Ayisha Yousef talks turning Black Friday fails into lessons

On episode 327 of PPC Dwell The Podcast, I converse to Ayisha Yousef, a well-recognized face to the PPC Dwell viewers. Recognized for her experience in e-commerce and efficiency advertising and marketing, Ayisha shares a daring story a couple of main Black Friday mistake — and the way she managed to recuperate from it.

The Black Friday F-Up

Setting the Scene

A number of years in the past, Ayisha was working agency-side throughout Black Friday week — probably the most essential time for e-commerce advertisers. She managed a crew of six or seven and requested them to take away advert scheduling from prime campaigns to make sure adverts ran all through the busy interval.

However as an alternative of adjusting the schedule to “at all times on,” the crew deleted the schedule solely, which means the adverts didn’t run in any respect.

The end result? The campaigns of their prime six markets went utterly darkish for the whole Black Friday.

Discovering the Mistake

The problem wasn’t caught till the next Saturday. As a result of different campaigns had been nonetheless performing effectively, the system didn’t set off alerts. When Ayisha reviewed efficiency knowledge and seen discrepancies, she instantly realised what had occurred.

“It was the other of a lightbulb second,” she mentioned. “My abdomen dropped — I knew precisely what had gone improper.”

Disaster Mode: Fixing the Fallout

Ayisha acted quick. She turned the affected campaigns again on, quantified the difficulty, and instantly escalated it to her head of division — regardless that it was a Saturday. Collectively, they analysed what went improper, why alerts failed, and forestall it sooner or later.

By Monday, they introduced a transparent, trustworthy report back to the consumer. Whereas the consumer wasn’t comfortable, they appreciated the transparency and the learnings the crew shared.

Ultimately, the account nonetheless hit its total Black Friday targets, because of sturdy efficiency from different campaigns and underspend financial savings.

Management, integrity, and defending the crew

One of many standout moments in Ayisha’s story was how she protected her crew. When administration requested who made the error, she refused to call names.

“I gave the instruction,” she mentioned. “So finally, it was on me.”

She later defined to her crew what had occurred — and found they didn’t even realise it was an error. It was a scarcity of technical understanding, not negligence.

This act of integrity not solely earned Ayisha respect but in addition strengthened the significance of psychological security inside a crew. Errors occur, however how leaders reply determines whether or not groups develop stronger or weaker.

Classes realized: communication and oversight

The most important takeaway for Ayisha? Present your crew do issues, even when they are saying they know.

Throughout high-stakes intervals like Black Friday, it’s higher to double-check directions than assume every thing’s high-quality. “It’s not about micromanaging,” Ayisha defined, “it’s about safeguarding efficiency when it issues most.”

She now ensures that junior crew members perceive the fundamentals — from advert schedules to marketing campaign settings — whilst automation turns into extra dominant in PPC.

Widespread PPC errors advertisers nonetheless make

As a guide, Ayisha usually audits PPC accounts and nonetheless sees recurring points. One of the frequent? Over-segmentation of campaigns.

Advertisers usually break up campaigns too finely by viewers or focusing on sort, diluting knowledge and harming efficiency. With AI-driven bidding methods, Ayisha recommends a broader marketing campaign construction — just like Meta’s strategy — that lets algorithms study from extra knowledge.

“The extra conversions and knowledge your marketing campaign has,” she mentioned, “the smarter Google’s AI turns into. Over-segmentation slows that studying.”

Why speaking about errors issues

PPC conversations on-line usually give attention to wins — massive ROAS numbers, new consumer wins, and success tales. However Ayisha and Anu agree that speaking about errors is simply as vital.

“It offers a extra true image,” Ayisha mentioned. “This isn’t Disney World. Issues go improper, and we study from them. Typically the one takeaway is: don’t try this once more.”

By sharing failures, the PPC neighborhood helps new practitioners set lifelike expectations — and prevents burnout when issues inevitably don’t go as deliberate.

Recommendation for PPC managers

For Ayisha, nice administration comes right down to stability: supporting your crew with out overloading them.

“Folks make extra errors after they’re anxious,” she mentioned. “Should you make your crew really feel protected, they’ll take possession, study sooner, and carry out higher.”

She additionally encourages PPC professionals to take their time earlier than leaping into administration roles. “Being a center supervisor is among the hardest jobs — you’re accountable for the work and the individuals. Be sure to’re prepared for that accountability.”

Closing ideas

Ayisha’s story is a robust reminder that even probably the most skilled entrepreneurs could make errors — particularly in fast-paced, high-pressure moments like Black Friday. However what defines a real skilled isn’t perfection; it’s how they reply, recuperate, and develop.

As Ayisha places it: “Issues occur. The bottom line is studying from them and placing techniques in place in order that they don’t occur once more.”