Ran video for a dozen Shopify brands this year. The pattern that separates winners from money-losers isn't production quality — it's the hook.

Most brands script the hook like an ad ("Introducing our new..."). Winners script it like a text message from a friend ("okay I was NOT expecting this to actually work"). That single shift in the first 1.5 seconds is worth more than any editing trick.

Second thing: batch your creators. One video from one person tells you nothing. Five videos from five different creators, same script structure, different delivery — that's how you find your winning angle without burning your whole budget testing blind.

We do this every month for e-commerce brands at Reel Forge — 8 edited, ready-to-run videos delivered on a retainer so you're never stuck waiting on content to test. Happy to share more of what's working in TikTok/Meta ads right now if anyone wants to swap notes.