How many video formats is your account really running?
Most accounts that stall aren't short on ads. They're short on formats. Tick what you run and get your count, your level, and the formats scaling for us right now. Takes 60 seconds, no signup.
On this page
Step 1
Which video formats got real spend in the last 90 days?
Count the type of ad, not the variations. 50 facecam ads with different hooks are still 1 format.
Step 2
Who's on camera?
Step 3
How long are your ads?
Pick at least one format and answer steps 2 and 3.
What counts as a format
A format is the type of video ad: facecam, podcast ad, street interview, skit, AI ad. It's the creative style, not the message.
Variations don't count. 1,000 yapper ads with different hooks, creators and edits are still one format. And near-duplicates merge: a selfie video, a facecam and a talking head are the same format.
A format is also not an angle. The angle is what the ad says. The format is how it says it. A great ad is great copy plus a format that's relevant for your market.
Why the format mix decides how far you scale
Every format reaches a slightly different slice of your market. Someone who scrolls past every facecam might stop for a street interview or a podcast clip.
That's where depth comes from: new audiences on true cold traffic, and sometimes a format that resonates with your market that nobody in your niche is running yet. It's what lets an account keep spending more while the numbers hold, and scale past several hundred thousand a month.
Plenty of accounts do fine on a few formats. They usually stagnate. If you want to scale hard, new formats are where the next level of spend tends to come from.
How many formats should you run?
Accounts that scale hard usually run around 10 different formats at a time. That's a rule of thumb, not a law: the offer, the market and your spend level all change the answer.
We keep a bank of 20+ formats and add new ones every month. It's not a target. We never run them all at once. We pull from it when an account needs new depth.
A concrete example
A coaching business that trains freelance copywriters spends about $50k a month sending traffic to a webinar. Its ads are facecam videos from the founder, testimonials, podcast ads and a few creator ads, all under 60 seconds.
That's 4 formats, a narrow mix. Every format leans on the founder's face and on short-form. The Format Count would point them to ugly ads, green screen and AI ads, because they already run podcast ads.
How to use the Format Count
1. Tick every video format that got real spend in the last 90 days. If one isn't listed, use the counter.
2. Say who's on camera and how long your ads run.
3. Read your count, your level, and the three formats to try next.
How to find your next formats
Scroll your market's feed the way your buyers do, on TikTok, Reels and YouTube. Look outside your niche too: the format that breaks through is often one your competitors haven't borrowed yet.
Then give each new format a real script. A new format with a weak script just fails faster. The script is what makes a format spend, and it's exactly where AI still falls short.
AI does help you produce formats you couldn't film before, like animation or AI avatars. Let it speed up the production. Keep the angle and the copy human.
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FAQ
Does this work outside of info, coaching and education?+
The logic holds for any business scaling on video ads. The formats we list as scaling right now come from our own work with info, coaching and education businesses, so they fit that market best.
Why don't statics count?+
This tool only looks at video ads, because that's where we work. Statics can absolutely spend, they're just outside the scope of this count.
We scale fine on one or two formats. Is that a problem?+
No. Some accounts scale on a single format because the offer and the economics carry them. The question is where your next level of spend comes from. When one format has taken all the audience it can reach, new formats are usually what opens the next one.
Can AI make new formats for us?+
AI is great at producing formats you can't film, like animation or AI avatars. It's bad at finding the angle and writing the script that makes a format spend. A great ad is great copy plus a relevant format, and the copy is still written best by people.
Do you store my answers?+
No. The count runs in your browser. Nothing you tick is sent or saved.
What does Low Stress Ad do?+
We're the outside creative team for info, coaching and education businesses: research, angles, scripts, production direction and iteration. You shoot, we handle the rest.