not be too smart about the headline. I just try to figure out what is working. So once I know what is working exactly what is working then I can iterate on that. So if an even if an ad account has historical data I just want to validate in the first point like if it's like what am I testing is actually validated or not."

Creative Testing Strategy Masterclass in 2026 at 6:12 · Featured in Growth Gems #128

Sylvain's take:

You can start with multiple headlines on 1 creative format if you’re confident in the format already.

Example of static ad formats

How Aazar groups his messaging/headlines

Once you have your winning headlines with your initial formats, you expand to other creative formats.

This is a similar approach to what Hannah Parvaz advocates (if you want the full deck, you can get it in the welcome email of her new Substack newsletter).

What’s not shown above is that the very first step is “Talk to customers and develop 8-10 clear themes to test”.

"for example the tea brand that I have in the tea brand. What I've seen is that um we found out that the ingredients connected to the health. Benefits is really important so that is a key learning that's it's not the headline that is the key learning. It's also what is in that visual and then I say okay whatever the format that I will change. I will keep that in mind while changing it and it works like a charm for me so like that that's what I do really well and then what kind of imagery is also winning um. What kind of creator is winning. So those are things and my simplest iteration. I've tried a lot of iterations especially with the app accounts. It doesn't work but what really works well at least on the iteration is like no-brainer if you're not doing it in 2025.Once you have a winner and you have especially a video winner. What you have to do is just give the same script to the other creator who is exact same de same same demo exam. Same personality just different person and that iteration has worked for me. Like this account. Like that I have for 2 years I just do that and it's like at least it keeps helping the account keep going and it helps me like okay. I'll still keep finding more winners but at least like I immediately have a refresh within 3 months where I have a new creator same ad same stuff that has worked really well for me."

Creative Testing Strategy Masterclass in 2026 at 32:04 · Featured in Growth Gems #128

"So the number one thing I will tell you in creative testing is that you need a a creative testing campaign which is an ad adset based campaign. So you can have multiple adset when one campaign and each adset is either tested based on a concept or a format a hypothesis that you want to test."

Creative Testing Strategy Masterclass in 2026 at 2:55 · Featured in Growth Gems #128

"That's how I think about creative testing in terms of like you know different profiles from profile different format from different format to different concept to different format to different headlines. And once I know everything about it then I go back to go back to this video format. And whenever we've tried to do video before the image ones, I've always lost because I don't know what what's working. Unless an ad account where only video performs, I usually start with the image ad. And that i"

Creative Testing Strategy Masterclass in 2026 at 16:10 · Featured in Growth Gems #128

Sylvain's take:

It’s true that video tends to be more complex, but I’d be more nuanced than that: if you already have UGC videos/footage that you know performs well, you can use that to do your messaging tests.

Plus, there are video formats that are really straightforward (like these “text walls” shared in Growth Gems #126) while some statics can actually require a designer.

So don’t let that stop you!

"some of the things that Facebook has started. Giving me is like impression to post post engagement rate that is something that Facebook automatically has given I don't think a lot of people use. It also gives you early metrics and then impression to 3 second video play um that is also really interesting because I see like okay how many people are watching and then lastly link clicks divide by video play. So how many people are actually clicking on that video not just like watching the video is also important to me. And lastly what I do is like so let's say if I'm evaluating an ad and if there are couple of comments to win those ads I like okay like this ad is getting comments. This means that this has some traction"

Creative Testing Strategy Masterclass in 2026 at 28:38 · Featured in Growth Gems #128

"What I do is I have somebody who actually takes an interview, jobs to be done interview. Again, Deafany also does that and who tries to help me figure out the motivation, the statistical triggers, uh deciding factor, channels, USPS, everything like I try to figure it out from here like what are customers saying and then I also put them into here which is basically like customer reviews. I actually have a tool that is an internal tool that I don't share with a lot of people is like as soon as I put reviews tool in it. I get like all concept ideas thoughts everything that customer speaking I actually get everything from that and like I already know what what I'm going to go after. So that's like number one. The other thing that I the the robotics thing that you said like usually I was going after like academic struggles that is like a really big problem they want to solve."

Creative Testing Strategy Masterclass in 2026 at 18:11 · Featured in Growth Gems #128

Sylvain's take:

Biggest low-hanging fruit I’ve seen in terms of creative strategy? Being satisfied with having found a creative win and not iterating on it like crazy.

"Founders are gold mine if you use them right. So what you do is what I did was. I actually took an interview and I figured out like what is working what do customers talk to them. This founder actually has been taking sales calls for four years now.So he was his brain is a gold mine more than a chat GPD and he exactly knew which tracks were working for him, which tracks could be interesting, why they're interesting, what he could offer in his own marketplace and that was interesting for me and then he gave me these ideas that I could actually go in and try to apply it. So I focus more on the problem buckets or desire bucket outcome buckets where he told me okay. These are four tracks and now just figure out like out of these four tracks four subjects which is interesting for for example. A lot of kids struggle with math right so math is really big thing. We found out math doesn't work like. Then we figured out like okay probably like math doesn't work probably robotics work and then we said okay robotics has been in demand from the customer. Let's try that so founder gave me a lot of insights and once you start taking an account. I think you need a very close contact with the founder who's been actually doing at least sales call or close to the customers that gives a lot of insights."

Creative Testing Strategy Masterclass in 2026 at 19:10 · Featured in Growth Gems #128

"And so how do you keep yourself patient in that process and the way to keep yourself patient in that process is to focus on the leading metrics? There are two to three leading metrics that I follow to know it's working or not. So for example for me in when I'm running a purchase campaign what I do is I look at cost per click and I look at cost per landing page view and the third thing what I do unique landing page view and the third thing what I see is cost per initiate. Checkout that give me somebody is actually has given their email to go through the flow and that gives me like early indicators. This ad is going to work or not."

Creative Testing Strategy Masterclass in 2026 at 26:50 · Featured in Growth Gems #128