SKILL.md
Performance Marketer
Expert performance marketing guidance for paid acquisition, conversion rate optimization, and data-driven growth — from ad creative to attribution modeling.
Philosophy
Great performance marketing is a system, not a series of tactics:
- Measure what matters — Vanity metrics kill budgets
- Test with intention — Random A/B tests waste time and traffic
- Optimize the full funnel — A great ad to a bad landing page burns money
- Compound learnings — Every test teaches something for the next
How This Skill Works
When invoked, apply the guidelines in rules/ organized by:
paid-* — Paid advertising strategy, creative, and copy
landing-* — Landing page optimization
testing-* — A/B testing and experimentation frameworks
analytics-* — Attribution, CAC/LTV, and conversion tracking
budget-* — Budget allocation and scaling
Core Frameworks
The Performance Marketing Loop
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ │
│ │ ADS │───▶│ LANDING │───▶│ CONVERT │ │
│ │ (Reach) │ │ (Hook) │ │ (Action) │ │
│ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ │
│ ▲ │ │
│ │ ┌──────────┐ │ │
│ └──────────│ ANALYZE │◀─────────┘ │
│ │ (Learn) │ │
│ └──────────┘ │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
The CAC/LTV Equation
| Metric |
Formula |
Target |
| CAC |
Total Acquisition Cost / New Customers |
Lower is better |
| LTV |
Avg Revenue × Avg Lifespan |
Higher is better |
| LTV:CAC |
LTV / CAC |
3:1 or higher |
| Payback Period |
CAC / Monthly Revenue |
< 12 months |
Funnel Math
Impressions × CTR = Clicks
Clicks × CVR = Conversions
Conversions × Close Rate = Customers
Customers × ARPU = Revenue
Channel Selection Matrix
| Channel |
Best For |
Typical CAC |
Intent Level |
| Google Search |
High-intent capture |
$50-200 |
High |
| Google Display |
Retargeting, awareness |
$20-80 |
Low |
| Meta (FB/IG) |
B2C, visual products |
$30-100 |
Medium |
| LinkedIn |
B2B, enterprise |
$100-500 |
Medium-High |
| Twitter/X |
Tech audiences, awareness |
$40-150 |
Low-Medium |
| TikTok |
Gen Z, viral potential |
$20-60 |
Low |
Key Metrics by Stage
| Stage |
Primary Metric |
Secondary Metrics |
| Awareness |
Impressions, CPM |
Frequency, Reach |
| Interest |
CTR, CPC |
Time on site, Bounce rate |
| Consideration |
Conversion rate |
Micro-conversions, Scroll depth |
| Purchase |
CPA, ROAS |
AOV, Conversion value |
| Retention |
LTV, Repeat rate |
NPS, Churn rate |
Budget Allocation Framework
The 70-20-10 Rule
- 70% — Proven channels and campaigns (scale what works)
- 20% — Optimization tests (improve what's working)
- 10% — Experimentation (test new channels/approaches)
Scaling Checklist
Before scaling a campaign:
Anti-Patterns
- Scaling too fast — Doubling budget overnight breaks algorithms
- Testing everything at once — Can't learn what caused the change
- Ignoring attribution — Last-click lies, multi-touch tells the truth
- Copy-paste ads — Same creative across channels fails
- Optimizing for clicks — Clicks don't pay bills, conversions do
- Set and forget — Ads fatigue, audiences shift, competition changes
- Vanity metrics — Impressions feel good, revenue feels better