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Good morning DTC readers!
Monday has entered the chat…
Alright, let’s get into today’s newsletter.
🤖 Meta’s new Ads Manager beta explains why your results changed
@MenachemAni spotted a new Campaigns table beta that adds an AI recap above your campaign and ad set results.
In the screenshot, Meta explained that purchases fell because spending dropped while cost per purchase stayed nearly flat, saving the buyer from pulling apart the numbers manually. The beta also includes a search bar where you can describe the campaign data you want to see and create custom views.
Check whether it’s available in your account, and compare its first recap with your own read of the numbers.
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💰 A new creator payment model that keeps UGC spend profitable
@JacobCanfield says his agency is testing performance-based UGC deals where creators submit videos without an upfront fee and earn a cut of ad spend or sales when their work performs.
Across three brands, his agency reports onboarding between 52 and 163 creators per account, producing between 43 and 258 videos, and generating roughly $7,400 to $16,500 in first-month sales.
The structure lowers the cost of creative that never leaves the testing queue, although attracting experienced creators without guaranteed pay may be harder. Test it with a small group, clear usage rights, and a commission worth winning.
🕵️ Build customer profiles on TikTok and Instagram to find better Q4 creative hooks
@heyitsalexP made a post recommending creating fresh TikTok and Instagram profiles that behave like your target customer. Search the problems they have, the activities those problems interrupt, and the broader life-stage content they watch. Spend a few days following relevant creators and engaging with posts that have at least 500,000 views, then let each algorithm rebuild the feed around that person.
Within three or four days, you’ll have a running library of creators, visual hooks, formats, and topics already earning attention from the audience you want. Alex also found plenty of AI-made content performing well in these feeds when it was entertaining and well-produced. Set up one profile for each major customer segment now, and start saving Q4 hook and creative ideas.
🛍️ Sephora will give TikTok Shop first access to monthly product drops
Sephora will launch its U.S. TikTok Shop pilot on September 19. Each monthly Drop Shop release will get teasers, creator content, and a TikTok Live featuring founders, creators, and celebrity hosts.
Some products will launch on TikTok Shop before reaching Sephora’s site, stores, or other retailers.
If you sell beauty or personal care, watch which products Sephora holds back for TikTok and what their strategy and creator support look like to make the drop successful.
💰 New Seller Savings 2026
Sell better. Sell more. Sell with Walmart.
Sign up now to unlock up to $75K in New-Seller Savings to build your business on Walmart Marketplace*. 🛒
🛍️ Reach more customers. Shoppers on Walmart are looking for products like yours.
⚡ Tap into a network of millions. Each week more than 270 million customers shop with Walmart.*
🌐 Expand globally. Easily extend your business to any of their global marketplaces.
Maximize your reach with discounts on referral fees:
*Walmart first-party data.
*Conditions apply. Offer subject to eligibility criteria, promotional savings will vary by seller. See full terms and conditions for offer details.
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💡 Social is eating more of the Q4 shopping journey
Meta ran the numbers on 14,473 holiday shoppers across 18 markets, and the line between social, search, shopping, and support is getting blurrier and blurrier.
Here are the numbers worth thinking about as you move further into Q4 planning:
Social is nearly tied with search for gift discovery. 37% of shoppers use social for inspiration, compared with 41% using search engines.
Social shoppers are more likely to increase their holiday spend than the average shopper (49% vs. 36%), buy across more categories (5.4 vs. 4.3), and shop for themselves while they're at it (83% vs. 67%).
Social is also sending people into stores. 85% of social shoppers say they've visited a physical store after seeing something on social, and 29% say they do it regularly.
That makes the impact harder to see in last-click reporting, especially for brands selling through retail or wholesale.
For checkout, 78% of people who shop on Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp say they've purchased directly inside those apps.
Creators are moving further down the funnel too. 94% of social shoppers look to creators for holiday guidance, while 57% say creator content has influenced a purchase decision.
The content they want is extremely practical:
That should influence the Q4 brief. Give creators products to compare, questions to answer, deals to explain, and reasons to buy now.
AI is already part of holiday discovery. 23% of global shoppers say they're using AI for holiday shopping, putting it ahead of coupon sites and email newsletters in Meta's data.
And one more channel deserves attention… 59% of social shoppers have messaged a business directly in the DMs, most commonly through Messenger (33%), Instagram (33%), or WhatsApp (16%).
They're using those conversations for discovery (33%), adding products to cart (27%), and even paying (26%).
For Q4, the practical move is to audit the whole social buying path. Get more proof and product information into creative, give creators utility-first briefs, make sure Meta's commerce surfaces are usable, and treat DMs like part of the shopping experience.
🎧 No One Trusts You (Yet): Why Social Proof Matters More Than Ever
No one trusts you. Yet.
In a world where anyone can start a brand, trust is your biggest advantage, and social proof is how you earn it.
In this episode, Avery breaks down how to use reviews, comments, and community interaction to make your ads more believable, your customers more confident, and your brand more human.
From reputation building to using social proof across every stage of the funnel, this episode is your roadmap to making people actually believe you.
▶️ Watch here | 🎧 Listen on Spotify
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