I bet you’ve been wondering whether Facebook ads could jump start your outreach, list-building, and revenue.
It seems like everybody is doing it.
Advertising is great. It can fast-track your ability to connect with the right people and grow your influence in the market but…
Most advertisers are going about it all wrong.
Their strategy? It’s the equivalent of going on a first date and then asking the person to marry you on the spot–or at least move in together.
**Even if advertising isn’t for you, keep reading. This applies to a lot of the pieces of your marketing campaign.**
Here’s what it looks like:
An ad pops into your Facebook feed with a big promise: “I used to work 12 hour days just to book 2 clients per month. Now I make $150k per year working 2 hours per day. Here’s my exact blueprint.”
Of course, on the next page isn’t the exact blueprint. It’s a landing page asking for your email address.
Who is this person? What do they really do? If I downloaded this blueprint, would I even like what I find inside? What proof do they have that this really works? What proof do I have that any of this is true?
As that scrolls through your mind, you scroll through the ad.
If you want to reach people who haven’t heard of you before, asking them for the equivalent of moving in together isn’t going to work (most of the time).
You need to prove yourself and introduce them to your business first.
Here’s an ad I’m currently running…
This ad is being shown to people who have never been on my website and don’t know me. But they do know and like Danielle LaPorte.
It’s just a podcast interview.
Advertising just this interview has lead directly to new leads and new customers. It’s growing awareness of my brand and warming up a new audience. And…
It’s been super cheap to run.
Now, I could stop there. But why?! Since this ad has been so successful, I want to show people who click on it another ad.
Anyone who’s been on my website (including folks who clicked the above ad), might see this ad pop up in their feed:
This ad takes people to the full text of my latest mini-book. There’s a larger call to action for an email address, but anyone can read the full text there. And when they do, they get delighted with GIFs!
The interesting thing here is that this “landing page” has a conversion rate of between 40-70% depending on the day. Even on a page that exclusively asks for an email address, I’d still consider those numbers a victory.
This ad is performing incredibly well–and I know I can make it better!
Finally, anyone who clicks on this ad and visits the landing page for the book is moved into a third ad set. They get shown this:
This is an ad for our membership community. I’m not asking for a sale here, just an email address to get a personal invitation to the community.
See how each of these ads takes a new prospect further and further into my world?
Now, like I said, you don’t have to use advertising to take advantage of this approach. Think about it every time you write a blog post.
Some blog posts are for people who know, like, and trust you already. Some are for people who have never heard of your business before.
Same thing with webinars, podcast episodes, videos, etc…
If you’re trying to reach new people, make sure that the content you’re creating and promoting is geared to someone who doesn’t already know, like, and trust you–but has an interest that overlaps with what you do (like my interview with Danielle).
Ready to apply this to your own business?
Start with a piece of content that has already received a bunch of “shares.” (Bunch, of course, is relative.)
Shares are a great indicator that people think the content is valuable to others outside your sphere of influence.
Then you can:
- Place an ad for that piece of content.
- Ask your friends to share it with their networks.
- Put it on a regular schedule in your social media feed.
Give it a try! I think you’ll like the results.
For more on this topic, listen or read my interview with Lori Allen, Director of Great Escape Publishing. She’s a master direct response marketer. I asked her about how her company approaches this task–and about so much more! Click here to read or listen.
