Hey Reader

and here is the latest-and-greatest from the podcast Intelligent Artifice

Ever had a campaign that looks like it’s working…

…but revenue just doesn’t grow?

You’ve got a good D1 ROAS.

You’re optimizing for purchases.

The algorithm is technically doing what you told it to.

But performance is still underwhelming.

Growth feels stuck. Something’s off.

I’ve seen this happen a lot.

And here’s what most marketers miss:

👉 The algorithm only sees the goal you give it.

Not what happens after.

Let’s say you optimize for purchases.

Meta, TikTok, whatever: they’ll go find buyers.

But here’s the catch:

The algorithm doesn’t know if that buyer sticks around.

You could get a bunch of one-and-done users who:

✅ Buy once

✅ Disappear

✅ Never contribute to LTV

Everything looks good in your ads dashboard.

But revenue is flat. Growth is flat. The business is flat.

I actually wrote about this in an email Can a top-performing ad kill your product?

Spoiler: it can.

Because if your “best” ad attracts users who convert fast and churn faster…

…the algorithm just doubles down on more of the same.

It’s goal-maximizing.

Not value-maximizing.

And if you’re not feeding it the right data…

…it will optimize your way into a plateau.

Here’s what to do instead:

✅ Trust the algorithm: but verify.

Don’t assume ROAS = growth.

Watch your own metrics: LTV, retention, CAC payback.

✅ Be clear on your goals.

Know that your goals(long term profitability) might differ from the platform’s(d7 ROAS).

✅ Respect the limits.

If you can’t feed every signal back into the algorithm, don’t assume it knows what’s best.

Look: I’m all for performance at speed.

But I’ve seen too many accounts stall out because the algorithm wasn’t being supervised.

If you’re spending $50k+/month and want a creative + measurement system that actually drives long-term scale…

Reply with “GROWTH” and I’ll show you how we make sure your best ads don’t quietly kill your product.

Later,

Shamanth