Growth Boss

Want to scale your Meta ads without your cost per customer going up? Most brands hit a wall because their ads stop working once they spend more, and AI ad tools often produce stiff, generic content that doesn't convert. In this episode of the Growth Boss Podcast, you'll learn how to use AI to make ads that scale from a few hundred dollars a day to $12,000 a day while staying profitable.
Kostas Fragoulias, Founder at Essence Growth, walks through the exact process his team uses to build winning AI ads for DTC brands on Facebook and Instagram. He explains how to mine Reddit for customer stories that become winning ad angles, including one concept that spent $730,000. He also covers how to write AI scripts that don't sound like AI, why about 35 to 40% of his creative is now AI-generated, and how to build hooks that stop the scroll and trigger Meta's targeting. Kostas also shares his weekly testing rhythm for iterations and net new concepts, plus the AI tools his team uses, including Claude, Higgsfield, Seedance, and ElevenLabs.
Kostas Fragoulias is a digital marketer who helps DTC brands grow profitably through paid social. He launched his first dropshipping store in 2016 and has since managed ad accounts spending $100k to $3 million per month. He grew an outdoor brand from $20,000 to $200,000 in monthly ad spend while doubling ROAS from 1.5X to 3X, and helped a health and wellness brand grow by more than 400%. As Head of Growth at Essence Growth since 2021, Kostas uses creative strategy and data to turn Meta ads into a reliable revenue engine for DTC brands.
Timestamps00:00 Intro00:32 Who Kostas Is and What He Does01:01 What a High-Performing Creative Really Means01:42 Why Creative Is Now the Biggest Lever in Meta Ads02:34 $5M to $8M in Profitable Ad Spend03:43 What "Profitable" Means: Your Target Cost Per Customer05:25 Step 1: Start With Deep Customer Research08:36 Step 2: Turning Research Into AI Ad Scripts10:17 Inside the Prompts: Loss Aversion, Shock, and More12:39 Why No AI Script Is Usable Right Away14:51 How Much Content Is AI vs Real Creators16:29 Why Editing Is Still Done by Humans17:45 Best Industries for AI Ads19:40 AI Ad Tools: Claude, Higgsfield, Seedance, ElevenLabs20:25 Testing AI Creators vs Human Creators21:04 Step 3: Building Hooks That Stop the Scroll22:55 Step 4: Human Review Before Ads Go Live24:26 Winning Hook Example and When to Reveal Your Product26:31 Why 1 Minute+ Ads Are Winning27:45 Using Social Proof to Keep Viewers Watching29:22 On-Screen Text Hooks That Open a Loop30:41 The Feedback Loop: Ad Metrics That Matter32:57 Testing Schedule: Iterations vs Net New Concepts33:34 Final Advice: Learn Human Psychology First34:39 Connect with Kostas Fragoulias
Connect with Kostas Fragoulias🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kostas-fragoulias-621316205/ 🔗 X: https://x.com/KFragoulias 
#metaads #aiads #facebookads #dtcmarketing #digitalmarketing #growthboss
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🔔 Do you want to learn more about different growth marketing strategies? Increase Your Reach. Convert More. Grow Faster. Subscribe to Gerrid Smith's channel: https://www.youtube.com/@iamgerrid/ 
Stay connected. 🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamgerrid  🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerrid-smith/  🔗 Website: https://gerrid.com/  🔗 Podcast Website: https://growthboss.tv/  🔗 Digital Marketing Website: https://fortressgrowth.com/ 

Not one AI script works out of the box. His ads still scale to $12K a day.
Kostas Fragoulias has run Meta ad accounts spending up to $3M a month.
His team has spent $5M to $8M on Meta ads profitably in the last couple of years.
On their biggest accounts, 35 to 40% of the creative is now AI.
But he doesn’t trust it blindly.
On the next Growth Boss Podcast, Kostas shows how DTC brands can use AI to build Meta ads that scale without raising the cost to get a customer.
Where the winning angles come from.(Hint: it’s not ChatGPT.)
And the timing mistake that caps how far an ad can scale.
Full episode drops tomorrow. Don't miss it. 
#metaads #aiads #facebookads #dtcmarketing #digitalmarketing #growthboss
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🔔 Do you want to learn more about different growth marketing strategies? Increase Your Reach. Convert More. Grow Faster. Subscribe to Gerrid Smith's channel: https://www.youtube.com/@iamgerrid/ Stay connected. 🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamgerrid  🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerrid-smith/  🔗 Website: https://gerrid.com/  🔗 Podcast Website: https://growthboss.tv/  🔗 Digital Marketing Website: https://fortressgrowth.com/ 

Most businesses running Google Ads are either writing copy manually and burning time or dumping a prompt into Claude and wondering why it is not converting. The brands pulling ahead right now have figured out a smarter middle ground where AI does the heavy lifting and the human directs the strategy.
In this episode, Shri Kanase breaks down the exact framework his agency uses to extract $100,000 worth of Google Ads copy using Claude in under 30 minutes. He covers why most people get AI copy wrong from the start, how to build the master prompt that drives everything, the kill and test method for narrowing in on your best ICP, how to connect real customer data to Claude for better output, and why the human touch is still what separates the campaigns that convert from the ones that flop. Shri also shares what industries this does not work for and the biggest mistakes he sees brands make when handing too much over to AI.
Shri Kanase is an entrepreneur who started selling products online at just 12 years old to buy more video games. What began in his garage eventually grew into working with million dollar brands and building successful e-commerce businesses. Today, Shri runs the number one Google Ads agency built specifically for seven to nine figure e-commerce brands, operates his own e-commerce companies, and travels the world. He believes money should be used to create great experiences and not just sit in a bank account.
Timestamps:00:00 Intro00:33 Background of Shri Kanase02:32 From No AI to Full AI Integration04:28 What Does $100K in Google Ads Copy Even Mean06:29 Should You Run Google Ads Before Doing This08:11 Step One: Know Your ICP Inside and Out 09:45 What to Do If You Have Multiple ICPs10:51 What If You Have a Newer Business12:15 How Deep Do You Need to Know Your ICP13:36 Step Two: Training Claude With the Right Data15:13 How to Connect Your Data to Claude17:00 Step Three: Reviewing and Reducing Inefficiency19:28 How Meta Ads Data Helps Google Ads Copy20:03 Step Four: Testing and Budget Allocation22:58 Budget Recommendations Based on AOV25:01 Making Claude Smarter Over Time With Skill Files26:26 Industries Where This Does Not Work as Well27:26 Other AI Tools Worth Using27:58 How to Keep the Human Touch With AI Copy29:51 Biggest Lessons Learned Using Claude for Ads32:26 What Top Agencies Do Differently34:12 Connect With Shri Kanase
Connect with Shri Kanase 🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dedicatedyoung/    🔗 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/shrikanase   🔗 X: https://x.com/EcomShri
KeywordsGoogle Ads copy, Claude AI, AI ad copy, Google Ads strategy, e-commerce Google Ads, AI marketing, Claude for ads, Google Ads agency, ad copy AI, e-commerce ads, AI copywriting, Google Ads tips, Claude prompts, ICP marketing, AI for e-commerce, ad copy strategy, Google Ads 2025, Claude Google Ads, AI ad strategy, e-commerce marketing
#googleads #aimarketing #adcopy #ecommerce #claudeai=============================
🔔 Do you want to learn more about different growth marketing strategies?Increase Your Reach. Convert More. Grow Faster.Subscribe to Gerrid Smith's channel: https://www.youtube.com/@iamgerrid/
Stay connected. 🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamgerrid  🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerrid-smith/  🔗 Website: https://gerrid.com/  🔗 Podcast Website: https://growthboss.tv/  🔗 Digital Marketing Website: https://fortressgrowth.com/ 

Most brands hand their ad copy over to Claude and wonder why it flops.
The problem is not Claude. It is what they give it before they start.
Shri Kanase runs the number one Google Ads agency for seven to nine figure e-commerce brands.
And he has cracked the code on using Claude to extract ad copy that actually converts.
Tomorrow on Growth Boss he breaks down the exact process.
Here is a preview of what is coming:
→ Why most brands get nothing useful from Claude and what to do differently
→ The master prompt framework that changes everything
→ How to connect your Google Ads account to Claude for smarter copy
→ The kill and test method for finding your best performing ICP
→ Why human emotion is still the thing Claude cannot replicate and how to add it back in
This works for any e-commerce brand running or planning to run Google Ads.
Drop a comment if you want the link the moment it goes live.
#googleads #adcopy #aimarketing #ecommerce #claudeai #businessgrowth #growthboss
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🔔 Do you want to learn more about different growth marketing strategies? Increase Your Reach. Convert More. Grow Faster. Subscribe to Gerrid Smith's channel: https://www.youtube.com/@iamgerrid/
Stay connected. 🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamgerrid 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerrid-smith/ 🔗 Website: https://gerrid.com/ 🔗 Podcast Website: https://growthboss.tv/ 🔗 Digital Marketing Website: https://fortressgrowth.com/

Most businesses are trying to sell to everybody and ending up with nobody. The wrong buyers drain your time, drive refunds, and kill your momentum. The businesses that grow fast and stay profitable are the ones that figured out how to use AI to speak directly to the people already looking for exactly what they offer.
In this episode, Jon Benson breaks down the AI framework his company uses to help business owners attract their ideal buyers through value-driven copy. He covers why selling to everyone is the biggest mistake in marketing, how to identify your ideal buyer using core values and psychology models, why ChatGPT and Claude alone will not write copy that converts, and how his AI platform BNSN uses multi-model technology to produce human-sounding copy at scale. Jon also shares the three things that make a video sales letter work and why the lead is everything.
Jon Benson is the creator of the video sales letter format, one of the most widely used marketing formats online today. With over two decades in copywriting and internet marketing, he is the founder of BNSN.ai, an AI-powered copy platform trained on high-performing sales letters and built specifically to help business owners attract and convert their ideal buyers without sounding like a chatbot.
Timestamps:00:00 Intro00:32 Background of Jon Benson02:19 How AI Copy Has Changed Since 201005:55 What Is the AI Framework That Attracts Ideal Buyers09:43 How to Identify Your Ideal Buyer13:35 Where to Start With the Framework17:33 The Next Step After Finding Your Ideal Buyer24:46 Common Copywriting Mistakes Using AI31:48 How An AI Agent and A Human Should Work Together35:35 Do All AI Copywriting Campaigns Look the Same?37:32 Is AI Going To Wipe Out The World?41:00 Three Tips for Writing an Effective VSL45:19 Connect With Jon Benson
Connect with Jon Benson🔗 Free Buyer Profile: https://freebuyerprofile.com/  🔗 BNSN.ai: https://bnsn.ai/ 🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsjonbenson/  🔗 X: https://x.com/itsjonbenson/  🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsjonbenson/  🔗 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPDvmgurd-rym4pyPjviIuw/  🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonbenson/  
KeywordsAI copywriting, ideal buyer, video sales letter, AI marketing, copy that converts, attract ideal clients, AI sales copy, business marketing AI, AI framework, buyer psychology, VSL tips, AI for marketers, copywriting tips, marketing funnel AI, AI business growth, value-driven marketing, AI copy tool, ideal customer avatar, marketing automation, BNSN AI
#copywriting #aimarketing #digitalmarketing #marketingstrategy #videosalesletter #growthboss
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🔔 Do you want to learn more about different growth marketing strategies?
Increase Your Reach. Convert More. Grow Faster.Subscribe to Gerrid Smith's channel: https://www.youtube.com/@iamgerrid/ Stay connected. 🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamgerrid/  🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerrid-smith/  🔗 Website: https://gerrid.com/  🔗 Podcast Website: https://growthboss.tv/  🔗 Digital Marketing Website: https://fortressgrowth.com/ 

Stop selling to everyone.
The moment you do that you start losing your best buyers.
Jon Benson invented the video sales letter format used by thousands of marketers worldwide.
And in this episode of Growth Boss he breaks down the AI framework that does not just write copy but attracts the exact buyers you actually want.
Tomorrow on Growth Boss he shares everything.
Here is a preview of what is coming:
→ Why targeting everyone is the single biggest mistake in marketing
→ How your core values determine who buys from you and how loyal they are
→ Why ChatGPT and Claude are built for speed not for copy that converts
→ The one idea rule that separates VSLs that sell from ones that fall flat
→ The free tool that helps you find the language your ideal buyer responds to
This works for any business selling anything online.
Drop a comment if you want the link the moment it goes live.
#copywriting #aimarketing #idealbuyer #vsl #conversioncopywriting #businessgrowth #growthboss

AI can help you research content, write posts, design graphics, and edit videos. But getting useful results takes more than a vague prompt. It starts with understanding your audience, teaching AI your brand’s voice, and knowing which decisions still need a human.
In this episode, Shushant Lakhyani breaks down how to use AI across the roles of a full marketing team. He shares how he builds client-specific Claude skills for ghostwriting, uses Grok to deliver daily content research, and turns analytics into ideas for future posts. He also walks through his graphic design process, his HeyGen and Submagic video workflow, and why copying viral creators can leave your content sounding like everyone else. Throughout the conversation, he explains where automation helps and why human review still matters.
Shushant Lakhyani is a marketer and AI strategist who helps entrepreneurs, creators, and professionals build AI-powered businesses and personal brands. He has grown an audience of more than 150,000 followers across LinkedIn and X while generating over 100 million impressions through his content. Shushant helped grow the Horizon AI newsletter from 1,800 to more than 46,000 subscribers in just six months. He has also sold digital products to over 20,000 customers and worked with multiple clients as a ghostwriter and social media growth expert.
Timestamps:00:00 Intro00:35 Shushant Lakhyani’s Background01:11 Getting Started With AI Marketing02:00 Where AI Helps and Where Humans Still Decide04:17 How the Top 1% Approach AI Automation06:58 Marketing Roles AI Can Take On10:31 How To Use AI Effectively for Content Research12:21 How To Write Better Research Prompts13:59 Using AI for Ghostwriting15:23 Training Claude Skills on Your Brand Voice18:13 AI Graphic Design and Canva Workflows20:25 Creating Videos With AI25:26 Turning Analytics and Daily Research Into Ideas27:55 Researching Content on Other Social Platforms29:12 The AI Capability Behind Better Content29:53 How Much Human Work Is Still Required?31:50 Why AI Agents Need Human Review32:50 Making AI-Assisted Content Sound Like You34:55 Connect With Shushant Lakhyani
Tools Mentioned:Claude - https://claude.com/  ChatGPT - https://chatgpt.com/  Grok - https://grok.com/  Nano Banana Pro - https://gemini.google.com/  AI Carousels - https://www.aicarousels.com/  Canva - https://www.canva.com/  Arcads - https://www.arcads.ai/  HeyGen - https://www.heygen.com/  Submagic - https://www.submagic.co/  Descript - https://www.descript.com/  VEED - https://www.veed.io/  Opus - https://www.opus.pro/  vidIQ - https://vidiq.com/  Sandcastles AI - https://www.sandcastles.ai/  Pangram - https://www.pangram.com/  
Connect with Shushant Lakhyani🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shushant-lakhyani/   🔗 X: https://x.com/shushant_l  
KeywordsAI marketing, AI marketing team, marketing automation, Claude skills, AI content creation, AI ghostwriting
#aimarketing #marketingautomation #claude #aicontentcreation #aitools
=============================🔔 Do you want to learn more about different growth marketing strategies? Increase Your Reach. Convert More. Grow Faster. Subscribe to Gerrid Smith's channel: https://www.youtube.com/@iamgerrid/ 
Stay connected. 🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamgerrid/  🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerrid-smith/  🔗 Website: https://gerrid.com/  🔗 Podcast Website: https://growthboss.tv/  🔗 Digital Marketing Website: https://fortressgrowth.com/ 

Most people use AI to write captions. The top 1% use it to run their entire marketing team.Shushant Lakhyani is an AI generalist, freelance marketer, and no-code builder who has cracked the code on using AI to do what most businesses pay an entire team to do.Tomorrow on Growth Boss he breaks down exactly how.Here is a preview of what is coming:→ The specific AI tools replacing researchers ghostwriters graphic designers and ad strategists right now→ Why decision making is the one thing AI can never take from you→ The GROK automation that delivers a daily viral content report every morning at 6am→ How Claude skills trained on client data produce content that bypasses AI detection→ Why most people using AI agents are unknowingly destroying their reputationThis is not about using AI more.It is about using it the way the top 1% actually do.Drop a comment if you want the link the moment it goes live.#aimarketing #marketingautomation #claude #aicontentcreation #aitools
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🔔 Do you want to learn more about different growth marketing strategies? Increase Your Reach. Convert More. Grow Faster. Subscribe to Gerrid Smith's channel: https://www.youtube.com/@iamgerrid/
Stay connected. 🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamgerrid 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerrid-smith/ 🔗 Website: https://gerrid.com/ 🔗 Podcast Website: https://growthboss.tv/ 🔗 Digital Marketing Website: https://fortressgrowth.com/

Most business owners are sitting on years of specialized knowledge and have no idea it could become a product. The ones pulling ahead right now are not always the most technical. They are the ones who understood that deep expertise combined with the right AI framework can become a scalable, sellable tool that generates revenue without adding headcount.
In this episode, Janu Lingeswaran breaks down the exact framework his product studio uses to help clients turn domain knowledge into AI products that actually sell. He covers how to know if your idea is a fit for AI, why most people overbuild in the early stages and kill their product before it launches, how to start small and scale the right way, and what the process looks like from rough idea to a finished tool. Janu also shares real client examples including a healthcare automation product that saved over 10 hours a week and a luxury travel agency that is now packaging its expertise for an entirely new market.
Janu Lingeswaran is the founder of Featherflow, a product studio that designs and builds AI-powered digital products for businesses. With a background in engineering and product management, Janu has spent the last several years helping founders and companies go from a rough idea to a working, market-ready AI product. His team works across industries ranging from healthcare to travel to SaaS.
Timestamps:00:00 Intro00:34 Background of Janu Lingeswaran and Featherflow03:05 What Is Domain Expertise04:05 What Makes an AI Product04:42 How to Know If AI Is the Right Fit05:26 The Framework: Stage One: Start Playing06:17 Where to Begin if You Feel Overwhelmed07:50 ChatGPT vs Claude: Which Should You Start With08:21 Stage Two: Turning It Into a Product09:28 Real Client Example: Healthcare EOB Automation11:26 Internal Tool vs Selling to Others12:38 What the Client Process Looks Like Start to Finish14:33 Cost and Time Savings You Can Expect15:05 What Doesn't Work Well With AI Products16:06 How AI Can Still Help With Creative Work17:18 Prompting Tips: Why Context Beats the Prompt19:14 Biggest Mistakes People Make Building AI Products20:19 When to Move to a Second Product21:41 Clients Who Are Now Selling Their AI Products23:12 Where Things Are Headed in the Next 5 to 10 Years24:31 Tools and Workflows Janu's Team Uses26:26 Final Advice for Anyone Starting Out27:59 Connect With Janu Lingeswaran
Connect with Janu Lingeswaran 🔗 Website: https://featherflow.com  🔗 X: https://twitter.com/JanuBuilds  🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janu-lingeswaran/ 🔗 Website: https://lingeswaran.com/  🔗 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@janubuilds   
KeywordsAI product development, domain expertise, AI automation, build AI products, revenue generating AI
#aiproducts #domainexpertise #aiautomation #productdevelopment #businessgrowth
=============================🔔 Do you want to learn more about different growth marketing strategies?
Increase Your Reach. Convert More. Grow Faster.
Subscribe to Gerrid Smith's channel: https://www.youtube.com/@iamgerrid/ 
Stay connected. 🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamgerrid/  🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerrid-smith/  🔗 Website: https://gerrid.com/  🔗 Podcast Website: https://growthboss.tv/  🔗 Digital Marketing Website: https://fortressgrowth.com/ 

You already have what it takes to build a revenue generating AI product.
Most people just do not know how to turn it into one.
Janu Lingeswaran is the founder of Featherflow a product studio that helps businesses turn their domain expertise into AI products that generate real revenue.
Tomorrow on Growth Boss he breaks down the exact framework his team uses.
Here is a preview of what is coming:
➔ What domain expertise actually means and why you probably have more than you think
➔ The biggest mistake people make when building AI products
➔ Why starting small is the only way to win long term
➔ How one healthcare client automated a process that used to take 10 hours a day
➔ When to build for yourself first and when to build to sell
This is not just for tech companies.
If you have deep knowledge in any industry this episode is for you.
#aiproducts #domainexpertise #aiautomation #productdevelopment #businessgrowth #growthboss