Most paid ad campaigns don’t fail all at once. They slowly lose efficiency. Budgets get drained not by one big issue, but by small, compounding mistakes that go unnoticed until performance becomes stagnant.

Here are five of the most common ones and how to fix them.

1. Wrong audience targeting

Broad or assumption-based targeting leads to wasted   impressions.
Fix: Use behavioral data and intent signals instead of relying only on demographics or job titles.

2. Missing or broken conversion tracking

If tracking is incomplete, optimization becomes guesswork.
Fix: Audit all conversion events and consider server-side tracking for more reliable data.

3. Poor landing page experience

Even strong ads fail if the post-click experience is slow or unclear.
Fix: Align messaging with the ad, improve mobile speed, and reduce friction in forms.

4. No structured A/B testing

Random testing leads to unclear results and wasted spend.
Fix: Test one variable at a time and iterate based on statistically meaningful results.

5. Over-reliance on automation

AI bidding can optimize the wrong outcomes without guardrails.
Fix: Use automation with controls like negative keywords, conversion thresholds, and regular audits.

Most paid ad inefficiencies aren’t dramatic. In fact, they’re actually seemingly invisible until they start to add up. Fixing these fundamentals is often what separates rewarding campaigns from dead ones.

Be honest, fellow marketers. Most of us are still using AI the same way we did when we first signed up. Type something into a chat window, clean up the output, and call it a day. And a lot of teams have gotten stuck in that loop since. And honestly, it makes sense. Early models hallucinated facts, spit out generic garbage, and nobody really owned AI strategy at the org level. So we kept it on a short leash and moved on.

The thing is, the models have changed a lot. There's a really good breakdown of the progression in this MarTech article by Melissa Reeve, from the basic drafting tools of 2023 to today's AI that can actually reason through multi-step problems, connect to your CMS, pull competitive data, and hand you a finished work product to review.

Researchers tracking AI performance across model generations found that the length of tasks AI can handle independently is doubling every seven months. The ceiling has moved way up, and most marketing teams haven't looked up to notice.

So here's the challenge the author leaves you with: pick one workflow that's been annoying your team forever, something with a bunch of handoffs that takes more than a day, and actually ask an AI how it would handle it end-to-end.

You might be surprised how close it can get. Read the full article →

Get out your favorite earbuds because the Ascend: Stories of Scale podcast is now officially streaming everywhere, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Amazon Music.

If you’re into real stories about building and growing in the market, then Ascend is for you. Each episode dives into how founders, operators, and builders went from idea to impact. These aren’t highlight reels, these are stories about what actually happens behind the scenes.

We dig deep into the messy early days, the challenges nobody really warns you about, and the breakthrough a-ha moments that change the game altogether. These are honest conversations offering practical takeaways and real insights into what scaling actually looks like.

There's literally no place on Earth like the Big Apple, and being back in New York for FTW has been absolutely unforgettable. From the conversations and the panels to the dinners and the connections, the entire week could not have been better.

With everything seemingly being driven by technology and AI, moments like these serve as a powerful reminder that humans remain essential. Genuine emotional connections and real, meaningful conversations are still the foundation of growth and change, and this week delivered both ten fold.

I wanted to give a HUGE shout out to everyone who made this event such a success. From the organizers who brought it all together, to the speakers who shared bold ideas, and, finally, to everybody who attended ready to connect, collaborate, and challenge the status quo.

Fostering the kinds of relationships and connections that happen at events like these isn't just meaningful, it's how we scale, grow, and push each other forward. Without a doubt, this has been one of the BEST ways to do business!

I was truly honored to have been part of it, and even more excited about the relationships, ideas, and momentum that came out of it.

Until we meet again, New York!

Thanks for your time! Keep an eye out for more ideas and lessons on growth and scaling! 😊