3 cheat codes to increase your creative output

Hey guys,

My agency produces thousands of ads every single month.

We spend a large proportion of our time thinking about how we can be more efficient and increase our creative output without increasing costs.

So today, I want to share 3 practical tips we’ve implemented at Adcrate that have helped us increase creative volume over the last 3 years.

But first, here’s what’s I’ve come across in AI this week:

• OpenAI dropped ChatGPT Agent which literally controls your computer and completes workflows (for example, flight bookings). Think Operator, but better.

• PromptLLM (a great Twitter follow) shared an interesting ChatGPT prompt that asks you 10 uncomfortable questions to discover truths about yourself

• If I have any musicians in my audience, this tool turns single-instrument audio files into sheet music (great AI micro-SAAS here)

1. Build a Content Library with Air

If you're still managing creative assets through Google Drive folders or (god forbid) Dropbox, you're leaving so much efficiency on the table.

We use Air to organize every single piece of content that comes through our pipeline. Here's why it's a game-changer:

• Tag everything: We tag each asset by type (A-roll, B-roll, static), concept, brand, product, and creator

• Filter instantly: Editors can quickly and easily filter down to the exact clips they need

• Identify winners: We tag high-performing sequences so editors can easily incorporate proven elements

  

  Our system inside of Air. You can add any variable you want as a tag which makes it easy to filter down by specifics.

This system is especially powerful for creating mashups. Our editors can quickly pull winning hooks from one creator, combine them with strong body content from another, and add proven CTAs - all without waiting for strategist input on every decision.

The real magic happens when you start getting granular with your tagging. For example, we've started tagging specific hooks, bodies, and CTAs. This means our editors can literally go in and build their own mashups by picking and choosing components that have already proven to work.

💡 Pro tip: We have a VA who handles all the uploading and tagging, which frees up our creative team to focus on what matters.

By the way, I’m not affiliated to Air, and there are other platforms like Recharm, Playbook etc. I haven’t used those too much though, so I can’t really speak on them.

2. Train Your Editors to Think About Performance

When editors understand WHY certain creative decisions work, they become partners in the process rather than just executors.

Think about it - your editors see ALL the raw footage. They know the files better than anyone else. When they understand performance principles, they can spot opportunities that even your strategists might miss.

We've implemented a three-step system that has completely transformed our output:

Step 1: Educate

Sync your editing and strategy teams regularly. Explain the reasoning behind creative decisions and feedback. Don't just say "make the hook shorter" - explain WHY shorter hooks tend to perform better in certain contexts.

We do bi-weekly sessions where strategists walk editors through the performance data of recent ads and explain the patterns they're seeing.

Step 2: Track

Tag every edit by editor, strategist, and theme. Create internal leaderboards showing which edits perform best. (We pull this data from Meta's API, but you could easily use Motion for this). This creates healthy competition and gives editors direct feedback on what's working.

Step 3: Incentivize

Give editors bonuses when their ideas perform well. When they see their work driving results AND get rewarded for it, they'll start generating variations and concepts on their own.

This approach has been like putting our creative team on steroids. Instead of waiting for strategists to define every ad, editors who see the raw footage every day start contributing their own winning ideas.

3. Leverage AI Tools

Claude + Eleven Labs + your content library = ad production on steroids.

Here's the workflow:

• Claude drafts the script (which you then refine)

• Eleven Labs creates the voiceover

• Your editor pulls from your organized content library

Let me break down exactly how we use each tool:

Claude

We feed it product information, customer reviews, and examples of our top-performing scripts. Then we ask it to generate 5-10 script variations focusing on different angles or hooks. A strategist reviews these, makes tweaks, and selects the most promising ones.

Eleven Labs

Once we have our scripts, we use Eleven Labs to generate voiceovers. Most people can't tell the difference between these and human voiceovers anymore. We have a few favorite voices that we use consistently across brands.

Content Library

This is where the Air organization system pays off. Our editors can quickly pull relevant footage that matches the script, without having to hunt through folders or request new shoots.

We have multiple AI-assisted ads performing well in accounts right now. It's not about replacing human creativity - it's about increasing your shots on goal.

These three cheat codes help you solve for the quantity variable without sacrificing the others. Implement even one of these systems, and you'll see your output increase.

Let me know which of these you're going to try first, or if you have your own cheat codes for increasing creative output!

Announcements:

• Not really an announcement lol, but I’m in London for the next 2 weeks if anyone is around. Would love to meet some of y’all!

• If you haven’t yet signed up for the AI Creative Strategist Blueprint, what are you doing? Get access to all of the recordings and the remainder of the live trainings here :)

Enjoyed this email? Forward it to a friend who’d find it valuable!

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See you next week,

Alex

P.S. If you're spending $100k+ monthly on paid social and want help implementing systems like these, my team at Adcrate is accepting applications to work with us. Check out our case studies at adcrate.co.