If you just launched a Shopify store, the fastest way to create video ads is to pick one product, write a short script that moves from hook to problem to benefit to proof to offer to call to action, film or generate 15-30 seconds of vertical footage around that script, add captions and a voiceover, and export it in 9:16 for TikTok, Reels and Shorts before testing it with a small budget. You don't need a studio, a camera crew or a big budget to do this — you need a clear structure and a repeatable way to produce more than one ad, because your first version is rarely your best one.
Why a brand-new Shopify store needs video ads from day one
A new store has no reviews, no repeat customers and usually no brand recognition. Video ads are how you borrow attention and explain your product fast, before a shopper has any reason to trust you yet. A still image can show what a product looks like; a short video can show what it does, how it's used and why it's worth stopping to look at — all in the time it takes someone to scroll past three other posts.
For a store with one or two products and no ad history, the goal of your first ads isn't to look polished. It's to get a clear, honest answer to a question: does this product, explained this way, make someone want to tap through? Everything below is built around getting that answer as fast as possible, then improving on it.
What you need before you create your first ad
Before opening any tool, gather a short list of assets. This takes less time than most people expect and it removes the biggest cause of delay: starting to film or design with nothing to work from.
- Your product page link or 3-6 clean product photos / screenshots, ideally showing the product from different angles or in use
- Your logo, if you have one
- One clear offer if you have it — a launch discount, a bundle, free shipping, a promo code
- A one-sentence description of who the product is for and the single biggest problem it solves
- Any proof you can legitimately show: a before/after, a close-up of a feature, a demo, or early customer feedback if you have any yet
If you don't have an offer yet, that's fine — a strong hook and a clear benefit can carry a first ad on their own. Just don't skip straight to filming without deciding what the single main point of the ad is.
How to create video ads for a new Shopify store, step by step
This is the core process. Follow it in order even if you plan to use an AI tool for the actual production — the thinking in steps 1 to 3 still has to happen somewhere, and skipping it is how stores end up with ads that look fine but convert nobody.
Step 1: Pick one product to start with
Resist making one ad that tries to introduce your whole store. Choose the single product that is easiest to explain in 30 seconds — usually your bestseller candidate, your most visual product, or the one with the clearest before/after. A phone stand, a travel pillow, a skincare serum, a pet grooming tool — anything that has one obvious job is easier to turn into a good first ad than a broad catalog.
Step 2: Write the script using a five-part structure
Almost every ad that works for a new store follows the same shape. Use this as your skeleton and fill in your product's specifics:
- Hook (0-3 seconds): a question, a bold claim, or a visual surprise that stops the scroll
- Problem (3-8 seconds): name the frustration your audience already feels
- Benefit (8-15 seconds): show what changes when they use the product
- Proof (15-22 seconds): a close-up, demo, feature detail, or comparison that backs up the benefit
- Offer and CTA (22-30 seconds): your discount or deal, plus a direct instruction like "Shop now" or "Tap to order"
Example, for an invented product — a weighted neck pillow: Hook: "Still waking up with neck pain after every flight?" Problem: shots of someone shifting uncomfortably in an airplane seat. Benefit: the same person sleeping comfortably with the pillow, captioned "Designed to hold your neck in place, not just around it." Proof: a close-up of the pillow's support structure or a quick before/after comment. Offer: "20% off your first order, today only." CTA: "Tap below to shop." That's a complete ad outline before a single frame is shot or generated.
Step 3: Choose how you'll produce the video
You have three realistic paths for a first ad. Pick based on your time, budget and how many variations you'll want to test — not just on what feels familiar.
| Method | Typical time per ad | Typical cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Film it yourself (phone + basic editing app) | A few hours to a full day | Low cash cost, high time cost | Founders comfortable on camera or with simple product demos |
| Hire a freelancer or editor | Several days to a couple weeks | Moderate to high, plus revisions | Stores that want a specific creative direction and have lead time |
| AI video tool from a product link (e.g. FrameNotion) | About 10-20 minutes | Low, often a free first ad | New stores that need to test fast and iterate on multiple hooks |
There's no wrong answer here, but for a store with no ad history, speed and the ability to make several versions usually matters more than a single highly polished ad. You learn more from three tested ads than from one perfect one.
Step 4: Produce the ad
If you're filming yourself: shoot in vertical 9:16, use natural light near a window, keep the camera steady (a cheap tripod helps more than a good camera), and film more footage than you think you need — close-ups of texture or detail, a wide shot showing scale, and a shot of the product actually being used. You'll trim it down in editing.
If you're using an AI video tool, the process looks different: you paste your product page link (or upload photos if you don't have a live page yet), optionally add your logo, up to a handful of product images, and any notes like a promo code, and the tool writes the script and builds the ad around your product automatically. With FrameNotion specifically, that process produces a 30-second vertical MP4 with an AI voiceover, music or sound effects, and word-by-word captions, built from scratch rather than dropped into a template — and it's ready in about 10 to 20 minutes, which makes it realistic to generate two or three hook variations in a single sitting instead of committing to one script.
If you're hiring a freelancer, send them the script skeleton from Step 2 and your assets up front. The clearer your brief, the fewer revision rounds you'll need.
Step 5: Add captions, sound and make sure it works on mute
A large share of video ad views happen with the sound off, at least at first, so design for that rather than hoping people turn their volume up. Word-by-word captions, clear on-screen text for your hook and offer, and visuals that make sense without narration are what carry an ad through a silent scroll. Add a voiceover and a music track cut to the beat on top of that for the viewers who do have sound on — don't rely on audio alone to deliver your message. For more on this, see our guide on optimizing video ads for mobile viewing.
Step 6: Export for every platform and placement you'll actually run
Your first ad will likely run across more than one placement — TikTok, Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels and Meta feed placements all favor vertical or square formats, but not identically. Rather than cropping a single export and hoping it fits, export in the formats each placement actually calls for: 9:16 for Stories, Reels and TikTok; 4:5 or 1:1 for feed placements; and 16:9 if you ever run it as a pre-roll or on YouTube. Good tools generate all of these from one source ad so you're not re-cutting footage by hand for each platform.
Step 7: Launch small, then test
Put a modest budget behind your first ad set and let it run long enough to gather a real read before judging it — resist pausing after a few hours. Then make at least one more hook variant (same product, different opening 3 seconds) and compare. If you want a structured way to keep testing beyond the first batch, our creative testing framework for ads walks through how to set up that comparison properly as your store grows.
Common mistakes new Shopify stores make with their first ads
- Explaining the whole brand instead of one product. A first ad that tries to cover five products usually explains none of them well.
- Burying the hook. If your strongest claim or visual is at second 10, move it to second 1.
- Shooting landscape and cropping it to vertical. This almost always loses the framing and detail that made the shot work.
- Skipping captions. An ad that only works with sound on will lose viewers scrolling on mute.
- Making one ad and calling it done. A single ad tells you almost nothing — a couple of hook variants tell you a lot.
- No clear CTA. "Check it out" is vague. "Tap below to shop the launch deal" tells someone exactly what to do next.
Getting the ad onto your store once it's made
A finished video ad is only half the job — it also needs a home on your product pages, not just in your ad accounts. If you haven't set that up yet, our guide on how to add video ads to your Shopify store covers embedding the same video on your product page so paid traffic lands on a page that matches what they just watched.
How FrameNotion fits into this workflow
FrameNotion is built specifically for the first step of this whole process: turning a product link into a finished ad without a shoot, a script writer or an editor. Paste your Shopify product page link, optionally add your logo, up to six product images and a note about your launch offer, and FrameNotion AI writes a custom script — hook, problem, benefit, proof, offer, CTA — and renders it as a 30-second, 9:16, 1080×1920 video at 30 fps with a voiceover, music or sound effects, and word-by-word captions, checking its own rendered frames along the way. It also delivers 4:5, 1:1 and 16:9 versions of the same ad, so you're covered across TikTok, Reels, Shorts and Meta placements without re-exporting anything yourself.
Because a new store benefits from testing more than one hook, FrameNotion lets you request changes to text and colors after the ad is rendered, and on Pro and Agency plans you can generate A/B hook variants from the same base ad. The first ad on any new account is free, which makes it a reasonable way to see what a generated ad looks like for your specific product before deciding on anything else. If you want to compare this approach against filming yourself or hiring an editor in more detail, our buyer's guide to video ad makers for Shopify sellers lays out the trade-offs side by side.
One thing worth knowing up front: FrameNotion generates the video itself but doesn't publish ads directly to TikTok, Meta or other platforms, and it doesn't track ad performance — you'll still launch and monitor campaigns through your usual ad accounts.
Frequently asked questions
How many video ads should a new Shopify store make before launching paid traffic?+
Start with at least two or three versions of the same ad, usually with different opening hooks, rather than a single ad. A new store has no performance history to lean on, so testing a couple of variants from the start gives you a faster, clearer read on what's working than judging one ad alone.
Do I need to show my face in a Shopify video ad?+
No. Plenty of effective ads for new stores are faceless — product close-ups, demos, text overlays and voiceover carry the message just as well. If you'd rather not appear on camera, our guide on faceless video ads for ecommerce covers how to structure one.
What length should a first Shopify video ad be?+
30 seconds is a solid starting point: long enough to cover a hook, problem, benefit, proof and offer, short enough to hold attention on mobile. You can test shorter cuts later once you know which parts of the ad are doing the most work.
Can I use the same video ad on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook?+
The same core footage works across all three, but export it in the aspect ratio each placement actually uses — typically 9:16 for Reels, Stories and TikTok, and 4:5 or 1:1 for some feed placements — rather than relying on one crop for everything.
What if my new store doesn't have an offer or discount yet?+
A clear hook and benefit can carry a first ad without a discount attached. Add an offer once you have one worth testing, but don't delay your first ad just because there's no promo code yet.