22: How to Know If You Are Ready for Facebook Ads with Adrienne Richardson

Facebook Ads are a powerful marketing tool that can help you reach a larger audience and scale your business. But how can you make sure you're ready to make the most of them? 

In this interview with Facebook Ads Expert, Adrienne Richardson, you'll learn the most important steps to take before launching your ads, and how to determine if your online business is ready to implement paid advertising. You'll come away with a clear understanding of what it takes to make Facebook Ads work for you, and how to maximize your results.

Resources and Links

Learn more about Facebook ads >> Join Ad Camp

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Transcript:

Lydia: Hi, everybody, Lydia here, and I am so excited to welcome you to what we are streaming into our Facebook group right now. If you are a member of our Launch Strategies Group for Course Creators and Coaches, you are watching me live right now. But you may be watching this as a replay on our Launch Perspective podcast or our YouTube channel. So, whether you're here live or watching the replay, I'm so glad you're taking the time to listen.

I have a very special guest with me today and I'm going to introduce her. Adrienne Richardson, I actually met a year ago because a peer of mine invited me to Ad Camp. Now, how many of you all went to camp as a kid? I was a camp fanatic as a child. I went to Girl Scout camp, Music camp, Church camp. There were a lot of summers where I actually went to, like, three or four camps in a summer. So, I loved camp. So, when I saw her advertisement for Ad Camp, I was like, okay, one, I love camp two, I love learning about Facebook ads because there's so many nuances to Facebook ads.

Facebook ads change often. I've seen the power of Facebook ads in my own business. But, you know, learning from the experts is always key. And of course, I love challenges. Those of you that have been in our world long enough, you know that I love to help business owners launch their offers with a challenge. And Adrienne's Ad Camp is probably one of the best challenges I've ever participated in. Amazing job that she and her team did just on the theme of this camp. But it was such an engaging and powerful week for me.

And I have so enjoyed being in Adrienne's world ever since. I even attended a live event with her back in April with one of our team members. We learned so much, and I'm thrilled to partner with her for her second annual Ad Camp. So, so excited that she's joining us today. So excited to welcome her. I know that you all are going to enjoy learning from her today. So, a big welcome to Adrienne.

Adrienne: Hey, Lydia. Thank you so much for having me. This is so cool to be here with you a year later.

Lydia: A year later. I mean, so much can happen in a year. 

Adrienne: Yes.

Lydia: And, you know, I'm just so thankful for experts like you. Because all of us as business owners, we're such busy people. We can't possibly be experts in everything.

Adrienne: No.

Lydia: Absolutely not. But I do love learning enough about the tools I'm using or the systems I'm implementing. You know, having that knowledge, even if you're hiring someone to help you, is still so empowering for your business. So, that's how I want to empower our listeners today, especially those who are thinking, well, I haven't used Facebook ads. I'm kind of scared of them. 

Adrienne: Mm-hmm. Yes.

Lydia: I've heard horror stories of people losing money from Facebook ads and they're just kind of looking for what I think you are so skilled at. And it's giving that big picture of the power of Facebook ads with the right perspective. So that's kind of where I want to start today. But first, how did you even get into Facebook ads? How did this journey start for you?

Adrienne: Yes. Well, I have a degree in public relations, and I used to work in advertising and marketing at a firm in Philadelphia a long time ago. And I got laid off when I decided to start a family. And I started my first business, a print magazine. It's called South Jersey Mom. It's still in print today. I started a magazine for moms, new moms. And I ran that for four years and then I sold it. I took two years off, I homeschooled my kids and then I was like, it's back time to get back to work.

And I decided to start a PR firm, because that's what I knew how to do. And in doing that a couple months after I started my firm, I discovered Facebook ads. And I really just wanted to learn about them for myself to get myself more PR clients. And I found that my background in marketing and advertising together with this new tool I was learning with Facebook ads was incredibly powerful. I was getting amazing results.

And so, I started going to the clients that I had, that I was doing PR for and saying, hey, do you mind if we test this? Right. I didn't charge them for it. I just said, we're just going to give this a try. It's new, something I'm doing. And I had such incredible results with it that within a year I decided I'm not doing anything else except for Facebook ads. And so, I stopped doing PR. I stopped doing email marketing. I stopped building websites, everything that I was doing and decided I was all in on Facebook ads. And that was like nine years ago.

Lydia: That’s amazing.

Adrienne: Yes. Choosing to specialize in that really transformed my business and helped it grow a lot.

Lydia: And you've had the opportunity to work with some big online creators with their Facebook ads.

Adrienne: Yes. It's been really amazing, you know, and the funny thing is, you just do a really, really amazing job for a couple of people that have large businesses. I've worked with Pete Vargas and Michael Hyatt and BossBabe, you know, I could go on and on. But the cool thing is once you get one or two of them, then they start telling everybody they know. Right. And from there, the agency side of my business with the Done-For-You ads has really grown a hundred percent through word of mouth.

Lydia: That’s awesome.

Adrienne: Yes.

Lydia: And that's amazing, you know, over nine years, I'm sure you've seen a few changes with Facebook ads. 

Adrienne: Many. Yep.

Lydia: So, for everyone that's here you've shared, even when I was at your event in April, the climate of the world today, as it's changed in many ways. Obviously, Facebook can't be any different. Everything changes as the world changes. But I would love to get your perspective on what is something that you feel people just need to have an understanding of when it comes to implementing ads in their business?

Adrienne: Well, I think an important part is to have. There are two things that I would say are really important. One is to have a plan. I think that the beauty of Facebook being so accessible to any business is a double-edge sword. Because back in the day when we had traditional advertising of marketing, or I'm sorry, TV, radio, print, you hired a company to help you write a TV commercial, or write a script for a radio commercial, or design and add in a newspaper. And so, you needed an expert to help you create something really amazing for your advertising. And Facebook changed the game and made it so that literally anybody, you know, with $5 could go and click some buttons and set up an ad.

And that's what I love about the platform. But at the same time, I feel like a lot of people just dive in without a plan, and then they don't get the result that they expected. Because they didn't really put a lot of thought and effort into that plan. And so, I do think that it's important to at least part of that plan, which is the second part of this that I mentioned. Part of that plan is really having a clear message and knowing who your audience is and knowing kind of the path that you want them to take once they click on the ad.

And I think that, like I said, many people, when they're first getting started, they either copy what they see somebody else doing and they just assume it works. So, like, well, they're doing it, must be working. I'll do that. And they don't realize all the nuances that are behind the scenes that require a plan, and require you to have good messaging, and require you to kind of know your audience. So, I think if you are starting with ads and you spend a little bit of time to make sure that you're clear on your message and your audience and your plan, you have a much better chance of having success than you would if you just kind of were like, you know what, I'm just going to wing it. I'm just going to go in there and throw some money at it and see what happens. It's probably not going to work out too well for you.

Lydia: Well, and I think that's what I have seen be true of those who have just kind of jumped in. They think Facebook ads are a magic wand. That it is all of a sudden going to help them scale their business. 

Adrienne: Yes.

Lydia: And what I've definitely learned and heard from you many times, you know, it's not a magic wand in and of itself. It just takes what you are already implementing well and scales it.

Adrienne: Mm-hmm. Yes.

Lydia: So, having that journey in place where you know your audience, you know what is converting, what your audience wants and needs and then all of that messaging. There are definitely a lot of pieces to the puzzle. And you're right. If that's in place, that's where Facebook ads can really help you shine. So, I love that.

Adrienne: Yes. I mean, like you mentioned that you love challenges, right? I always tell people, like, if you're going to do a challenge, do it to your warm traffic, your followers, your email list, you know, maybe get some friends to promote it for you, whatever. Do that first and make sure that that whole funnel works from all the way from the registration page and through, even to them purchasing. Because I always tell people, people who come to me to hire me to do their ads and we're talking. And they'll come to me and say, well, you know, my webinar is not converting, or this isn't converting or whatever. And I say, listen, if you hire me to do your ads and it's not converting, you're just going to go broke faster. Like, it's not a magic wand that's going to fix it.

Now, if you have a funnel that's doing well or if you have a funnel that works but you can't quite figure out how to get Facebook part to work for you. Well, then I can help you with that. But if that funnel isn't converting, Facebook isn't going to be, you know, this ATM machine that you just punch in the numbers and it spits out money, right? So, it is important for you to have something that you know works well. And then when you add Facebook to it is when I like to call it being in the driver's seat, where you can control how much traffic you're going to run to that page. I love organic, but I love paid because I have more control and I can get there faster. But you have to start, like you said, with a strong base of being able to convert those clicks on those ads to a registration or a sale in some way, because Facebook isn't going to make that happen.

Lydia: It's so true. And it's why I taught and teach my students to launch first. 

Adrienne: Yes.

Lydia: I did two challenge launches, organically, a hundred percent, to prove really to myself more than anything that this is something people wanted, it's something people that they would pay for, that my offer was valid, and the funnel worked.

Adrienne: Yes.

Lydia: Once that happens and you can see, okay, I got this many registrations for my challenge, this is how many converted to my offer. You're so much more educated in how to spend money on ads. It's what helps you so much with your budget.

Adrienne: Yes.

Lydia: Because that knowledge I've found is power. It's what reduces that terrified feeling when you set your Facebook ad budget, right?

Adrienne: Yes. Well, the data is important, right? And that's something I always say: bring the data, not the drama. Because data tells us a story that then tells us what to do. And it's not a gut feeling or I think it's this, or I think it's that, that can lead us to stray. We want to have the data. And when you do run warm traffic, your email list, your followers into let's say a challenge, right? The numbers of how your registration page converted, how many people showed up, how many people purchased. Those numbers are important to know because when you go to cold traffic, you can expect those numbers to drop by about 50% to 60%. So, let's say that 30% of people register when they hit your challenge sign up page. When you set that out to cold traffic, you can expect that to drop to summer between 15% and 20%. If 20% of people purchase from you, you can expect that when you go to cold traffic, that's going to drop to like 7% to 10%.

Lydia: Yes.

Adrienne: And so, when you know those numbers, like you said, it kind of takes away the anxiety and the angst from it, because, and in my opinion, data empowers us. Because then you know what to expect. And I know for me, when I start to get concerned or worried it's because I have an improper expectation. And when you have an improper expectation, you're going to be disappointed. So, if you run warm traffic through that funnel first and you know the data, and then you do your calculations of what it might drop to with cold, you go into it with a more proper expectation. Like you said, you can determine what my budget needs to be to get the outcome that I want. And then you won't have so much concern or worry around it because you know what to expect. Versus if you've never done it, you kind are like, I don't know if this is good, bad, ugly. I have no idea. I have people come to me and they'll say, oh, look at these numbers. And I'm like, these are great. And they think it's terrible. And I'm like, no, you're doing just fine. Like the data will tell you that.

Lydia: I love it. It's all about the data, not the drama. 

Adrienne: Yep.

Lydia: I love that quote from you. It really is. Because we are so emotional in the midst of launching anything. 

Adrienne: Yes.

Lydia: And you're right, it's not really about the emotion and how we think something's going. You know, the data doesn't lie. So, I love that. 

Adrienne: Yep. It's not my opinion. It's not your opinion. It's not like, did I wake up on the right side of the bed today? Like, it's just the truth. And that's what I love about it because when you have those numbers. You know a lot of people are scared of numbers, but to me, numbers are empowering.

Lydia: Mm-hmm.

Adrienne: Because then you don't have to wonder where you stand. 

Lydia: I love the numbers. I always said that I could live inside a spreadsheet. I love the numbers. But that is awesome. So, if we have anybody listening who's thinking how do I even know if I'm ready for ads then? After all that you've just shared, is there anything that you kind of go through with people that helps them determine if they're ready to move into paid ad strategies?

Adrienne: Yes. Well, let's talk about a couple different things. One is, is the challenge right? Whether it's a challenge or it's a webinar, those are two very common ways to generate leads in sales. I would say you need to do that at least once or twice to your warm audience. And that gives you a chance to kind of dial those things in. What I also love about doing it a couple times first is you're going to get feedback from your audience of what things were confusing to them, or what they wish they knew more of, or what they loved. And that allows you, again, to make some tweaks and changes within your funnel to make it even better at a time when it really didn't cost you anything.

And so, from there, once you have that and you know what your conversion rates are then it is time to run some ads so that you can get more people through there. Now, if you're running ads to something that isn't going to produce an immediate sale, right? Let's say that you're running ads to grow your list. And I do believe that people should be doing something to grow their list year-round. Your list is an asset you own that Facebook or anybody else can't take away from you. And so, at the very least you need to be doing something to grow your email list.

And that might not produce an immediate return for you because you're building up that asset to later do a challenge, or a webinar, or something else like that for that audience. And in that case, I would, again, we often talk about a lead magnet, right? It's something free that you're giving your audience in exchange for their email address. I still, before I create a lead magnet, kind of like to put some things out there to my warm audience to see what they get the most excited about. Right? So, maybe you think that they're going to like a cheat sheet, right? And they're like, no, they're not really interested in that. Like, finding out what would get them really excited and then creating that.

And once again, putting it out there to your warm audiences to see the interest. And if you have enough interest from people that are registering or signing up for that freebie, then I think you're ready to go ahead and start ads. But what you really need to look at with that when you're running ads to something that isn't going to make you money back immediately. You need to have a monthly advertising budget that you are willing to spend whether you make that money back or not. And I think this something that's very shortsighted in the internet marketing space is that.

When I used to own a magazine, a print magazine, and I sold print ads. We would sell 3-month, 6-month, 12-month packages on an ad. We never sold an ad for a single month. Because you're not going to get results in a single month. People needed to see your ad multiple times before they were going to take action. Right? Maybe it's for a birthday place that does birthday parties. And it's like, oh, Johnny's birthday is in three months. I'll call them in three months. Well, if your ad isn't still there in three months, they're going to forget about you. So, you need to have a portion of your budget. I don't care if you take 10%, 15% of every dollar you make and you put it aside. And that is your budget every month that you're going to use for advertising.

It's not going to kill your business if you don't make that money back immediately. Okay. I think that it's been because Facebook has been able to produce results quickly for people in the past that that is the expectation. That I'm going to stick my $10 bill in the slot machine, I'm going to pull the lever and out is going to come all this money. And that's just not the way it works. So, you need to have a certain amount of your revenue that's put aside. Like I said, I don't care if it's $300 a month, right? You have something that you are going to start putting your advertising dollars behind, a league magnet, whatever, to grow your list.

And that's a really, really safe, low-cost way for you to start getting familiar with ads, see how it works, see what kind of results you can get so when that challenge or that launch comes around, you already are familiar with it. And know, you know, what messages are resonating with your audience and how to reach your people.

Lydia: Those are amazing tips and recommendations. And just like you said about running advertising, as it being a part of your business. Originally, I only ran ads during launches, right?

Adrienne: That's very common. It's very common. 

Lydia: Very common. Because you think it's worth it to invest in ads because it's going to help generate more registrations which is going to generate more conversions of an offer I know will sell.

Adrienne: Yes.

Lydia: But I cannot tell you how much momentum our business has gotten by running ads in between launches to lead magnets.

Adrienne: Yes.

Lydia: And just like you said, a checklist doesn't always work. Our most popular lead magnet to date is an eight-minute tutorial on how to set up bookmark folders. Over 3,000 people have opted into that lead magnet, and we were spending $25 a day to run to that lead magnet and we then would nurture them and introduce them to a $37 offer from that.

Adrienne: Mm-hmm.

Lydia: So, we were spending about $750 a month, but we were making $1,000 to $1,5000 a month.

Adrienne: Right.

Lydia: So, sometimes you can even have a sequence that does kind of pay you back. It feels like getting leads for free.

Adrienne: Yes.

Lydia: But, I agree, you can't have that as the expectation because you have to be willing to invest and just count this as part of advertising.

Adrienne: Right. Yes. It's part of your advertising budget. Yes. 

Lydia: And so much of Facebook ads is a learning process, not just for you, but for Facebook, right?

Adrienne: Yes.

Lydia: For Facebook to figure out who needs to see your ads. So, I love that.

Adrienne: Yes.

Lydia: So, I know we have people listening who would love to know, you know, how can I learn more about how to move forward with ads? How can I get connected with you? Because you're more than a Facebook ads expert, you're a traffic expert. I've learned tips from you that go way beyond Facebook ads and just even organic strategies, you know, SEO, all the things. So, I am so excited to let people know that Ad Camp is getting ready to launch. The second Ad Camp.

Adrienne: Yes.

Lydia: Your second annual Ad Camp, right? I love it.

Adrienne: Yes.

Lydia: And I just put the link to Ad Camp above it's lydiamartin.biz/adcamp. I know it kicks off on August 22nd.

Adrienne: Yes.

Lydia: So, if you're watching us live or in the month of August 2022, you can jump in now, lydiamartin.biz/adcamp. But I would love to hear from you, Adrienne. What are you excited about? What can everybody expect if they join us in Ad Camp?

Adrienne: Well, last year was a blast. I mean, it was the first time we did it. I had no idea, you know, what people would love the most. And we did ad makeovers. So, we had people submit ads that they weren't getting the kind of results they wanted. And I take those ads and I redo them. And I reveal the results at the last day of Ad Camp during closing ceremonies. That was a huge hit. We also actually got stuff done. So, each day I will teach you something about Facebook and then you will go implement it and post your homework. And we give away prizes and things like that for doing your homework.

And so, this isn't just a, you know, it's fun. It's interactive. You're going to get stuff done. You're going to learn. But I really try to break things down in a way that's not too overwhelming for people. That's probably one of the best compliments people give me is that they say that the way that I teach breaks it down in a way that they can understand. They're like, you're the only person who's taught me Facebook ads that I can understand and that's such a huge compliment. To know that I can take something complicated and simplify it for them.

So, it's going to be fun. You are going to learn all the important pieces of a Facebook ad. You're going to get to see a before and after with ad makeovers and we also have a little new thing this year where we're breaking people into different cabins. And there'll be some cabin competitions.

Lydia: I'm in the blue cabin. So, if anyone's in blue, we are going to win, whatever it is.

Adrienne: Awesome.

Lydia: That was a fun little addition I saw that you did. It just brought me back to my camp days.

Adrienne: Yep. I was like, how do we make Facebook ads fun again? Right. There are a lot of people right now that have had a tough two years with it since COVID and everything changed. And so, you know, I just want to make it fun again.

Lydia: Well, I am so excited for Ad Camp. I hope everyone will join in. And I love that you do offer it free, but I highly recommend your camp upgrades for sure especially since you can get lifetime access to the replays and all those other perks that you offer. Because even if you're not quite a hundred percent ready to jump into Facebook ads now, you can then re-access those replays when the time is right for you. So, I love that you do offer that option for those who are like, oh no, I'm going to be out of town August 22nd.

Adrienne: Mm-hmm.

Lydia: So, there are features for you there. But thank you so much for joining us today, Adrienne. It's been so helpful. I know all of my listeners are going to be thrilled with the tips that you shared. Is there anything else you want to share before we sign off today?

Adrienne: I would just, you know, encourage people to start where they're at. A lot of people think they need a huge budget to get started. And I always say, just start with whatever you have. It's better to get started than to not start at all. So, whether you've never done an ad or you've done plenty of them, you know, I encourage you to join us at Ad Camp. And if you do the upgrade, I'm doing a fireside chat every day. So, every day you can get on there and ask questions to me directly.

Lydia: The fireside chats are awesome. You really take what you've just trained on and it's a much more intimate group. So, again, join us. You don't want to miss this. lydiamartin.biz/adcamp. It's starting soon and I hope to see you there. Adrienne, thank you so much for being our guest today. I so appreciate you.

Adrienne: You got it. Thanks Lydia. 

Lydia: Thanks for joining us, everybody.