Creative ideas: pick what to make next

Creative ideas lists ideas for your next creative, ranked by an Opportunity score. Open it from Create > Creative ideas. Choose an idea, a product or a blank page, and the batch screen opens.

Problem and intended user

The creative strategist (the person who plans and makes ad creatives) has more products and angles than time. Choosing which product to advertise with which message is guesswork, and a weak pairing costs a batch of images that nobody uses. The media buyer (the person who runs your paid ads) wants new creatives to rest on what already sells.

Current workflow

Without Nexus, the creative strategist reads Shopify admin reports and Meta Ads Manager or Google Ads results, then keeps a spreadsheet of products and messages to try. The pairing is decided by hand, and the brief goes to a design tool or an agency.

Prerequisites

• Your Shopify product catalog has finished syncing.
• Your store has angles and ads that Nexus can score. Until your first ideas exist, the tab shows the How it works page (see below). It starts with Get ideas: select it to score your angles and products. It takes a few minutes, and the button gives way to a loader that reads "Building your ideas…" until it finishes. If it could not start, a message beside the button says so and the button stays. If your store has no active plan, the button gives way to "Choose a plan to get ideas" and a View plans link. You can select Start from scratch in the meantime.
• Opening the tab and choosing an idea generate nothing. Images are generated only on the batch screen, when you select Generate creatives.

How Nexus works

Nexus pairs a product with an angle, or with a job to be done, and gives each pair an Opportunity score. A fixed formula, not AI, calculates the score from your own store data.

Nexus composes the ideas in sets of ten: eight built on an angle or a product, and two built on a job to be done. When one kind runs out, the other fills the set. The tab shows them in that order, two full rows of cards at a time: as many cards as fit two rows at the width of your screen, and never fewer than four. The list view shows ten rows at a time.

Each set mixes the kinds of idea. When your store has them, a set holds at least one Hook idea, one Concept idea, one Angle idea and one Product idea. It also holds at least one idea whose concept has results from your own ads and one whose hook has results. One idea can count for more than one of these.

One angle fills only a few places in a set. Nexus uses the rest of the places for other angles, so a single angle that works well does not take over the page. When you pick angles with Angles, this limit does not apply to them. The remaining places go to the ideas with the highest score.

One product also appears in only a few ideas of a set, so each set covers several products. The ideas on a job to be done count toward this too. This limit is firm: when it conflicts with the mix above, the limit wins, and a set can then lack one kind of idea.

Once Nexus has chosen the ideas of a set, it lists them from the strongest to the weakest, by Opportunity score. The rank numbers follow that order, so a lower rank number never has a lower score than a higher one on the same set.

Angle ideas suggest each angle only for its best-matching products, so the ideas stay varied.

The five kinds of idea

The label at the top of an idea says what the idea rests on most. For an idea built on an angle or a product, Nexus looks at three parts of your own ads: the angle, the concept and the hook. It names the idea after the part with the strongest results. A part counts only when its ads returned more than they cost and have spent enough to prove it. A part with a small amount of spend does not name an idea, however well it did.

Label	What it means
Angle	The angle's own results from your ads are the strongest part.
Concept	The results of ads with the idea's concept, the kind of creative it uses, are the strongest part.
Hook	The results of ads with the idea's hook, the opening line or picture that catches attention, are the strongest part.
Product	None of the three has proven itself: none returned more than it cost with enough spend, or none has results yet. The idea rests on the product.
Job to be done	The idea starts from a job your customer wants done, not from an angle.

A part with no results of its own is not counted as proof. Point at the score to see this: that row reads "no data yet" and says it is counted like your average ad. A part with results but little spend still shows its results in the score, but it cannot name the idea.

The tab opens with the heading "Creative ideas" and the line "Pick an idea, a product or a blank page to start your next creative." While your ideas load, the tab reads "Loading your creative ideas…" above two rows of placeholder cards. After you pick products, it reads "Loading ideas for 2 products…" (or "1 product") while the new ideas load, and "Loading more ideas…" beside Load more while the next ideas load.

The How it works page

The first time you open the tab, and for as long as your first ideas are not ready, the tab shows one page: How it works, "Better inputs. Better directions.". A diagram shows the data Nexus brings together and the ranked ideas it leads to. The diagram shows your own store's counts, one row per source, each as "N signals":

Source	What is counted
Products	Your active products.
Existing ads	Your own ads.
Customer reviews	The reviews Nexus has for your store.
Concepts	The concepts your own ads use.
Jobs to be done	The jobs your customers want done that Nexus found in their reviews, for your active products.
Competitor ads	The analyzed ads of the competitors you track.

A source your store has none of stays on the page as "0 signals", in a quieter style. While the counts load the rows show no numbers, and if they cannot be read each row shows a dash and the page still works. The button beside the heading follows your first ideas:

1. Before any ideas exist, it reads Get ideas.
2. While Nexus builds them, a loader reads "Building your ideas…". The page checks every ten seconds.
3. When they are ready, the loader becomes Start creating. Nexus never opens the ideas by itself, so you can read the page first. Select Start creating to go on.

Once you have selected Start creating, the tab opens on the ideas. The information button next to the idea count, labelled How it works, opens the same diagram again in a window.

Read an idea

Each idea shows:

• the label of the idea, such as Product, Angle, Concept or Hook;
• a rank and the Opportunity score. Rank 1 is the strongest idea of the first set, and the numbers keep counting on the sets that follow. Point at the score to read how it is calculated: one ring for each part, Product strength, Your winning angle, Concept track record and Hook track record. A full ring is a grade of 100 for that part, and the label at the start of each ring shows the grade and the weight. Point at a ring, or tap it, to see the points it adds and the result behind it. The details of an idea show the same rings;
• a title, and the lines under Why consider it;
• the Featured product;
• the heart button, which saves the idea for your whole store. Everyone on your team sees the same saved ideas.

Select the title to open the idea in a Creative idea window. It adds the angle (Core argument, Parent angle or Proposed angle), the Selected scene and a Suggested message, with Previous idea and Next idea buttons and a Use idea button.

In the window, Why consider it also names the idea's concept, the kind of creative it uses, and says whether the concept is System (from Nexus) or Manual (one your team added). When your ads with that concept have results, it shows the concept's score out of 100 over 28 days and says what it means:

• "Your ads with this concept earned more than they cost over the last 28 days."
• "Your ads with this concept about broke even over the last 28 days."
• "Your ads with this concept earned less than they cost over the last 28 days."

Without results, it reads "No 28-day score for this concept yet." An idea built on a job to be done has no concept.

See the angle

Select See angle on an idea to open its angle in a side panel. It shows the angle's core statement, how many of your ads use it and how many delivered, and its variations. It also shows the angle's all-time Ad spend in your store currency, or "No delivery yet" when its ads have not delivered. An asterisk after the amount means some spend could not be converted to your store currency, so the real total can be higher. Select Manage angles to edit angles. If the angle cannot load, the panel reads "Couldn't load this angle". Select Try again.

Find an idea

1. Select Products to open the product picker. While the list loads, it reads "Loading your products…". Tick one or more products, up to 50, and select Show ideas. The button then names the product, or says how many products you selected. Select the cross beside it to clear the choice. On a narrow screen, scroll the table sideways to see every column. In Demo Mode, a search box also narrows the list.
2. Select Angles to open Choose angles. It lists your store's angles in a recommended order. Angles that have run in your ads come first, best return first. An angle that has spent little ranks toward your store's average return, so its own return counts for less until it has spent more. Angles not advertised yet follow, A to Z.
   • Each angle you have advertised shows Paid back or Below break-even under its return. An angle is Paid back when its own ads returned more than your break-even return. The information button beside Return shows that return and the gross margin it comes from.
   • Each angle shows Return, Spent and Ads from your own ads, all time. Ideas shows how many ideas use the angle and where the best one ranks. An angle no idea uses yet shows 1 idea with no rank when you have not picked products or Saved only: the idea Nexus suggests for it (see below).
   • Why it ranks here says what decided its place. Select it for the full reason, and select the track record to see its rings.
   • The Show filters narrow the list, for example to Paid back or Used by ideas. Search and Tension narrow it too, and Sort changes the order.
   • Tick the angles you want, up to 50, and select Show N ideas. Each picked angle gets its own chip with a cross, and the ideas show every idea of the picked angles. Manage angles, at the bottom, opens the page where you edit them.
3. Select More filters to filter by Starting point (for example Concept or Hook) or Concept, or to show Saved only ideas.
   • Concept lists every concept of your store, not only the ones on screen. Next to it, Manage concepts opens the page where you edit them.
   • Nexus applies Angles and Concept to every idea it holds, so the count covers all of them, not only the ideas loaded so far.
4. Switch between Cards and List. The list view is a table with the columns Priority, Creative idea, Product and Why consider it.
5. Select Load more to show the next ideas: two more rows of cards, or ten more rows in the list. Resizing the window does not change the ideas on screen; the next Load more uses the new width. Once every idea is on screen, Give me more asks Nexus to look for more ideas than it has shown.

Start a creative batch

Choose one of three starts.

1. Select Use idea on an idea. The batch screen opens with the idea's product, angle and scene already filled in.
2. When you filter by products, Nexus shows the ideas it already suggested for them first, then every other idea that fits them, ranked the same way. When Nexus cannot rank a product (it is not active, it has no product score yet, or your store has no angle or job for it), a banner reads "{product} doesn't have ideas yet". Select Start with this product. With several such products, select Start with a product and pick one. You then choose the angle and the scene yourself.
3. Select Start from scratch at the top right. The batch screen opens empty.

Nothing is generated at this point. See Generate creatives on the batch screen.

Exact output

You get a ranked list, and a filled-in batch screen when you start from an idea.

Part	What it shows
N creative ideas	The number of ideas that match your filters.
Rank and Opportunity score	The order of the ideas, and how strong Nexus rates each one.
Label (Angle, Concept, Hook, Product or Job to be done)	The part of your ads the idea rests on most.
Why consider it	The reason Nexus gives for the pairing. In the idea window, also the concept and what its 28-day score means.
Featured product	The product the idea is about.
Choose angles	Your angles in the recommended order, with their results and how many ideas use them.
Use idea	Opens the batch screen on that idea.
Heart button	Saves the idea for your whole store, so Saved only can show it again. Your teammates see it too, and it stays saved when Nexus refreshes the ideas.

What to do with it

What you see	Decision or action	Owner
A high-ranked idea with a product you want to push	Select Use idea, check the batch screen and generate.	creative strategist
A product with no idea	Filter by it to see every idea that fits it. If Nexus cannot rank it, select Start with this product and choose the angle yourself.	creative strategist
An idea you want later	Select the heart button. Later, use Saved only.	creative strategist
A concept whose ads earned less than they cost	Prefer ideas with another concept, or filter by a concept that earned more.	creative strategist
A new product to launch	Select Start from scratch.	media buyer

Expected value and measurement

The tab can help you choose a product and a message on evidence from your own store, instead of by guess.

To check, compare the creatives you made from high-ranked ideas with those from ideas you chose by hand. Open Performance > Ad performance and read Spend and ROAS for the ads over the same dates. Other changes at the same time, such as a new offer or a budget change, can hide the effect of the idea.

Limitations and exceptions

• The Opportunity score is an estimate from your past results. It cannot see a trend that has not started. A new store with few ads has less to score from.
• While Nexus scores your angles and products for the first time, the How it works page shows "Building your ideas…" in place of the button. You can select Start from scratch in the meantime.
• When a scoring run has finished and found no angle and product pairs to recommend, the tab reads "No ideas to show yet" and offers nothing to wait for. You can select Start from scratch in the meantime.
• If Nexus cannot find angles in your store's reviews, a note at the top of the tab reads "We couldn't find angles in your reviews yet". You can still write your own angle when you start a creative batch.
• If the ideas cannot load, a banner reads "Couldn't load creative ideas". Select Try again, or start from scratch. If more ideas cannot load, the banner reads "Couldn't load more ideas".
• When no idea matches your filters, the page reads "No creative ideas match these filters". Select Clear filters. With Saved only on and nothing saved, it reads "No saved creative ideas here yet".
• Saved only shows every idea you saved, also one Nexus no longer suggests first. A saved idea does not show when its product is no longer active or its angle is no longer in use.
• If a heart cannot be saved, the heart goes back and a banner reads "Couldn't save this idea" (or "Couldn't remove this idea from Saved"). Select Try again, or Dismiss.
• Angles and Concept show only ideas built on an angle or a product. Ideas built on a job to be done have neither, so these filters hide them.
• While Choose angles loads, it reads "Loading your angles…". If the list cannot load, it reads "Couldn't load your angles." Select Try again, or Manage angles. An asterisk after Spent means some spend could not be converted to your store currency, so the real total can be higher. An angle whose ads have not delivered shows a dash under Return, and the Not advertised yet filter under Show lists it.
• The recommended order of Choose angles uses your own ads only, all time. An angle that has spent little ranks toward your store's average return, whatever its own return, until it has spent more. Angles not advertised yet follow, A to Z, and ideas do not change the order.
• An angle filter shows whatever ideas exist for the angle, however few. When a picked angle has no idea yet, and you have not picked products or Saved only, Nexus suggests one: the angle on the product that scores best with it. It shows after the other ideas, as a usual idea card. If Nexus has no product to suggest the angle on, the page reads "No creative ideas match these filters".
• In Demo Mode the tab shows sample ideas with a sample data badge. Use idea opens the batch screen on sample data, and nothing is stored in your store. Hearts on sample ideas are kept in your browser until you close it, and are not saved for your store.

Related

• Generate creatives on the batch screen
• Creative batches
• Production overview