133: Meta Ads for Beginners: When to Run Ads and When Not To with Jenn Possick
If you have ever wondered whether you are ready to run Meta ads, or whether ads are going to save your business or just speed up your losses, today's episode is for you. I am sitting down with Jenn Possick, known as The Ads Maven, a Facebook and Instagram ads strategist who has been in this space since 2015. She has helped hundreds of coaches, course creators, and service-based business owners grow their email lists, fuel their launches, and attract more clients using paid ads.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
05:17 The honest question every business owner needs to answer before running a single Meta ad and why Jenn will tell you to wait if you are not ready
10:42 What it means to have a proven offer and why ads cannot fix a funnel that is not converting organically first
16:08 The four things you need to have in place before Meta ads will work for your business
21:33 What is actually working in Meta ads in 2026: lead generation ads, list building, and the Instagram DM ad format that is changing the game
28:54 How organic Instagram content and paid Meta ads work together to create a marketing system that compounds
34:11 The minimum budget Jenn recommends for small business owners who are just starting with ads
40:22 The biggest mistakes business owners make when they start running ads too early or with the wrong expectation
ABOUT OUR GUEST: JENN POSSICK
Jenn Possick, known as The Ads Maven, is a Facebook and Instagram ads strategist, speaker, and consultant who has been helping coaches, course creators, and service-based business owners grow their email lists and attract more clients using paid ads since 2015. A former elementary school teacher, Jenn brings a step-by-step, easy-to-understand approach to an often overwhelming subject. She has helped clients generate masterclass sign-ups for as low as $1.89 per person and has worked with six and seven-figure business owners across multiple industries.
Launch Fuel Jenn's signature ads course for coaches and course creators
HOT REELS IS OPEN
Hot Reels is officially open for enrollment and this is the last time it will be offered at the current investment. Here is what is included:
Live coaching twice a month on Zoom
Weekly trending content idea with exact hook formulas and AI implementation workflows
Up to two pieces of content reviewed per week inside the private community
Active coaching support Monday through Thursday
A program capped at 20 business owners so Elizabeth knows your name, your business, and what you are working toward
A private bonus coaching session for everyone who enrolls during this launch
Current investment: $444 per month or $4,444 paid in full. This investment increases at the next enrollment.
A Truth You Need to Hear:
"Ads are an amplifier. They will amplify what is already working and they will amplify what is not working. So you want to make sure you know what is working before you pour money behind it."
Jenn Possick
S3 Ep133 Transcript - Meta Ads for Beginners: When to Run Ads and When Not To with Jenn Possick
00:00
Too many business owners throw money at meta ads, hoping they'll fix a marketing problem when in reality ads don't create demand. They amplify what's already working. That's exactly why I wanted to bring today's guest onto the show. Her name is Jenn Possick and she helps coaches, course creators and consultants run Facebook and Instagram ads that...
00:24
In today's conversation, Jenn breaks down the biggest mistakes business owners make with meta ads. And she answers the question I get asked all the time. Should you boost your Instagram posts? We also unpack the three types of meta ads every business owner should understand, who each one is for and what they typically cost plus how to know when you're actually ready to invest. So whether you've never spent a dollar on ads,
00:52
or you're wondering why your current campaigns are not producing the results you hoped for, this episode is packed with practical advice that could save you a lot of time, money, and frustration. Let's go. Welcome to Strut It, a podcast about creating bold visibility on social media with zero apologies.
01:15
I'm Elizabeth Marberry, your host and Instagram marketing coach. I help small business owners get seen on Instagram and monetize their offers so they can make more money doing their sole lead work. If you're tired of spinning your wheels on Instagram and you're seeking simple, proven Instagram marketing strategies that actually work, you're in the right place. Let's dive in.
01:46
Welcome back to the show. Thank you for joining me for another episode of Strut-It. Every week I break down how to grow your small business on Instagram. And if you've been listening to the show for a while, you know that I am all about organic social media content, meaning no paid ads. That's what I have done to grow multiple six figures on Instagram. But with that being said,
02:13
there is 100 % a time to leverage ads. And that is not my zone of genius, which is why I wanted to bring on the ads maven to the show today. Her name is Jenn Possick and she knows all things meta ads and we are gonna break it down. So you understand, should I boost this post? Should I not boost this post? Should I invest in meta ads? Should I not invest?
02:41
And Jen is going to break it down for us today. So Jen, welcome to the show. Hey, thank you so much for having me. You are so welcome. So quickly, give us a little backstory. How did you become the ads maven and an expert in meta ads and helping small business owners grow on Instagram and Facebook? Yeah, so way back in the day, I used to teach elementary school. I spent eight years teaching.
03:09
Five years teaching kindergarten, three years teaching third grade. And I loved teaching. I loved instilling a love of literacy, a love of learning. And I did not love the politics and BS that came with teaching in the public education system. So I stopped teaching, spent some time figuring out what I wanted to do next. And fast forward a few years, my dad's health at that time was not great. This was in...
03:36
2014 and they were introduced to a health and wellness product that had a big impact on his health. My dad did end up passing in December of 2021, but the product I feel like really did make a big impact on making his life that much better. And my parents have been entrepreneurs as long as I can remember. So they did what entrepreneurs tend to do. And they just started sharing the product with everyone they knew, starting a business with it.
04:04
and I decided to join them. I knew nothing about the world of digital marketing, but I believe we're all lifelong learners and very much an action taker. So I just started learning everything I could from everywhere I could and applying it and figuring out what worked and what didn't and just going from there. So this was like 2014, beginning of 2015, I ended up growing very quickly. I found that running ads to grow our list so that we could sell to the list were super effective.
04:34
I ended up growing our email list to over 160,000 on the list. And that was responsible for bringing in well over 2 million in sales. That's amazing. Yeah, thank you. So then I just kind of started sharing what I knew and it kind of went from there. So now I work with a lot of coaches, a lot of wellness professionals, a lot of subject area experts to help them grow their email list, fuel their launches and get more clients.
05:02
through Facebook and Instagram ads. Wow. I love that story and how cool that your dad's experience and health challenges led you into this path. It's so interesting. I always fascinated as to how entrepreneurs start their businesses and it's usually these breadcrumbs that we follow in our lives.
05:25
That is really inspiring what you built and how quickly you learned the whole digital marketing and ads piece. That's incredible. So thank you for sharing that with us. So I want to start with some of the biggest mistakes that people make with meta ads, because what I will share is that sometimes people will come to me and hire me to help them with their content. And they are
05:54
essentially crying, right? They're like, Elizabeth, I was just spending $2,000 a month on ads and I was getting a lot of clicks, but no conversions. I go and I look at their content and I'm just like, oh my goodness, it makes me so upset. And so my beloved listener, just so you know, I would only bring an ads expert on the show that we are in total alignment around like the ethics of ads because I feel
06:23
that there are a lot of ad agencies out there who are just willing to take your money. And that is not Jen. And that's why I wanted to bring her on the show. So with that information and knowing like, oh my gosh, there are definitely mistakes that we can be making with our ads. What are some of those mistakes that you see? Yeah, there's a lot. One of the first ones at the very beginning, you said, should we boost a post? Should I not boost a post? That's one of the first and foremost biggest mistakes.
06:52
Because boosting posts is going to waste your money 99.9 % of the time. Almost every time it is going to be a waste of money. I actually, it's so funny, I have this case study from it from a few years ago, but the points are still very valid. Actually, let me back up just a little bit. The algorithm with Facebook is brilliant. It knows way too much about us. It is kind of like a living thing because it's always learning more and getting smarter.
07:21
And so things that I would suggest like a year or two ago are different from what I suggest now because as the algorithm gets smarter, it shifts. One of the things though that since the beginning of Facebook ads is the algorithm knows how we use Facebook. And it's kind of wild, but it knows who's most likely to scroll, who's most likely to click, who's most likely to sign up for your email list, who's most likely to make a sale. And so when we are setting up an ad,
07:51
we can tell it if we wanna run the ad for leads, if we wanna run the ad for sales, if we wanna run the ad for traffic because we want people to click on a link, which is almost never. And so when we choose that correctly, we're gonna get the best cost for our ads. So when you boost a post, you're not able to run the ad for leads and you're not able to run the ad for sales. The best you can do is to run the ad for traffic. So because somebody is likely to click a link,
08:21
does not mean that they are going to buy your thing or even sign up for your email list. So literally, you're telling Facebook to run the ad to an entirely different audience, even with having the same audience. It's an entirely different audience of people when you run the ad as a boosted post versus when you run the ad for leads or sales. And so a few years ago, I had a client where when she first came to me, she had a really great team.
08:49
Like her team did all her organic stuff. They did her website, her emails, her social posts, all of it. And they boosted a lot of posts for her. And she told me that her boosted posts were actually really effective. And I was like, cool, I'm still never gonna boost a post. But if you want your team to do that, whatever. And so she had this like annual sale of her courses where it was like 20 % off or whatever, like her most popular programs. And I had about 6,500 in ad spend to be able to spend.
09:18
and her team had the same amount. And so we both got to just run ads for it. And so I ran my ads for sales to her warm audience, because we're more likely to buy from those we know, like and trust. And my ads got like 70 sales and they brought in from 6,500 in ad spend, they brought in 180,000. Yeah, it's like a ROAS of like 28.
09:45
point something. So every dollar she gave Facebook, she got back like $28. Those did great. And then her team's ads, they got like 10 sales and they, the ROAS was like 0.97, meaning those ads lost money. It was such a good example of, and the last sale was actually because I finally showed them how to set up the ad to run it for sales instead of boosting the posts.
10:13
It is such a good example of like when you just boost the posts, it's just not going to be who you want it to be. Wow. Thank you for clarifying that of, you know, I think there is confusion around that, right? People think, oh, if I boost it, it's going to drive leads and sales. What I'm hearing you say, just reflect back, is that boosting is really just driving views. Yes.
10:40
but you're not able to leverage the positioning of the leads and sales aspect of the ad, which is the most imperative. Yeah. Okay, perfect. It's gonna get a lot of clicks, but it's not gonna be people that are most likely to take the action that you actually want them to take, which is gonna be the vast majority of the time, leads and sales. Wow, that is powerful. Thank you for sharing that with our audience. I think you just saved people lots of money there with that tip.
11:07
Another mistake that we had talked about was this idea of trying to use ads to solve a lead generation or sales problem before their organic marketing was working. So can you tell me more about that piece of it? Absolutely. Facebook ads will not fix a broken funnel. They will simply waste your money. And I also talk a lot about the fact that like Facebook ads are like the last step that you want to take. It's
11:36
Definitely not the first thing that you want to do when you have your business. You have to make sure that like you're able to sell. You need to know like who your ideal audience is. You need to know how you're talking to them. And if your stuff organically is not converting, ads are not going to work either. So it really truly is like you need your stuff to be in place. Your strategy needs to be working. And then it's like once you know like
12:05
everything is working well organically, you just need to reach more people. That's when like ads are like the best thing. Cause then you could really use it to scale. I love it. And this is why Jen and I are so aligned is that's exactly what I preach is that you need to find what is going to work well organically and you know, really refine your messaging. That's why on the show we talk so much about hooks and
12:32
content strategy and experimentation, testing different formats to see what's going to resonate most with your target audience. And then from there, building the customer journey, right? Because a lot of people start with, oh, I need to be posting on Instagram. But then I say, okay, great. So your video popped off. It captured my attention. I'm your target audience. Now what am I supposed to do? And they're like, click the link in my bio. Like, I don't really know, right? So
13:00
To Jen's point, it's so important that we have the sales funnel built. My favorite way to drive leads and sales on Instagram is using many chat and like a DM automation. If you're new to that, you can connect with me over on Instagram and DM me the keyword leads, L-E-A-D-S, and you will get to see how that works in real time. have a resource that I share and I give you a free month of many chat, but.
13:28
essentially figuring out like what lead magnet is going to convert, right? What lead magnet is going to get people to want to opt into my list. So Jen, what I'm hearing you say is you get that fire burning and you know that it's working and then ads are like gasoline on the fire that will just like blow it up and scale what is already working. Yep. I love that you mentioned MiniChat because there's a few other things that do the same type of thing. But if you're already
13:57
posting on Instagram where it's like, write this word and I'll send you the thing, you can still use that in your ads. As long as it's like ultimately taking them to like, here's my landing page, here's my thank you page, as long as you're able to track that thank you page, it doesn't matter if they're clicking a link or if they're commenting something and then it's starting a whole sequence in the DMs, it's able to track all of that and you're able to run ads to it, but making sure that it works first is.
14:25
kind of imperative to not wasting money. Yeah, totally. Yeah, because I find that, you know, I think people understandably, they get impatient, right? Because they're just like, you know, it is a grind, it is a grind to figure out, okay, what is the content and getting your content system in place and building the consistency and all of that. But that's why the work that you and I do complements each other so much is like, I can help you get set up with that. And then once you figure it out, Jen can help you blow it up.
14:55
Right? So there's space and time for the organic and the paid and that they can work so well and beautifully together. Yeah, they really can. And especially if you are somebody that's posting a lot of reels and your reels work well for your audience, using those same reels that you've already used as an ad can also work really well because it's all the same type of people that you're attracting. Yeah. Yeah, that's so cool. So
15:24
We've talked about a few mistakes that people make when it comes to running ads. So who should be running ads? Like how do we know when we're ready to invest in ads and what should already be working before we take that leap? So I think it's you have an established business. You already know that you can sell. You're regularly bringing leads and sales in.
15:53
You have to have the budget to be able to run ads. Typically, if you are running list building ads where you're running ads to grow your email list, usually it's getting somebody on your email list with a lead magnet, some type of value that you're giving in order to get them on the list. Usually I suggest for that like roughly 30 a day in ad spend. like 900 to a thousand a month. If you are running ads to your launch events, like webinars, workshops,
16:22
online challenges, typically I suggest roughly a thousand per launch event that you're doing. And then if you're running ads for like retargeting where it's people who've already engaged with you, that you just want to like show up in their feed again and make offers to them, you can do that for as little as like $5 a day and still get some good traction. So yeah, you're also like, you have a strategy that you know that works. You've got the budget for it. Yeah.
16:53
Yeah, that's amazing. I know you just quickly kind of went through them, but just to recap, I know there's lots of different types of ads, but there's three that you just kind of went through. So go through them one at a time again. Like, I guess if we were talking about the lowest budget option to the highest budget, what is the the lowest budget where you're going to get the most bang for your buck? So that would be retargeting ads. So anybody who has
17:22
visited your website in the last, it could be up to 180 days. Anybody who has engaged with you on your Facebook or Instagram business page or profile, you can run ads just to those people. You can spend as little as like $5 a day and get some good traction for that. So for example, one of my clients right now, she has been going viral on Instagram like all the time recently. You know what's so funny? She's been going viral for carousels.
17:51
which is so interesting, but like, yeah. So we're only running ads to people who have engaged with her Instagram in the last 90 days, I think. And then we're running an ad to get them onto her email list. Now we're spending like 30 a day on those, but you could easily be spending like $5 a day on those type of ads. It could also be going to schedule a consult call with you if you offer consults. It could be going to a low ticket offer.
18:20
could be going to like an evergreen webinar. So some type of thing to get them into your world, take the next step with you. So that could be as low as like $150 a month. Yeah. I'm trying to do the math. $5 a day. Yeah. So you really don't need a large budget for that to really make sense. For the longest time, I've been running ads directly to schedule a consult to me that's just retargeting with people who've engaged with me. So when you say you're running retargeting ads,
18:49
Is this a reel that you're doing? Or is this like a video? Is this a carousel? Is this a single image? What are you doing? Any of the above. Typically, it's not a carousel. Carousels as ads don't typically work quite as well, which is very funny because organically, they can work really well. It could absolutely be a reel. It could be just a static image. For myself, a lot of times recently, static images have worked really well.
19:19
But it really, it's based on your business and what you already know works best for you. Got it. Okay. So let's say I am a coach and I am doing a reel and I want to do a retargeting ad. So would the format of the reel be like, I'm doing an educational post about I'm talking to the camera and I'm teaching you five ways to do this thing. And then in the end of the video, I'm literally inviting you into like grab the freebie by
19:48
clicking the link or how are these ads positioned? Like, this is what I'm trying to wrap my brain around. It could be. Basically, it's going to be the copy is going to go into whatever it is that you're selling. So let's say it's for a consult call and it's going to be similar to any post that you're making. Typically, I like to start with a question or statement designed to stop the scroll, expand on that a bit, talk like in a sentence or two about who I am, who I help.
20:14
what am I giving and what's the benefit of signing up for it and then a call to action. So the copy is there. The graphic is really there to help stop the scroll. So if it's a reel, you cannot use the like copyrighted music in an app. So you do have to be careful about that. But I have clients where like the ad that's running, it's like some of the posts, like the reels that have been like the popular ones.
20:41
Like, do you remember when it was like the calculator thing where you're like poking the screen? Uh huh. Like one of my clients, like that ad has been running as a real for like, I think over a year and it's still converting. Wow. So it could absolutely be something that you've already posted going to what your offer is or even just aligned with what your offer is. You might have to just like switch it up a little bit and put some copy on the reel itself at the end of like.
21:09
sign up for my thing or schedule a consult or get the thing. So it might just be that you're switching it just a smidge to make it work. I'm giving a masterclass right after this about the one ad you should be running if your business is making less than a hundred thousand a year. And literally the best performing, I was just checking this, the best performing graphic that I'm running in the ads, you know how on Facebook when you go to make a short post,
21:36
it'll give you that option of like the colorful background. Put it in for that, that was literally basically that same thing as copy. Like if your business is making less than a hundred thousand a year, there's one ad you should be running. Let me show you how. I took a screenshot of that and that is my ad. Wow. And it's working great.
22:00
Yes, you know, I have seen ads on Facebook like that where, you know, I'm in my mid 40s and clearly looking at like skincare, you know, as you said, the algorithm knows us. It's so creepy, right? But where I saw like exactly what you described where it looks like someone just like put in a simple text, like one sentence hook, and then you can pick like a colorful background to make it pop.
22:25
and then it looks like an organic piece of content. And then in the comments is where it's clearly a sponsored post because if you look really closely at it, it looks organic, but then you can see that it's an ad. And I was like, oh my gosh, it's like ads are getting so sneaky. Is that different than what you're describing? It's a little bit different because in mine, I do like to always have like the headline and the link to be. So if they click on the image, it immediately takes them to the landing page. Okay.
22:53
but it looks more organic. Yeah, that makes sense. So there's different ways of doing it. And I have seen that, and I think it can be very effective. Yeah, because I saw it it looked like this organic person. Of course, it also was interesting because there was a lot of comments that were like, oh, I love this product, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then I was sort of like, are these real people? Like, how does that work? I don't think they're real people. I came across somebody like that where literally,
23:23
Her entire profile was nothing but posts like that, like, oh, I'm having this issue, what can help with it? And then in a pinned post, it's like, based on all of your comments, it's clearly this one product is the winner, I'll put the link for it. And it was like, oh, I see what you're doing there. Oh my gosh. This kind of brings me into this thought about, like, obviously there's nothing wrong with running ads or anything, but.
23:51
Do you think that there's any unethical or cringey ways of doing ads? I know me and my audience, we very much value authenticity, right? And I'm just curious, how does that come through in the ad space? Oh, I mean, it makes me immediately think of the bro marketers with their lambos in their ads type of thing that I'm immediately like.
24:19
That is not somebody I need anything at all to do with. I mean, there's that side that just can feel very sleazy and gross. Yeah, because probably because we're not their target audience. Oh, man. You know what? Also, recently I've been seeing and I actually reported one and it did not get taken down, which I was like, this is like so violating all of the like actual ad, like code of conduct rules. But I've been seeing ads
24:49
that are clearly AI videos that are all around weight loss. about weight loss of like 40 pounds and this is like super unethical because it's like literally unrealistic and it's literally not even a real person but it looks very real until you are like, yeah. So I mean, I think there's always stuff like that. Yeah, no, that makes sense. That makes sense in the world of AI. It's like, I mean, this is happening on Instagram too where
25:18
You know, I watched this video the other day and it was this woman who was like in her eighties and she just looks so hot. You know, like she looked older, but like super hot. And then, then you look at the comment and you're like, oh, she's AI. She's not like a real woman. I think that this also plays into, you know, we're in this trust recession of like people are, are hesitant to believe what they see. This reinforces why what I teach is so important, which is that like the organic
25:48
side of like what I'm teaching, it's all about being authentically you and like showing up on camera or not, or using a voiceover or finding the words that your ideal clients or customers are using and that's marketing gold and seeing what resonates. These are like the building blocks, right, of digital marketing. And I love that you're kind of breaking it down step by step. So, you know, kind of entry level ads would be that retargeting ad and that could be, you know, $5 a day.
26:16
And then what would be the next ad up from there? Yeah, so I'm always a fan of list building ads. We own our email lists. We don't own social media. You can lose it at any point. So I feel like the whole goal of running ads is to get people into your own world so that you can continue to follow up with them. So ads to some type of a lead magnet to get them onto your list so that you can continue to promote to your list.
26:43
I'm always a fan of that. Typically I recommend like roughly at least 30 a day in ad spend. And then the big thing for that because list building can be a slow, slow burn. can take a while before somebody's really ready for the next step. So you can speed that up by putting stuff onto the thank you page. So I'm a big fan of putting like a video sales letter going into a consult call on the thank you page or like a low ticket offer on the thank you page.
27:11
Some type of thing for people to take the next step if they're already pretty ready to go, and then following up in your email welcome series as well. Cool. So just breaking that down of what I just heard you say is that same kind of thing with a reel or a carousel or whatever the post is, but then the goal is it's specifically positioned to build your list through a lead magnet.
27:39
which is for anyone listening who's unclear, that's like a freebie. So that could be like a checklist or an ebook or an audio download or a lead magnet is essentially positioned to solve one small problem that your ideal client or customer has, right? Like it's a real value add. Like, so for example, in Wedding Dance Coach, we have a free first dance checklist and we go through everything you need to know in those three months before your wedding.
28:07
how you pick your song, what you need to bring to your lessons, the things you need to communicate with your vendors. It's a very valuable resource. And that one lead magnet has generated thousands of email opt-ins to my list. So when you find a good lead magnet, it can really work well for you. So having people opt-in to your lead magnet, and then on that page where they...
28:31
put their name and email, you're saying embedded on. So they did that and then they submit. And then there's the thank you page, which is the next page that pops up. And that's where I could potentially have like a video of, are you nervous about your first dance? You know, we have this $49 first dance online crash course, blah, blah, blah. You can grab it now. So that's kind of the process that you're kind of taking the consumer through. Is that correct? Yeah, exactly.
28:59
Usually video sales that are going into like a consult call or you could just be the thank you page is going into a low ticket offer. Like congrats, you signed up for the free thing. It'll be in your inbox in a few minutes. In the meantime, here's my next offer for you. So, and I know that we're speaking a lot to like coaches and consultants, but I feel like this would work with a product based business. Like I'm thinking about like one of my clients owns a kombucha company. One of my clients is a liquor store.
29:27
owner, one of my past clients owned an Etsy shop that had like personalized picture frames. And so it's still the same idea of you could still create a guide or some sort of freebie that your ideal consumer would want. And then on that thank you page, you could drive them to your product sale. Correct? Yeah, totally. It could also be some type of like a special offer. Like I had a friend who had a kale chips business where
29:57
She had like a special offer that she ran ads to where it was like a BOGO for their initial order. And then it could even be like, you have an upsell of just get more of the same thing because you're gonna use it or try a different flavor, you know? I love that, I love that. Okay, so we have retargeting ads, step one. Step two might be a list building ad. So we're always growing our email list because we don't own our social media followers. And then what is the third step up from that?
30:26
Then that would be launch ads. So that's if you are doing some type of a launch event, webinar, workshop, an online challenge, it's running ads to that. Okay, got it, got it. And are those launch events typically like a free webinar or is that like a paid webinar? It can be either. I think both work really well. And I think it depends a little bit on you and your business and how ads feel for you because
30:56
For a free webinar, it's gonna be a lot cheaper to get somebody in, but you're gonna have a lower show up rate, but you can still make a lot of money from those ads. And if it's a paid one, it's gonna cost a whole lot more to get somebody in. A lot of times it'll cost roughly the same amount, if not more, to get somebody in is whatever you're charging for the paid event. So you're covering some of that ad spend initially, because they've paid money, larger percent of them are gonna show up.
31:25
you're gonna have fewer people signing up, but you're gonna be able to close a larger percent of them because more of them are showing up and they've already bought once, so they're more likely to buy again. So I have found that a lot of times, ultimately you're making roughly the same amount on the backend with the paid or the free, it just depends. I've had clients where they don't love doing the paid events because it feels so hard to get people in.
31:54
And so if your event is like $50 and it's costing $55 to get somebody to sign up for it, it can feel like a lot. But on the back end, you're still making like a lot of money and you're covering your ad spend. And then I have other clients where they only want to do the paid events because they're like, no, I'm not doing that for free. And so it just is what it is. That makes sense. It kind of depends on your risk tolerance and like
32:23
your relationship with it and yeah, what's going to motivate you to show up or what's going to be an energetic block? You know, like if it's so hard to get people to sign up, are you going to freak out? All those things. And so at that higher tier level of like investing in a webinar, master class or something like that, what would be the ad budget for that? So typically I say a minimum of at least a thousand in ad spend, but it really depends on
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what you're able to invest with it. Usually I will say run the ads for like two weeks before the live event. And as you have done it more than once, you can scale up as you predictably know it's gonna make you more and more money. And when you say a thousand, do you mean a thousand dollars a month? I mean a thousand during that like two week period that you're running ads for it. Got it. Okay. Okay. And that's also separate from if
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After the event, if you want to run ads to like your full warm audience being like, hey, doors are open to this thing, come join, that would be like a separate budget. Got it. Okay, cool. Cool. Amazing. You have been so generous with walking us through this and I really appreciate that, like breaking it down in such a clear way. If someone's listening and they're just like, oh my gosh, okay, I think I want this or I want that, or they're just feeling a little bit overwhelmed, what is...
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sort of your final piece of encouragement or advice for that person. So if you're overwhelmed with ads, mean, honestly, look, Facebook is changing all the time. They do not make it easy. You have to know what you're doing. So honestly, you need to either know what you're doing for yourself, or you need to work with somebody who knows what they're doing. And I would love for that to be me, but even if it's not me, it needs to be somebody. Yeah.
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That makes total sense. mean, I always say like you want to hire the mentor, the coach, the consultant who's already done and mastered what you're trying to do. And when you do that, you will make so much more money versus trying to do it yourself or PC it together. Or when you learn as you go, okay, yes, we all do that to some point as entrepreneurs, right? We build the plane as we fly it. But there's definitely moments of
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deciding, I'm going to invest in this thing and I need someone to really shortcut that learning curve and just get a better ROI on this effort. So that makes complete and total sense to me. Yeah. Cool. Well, we will be sure to link everything about you in the show notes, but if someone's listening and they're excited and they want to explore working with you or they want to stock you online, where can they go? Where can we send them?
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Yeah, so jennpossick.com and then I'm at jennpossick for literally like all of the places. Okay, and that is jennpossick.com, correct? It sure is. Fabulous. Oh my gosh. Thank you, Jen, for this conversation. It was super, super helpful. And I know everyone's going to get so much out of this. Yay. This is so fun. Thank you.
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I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Jen and you learned a thing or two about meta ads. If you love today's episode, do us a solid and share it with a business bestie or colleague who is also trying to figure out Instagram, Facebook, how does this digital marketing world work? We are determined to simplify this process for you so the work that you are doing can be more effective and fun.
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And if you took anything away from today's episode, I loved how Jen shared, don't invest in boosting. That is one of the things that I get asked all the time and I'm so grateful that Jen answered that question for us. There is definitely a time and place for ads and I hope that you are more clear on when and if you need to use them. I so appreciate you spending time with us today and I can't wait to strut it with you next week.
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Thank you for listening to Strut It. If you're ready to start leveraging Instagram to grow your business, then you're gonna wanna grab my free Monetize Your IG Guide, where you'll learn seven simple and proven ways to finally make money on Instagram. You can grab your guide at elizabethmarberry.com slash freebies. That's elizabethmarberry.com slash freebies.
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to get my monetize your IG guy. If you got some incredible value from today's episode, be sure to leave a review and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. And I cannot wait to start it with you again next week.
