Chris Appelgren

What I do

Three pillars. One system.

Most brands pay three separate vendors for UGC ads, creative, and retention — and wonder why nothing compounds. I run them as one engine, so the same insight feeds every channel and the same numbers tell every story.

01

UGC Creatives

the acquisition engine

High-performance UGC built to drop CPA. Concept and script development, creator sourcing and direction, ad usability review, hook variation testing at volume. Real-creator UGC where trust matters; AI-assisted UGC for top-of-funnel testing volume. New ads in market every week, not every quarter.

02

Paid Acquisition

the system that scales spend

Account architecture, funnel-level strategy — cold, warm, retargeting. Daily optimization across Meta and Google. Built to converge UGC, static, and motion at scale with landing-page alignment.

03

Retention

the compounding layer

Klaviyo-native lifecycle. Email and SMS architecture, campaign calendars, segmentation built around how customers actually behave. LTV-to-CAC analysis that feeds insights back into the acquisition pillar — so the engine learns from itself instead of from a quarterly report.

What working together looks like

From sign-off to scale, in real time.

  1. Week 1

    Stabilize

    Stop the bleeding and find the low-fruit bottlenecks. Launch ads where they're missing. Get email and SMS flows live where they're not. Establish the KPI dashboard everyone is going to look at — CAC, Blended ROAS, Break-even ROAS, AOV, CPC, CTR — and audit the health of every traffic source already running.

  2. Week 2–3

    Test

    With baselines locked, the focus shifts to creative testing at volume. UGC implementation begins in earnest, hook variations get pushed into market, and the first cohort of retention sequences starts collecting data.

  3. Week 4+

    Find winners

    By week four, the creative engine is producing real winners. The conversation shifts from “is this working” to “how do we double down on what's working.” This is the transition from setup to scale.

The partnership model

Built to align with your P&L, not against it.

Phase 01 · Launch prep

Build & Prep Phase

Fixed-fee · typically 4–6 weeks

Project work for brands preparing to launch paid acquisition or restructure an existing program. Creative strategy, UGC direction, funnel architecture (cold / warm / retargeting), and a testing plan with KPI targets — done before the launch window opens.

Phase 02 · Ongoing

Growth Partnership

$1,500–$3,500 / month

Monthly retainer sized to your scope. Website build or optimization is often baked into the retainer at no additional cost — or heavily discounted — for committed partnerships. The core of how I work with brands long-term.

Phase 03 · Aligned

Performance Partnership

Revenue / profit share · 4–6 months in

Once the data is real and the trust is established — typically 4–6 months in — most engagements move to a performance-aligned structure. Revenue or profit share on top of (or in place of) the retainer, sized to what fits the brand. I only win when you win.

Let's see if there's a fit.

20 minutes. No deck. We figure out if your business and my approach match — and if not, I'll point you to someone who fits better.

Book a fit call