Sokol Systems blog https://sokolsystems.io/blog Research and practical notes on ad creative from Sokol Systems. en Why paid ad creative goes wrong: what 167 reviews and forum posts say https://sokolsystems.io/blog/what-goes-wrong-paying-for-ad-creative https://sokolsystems.io/blog/what-goes-wrong-paying-for-ad-creative Mon, 19 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 We read 167 public reviews and forum posts about ads and marketing help that didn’t pay off. Here’s what went wrong most often, what cost the most, and seven questions to ask before you pay anyone. Half the local businesses we checked had a Meta ad running for over a year https://sokolsystems.io/blog/meta-ad-library-35-local-businesses https://sokolsystems.io/blog/meta-ad-library-35-local-businesses Mon, 19 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 We checked the live Meta ads of 35 med spas, restaurants and gyms. Half had an ad running for over a year, and most small advertisers had nothing new beside it. What ad creative costs in 2026: freelancers, design subscriptions, in-house and agencies https://sokolsystems.io/blog/ad-creative-cost-2026 https://sokolsystems.io/blog/ad-creative-cost-2026 Mon, 19 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Published prices for the usual ways to get ads made, checked in October 2026: freelancers, design subscriptions, an in-house team and creative agencies, and when each makes sense.