Sudarshan Baskar
Founding Marketing & GTM HireSudarshan Baskar is the founding marketing and GTM hire at Hawky, the agentic performance marketing platform. He writes about performance marketing, ad optimization, and growth.
Articles by Sudarshan Baskar
How to Measure Ad Creative Performance: The Metrics That Matter
The metrics that measure ad creative performance: hook rate, hold rate, CTR, CPA, and ROAS, read as a diagnostic funnel with 2026 benchmarks and how to fix each.
Ad Creative Testing: A Framework That Actually Works
An ad creative testing framework that finds real winners: isolate one variable, test 3-5 variants, run 7-14 days, and wait for statistical significance.
Facebook Ads for Ecommerce: The 2026 Playbook
How to run Facebook Ads for ecommerce in 2026: simple account structure, Advantage+ Shopping, clean product catalog, and the creative volume that wins.
What Is a Good ROAS? Benchmarks and the Break-Even Math
A good ROAS is any return above your break-even point, usually 3:1 to 5:1. See 2026 benchmarks by platform and the break-even math that defines your target.
AI Media Buying: The Complete Guide
What media buying is, how it works channel by channel, the six-step process buyers follow, what a media buyer does, and how AI and automated media buying change the job.
Ad Creative Analysis: The Complete Guide
What ad creative analysis is, how it differs from reporting, the metrics that matter, a repeatable process for analyzing your own creative performance, and how creative analytics tools change the work.
How to Scale Facebook Ads Without Losing ROAS: A Practical Playbook
Scaling Facebook ads is about raising spend on proven winners without resetting the learning phase or crushing ROAS. This playbook covers when to scale, vertical vs horizontal methods, and the mistakes that quietly burn budget.
Facebook Ads Optimization: The Complete Playbook to Improve Performance and Lower Costs
The broad Facebook ads optimization playbook: campaign structure, audience, creative testing, the learning phase, budget and bid optimization, and cutting wasted spend to lower cost.
How Much Do Google Ads Cost? 2026 Pricing & Budget Guide
Google Ads cost most businesses $1,000 to $10,000 per month, with a $2 to $5 average CPC on Search. See cost per click by industry, realistic budgets, how the auction sets your price, and what management adds.
How to Run TikTok Ads: A Beginner's Setup Guide
A step-by-step, beginner-friendly walkthrough for setting up and launching your first TikTok ad campaign, from account creation and the Pixel to objectives, budgets, targeting, and review.
How to Run Facebook Ads: A Beginner's Setup Guide
A step-by-step walkthrough of how to set up and launch your first Facebook ad campaign in Meta Ads Manager, from Business account to publish.
How to Run Google Ads: A Step-by-Step Setup Guide for Beginners
A beginner-friendly, step-by-step walkthrough for setting up and launching your first Google Ads campaign, from account creation and conversion tracking to keywords, budget, responsive search ads, and launch.
How Much Do TikTok Ads Cost? A 2026 Pricing Breakdown
TikTok ads run roughly $0.30 to $1.50 per click and $4 to $10 per 1,000 impressions, with a $50 daily campaign minimum and $20 per ad group. Here is what drives the price and how to plan a real test budget.
10 UGC Sourcing Platforms Compared (Pricing, Quality, Speed)
Best Media Buying Tools in 2026: 9 Platforms Compared
A sourced, BOFU comparison of the best media buying tools for 2026, spanning agentic AI operators, demand-side platforms, and automation software, with real pricing and who each one fits.
Facebook Ads Automation: From Automated Rules to Autonomous AI Agents
Facebook ads automation spans native automated rules, Advantage+, third-party rule engines, and autonomous AI agents. Here is how each level works and where the real leverage sits.
Google Ads Automation: From Rules and Scripts to Autonomous AI Agents
Google Ads automation runs on a spectrum from native rules and scripts to Smart Bidding and autonomous AI agents. See what each level automates, what to keep manual, and where an agent takes over the job.
The Best Facebook Ad Reporting Tools for 2026 (Tested & Ranked)
How to Create the Perfect Facebook Ad in 2026
How Much Do Facebook Ads Cost? (2026 Pricing Guide)
A sourced 2026 breakdown of Facebook ads cost: average CPM, CPC and cost per lead, how Meta's auction sets your price, and what to actually budget.
Best Facebook Ad Hooks for 2026: 25 That Stop the Scroll
Ad Competitor Research: How to Reverse-Engineer Winning Creative
The 5 Customer Awareness Stages: How to Map Ads to Buyer Intent (2026)
Creative Strategy for Performance Marketing: The Definitive 2026 Guide
Performance Max Creative Specs: Sizes, Formats, and Best Practices (2026)
CPR in Meta Ads: What It Means and How to Lower It
Average ROAS for eCommerce: 2026 Benchmarks Every Media Buyer Needs
Creative Optimization Tools: The 2026 Buyer's Guide
9 Best Creative Analytics for Agencies in 2026
7 Best Creative Intelligence Platforms in 2026
8 Best Tools for Creative ROAS Optimization in 2026
Hook Rate: What It Is, How to Calculate It, and How to Improve It
8 Best Dynamic Creative Optimization Tools in 2026
9 Best Ad Creative Analysis Tools in 2026
8 Best Tools to Evaluate Creative Performance in 2026
Decoding boAt's Ad Creative Strategy
Decoding The Souled Store's Ad Creative Strategy
Decoding SugarCosmetics Creative Strategy
