Not long ago, I spoke with a founder who'd been testing headlines for three months straight.
Same offer. Same creative. Just … endless headline variations.
"We've tried 47 different versions," he told me. "Some spike for a day or two, then die. We can't figure out what's working."
Here's the thing he didn't realize:
The headline wasn't the problem.
And this is where most ecommerce founders burn their ad budget.
They treat headlines like the main lever. The thing that'll finally unlock performance if they just get the wording right.
So they test:
Power words vs. plain language
Questions vs. statements
Benefit-driven vs. curiosity-driven
And performance stays … frustratingly inconsistent.
Here's what actually happened with that founder:
When we looked at his ads, the hook was generic. The opening 3 seconds didn't name a specific pain. It just said "Want [broad benefit]?"
No emotional truth. No recognition. Just vague relatability.
The headline didn't matter because nothing upstream was doing its job.
Think about the last ad that made you stop scrolling.
I'm willing to bet you don't remember the headline.
You remember the moment it named something you were already feeling.
That's not headline magic. That's message clarity.
And here's the uncomfortable truth most founders don't want to hear:
If your ad needs a clever headline to work, it probably shouldn't be running yet.
Because headlines don't drive performance.
They express it.
When the upstream truth is clear … when the hook mirrors a real pain, when the story continues seamlessly … headlines write themselves. They feel obvious. Even boring.
And the ad works anyway.
But when the upstream truth is blurry?
No amount of headline testing will save it.
You'll just keep chasing spikes, burning budget, and wondering why nothing sticks.
So here's the question most founders never ask:
What if the headline isn't the problem at all?
What if there's a priority stack you're skipping entirely … and headlines are dead last on that list?
That's what I want to walk you through next.
Because once you see the real levers, headline obsession starts to look like what it actually is:
Avoidance.
And that’s what the next email will be about.
See you tomorrow,
Jeremiah
If this is hitting close to home, just hit reply and tell me: What's the one thing you've been obsessing over in your ads lately?
I read every reply.
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