The Koerner Office - Business Ideas and Deep Dives with Chris Koerner - Your Playbook to Selling Anything on the Internet in 2025| Ep. #184

Episode Date: June 18, 2025

👋 Welcome to The Koerner Office!If you're here from my MFM appearance, thank you! You're gonna love this show. BUT this episode is better on YouTube because it's super visual and tactical. ▶️  Watch it here → https://youtu.be/uUlU5G1Nda0This one covers Facebook Ads for Beginners, but if you want my best episodes start here: 🔥 Ep 164: The Most Overlooked Way to Make Money Online (Directory Biz) 🔥 Ep 161: Missed Every Gold Rush 🔥 Ep 163: You're Overthinking It. Here’s the Simple Way to Start (ft. Nick Huber) 🔥 Ep 169: How to Actually Make Money with ChatGPT 🔥 Ep 162: I’ve Started 75+ Businesses — Here’s What Matters 💎 Bonus Bangers: Ep 73, 123, 156, 167, 171, 173________________________________________________________________________________________Check out my newsletter at TKOPOD.com and join my new community at TKOwners.com.I sat down to record this five-part crash course for anyone struggling to make Facebook ads actually work. Whether you're running a local business, selling an online product, or just trying to get more leads or sales, this series walks you through everything from the ground up. I cover how to build winning campaigns in Meta Ads Manager, write high-converting ad copy, test ads without wasting money, and scale from $10 to $500/day. I also share my favorite low-budget hacks, ad examples, and shortcuts for getting cheap leads and better ROAS. If you're trying to grow with digital marketing, this is the step-by-step blueprint you need.🚀 Get 30 days of powerful AI tools for free with HighLevel. Automate your funnels, follow-ups, and more, all in one platform.👉 Try it here:  https://www.gohighlevel.com/Timestamps below. Enjoy!---Watch this on YouTube instead here: tkopod.co/p-ytAsk me a question on or off the show here: http://tkopod.co/p-askLearn more about me: http://tkopod.co/p-cjkLearn about my company: http://tkopod.co/p-cofFollow me on Twitter here: http://tkopod.co/p-xFree weekly business ideas newsletter: http://tkopod.co/p-nlShare this podcast: http://tkopod.co/p-allScrape small business data: http://tkopod.co/p-os---00:00 Introduction to Facebook Ads for Noobs11:07 Building Your First Facebook Campaign18:24 Writing High-Performing Facebook Ad Copy23:32 Crafting Compelling Visuals for Ads26:16 Writing Like a Human: The Key to Engagement29:49 Testing and Optimization: The Science of Ads35:28 Scaling and Automation: Growing Your Ad Strategy42:14 Expert Shortcuts: Accelerating Your Ad Success

All right, real talk. Most people try and run Facebook ads are just lighting money on fire. And it's not because the platform doesn't work. It's not because their product sucks. It's because no one ever sat them down and explained how this game actually works. So what do they do? They boost a post. They pick 27 different interests and they throw 500 bucks at it.

And then when it flops, they blame the algorithm or worse. They give up and I've been there. I've done all that. But then I figured it out. I'm still figuring it out. But not from a $10,000, course, not for many YouTube rabbit holes, just by running real ads with my own real money over and over and over until it clicked. So this series is called Facebook Ads for Noobs.

And if you stick with me through all five parts, I'll show you everything you need to finally make ads work, especially if you're new. But the real reason to stick around today, because at the end of this, I'm going to give you my favorite shortcuts, dirty little hacks, and zero budget tricks that I use to find winners faster than anyone else I know. This is stuff I wished someone handed me on day one. This is a series I needed when I started. Now it's yours. So let's dive in. Here's what you're going to learn. Part one, foundations. Understand how Facebook ads actually work. You're going to learn campaign structure between the campaign, the ad set, and the ad. You're going to pick the right objective and build offers that convert. In part two, you're going to build your first

campaign. It's a step-by-step walk-through on how to launch your first ad set within ads manager. From targeting and placements to budget and creatives, this gets you live, fast and clean. Part three is writing ads that convert. You use the hook to the problem, to the offer, to the call-to-action formula to write punchy, clear, high-converting ad copy, including headline tips, image best practices, and full examples. And part four is my favorite testing and optimization.

You're going to learn the 72-hour rule. Key metrics, CTR, CPC, CPM, C-P-M. and how to A-B test one variable at a time. You're going to diagnose problems and fix them quickly. In part five, scaling in automation, how to go from $10 a day to $500 a day without breaking your campaign budget. This includes targeting, lead handling, automation, and CRM setup. And as a bonus, you're going to get my favorite hacks, loopholes, and shortcuts. The bottom line is, if you follow this playbook, you will never guess what to do with your Facebook app.

You won't have to guess. You'll know exactly what to write, where to click, and how to scale. Okay, so let's get into it. Part one, Foundations. Here's what makes Facebook ads work and why most people never get it right. Storytime. I was sitting with a local HVAC company owner last summer. Smart guy.

He'd been in business about 12 years or so. He asked me to look at his Facebook ads account. Here's what I saw. Wasn't surprising. One boosted post from two months ago. A photo of his van. And a caption saying, hey, need AC repair? We're here to help.

all today. No targeting. No strategy. No results. And that's how most people run Facebook ads. It's why most people think Facebook ads don't work. Isn't that a shame? But here's the truth. Facebook ads still work like crazy better than ever before. You just have to understand the machine that you're operating. So let's build your foundation right. By the time you finish this chapter, you'll be able to run ads like a grown up, like an expert. Step one. Here's what actually makes a Facebook ad. One. One, It's not your logo. It's not your business card design. It's not even the photo, although that is important.

We'll get to that. But what makes a Facebook ad work is alignment. These three things have to line up. Number one, a clear problem. Number two, a relevant offer. And number three, it needs to be shown to the right person at the right time. That's it. Here's an example of a problem.

Your trees are blocking your driveway. Here's an example of an offer. Tree trimming in 24 hours. message us for a quote. And here's an example of the right person, homeowners in McKinney, Texas, with large trees and disposable income. That's it. If you hit that combo, game over. If you miss one, you're burning money. If you miss two, you're burning a lot of money. Step two, understanding the Facebook ad structure. There are three levels to every Facebook ad campaign. Number one, campaign. Think of this as the why. What are you trying to accomplish at the campaign level?

sales? Is it leads? Is it website traffic? Are you looking for messages, more page engagement? Most beginners pick the wrong one and then they blame the algorithm. Stop blaming the algorithm. Don't do that. Here's how to decide. Every campaign has a goal. Use this objective to book service calls via DMs, drive messages, drive sales on a site. Maybe you want conversions to collect emails or leads or just leads. Maybe you want more eyeballs and maybe you want more reach on your video, which isn't very common. And I will say if you're a local business, 90% of the time, you should start with messages. It's the highest intent. It's the easiest to convert. And it gives you instant feedback. After the campaign is the ad set level. This is the who, when and where. Who are you targeting?

Where will your ads be shown? Instagram, Facebook feed, Instagram stories, Facebook stories. How much are you spending? This is where most of the money is made or lost here at the ad set level. We'll go deep into targeting later, but here's the short version. You want to start broad. Let the algorithm work. Dial it in as you go. If you start niche from the beginning, then you'll never know what you're missing out on. And the most granular level to this three-tier system is the ad. Just to recap, campaign, ad set, and then add. This is the what. This is what your prospect actually sees. It includes the creative, which is a fancy way of saying the image of the video, the caption, which is the primary text, and then the headline. Also, this is where you'll see the

call to action button. Maybe that's shop, learn more, or message. adjust us now. This is where the click happens or doesn't. And 95% of people start here, which is a mistake. If your campaign and your ad set aren't right, your creative will not save you. Now step three, you're going to pick the right campaign objective. So let's keep it simple. If you pick the wrong campaign, Facebook literally optimizes for the wrong people. Here's what I mean. If you choose traffic as the objective, Facebook will show your ad to people who are known clickers, not buyers, not message genders. In fact, they're probably less likely to click. In fact, they're probably less likely to buy than the average clicker because they're just clickers. They're not clickers and

buyers. These people don't convert. They're just curious scrollers. Here's a little cheat sheet for you. If you want messages in your inbox, you choose messages. If you want to collect names and emails, you choose leads. If you want someone to buy something on your website, you choose conversions. If you want views on a reel or a video, you just choose video views. But you got to know why you're doing that first. So that's a really easy way to light your money on fire. Don't try to get clever. Don't overthink it. Just pick one that aligns with your goal. Now step four, this is the anatomy of a killer offer. Don't skip this. If your offer sucks, your ad will suck. Doesn't matter how good the creative is. Once again, your creative will not save you. So here's what a

good offer looks like. You want a clear solution to a painful problem with a timeline and a path to action. Here's two examples. Here's a bad offer. We offer expert HVAC services. Call today. No, too vague. No timeline. No hook.

Throw it out. Here's a great offer. Your AC out. We'll diagnose it in 60 minutes and fix it same day. Message us to book your time. The second one sells because it solves a specific problem for a specific person and it sets expectations. It gives them a reason to act now. Write this down.

The tighter the offer, the better the ad will perform. Now step five, avoid the boost post trap. This deserves its own section. Never boost a post ever without exception. Boosting is Facebook's easy button for people who don't understand ads manager. It gives you almost no control whatsoever over who sees the ad. What goal you're optimizing for. What your budget is actually doing.

It's like trying to run a marathon with roller blades on your knees. It looks like a shortcut, but it'll wreck you. Always use meta ads manager. It gives you full control. And once you understand it, which you will by the end of video, you'll never go back. And step six, you're going to build a strategic foundation before you ever click publish. Before you ever open ads manager, answer these five questions. Who is this ad for?

Two, what problem do they have right now? Three, what solution am I offering them? Four, what proof do I have? that I can deliver and five, what is the one action I want them to take? If you can't answer all five of these questions, then don't run the ad. This quick little 10 minute exercise will save you $1,000 in wasted ad spend. All right, step seven, here's some real world examples from start to finish. Let's say I'm running Facebook ads for a local tree trimming company.

Here's how I'd set it up. Campaign objective. Messages. Ad set. The location's going to be 10 mile radius around McKinney, Texas. The age, 30 to 65 plus. The targeting, homeowners, no fancy interest needed. The placement is going to be manual and then Facebook feed, Instagram feed, Instagram stories.

I don't want Facebook to show it anywhere it wants to show it. I don't trust Facebook with this part of the system yet. My budget's going to be 15 bucks a day. Now, my ad creative, once again, creative is a fancy word for your picture or your video. I'm going to do a before and after picture of a trimmed tree. Those sell. Here's the caption. branches over your roof.

We'll trim, clean, and holloway in 24 hours. Get a free quote in 30 seconds. No pressure. Just fast work. Headline. Tree over your roof? Call to action. Send message.

Remember, home services, you want the call to action to be send message. This exact ad has gotten leads for under $5 for us. If we go to Thumbtack to buy leads, it costs over $50. And I've used variations of this for home service pros, realtors, HVAC, even mobile dog groomers. You don't need to be clever. You need to be clear. All right, my final thoughts on part one. This is the foundation that most people skip.

They rush into writing ads without understanding what they're actually telling Facebook to do. That's like getting in a car and never checking the GPS. Remember when Michael Scott drove the car into the lake? Exactly. Here's your mantra for every ad you ever run. Goal is better than audience. Audience is better than creative in that order, always. If you get the strategy right, Facebook ads become a cheat code.

If you don't, you'll end up tweeting Facebook ads are dead like every other frustrated business owner. They're not dead. Two, we're going to build our first Facebook campaign step by step. Most people talk about Facebook ads like it's rocket science. It's not, but you do need to know what buttons to click and what traps to avoid. This chapter is all about execution. If you follow it word for word, you'll have a fully functioning campaign live. By the end of the day, today, it won't be perfect, but it'll be wrong.

running and that's more than 98% of people ever do. So let's get into it. Step one, open meta ads manager. Don't boost a post. Don't use your business page. Use the real tool. Go to business. Facebook.com and access meta ads manager. This is where all the magic happens. If it's your first time, Facebook might walk you through a setup wizard. You can skip most of it because you're listening or watching this. You want to get to the dashboard where you can create a campaign, set up an ad set, and launch an ad. If that sounds intimidating, don't worry. I'll walk you through each part. Step two, create a new campaign.

Click the green plus create button. You'll get a list of campaign objectives. Here's how to choose the right one. Use this cheat sheet. If you want to drive more sales on your website, click sales. If you want people to message you, you click messages. Want to collect leads with the form? You click leads.

You want views on a video? Click video views. We kind of went over this on the last section. If you want brand awareness, wrong book. Close this tab. Let's say you're a local service provider or coach or a consultant. Start with messages. You can switch to something more advanced later.

Name your campaign something that makes sense. I like this format. Service, objective, date. Here's an example. Tree trimming messages September 2025. Then you click continue. Step three, campaign settings. Most of these can stay default for now.

Your campaign objectives is set to your choice like messages. Special ad categories. Leave this blank unless you're in real estate, employment, or credit. A, B, test. We'll talk about this later, but for now you're going to skip it. an advantage campaign budget, leave that off for now. Now you're going to click next to move into the ad set level. Step four, ad set.

This is the money layer. This is where most of your success will come from. And here's how to get it right. Number one, conversion location. If you choose messages, set it to messaging apps. Number two, daily budget. Start with $10 to $20 per day. If you're nervous, start with $5.

Just know it's going to take even longer to learn what works. And time is money. Step three, start date. That's going to be today. No end date needed. But keep an eye on it. Four is the audience. This is where people get lost.

Don't use advantage plus audience yet. It used to be called broad targeting. Yes, really. If you're targeting locally, that's already you're targeting. Facebook knows who's likely to message businesses like yours. If you still want more control, use these settings. Location will be current city plus 10 to 15 mile radius. Age is going to be 28 to 65 plus because most conversions are coming from 30 plus year olds.

Gender is going to be all unless you have a good reason to filter. And on detailed targeting, you're going to start broad. You could add one or two interests if you must like home improvement or landscaping or small business owner for B2B services, but just be careful. Facebook's algorithm does better with more room to optimize. It wants to have control. So narrow targeting usually hurt you more than it helps you. And the number five is the placement.

You're going to click manual placements and uncheck everything except Facebook's feed, Instagram's feed, and Instagram stories. Facebook Marketplace, I could give or take, depending on the industry. It often works pretty well for local businesses. But avoid Messenger inbox, in-stream video, reels, audience network, etc. These always drive cheap clicks but not conversions. Then you click next to get to the actual ad. This is the most granular layer of the three level set like we've talked about.

Step five, this is the ad creative. This is what people see. This is where most people spend way too much time and get too little in return. So here's how to keep it tight and effective. You want to make sure the correct Facebook page and Instagram account are selected. This can get a little hairy. On the format, you want to choose a single image or a video. Don't use carousels yet because you don't know what you're doing.

Same to be said with slideshow. Keep it simple. And you upload the creative. If you don't have a video, just use a clean picture that matches what you're selling, like a before and after. If you can't get a good picture, use your iPhone. Real photos almost always beat stock images. And then your primary text, that's your caption. This is going to be the paragraph right above your image.

You're going to use this framework. Hook to problem, problem, to offer, offer to call to action. So for tree trimming, it's going to be something like, tired of that huge branch hanging over your house. We'll trim, clean, and haul it away within 24 hours. Fast, clean, and no pressure, message us to get started within 30 seconds. Speak directly. Be human. Solve a problem.

And then the headline, this is the bold line right under the image. You're going to keep it short. Tree over your roof, get a quote in 30 seconds. AC not cooling. We'll fix it today. And then the call to action button is going to be send message for a home service. If you're pushing to a landing page, just make it learn more. Then step six of this section, you're going to review and you're going to publish.

And on the ad set location and budget, the tar. is going to be broad or advantage plus. You're only running ads on feeds and stories. This is stuff you're confirming right before you submit it. You're going to make sure your creative is clear and connected to your offer. And then you're going to click publish. You're going to take a deep breath because you just launched your first ad campaign. What happens next?

Well, after you publish, Facebook is going to review your ad. It usually takes less than 24 hours. Sometimes it can take longer. And after it's approved, your job is to not touch it. I know it's tempting. You want to tweak. But unless something is obviously broken like a misspelling or a wrong photo, don't change anything for 72 hours. This is the learning phase.

It's literally what it's called. So let the algorithm do its job. And then step eight, what you're going to expect here is if your offer is strong and you're targeting is local, you can likely expect to pay $2 to $6 per message. The click through rate will be about 1% or higher. And you're going to get your first lead within one to two days. Now, the quality of your messages is going to depend on your ad copy and who's running your pages. inbox, respond fast, be human, close the deal. Then step nine, if you don't get results, this is where most people quit. Don't. Here's how to troubleshoot. If nobody clicks your ad,

your hook or your photo is weak. So try something punchier, a better line or a better image. If people click, but they're not messaging, your call to action might be unclear. So simplify the copy, make the offer stronger. And if people are messaging and you're not closing these deals, and you've got to improve your speed to respond. Even if you have to use a script, you want to offer clear next steps, time slot, price, phone call. And then to wrap up part two here, you just launch your first Facebook ad campaign. That alone puts you ahead of most small business owners. But we're not going to stop here.

You're going to get results. Yes. But more importantly, you're going to learn fast. And the more you spend per day, the faster you learn. And after here, we're going to get into testing, optimization, retargeting, and scaling. But don't skip ahead. Let the ad run. Let it collect data.

Let it teach you. Every day it runs is another data point. Then we'll tweak. Here's how to write ads that actually convert, even if you're not a, quote, copyrighter. So here's the part that everyone overthinks, writing the ad. Most people stare at the empty caption box like it's a term paper. Then they either ramble like a college essay or they try to write like a brand. And both of those approaches kill results.

Remember what I said. You don't need to be cute. You need to be clear because at the end. of the day, Facebook ads are a permission slip for someone to say, yeah, I'll take a closer look. That's it. So let's break down exactly how to write high performing Facebook ad copy, even if you've never written an ad in your life. Don't go buy a copywriting course. Step one, know what you're actually writing. You're writing for three things. Number one, the scroll. This is the hook. Will this stop the scroll? Will it stop someone in their tracks? Two, you're writing for the skim, the structure. Can they

understand the offer without having to read every word. And number three, the third S, the spark, the action. Does it make them want to message you, click or buy? Every part of your ad should serve one of those three goals. All right. Now step two, you're going to use this four-part framework because every ad I write has some version of this. The hook, the problem, the offer, the call to action. So let's break it all down. Number one, the hook. The first line. This is the scroll stopper, hopefully. If the first line is weak, they're gone. Spend as much time on the first line as you spend on everything else, if not more. It should feel like something someone would want to say out loud. One example could be tired of branches scratching your roof every time it storms, or your AC

shouldn't take three hours to cool the house, or your driveway should be power washed, here's why. Or what's under your carpet will make you cringe. All of these statements offer imagery and it gets the reader close to feeling something. You're not trying to be poetic. You're trying to wake someone up and never ever start your ad with something like, hey, plain O friends, or we're a local family-owned business. Nobody cares. They don't care about you yet.

So start with the pain point or the curiosity. Now you want to touch on the problem. This is where you empathize. You show them you understand. For example, we've all let our trees grow too long, but when they start scraping the roof or blocking the sidewalk, it becomes more than just a nuisance. Now, think about it. You're not pitching them yet. You're relating to them. Two sentences max. And now your offer, this is where you tell them what you're actually going to do for them. So be specific.

Use numbers. Include a time frame. Make it low pressure. For example, we'll trim your trees, clean the debris, and haul it away. Usually same day. Our average job takes 90 minutes and quotes are always free. Use real numbers. Fast doesn't mean anything. Same day does. And then your call to action. Tell them exactly what to do next. A good call to action is something like message us for a quote in 30 seconds. Or click send message to get a price right now. Or tap learn more to schedule your spot. A bad call to action? Contact us if interested. Visit our website. Let us know. You're not asking. You're directing. And for step three of this section, how long should your ad be? Here's the truth.

Both short and long copy can work. But the rule, you want to use short copy when your photo does the selling. Photos say a thousand words, right? So let your photo do the work for you. Use longer copy when your service or offer needs more explanation. Here's an example of short copy. AC out. We'll fix it today.

Message us now for fast service. This works really great if your image shows. the problem clearly like a broken unit or a tech in a uniform. Here's an example of long copy. If your house takes more than 20 minutes to cool off, something's wrong and your energy bill is probably suffering. So we offer same-day diagnostics. Fix most issues in one visit and quotes are always free. Message us now to get on the schedule. So you're using the longer copy when your service is less understood. And remember, you're trying to build trust here in a millisecond. You're selling high ticket. Okay, quick pause.

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The headline is the bold line under the image. It's short. It's visible and it matters more than you think. So here are some proven headline formats. You can go for the problem first option. Trees blocking your driveway. AC not cooling fast enough. Or you can go for the results focused option, fixed in 90 minutes or less.

Cleaner gutters in 24 hours. Or you can go with the offer forward option. Free estimates. Message now. $25 off your first trim job. The bad headlines sound like taglines. Excellence in every cut. Here for all your HVAC needs.

Remember, you're not branding here. You're not Coca-Cola. You're selling. Use plain language that implies value. Step 5. You want creative that converts. Even if you don't have a video team. If you've got a great video, use it.

But most of the time, a strong photo is all that you need. So here's what I consider to be the hierarchical. of what works. Again, this is the third time. Before and after photos, always crush. Action shots. You or your team working. You're cutting down a tree. Faces work great. They're relatable. And selfie style shots always convert better than a polished stock photo. Product in use. You want to show the result, not the product. You're selling the sizzle, not the steak. And on the graphics slash text overlays, only mess with these if you know what you're doing. And if you do know what you're doing, then try to test with and without. If you're just a beginner at this, which you probably

are, and that's okay, just take 10 photos on your iPhone, pick the clearest one, and run with it. You can even upload all 10 to chat at GPT and say which one is the clearest. You'll make it prettier later, but right now you need data. And step six, here's a few different ad examples that you can steal today. I'm going to be a little redundant in this to drive the point home, but stick with me, please. Tired of branches over your roof, we will trim, clean up, and haul it all away, usually same day. Click Send Message to get your free quote now. The headline for this one would be tree over your roof and the call to action would be send message. Now here's for a local cleaning service. Your home deserves more than a surface clean. We deep clean kitchens,

bathrooms, and common areas without harsh chemicals or rush service, our team is vetted, trusted, and always on time. Message us to get your free quote in 30 seconds. The headline for this one would be need a deeper clean and the call to action you guessed it send message here's about a dog groomer now here's what a dog groomer might use hate the trip to the groomer we come to you bath cut nails and more all in your driveway friendly team fair pricing and your dog stays calm and happy remember we're selling the result message now to schedule your pets spa day and the headline would be we come to you the call to action you guessed it send message all right step seven on this section don't sound like a business I'm like a person. People buy from people, not from corporations. This is where most people

blow it. They write like this. As a locally owned and operated business, we strive to provide top-tier customer satisfaction with over 15 years of experience in stop. Stop, stop. First of all, you always want to use a fifth to seventh grade reading level. Okay. Nobody talks like that. And nobody reads past the first line of that. But you're spending money for that first line. So instead, write like this. Been in business 15 years. Still show up on time. Both those sentences are five words long.

Still return calls. Still clean up before we leave. That's how we do it. Just feels different, doesn't it? That's how you want to sound. And my final thoughts on part three. This is the part that most people either over polish or rush through. You're going to do neither of those things.

Your job is to speak clearly. You're going to solve a problem. And you're going to make the next step obvious. Facebook ads are not a writing contest. This isn't high school. They're a clarity contest. So say less, mean more, use real words, show real proof, and most importantly, write like a human who understands what your customer actually needs.

That's how you win. Okay, part four, we're getting through this. Testing and optimization, here's what to do when your ad either flops or starts to work. Because launching a Facebook ad is not the finish line. It's the starting line. Most people hit publish. They stare at the screen for two days and then they start tweaking stuff with no plan. They treat ads like slot machines.

They pull the lever. They hope it hits. You're not going to do that. You're going to test with purpose. You're going to watch the right numbers, not all the numbers. And when something works or doesn't, you're going to know exactly what to change. So let's get into it. Step one.

Here's the 72 hour rule. Write this down. Do not touch your ad for 72 hours unless it's completely broken, like the wrong. photo, a typo, or it's rejected. Leave it alone. Facebook needs time to exit the learning phase. That's when the algorithm is figuring out who your ideal customer is. If you change anything major, like the budget, the creative, or the audience, you're going to reset the clock. So let it learn. Step two. Understand the metrics that matter. You'll see a dozen different metrics inside ads manager. It's overwhelming. I know most of them are just noise. Here are the five

that do matter. CTR, click through rate, or choose the right. How many people clicked your ad after seeing it? Good. It's going to be 1% or higher. Sometimes it can be much higher than this depending on the industry. If it's under half a percent, your hook or your image needs work. So start there first. Number two, CPC, cost per click. How much you're paying for a click or a message? Under $2, great. Under $1, very great. Once again, this is industry dependent. If you're selling legal services, under $20 might be great. If it's over $3, all else equal, something's going to be off. It's usually going to be creative or the targeting. Number three is the CPM, the cost per mill, the cost per thousand impressions or views. This is your baseline and it's going to vary by industry.

10 to 25 bucks is pretty typical for local service ads. If it's super high, like $40 plus, then your targeting is probably too narrow. Then you've got your link clicks versus your landing page views. This is only going to be relevant if you're sending traffic to a site. If you have way more clicks than views, your site is either slow or broken. Then you've got the ROAS return on ad spend. This is the North Star, especially for e-com and digital product sellers. A $1 ROAS means you're breaking even. It means you're getting a dollar back for every dollar you spend. But that doesn't account for your other overhead or cost, so you're really losing money. Two to $4 means you're profitable. And you could consider it a dollar or a multiplier. I consider it a multiplier. So if my Roas

was four, I would consider that for X. I get a four times return on every dollar I put in. Now, for services, you're probably tracking leads instead of net dollars gained. But it's the same idea. Are you getting more than what you're spending? And step three, we're going to learn how to A, B, test like a grownup, because most people, quote, test by throwing up five different ads and hoping that one of them works. That's not testing. That's chaos. You're going to be testing like a scientist. So only test one variable at a time.

That's it. One thing. Don't pull more than one lever at a time or you don't know what lever made the difference. If you change your image, your headline, you're targeting, your call to action all at once, and your performance improves? Great. What did you do? You have no way of replicating that. You want clarity, not chaos.

So here's what you're going to test in this order. Start with the most impactful, the creative, which is the image of the video. This has the biggest impact on click-through rate. Test a photo against a video. Test two different styles. Maybe clean versus cluttered. Bright versus muted. Next, you want to test the primary text or the caption.

Try a new hook. A short hook versus a long hook. An offer versus curiosity. Then you could try testing the headline. Clarity versus urgency, which would be something like free estimate today versus tree hanging over your house. And then you can start messing around with the audience. advantage plus versus custom targeting cold interest first lookalike then you can test the placement feed only

versus feed plus stories only change this once you have a winning ad because if the ad wins in one feed it'll probably win in another and then you can think about testing the objective this is if you're stuck if message isn't working try leads if leads isn't working try conversions just know that every time you switch this it's going to reset the learning now if you want To run a true AB test, the first option is to use meta's built-in AB testing tool, which you can find under the Experiments tab. And the next option is to just do it manually, duplicate the ad set, and change one of the variables. Remember, one of the variables.

Split the budget evenly between the two. Let both of them run for three to five days. Keep the winner, kill the loser, rinse and repeat. All right, step four of this section. Here's what to do when your ad isn't working. So we're going to break down these scenarios to know what to fix. Here's what to do when nobody is clicking. Number one, again, check the image first.

Then strengthen the hook. Then make the offer tighter more specific. Then shorten the copy. If people are clicking but they're not messaging or buying, your landing page is probably garbage. Or your call to action is probably unclear. Now, if people are messaging you but you're not closing, you're probably too slow to reply.

Or maybe your prices are too. high. Maybe you sound like a robot in your replies. Maybe you're not answering their core question. Maybe you're just sticking to the script too much. Now, if you're getting clicks, but they're too expensive, then try broader targeting or change your image. Believe it or not, ugly, real photos often outperform clean Canva graphics. You can test shorter copy. You can switch from desktop to mobile placements only. All right, now step five, this is retargeting 101. Once you've had a few hundred clicks or messages, it's time to build your second ad. This one is for warm traffic. People who saw your ad or visited your site but never converted. And here's why retargeting works. People get distracted.

There's a lot of competition for attention nowadays. They don't trust you yet. They need to see you twice or 20 times before they ever buy. Here's a good example of a retargeting ad. Hey, saw you checking us out but didn't message. If you've still got that big branch hanging over your roof, we're ready when you are. Don't forget. We'll trim it. clean it up and be gone in 90 minutes. And you're going to only show this ad to people who interacted but didn't end up messaging you. You can also show it to people that viewed your Instagram profile or people that engaged with your website or people that went to your website but never did anything. The budget you set on a retargeting ad is going to be low,

$3 to $5 a day. It's just going to run quietly in the background. Okay, step six. Now we're going to talk about your creative rotation and ad fatigue because even the best ads will burn out. Here's how you know. Your click through rate drops or your cost per click starts rising. You've seen this ad six times in a week. Yeah, it's going to get stale. So what do you do? Swap the copy, keep the image. Just don't kill the entire thing. Tweek one thing. Remember, pull one lever at a time. You want to refresh creatives every two to three weeks depending on how big your budget is. Just use the data. Don't get emotional about it. And step seven, here's what to scale and win to scale. Let's say you've tested. You've got a winner. Now what? Don't double your budget

overnight. People do this all the time. That kills the learning phase. You want to scale slowly. Increase your budget by like 20 to 30 percent every three to four days. Or you could just duplicate the ad set and assign a higher budget to the new one. And then once again, 72 hours, watch the results before scaling again. And only scale ads that are profitable, getting consistent results, not showing signs of fatigue. And once you've scaled the ad,

start testing new audiences with the same winning creative. Or you could test new creatives with your winning audience. Keep that flywheel going, baby. And to wrap up part four here, testing is how you stop guessing. You're not here to be creative for the sake of it. You're here to get results. So run clean tests.

Watch real metrics and optimize with intention. Scale what works, kill what doesn't, do it all over again. This is where the beginners become pros. It's the ones who treat Facebook ads like a system, not a slot machine. Those are the guys who win. Okay, part five, we're going to get into scaling and automation, how to go from $10 a day to $500 a day or $5,000 a day without everything breaking. So in parts one through four, you got your ad off the ground. Part five is what gets it flying. This is the part where the I boosted a post and got nothing crowd starts to fade and you start building real leverage. You've launched. You've tested.

You've found something that works. Now it's time to scale. So let's talk about real quick how to spend more money without ruining your results because that's one of the hardest things even for the most adept agency owners. And also, let's talk about how to automate the backend so you're not glued to your inbox or your screen 24-7. Step one. Here's how to know when you're ready to scale. Don't scale just because you're bored. Don't scale just because it's been 72 hours.

You're going to scale when you've got repeatable proof. And here's what that looks like. Your click-through rates above 1%. Your cost per lead or message is profitable. Results have been consistent for at least five to seven days. You're getting actual customers, not just engagement, not just clicks. And if all four of these things are true, you're going to be ready. Step two, here's how to scale without killing your ad.

Again, scaling too fast is one of the most common ways to break a good ad. So here's your two options. Number one, you can scale slow and steady. You can increase your daily budget by 20 to 30% every three days. You'll monitor your performance closely. If your metrics hold steady or improve, then you repeat. If they fall apart, then scale back to the last stable number that you experienced. This is the safe path, but it takes more time.

Option two is to duplicate in scale. duplicate your winning ad set. Again, you might risk showing the same ads to the same people and Facebook not accounting for that properly. You'll want to assign a higher daily budget to the new one, the new ad, which will be like two to three times the original budget and leave the original untouched. Let both of them run at the same time and see which performs better. This gives you speed with a safety net.

And if the scaled version tanks, you still have the original chugging along. And you don't want to scale your creative that's over three weeks old. adds fatigue, rotate the creative first, and then scale. All right, now step three, this is what I call the scaling framework. You're going to use this to decide how aggressively you want to scale. If your daily spend is $5 to $20, then your scaling strategy should be to test and gather data and run it for seven days. If your daily spend is $20 to $200, then optimize your creative and targeting and begin to scale slowly. If your daily spend is $100 to $250, then duplicate winners and experience.

band to new audiences. And if your daily spend is 250 to 500, then layer in retargeting, which we just talked about, add in new offers and rotate your creatives every week. So scaling isn't just about the budget. It's also about multiplying what's already working. More money only works when your system is solid. And step four, here's how you're going to automate your lead handling so you don't burn out. Because scaling your ad is useless if you can't keep up with all the leads. And many people get overwhelmed. They get too many messages. They forget to follow up. They have slow response times and the leads go cold. So you need a system. Here's my three-part lead handling stack. Number one, auto reply. This is within messenger or Instagram.

Meta has these built-in tools to set up an instant reply, such as, hey, got your message. We'll get back to you ASAP. But if it's urgent, call us. You want to buy yourself time and set expectations. Number two is a CRM or a lead tracker, like high level. At a bare minimum, use a Google sheet. You just want to get their name, the contact info, and the date contacted, and the status. Are they booked, closed? Are they in progress or what? And you're going to update this every day. No excuses.

Better yet, just use high level to make this easy. You can get a big discount with it at the link in the show notes, especially if you have multiple leads per day. In part three of my three-part lead handling stack, you need templates for fast replies. So write out five to ten of the most common replies in advance. Replies to things such as price, time slots, scope of work. Let me talk to my spouse, people asking for testimonials, etc. Store these replies in a Google Doc and copy paste them as needed.

This is going to be your first step at removing yourself from the inbox. Okay, step five, you are going to automate your ad funnel without having to hire a team. Here's how to build an ad funnel that runs like a machine. Start with a primary ad. This is your cold ad. It runs to new people every day. Top a funnel. Your objective is going to be messages or leads.

Your budget, $20 to $100 a day. and your audience is going to be a broad or a look-like audience. Then you're going to add a retargeting layer. This ad only runs to people who have already seen or interacted with your original ad. Your objective on this one is going to be conversions or messages, and your budget is going to be $3 to $10 a day. And then your audience is going to be a custom audience of website visitors or ad engagers, video viewers, etc.

They're creative for these ads is going to be even more personal, more urgency, because these people have already engaged with you before. something like still thinking about getting your trees trimmed. We've got three open slots this week. Message now to claim one. And then this one's optional. You want to add a nurture layer. This is going to be a follow-up ad that targets people seven to ten days later with

valuable content, testimonials, or education. So you can stay top of mind. You need them to see you more than once because they're going to convert on their own schedule, not yours. And then step six is going to help you track what actually matters. Now that you're spending real money, you need to track like a real business. At a minimum, use a Google sheet to track daily spend, leads generated, cost per lead, sales made, and revenue collected. All right, now for step seven, here's what scaling actually looks like with real examples.

Example one, your local HVAC company. You start at 10 bucks a day. You ran one message ad for same-day diagnostics, and within 10 days, you drop your cost per lead to $3. Then you scale to $60 a day, you hired a second tech, and you're cranking. Example two, you're an online course sailor. You started with a lead ad that was $15 a day. You built an email list with a free guide. You retargeted leads with a $97 offer and then you scaled your ad spend to $200 a day. Example three, my personal favorite, tree trimming side hustle. So you ran a single before and after image ad to messages. You started with $5 a day and you booked four jobs in your first week. Now you scale to $40 a day. You've got two crews running full time. None of these examples are fancy, but they're really and they're dialed in. My final thoughts on part five, scaling is not magic. It's math.

If you can turn $20 into $200, then turn $40 into $400, but only if you can keep up with the demand, only if you've got a good system in place and only if you know what you're tracking. Because the difference between an ad that makes you $200 and an ad that makes you $20,000 is execution and repetition. So keep your foot on the gas, but don't press any harder until the wheels are straight. All right. If you've made it this far, you're not a noob anymore.

You're dangerous now. But I promised I'd give you my favorite shortcuts. This is the stuff that shaves off weeks of your learning. And most importantly, it gets you to profitability faster. So let's get into a. Shortcut number one. Stock the winners. Go to the meta ads library.

Google it. Search for your competitors. Sort by active ads. Scroll through and ask, are they running video or static? What are their headlines look like? Filter these ads by active date. If you can find an ad from your competitor that's been running for months, that ad is a killer. Copy it.

Are they using long copy or short? What kind of hook are they using? What kind of image? If they're spending money on it right now and they seem like a sophisticated competitor, it's probably working. Shortcut number two, the comment trap. If you don't have social proof, fake it. Run what's called a PPE campaign, which is post-purchase engagement. This is the best way to warm up.

You're going to run this campaign to your best warm audience. People like friends, past buyers, followers, commenters, engagers. Then you're going to take the post ID from this ad and reuse it in your cold campaigns. Now it looks like a hot ad. There's social proof. There's comments. There's likes. Shortcut number three, you're going to duplicate the winners and fast.

The second you see an ad perform above average, duplicate it. Change one thing. A new hook. A new thumbnail. New headline. Don't wait for five. days of data. Scale horizontally because the winners fade fast. Shortcut number four, if you don't have creative, then use testimonials. Ask three customers to record a 15-second

video about your product or their experience. It's got to be vertical. It's got to have bad lighting. I'm telling you, for whatever reason, these perform better. Authenticity wins every time. You're going to use these as reels or story ads. They're cheap, they're fast, they're high trust. Shortcut number five, you're going to skip all those expensive testing platforms you may have heard about. You don't need high roast or triple whale or post purchase surveys. When you're starting up, just keep it simple. Run three ads. Look at the click through rate, the CPM, and the comments.

You'll know if it's good or not, so don't overthink it. You can also take your existing audience and run interest mining tests. These are going to be DMs, a poll or a survey. Even if just in your Instagram story, stuff like, what's your biggest struggle right now? And then if people vote on it, DM them and ask more specifics about why they voted. You're going to screenshot their answers and use that exact language in your ad copy. Now you know you're getting to the heart of the problems. Your copy now speaks like your market because it is your market.

Shortcut number six, you're going to run your ad scripts as tweets. This is a little wild, but before you spend a dollar on a video ad, post the hook or headline as a tweet or an Instagram caption. So you run these ads organically to test. If it performs well organically, it'll likely perform well in the paid. If it flops, you save money. You can delete it. If it pops, you've got a winning angle before you even launch. And the last one, this is my favorite.

Sell it before you build it. Run ads for an idea before you even have the product. Make a page. Use lovable or card to build a landing page. Take pre-orders, collect emails. If no one clicks, you learn for cheap. If you get orders but you can't fulfill, refund them. You at least have proof at that point.

That's it. I mean, you're pretty close to being an expert now. There's no fluff. This isn't theory. This is what I've done. It works. So go run an ad. And if you get stuck, watch this all over again because everything is figureoutable.

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