The ultimate guide to paid growth | Timothy Davis (Shopify)
Executive Summary
A Lenny's Podcast conversation with Timothy Davis, who leads performance marketing at Shopify, on how to start and run paid growth: platform order, creative, LinkedIn tests, benchmarks and reading Google Ads reports. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the episode runs about 102 minutes and the available caption text is cut off near the end of the Google Ads report discussion, so about half the episode is covered and the final sections (such as hiring) may be missed. The caption is auto-generated and lightly punctuated. Examples are Davis's own and are not verified. This is a summary of his views, not financial advice.
Key Takeaways
Paid growth versus performance marketing
Davis says the two terms can be interchangeable, but you should say whether you mean online, offline or affiliates so people do not talk past each other.
What agencies get wrong
He says it is ego marketing to want to be at the top of the page all the time, and that it is about showing to the right person as often as possible.
Experiment and learn
He says each platform and its user behaviour is different, and it is okay to fail because you are either winning or learning.
Where to start
He says he would always start with Google search, and that LinkedIn usually comes after testing Google and Meta unless you are an enterprise company.
A LinkedIn example
He says he ran LinkedIn ads at executives at a large company to overcome their buying objections, and that it worked.
Creative matters
He says without the right creative, conversion on Facebook is hard, and that for video he starts with emotion such as comedy or happiness.
Benchmarks and Google Ads reports
He says benchmarks differ by industry, that platform partners can tell you how you compare to competitors, and that ad strength reports show what to improve, though some accounts cannot be improved much.
The Conversation Breakdown
Paid growth versus performance marketing
⏱ Untimed topicDavis says the two terms can be interchangeable, but you should say whether you mean online, offline or affiliates so people do not talk past each other.
What agencies get wrong
⏱ Untimed topicHe says it is ego marketing to want to be at the top of the page all the time, and that it is about showing to the right person as often as possible.
Experiment and learn
⏱ Untimed topicHe says each platform and its user behaviour is different, and it is okay to fail because you are either winning or learning.
Where to start
⏱ Untimed topicHe says he would always start with Google search, and that LinkedIn usually comes after testing Google and Meta unless you are an enterprise company.
A LinkedIn example
⏱ Untimed topicHe says he ran LinkedIn ads at executives at a large company to overcome their buying objections, and that it worked.
Creative matters
⏱ Untimed topicHe says without the right creative, conversion on Facebook is hard, and that for video he starts with emotion such as comedy or happiness.
Benchmarks and Google Ads reports
⏱ Untimed topicHe says benchmarks differ by industry, that platform partners can tell you how you compare to competitors, and that ad strength reports show what to improve, though some accounts cannot be improved much.
Core Frameworks & Ideas
Start with Google search - Davis's order
Test Google search first, then Meta, then LinkedIn for higher-value products.
Start with emotion - Davis's creative rule
Make the viewer feel something so they remember the ad.
Win or learn - Davis's view
Treat a failed test as information.
Actionable Next Steps
- ✓List the platforms you use and the creative each one needs.
- ✓Run a small test on Google search before trying a new channel.
- ✓Ask a platform partner how your click-through and conversion rates compare to competitors.
- ✓Check the ad strength report in your account for suggested fixes.
Notable Quotes
“it's okay to fail because we're either winning or we're learning”
“I'm always going to say start with Google search”
“I always say start with emotion”
The One Thing to Remember
Davis says to start with Google search, match creative to the platform, and treat failed tests as learning.