We have another episode of Champions of Performance Marketing.
I’m thrilled to have Raanan Rosenbaum here today, whose campaigns truly speak louder than words—someone with real hands-on experience scaling campaigns and generating thousands of sales across multiple platforms.
Today I’m sitting down with Raanan Rosenbaum, whose unconventional journey from the diamond and gemstone industry to building a successful performance marketing agency offers insights you won’t find in any textbook.
What makes Raanan’s story particularly compelling isn’t just his technical expertise, but how his recent understanding of his autism has given him a unique advantage in seeing market opportunities that others miss entirely.
From processing high-risk payments in Amsterdam to partnering with top VSL creators, Raanan has built an impressive network of industry relationships while developing an intuitive feel for what works across platforms.
Whether you’re an affiliate just starting out, or a media buyer looking to scale smarter, you’ll find practical advice and honest insights in Raanan’s story.
Listen to the episode on our Spotify channel
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Q: How did you get into performance marketing, and what led you to start your own agency?
Raanan Rosenbaum: I have been in the industry (performance marketing) for about seven years, which I recognize is a significant amount of time in our field.
I really fell into it. I have a background in jewelry, having worked with diamonds and gemstones for many years. I’ve always had a talent for relationships, sales, and the long-term business development that accompanies them.
When I moved to the Netherlands, where I now live in Amsterdam, it was very difficult to find work in my chosen profession because I didn’t speak Dutch. A headhunter recruited me to get into payment processing. I worked with high-risk adults, and then I was recruited from there into performance marketing, working for a Dutch network here in the Netherlands.
It was all brand new to me. I didn’t understand anything about what was going on on the internet. We were doing adult dating, sweepstakes, and nutra—a little bit of everything. And I didn’t know what I was looking at. But very quickly, it started to make a lot of sense to me, and I started to really like the flow and how things work.
I had great training working on the network side, getting access to some of the top affiliates in the space, and understanding what it takes to make a top offer and how people are running on different platforms. It was really interesting. I did that for a few years until I stumbled onto the direct response space and the world of VSLs and video sales letters.
This was fascinating to me because I didn’t understand it, it’s like the evolution of the infomercial in the US. I found it fascinating to see the engagement and know how it works, as my experience with performance marketing encompassed everything, including metrics and numbers.
However, the VSL space and direct response marketing involve much more regarding the mechanisms of copywriting and how to connect with clients effectively.
The way that my autistic brain sometimes puts things together, I was able to see in layers all these different aspects of the industry that were really fascinating.
As I moved along in the space, I’ve had a lot of access to different things, working on the email side and working with list management and how to really cultivate customers.
The last two and a half years, I worked for one of the biggest media agencies in the world and really got to see top-performing campaigns and what’s going on across all different platforms: Meta, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, AppLovin, you name it, CTV.
Over the years, I’ve curated an amazing network of people. I like to help people, and in return, a lot of people help me.
I have this really valuable network that I’m sometimes floored at having access to—senior reps at a lot of the different ad platforms like Meta, TikTok, and Snapchat.
I’ve also had experience talking to and dealing with the best copywriters in the space, the best video editors, and the best of everything. Most of my closest friends in the space happen to be media buyers or some form of affiliates. The same people tend to hang out together.
A few months ago, I really learned about my autism, which has been a new thing, understanding how my brain works and operates. I realized that I really do well being in charge of myself. This is such an entrepreneurial industry with so many opportunities.
I had been thinking about it for years, and my best friend, who happens to be one of the best VSL makers in the space (his name is Mark Shea) and I partnered up together to start consulting and helping people with getting offers off the ground.
If there are obstacles, we do audits and help them with different things. Over the years, I’ve always had a great talent, I’ll sit with someone on a call and walk through their VSL start to finish, frame by frame, and give them Meta compliance notes or break down what’s needed. It just made sense to monetize it.
At the same time, we do CRO; we help people with the creative journey, unlocking new platforms.
It’s a lot of things, but a big part of how my autistic brain works is that I see the big picture before other people. I’ve made a lot of people in the space millions of dollars just based on gut instincts that weren’t even based on metrics. Sometimes I see 10 steps ahead, and I like to help people in the space.
Starting my own agency with my best friend just made the most sense.
We offer a number of services, including strategic guidance, helping individuals access the right opportunities, and assisting them with developing a comprehensive affiliate program, as well as leveraging the benefits of copywriting, among other needs. We even do recruitment for people in the space. I’m very happy to say that, just a few months in, this has been a dream that is going really well.
Q: Can you tell me about the learning curve in this industry(performance marketing) since there’s no rule book?
Raanan Rosenbaum: Well, there’s no rule book in this industry. I always say to people, it’s like the wild, wild west. You really don’t know.
Sometimes you can be talking to two different companies that are both humongous, that do significant numbers and great things, and are legends in the performance marketing space, but they could have different terminology for the same thing. You don’t know if you don’t ask, and it doesn’t make one right and one wrong. There’s really no rule book.
The people I know who have been in the industry the longest, 15-plus years, these people are like dinosaurs. I mean that in a significant way. I come from the world of jewelry, where there are hundreds of years of protocol and established ways of how things work.
In the affiliate space, it’s constantly evolving, and I love the dynamic nature of that. I think it’s fun.
There’s always something new happening that, if you’re willing to learn, you can turn into a source of income.
Q: I recently heard again that affiliate marketing is dying. What’s your take on how the industry adapts and evolves?
Raanan Rosenbaum: It depends on what you look at.
I know, for instance, with TikTok Shops – TikTok Shops is like this beautiful creation, in my opinion, of basically combining the video elements of TikTok through all different video creatives with an Amazon checkout page.
I’ve seen brands scale major money on TikTok Shops. Even this past September, it was still in beta or just recently launched, and I see brands making major money on there.
But you can’t really work with typical affiliates in that sense.
You have creators on there, these amazing UGC creators and people who are promoting different brands: supplements, health and wellness brands, e-commerce, and all sorts of different things. There’s so much money to be made.
Part of where I see the biggest vendors doing the most money are the ones who do the research and development to understand who are the best creators.
It’s not necessarily someone with a huge following; it’s someone with a lot of engagement.
Sometimes that could be someone with only 6,000 followers, but they have people that are really tuning in to see what they’re doing, versus someone who might have 30 or 40,000 followers but doesn’t have any buyers or engagement in that audience.
I think affiliate management and affiliate programs are always going to be there, but they evolve and depend on the platform you’re working on.
Q: What’s your framework for finding the right UGC creators? You mentioned engagement matters more than follower count – how do you identify them?
Raanan Rosenbaum: For me, there are, of course, different spy tools and things you can look at, but really, for research and development, the most important thing is you’re looking for authenticity on TikTok. You really have a snap moment where you can visually hook people, and you’re looking for authenticity.
For example, let’s say I was doing a cognitive brain supplement brand. I would start looking at similar brands and things in my space and see who the creators are promoting there. There are going to be times when there are creators who have an exclusive deal, but most of the creators promoting different supplement brands on there are working with multiple people.
I would look at who has the most engagement, identify who’s actively working, and then individually reach out to those creators. It still becomes where you’re paying them like a cost per sale or cost per acquisition, so it’s very similar to a vendor to any affiliate program. But you’re really looking for people who match the brand.
It’s not necessarily about someone who has the biggest following.
Even if they have engagement, if it doesn’t make sense for them to be promoting your brand.
For example, if you have a top-performing creator who’s doing all these different skincare brands, but they’re bald—even if they’re beautiful, even if they’re very good-looking, it doesn’t make a difference. You’re not going to use them for a haircare brand. It just doesn’t make sense.
Similarly, I would just look for people who fit and are aligned with the brand messaging because that’s how you’re really going to catch people with authenticity.
Q: What about ad fatigue? Videos on TikTok need to be replaced very often. What are your best tips for avoiding creative burnout?
Raanan Rosenbaum: Ad fatigue, I think one of the most important things is that you really pay attention to what’s going on.
When an audience is seeing the same creative too often, you really need to be paying attention to how many clicks you’re getting, what the view-through rate is, and really understanding your metrics in terms of where there might be a drop-off.
There are things, for instance, if you’re on TikTok, there’s TikTok Studio, where you can see if people are going past the first three seconds. You can see where the drop-off is. You really have a small window to catch people.
I think one of the most important things with ad fatigue is, of course, watching, but then also rotating the creatives frequently. It’s really important that you’re trying new things and that you keep experimenting.
If you see as you’re refreshing hooks and angles—maybe the colors or the headlines—see which ones are getting the most attention. There might be a buzzword or keyword that you’re using and you’re not even aware it’s performing well. So it’s crucial to track every change that you make and what’s going on.
It’s also important to introduce new formats.
It may be that with ad fatigue, it’s not necessarily the creative as much as it’s the format. Maybe you should be trying a carousel, or maybe you need a video, or maybe you should be doing testimonials or more UGC-led content. More than anything, track what you’re doing so that you can understand what variances are making the difference.
I really see an obstacle with a lot of people.
Sometimes they’ll make a ton of creatives, but on Meta, for example, they might put automatic rules in place for when you hit X amount of spend and when to shut it off.
A lot of times, people are launching maybe 30 different creatives for a campaign, and they’re putting these rules in, but they’re looking at it more at a macro level versus individually.
I’ve seen before a campaign that, for a $75 spend, had 3 sales. This was for a nutra campaign where the CPAs were around $70, but because of how they had everything set up with auto rules, they were doing such a large cascade of ads that they didn’t catch how successful that campaign set was.
I think it’s really important, on top of automating rules, that you have someone who understands the numbers and knows what they’re looking at in terms of creatives to really keep things in check.
If you’re a one-man shop and you’re by yourself as an affiliate, a solo affiliate, I think it’s really important to reach out either through affiliate shows or through online Facebook groups or Telegram groups and start meeting with similar creators or similar affiliates that you can learn from and share information with.
That’s how you move along.
I always say it’s not about inventing the wheel or reinventing it; it’s about taking what’s working and putting your own specific spin on it.
Finding someone that works in your lane and being able to either be mentored by them or share information can be super helpful. You don’t have to try everything yourself—you just need to learn from their experience.
Q: What are the top ad platforms that you’d recommend media buyers pay attention to right now?
Raanan Rosenbaum: Meta is always going to be the best entry point just because there’s a low barrier to entering with a minimal daily budget.
You can really test some things at a lower rate and get some things going. It can also be very useful if you’re doing an info product or something that requires a focus on targeting or behavioral data. Meta Ads (formally Facebook Ads) can be a really great entry point.
At the same time, it depends on the product. For example, if you have a product that specifically is going to be focused around high-energy UGC, if you have a plan in terms of how you want to connect, and if it’s a product that has some unique characteristic that you can really spin into a story, then TikTok can be a great avenue.
Snapchat is really, really strong for personal development, fitness, nutrition, ADHD, or procrastination content. It tends to actually—which was very surprising for me—skew much older for North America. Generally, 45-plus works really well on Snapchat, which many people don’t realize.
There’s also right now AppLovin, which is blowing up like crazy. It’s primarily used for in-app advertising and app installs—CPI-focused—but it’s become so much more in the last year alone. Especially with the election last year, I saw so many affiliates and media buyers taking time off from Facebook because the CPAs were insane and it was really difficult to get anything to work. AppLovin kind of popped up out of nowhere.
While it’s especially great with in-app placements where you can do rewarded video and native ads, all different types of formats, AppLovin really has become incredibly strong for both e-commerce and direct-to-consumer brands. Unlike really scroll-heavy feeds, users are already interacting with the games that they’re in and they’re in a relaxed, dopamine-rich space where they’re happy to engage, and the ads inserted there feel more organic to the customer. On the user journey, they tend to perform really well.
I know a lot of brands that are doing, in the last six to eight months, 90% of their sales on AppLovin – a lot of e-commerce and DTC brands that as of a year ago had no interest or connection to AppLovin. One significant advantage of the new emerging world of app-based products is that it greatly facilitates launching and starting new initiatives.
Then you also have things like CTV, Connected TV, which delivers streaming ads directly into the house. If you’re watching YouTube or something on a home television through streaming, there are all these cool ways to engage with the end user, like using QR codes to drive engagement.
It’s really great for brand visibility, but it’s not what I would suggest necessarily to a media buyer or an affiliate that’s trying to get started.
It really makes more sense when you’re already working on a bigger scale with a brand and understand different aspects of how you’re growing the brand, because there’s a lot of organic reach that comes from that, just from the brand visibility. It’s almost like when you’re running on Facebook and you have TOFU (Top of the Funnel), MOFU (Middle of the Funnel), and BOFU (Bottom of the Funnel) – a lot of CTV becomes TOFU. You’re not always looking for the same ROI in terms of what you’re doing; you’re looking for brand presence.
It really depends on what niche you’re looking at, what kind of product, and where it’s going to connect. It’s really interesting, and I’ll say also for a lot of brands, because it’s in a newer beta stage—similar to other platforms when they first started—there’s a lot more leniency on compliance, which helps a lot of brands get started.
If your CBD brand doesn’t receive approval on Facebook, it’s likely to receive approval on AppLovin.
That doesn’t mean you can run illegal angles and do crazy things, but you have an easier entry point with AppLovin depending on the product.
Q: Is there a minimum budget requirement to run on AppLovin? I know they have strict rules for approving affiliates.
Raanan Rosenbaum: There typically are minimums, and you also need to be an offer owner on some level. They’re not just working with external affiliates. So if you’re running your own offer with an internal team or you have something there, then it makes sense. AppLovin isn’t as easy an entry point for a newer affiliate or a media buyer that doesn’t have as much experience. But if you’re already scaling, for instance, on Google or on TikTok or on Meta, then it might be the next step.
Q: It’s worth checking probably, and since it’s so successful, many people are looking more into these app-based ads. Are there other platforms people might be overlooking?
Raanan Rosenbaum: Yeah, for sure. I also think right now people kind of overlook how amazing TikTok Shops can be, as well as Snapchat. They’re both really amazing platforms – I know brands that are doing major scale on both. I think a lot of people see Meta as the only entry point. While Meta is great and there’s so much there, it’s not necessarily going to work for everyone. It may not even work for what you’re promoting. Sometimes you can find a way in that works really, really well on another brand or another platform.
I think Snapchat—it’s really important, of course, that you’re delivering authenticity and connecting quickly, but Snapchat has a more playful quality. For instance, there are a lot of really great ads on Snapchat that are using emoji accents or different stickers or things in the video. It can be really helpful. Another thing that’s also really great on Snapchat is UGC.
Even if it’s a video that’s not entirely UGC, having that kind of thing streamed into it or cut in with some sort of B-roll can be really helpful in terms of connecting with your buyers.
Q: What angles work best on Snapchat for different verticals?
Raanan Rosenbaum: As I mentioned, the playful quality really works well.
For personal development, fitness, nutrition, ADHD, or procrastination content, Snapchat performs really strongly. The platform tends to skew much older for North America—generally 45-plus works really well on Snapchat, which a lot of people don’t realize. The key is maintaining that authentic connection while leveraging the platform’s more casual, interactive elements.
Q: When you’re deciding which platform to scale a campaign on, what metrics or signals guide you to scale the campaign?
Raanan Rosenbaum: I think there are a number of different things you want to look at in terms of scaling. Of course, you want to look at what the ROAS is and what your return on ad budget is, but it’s not the only thing.
For example, I think it’s really important that you understand the AOV or your average order value—the money that’s coming in on day one—as well as the LTV, the lifetime value of that customer.
A lot of affiliates and media buyers that I speak to who are doing a lot of scaling online don’t understand the leverage that they have.
For example, if you’re delivering a certain level of scale or volume to an offer owner or a vendor, depending on what the AOV is, that could significantly affect what your CPA is. You might be able to get a huge bump, but if you don’t know where you’re performing and where things fall, you’re driving blind because you might be very happy with the CPA that you’re receiving.
But if you’re doing 50-plus sales a day and you could get $10 more or $5 more on that CPA, that changes everything in terms of profitability.
Understanding the numbers better gives you more leverage with the offer owner or the vendor. You might be able to negotiate prepayment, which helps you scale if the performance is really good—the AOV looks good and the LTV looks good. Most vendors, once you’ve proven yourself, are more than happy to prepay for traffic. That can help you in terms of cash flow to scale a campaign.
I think you also want to look at the CTR, the click-through rate. It’s really important to understand how your ads are performing and where there are drop-off points. Then, of course, you’re looking at both the CPAs, the cost per action, as well as the CPC, the cost per click. It really needs to make sense that you’re spending money before you start to scale.
If you have a creative that’s working really well, but you are overpaying on the CPA, you’re never going to be able to scale it properly. It’s going to be something where eventually you’re going to hemorrhage money and lose.
It’s also really important to understand, and this goes into AOV and LTV, your refund and chargeback rate, because those are things that are going to affect the scalability long-term with that vendor.
If you have a number of chargebacks coming in and they’re not catching them at first, it’s something that’s going to stop you maybe as you’re scaling or may get in the way of some of your payments coming through, which then affects other campaigns you’re running.
I think it’s really important to understand from all angles what kind of sales you’re driving or bringing in.
Q: What metrics should a media buyer follow for their campaigns? You mentioned a media buyer could ask for a better CPA or better commission if they follow their LTV and AOV metrics and they see that they bring real value to the vendor. When you say “vendor,” are you talking about directly working with a brand or working with the brand through an affiliate network?
Raanan Rosenbaum: It could be either—it depends on where your comfort is. If you’re working with a brand through a network that you really love and trust and they’re taking care of you, you can talk with your account manager; you can talk with someone at that network to help you. I know a lot of media buyers that work both through networks as well as directly with offer owners or vendors. It really depends.
If you have a great relationship with a specific platform, if you’re doing all your business with Digistore24 and they’re taking care of you, then there’s not necessarily a need for you to be working directly with the vendor. It really depends on where your comfort is. As long as you can get those answers, like AOV, understand where you’re performing, and they can help assist you in negotiating, it doesn’t have to be a relationship directly with the vendor.
I’ve seen ClickBank, Digistore, and BuyGoods—all these different networks really assist their top players and their best affiliates and media buyers in getting the best possible deals.
Final Thoughts for Media Buyers & Affiliates
What strikes me most about this conversation with Raanan is his ability to see the bigger picture while others get lost in the details. His journey from jewelry to performance marketing proves that success in this industry isn’t about following established formulas – it’s about developing pattern recognition and building genuine relationships.
This conversation with Raanan Rosenbaum offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look into real-world performance marketing. From affiliate media buying strategies to optimizing VSL campaigns and scaling paid traffic across platforms, the insights shared in this episode are gold for any media buyer. If you’re looking to improve your creative optimization, better understand high-risk verticals, or discover how intuitive targeting can outperform complex data models, this interview has something for you.
Connect with Raanan Rosenbaum:
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Watch the whole episode on our YouTube channel (and don’t forget to hit subscribe!):
In our next article, we’ll dig deeper into Raanan’s specific tactical approaches: how he audits campaigns, his framework for creative testing, and the advanced strategies he uses to scale profitably across emerging platforms like AppLovin and TikTok Shops.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of the Champion of Performance Marketing, where we get into the nitty-gritty of what’s working right now in performance marketing.
