Strategy Archives - System Envy Blog

The Million-Dollar Mistake: Why Most Course Creators Fail at Scaling Their Ads Hook

by Emma Watt | Sep 24, 2025 | Facebook™ Ads, How To, Strategy

Here’s the truth: It’s honestly pretty easy to get your ads WORKING. It’s much harder to scale them without destroying your ROI.

Why? Because the same strategy that worked at $1K per day isn’t built to survive at scale. It’s just not.

Take it from the course creators who see their results “suddenly” fall apart when they scale from $1K per day to $5K per day.

There’s a reason for all of it, and it’s almost always simpler than you think.

The biggest ad scaling mistake: Scaling without a system

Getting results at a lower spend doesn’t automatically mean your funnel is ready to scale. Not even close, really. There are a few things you really have to do FIRST to make sure you don’t break your strategy. Here are the mistakes we tend to see, over and over again:

Mistake #1 — You don’t have a funnel infrastructure: You can’t scale if your funnel isn’t built to handle increased volume. Broken tracking, disconnected email sequences, or a weak nurture system can quietly kill conversions.
Mistake #2 — You’re relying on one or two audiences: Audiences get tired. If you’re spending big on a narrow group, fatigue will set in fast, and you’ll probably see a big performance nosedive.
Mistake #3 — You’re not testing and updating creative: If you’re running the same creative across the board with no testing or refresh cycle, your performance will tank as SOON as you scale.

So…. how do you fix it?

Scaling isn’t about increasing budget and hoping for the best. It’s about building a foundation that can support growth, and this goes for your whole business — ad strategy or not. This is why you really need to focus on a few things: offer/funnel alignment, creative testing, and completing your tracking set-up.

Every part of the funnel, from the opt-in to the sales page, needs to be intentional and aligned. A strong front-end offer is only as good as the system behind it. And, at the same time, you can’t optimize what you can’t measure. That means cAPI, pixel setup, UTMs, and proper attribution systems need to be in place before scaling begins.

Quick fixes to make a big impact

These are the fast, high-impact changes we often make when scaling reveals a gap in a client strategy:

We do a lil’ creative mixup: Designing ads for multiple placements and awareness levels makes a BIIIG difference. TLDR: What works at $1K/day often needs a more robust mix at $5K/day.
We re-target warm audiences: Most people forget to build a strong retargeting structure, but that’s where the highest ROAS usually lives. Don’t miss this!
We look for clarity: If your data is unclear or inaccurate, every decision becomes guesswork. Take some time to clean up attribution and reporting so that you can actually make decisions with some confidence.

Here’s the thing: If your ROAS drops every time you increase your budget, it doesn’t mean your offer is broken. It means your systems weren’t built to scale. That’s SO dang fixable, friends!

If you’re ready to scale without sacrificing your performance, we’d love to talk. We’ll audit your account and help you build a launch strategy that ACTUALLY scales when your budget does.

How Female Course Creators Are Rewriting Marketing Rules

by Emma Watt | Sep 10, 2025 | Facebook™ Ads, How To, Strategy

If you ask us, the time has LOOOONG passed for bro marketing and loud, jargon-packed ads. (Thank the Lord.)

Instead, we think today’s most successful launches are strategic, data-backed, and deeply aligned to the right audience. Female founders and course creators are *so* the leaders of this charge, too. They’re the ones rewriting the launch playbook by building trust, clarifying their message, and executing the right way.

We know, because we’ve seen it in action.

A lot of action.

Primarily with our incredible clients.

So, let’s learn from them!

What’s the shift?

The age of bro-marketing is fading. Tactics that relied on urgency, scarcity, and pressure are being replaced with messaging that builds trust over time. It means that, finally, none of this is about being LOUD. It’s about being smarter, more intentional, and more connected. Our most successful course creators build their launches around clear messaging, empathy-led strategy, and offers that feel aligned to their audience.

It matters. A lot.

The thing is, modern buyers aren’t making decisions after one Reel or webinar. They’re paying attention to how you show up, how consistent you are, and whether your message resonates across channels. They respond to community-first messaging (feeling supported is EVERYTHING), and they want you to show up for them consistently before they’re going to show up for you.

3 strategies our clients swear by

Focus on pre-launch engagement ads: Start warming up your audience before launch begins. Run low-cost engagement ads weeks ahead (months, really!) of open cart to drive visibility and familiarity. These can be easy to create — we love lifting and shifting things like Instagram Stories for these — and they see a big payoff. (See how they worked for this client!)
Diversify, diversify, diversify!: Your ideal audience is ALL over the internet. And, while Facebook and Instagram are still strong, pairing those ads with Pinterest ads, TikTok ads, and well-timed email sequences creates more consistent and sustainable results. (See how this client got a 1,741% ROAS.)
Actually nurture audiences: This isn’t about throwing a 10-day countdown into your funnel. The best-performing email sequences we’ve seen lead with value, connection, and relevance, every step of the way. That’s why it’s so, so important to be thoughtful about the copy you write and the way you set up your sequences! (This $560K+ launch from one of our clients is complete and total proof of this.)

Here’s a promise: you can be strategic AND successful

You don’t need to rely on high-pressure tactics to hit high-revenue goals. With the right strategy, your launch can feel aligned, supported, and incredibly effective.

Want a custom, data-backed strategy that blends performance with your personality? We build exactly that for our clients, every single day. Let’s talk about your next launch.

Don’t Make These Top 4 Facebook Ads Mistakes: Scaling Edition

by Emma Watt | Aug 19, 2025 | Facebook™ Ads, How To, Strategy

I often think that I should sit down, just for fun, and figure out how many ad campaigns my team and I have worked on.

Because, like, it’s a lot.

However, I’m just gonna settle (for now) for saying this: we’ve made a LOT of mistakes along the way. We’ve also made a LOT of wins along the way, too. So, just because, I want to dive into a few of the biggest mistakes we’ve either A) made, B) seen our clients make, or C) seen others in the online space make.

Specifically, we’re going to show you a few of the biggest Facebook ad mistakes we see while people are trying to SCALE their ad campaigns — so that you don’t have to make the same mistakes. Of course.

Don’t Make These Top 4 Facebook Ads Mistakes: Scaling Edition

Don’t segment your audiences to test: You might think that segmenting your audience for testing is a good thing, but it’s actually the opposite of what you want to do. Instead of wasting your ad spend, focus on:

Building strong warm audiences from engaged users
Leveraging lookalike audiences
Testing creative, messaging, and offers within a larger, more stable audience

Don’t get lost in the number sauce: Facebook Ads Manager throws a lot of numbers at you, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. If you’re checking every metric under the sun — click-through rates, cost per click, reach, impressions, frequency, conversion rate, and a dozen others — you’ll drive yourself crazy. Even worse, you might misinterpret what really matters.

Focus on these instead:

Choosing 2-3 key performance indicators (KPIs) that actually align with your goal (e.g., cost per purchase, return on ad spend, lead conversions)
Tracking trends over time instead of obsessing over daily fluctuations
Understanding that not all metrics matter equally — some are vanity numbers, while others directly impact your bottom line.

Don’t forget to optimize your ads by platform: When an ad campaign, don’t simply use one ad for every platform! Instead, remember that a Facebook feed ad is NOT the same as an IG Story ad. Make sure you:

Optimize your ad format, aspect ratio, and messaging for each platform
Keep videos short, snappy, and attention-grabbing for Instagram Stories and Reels
Test carousels, static images, and videos separately to see what works best where

Don’t expect higher spending to work: So, SO often, people think that spending more on an ad budget will yield a higher result. This, my friends, is not even close to true. If your creative, messaging, or audience targeting isn’t dialed in, increasing your spending will just magnify those issues — not fix them.

To scale strategically, do these first:

Strengthen your engagement and audience trust FIRST
Test and optimize at lower budgets before ramping up spending
Adjust your budget in increments

Scaling your Facebook ads is all about working smarter, not just spending more, digging into a million numbers, or throwing things at the wall. Avoid these mistakes, and you’ll actually be able to set yourself up for stronger performance, better engagement, and real growth.

Promise.

How to Scale an Ads Campaign, The Right Way

by Emma Watt | Aug 5, 2025 | How To, Strategy

If there’s one piece of business advice I want to scream from the rooftops, it’s this: You HAVE to diversify your ad spend. And then you have to diversify it again. And then you have to diversify it again.

If you don’t diversify your strategies — and you don’t focus on reaching a wide variety of audiences across a wide variety of platforms — you are selling yourself so, so short.

However, if you DO diversify your strategies, you can really sustain your momentum, increase your conversion rates, and create more touchpoints.

So, let’s chat about it. (Well, and better, let me show you HOW to do it.)

How to Diversify Your Ad Spend to Scale

Have a presence on all platforms.

The best way to diversify your ad spend is by making sure you’re taking an approach across all 4 of the major platforms: Pinterest, YouTube, Meta, and TikTok. All of them have a unique opportunity to reach a different suite of audiences, and they’re all engaged in unique ways.

For instance, Pinterest ads are likely going to be found while audiences are looking for inspiration. YouTube ads are going to pop up while your audience is learning or enjoying something new. Meta ads are going to reach your audience on some of their most-used social platforms. TikTok ads are going to give you the chance to reach short-form content lovers in a way that can stop their scrolls very intentionally.

While you don’t have to have a HUGE presence on every platform — most businesses don’t necessarily have time for that — I do recommend employing at least a small strategy on all of them.

Prioritize video promotion.

If the thought of diversifying your actual content creation efforts themselves makes you nervous, I get it. That’s why I’d say to choose video as your main promotional creative. It can be re-used and re-formatted for a variety of platforms, and it’s designed to align with the visual, watchable kinds of algorithms that your go-to platforms utilize, which makes it a no-brainer.

Plus, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel! Instead, you can create one piece of hero content — think: a 10-minute video — and use different pieces of it across your different ads.

Segment your ads cross-platform.

While some of your audience may be on all 4 major platforms, some of them may not be… and this is a huge opportunity for you to reach NEW people! By thinking through your different options and segmenting your ads by either audience OR by offer, you can really spread your earning chances. Plus, you can learn how these other audiences react to your messaging and offers… which might just make you a LOT of money in the future.

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And, my friends, there you have it — 3 easy, SIMPLE ways to start diversifying your ad spend… and, with it, your opportunities for success.

I’m here for you, and I can’t wait to see what you do with it!

The Psychology of Premium Pricing: Why Undercharging Is Holding Your Course Business Back

by Buying Time | Jul 2, 2025 | How To, Launching, Sales Funnels, Strategy

I have a hot take today.

You should be pricing more for your course.

Like, a LOT more.

Why? Because your audience wants premium pricing, even if they don’t quite realize it yet. And if this sounds insane, just bear with me for a sec.

At the end of the day, people equate higher prices with higher value. This is especially true in saturated markets. Undercharging for your course or service — while it might seem like you’re being sweet — honestly tends to make your offer seem less credible or impactful.

Even if it’s not.

This is all in psychology, friend — because your audience wants to feel like they’re making a serious, long-term investment in themselves, their business, and their results.

Here’s a promise: The right people WANT to pay more.

Yes, you read that right. The right people really do want to pay more. (Note: I didn’t say everyone. But I did say the right people! Remember that.)

While people should be running from high-priced offers that are unclear and vague, they aren’t running from high-priced offers that show value. When you’ve gone out of your way to create an incredible course that’s well-positioned and specific, pricing it higher is actually reassuring.

Plus, I’ve seen proof time and time again that people who are going to buy aren’t running from a $997 price tag. If someone doesn’t buy at $997, they probably wouldn’t have followed through at $297 either. Why? Price is rarely the actual barrier.

Premium pricing can signal premium transformation

At the end of the day, high pricing can move people into action. Why, you ask? It’s because it sends a message that you’re ready to help people make actual,

meaningful change. I mean, just think about it. If your course walks people through launching a new business model or absolutely smashing their marketing goals, then pricing it at $149 makes the offer feel… off. Incongruent. Underpowered.

But if it’s priced at $897? $1497? $2497? Well, it feels a lot more legit. It’s the same reason people buy designer bags — because they’re not just a product! They’re an experience and a symbol of status.

Pricing frameworks that tap into premium psychology

If you’re reading this and thinking “um, cool… but this is hard!” I get it. But I want you to move forward on (higher!) pricing with these frameworks:

Anchor your price: Help people understand the value of your course by anchoring it (AKA, comparing it) to other things, like 1:1 coaching, wasted time, or manual setup.
Add payment plans: Let people access your offer at a lower monthly cost, without devaluing the total investment. It’s that simple!
Build funnels: If you’re launching a course (or anything) that’s above $497, you need a funnel to actually encourage people to purchase. Trust me here. I’d recommend starting with a well-structured webinar or freebie, writing an email sequence, and then dripping in things like bonuses, FAQs, and testimonials.
Use 9s and 7s: Numbers like $997 or $299 convert better than clean numbers like $1,000 or $300. Sound silly? This is called charm pricing, and it’s actually backed up by TONS of of research!

TLDR? Pricing positions you as the go-to expert… or not. It’s all psychology. It’s about the value of your course.

Try it, test it, and watch what changes. Because you’re not just selling a “course” — you’re selling change. Price accordingly.

Your Guide to Boosting FB Engagement

by Emma Watt | Oct 2, 2024 | Facebook™ Ads, Strategy

Theeee most awkward (and irritating) thing EVER = launching Facebook ads, only to realize that they’re getting pretty much zero engagement. Basically, it’s like that fear of standing up for a speech, clinking your glass, getting all eyes on you, and forgetting every single word you had planned to say.

Been there. And so have my clients.

Here’s the thing, though: there’s a fix for this. (Really, there are a LOT of fixes for this.)

If you can target the right people, utilize the right frameworks within your ads, and create the right kind of content, you’re solid. Promise. And, as usj, I’ve got you covered with exactly what you need to know to get there.

But, first, lemme answer one question for ya:

Why aren’t my FB ads getting any engagement?

Diagnosing a non-engaging Facebook ads campaign can be tricky since there are a lot of reasons why a lack of engagement could occur. However, I can pretty much guarantee you that it’s one of a few things: incorrect targeting, weak creative/copy, or a not-so-great offer. And if you feel like you USED to get engagement on a set of ads (but no longer), then it’s very likely ad fatigue.

Are these the ONLY problems? No. But are these the most likely ones? YES. So let’s fix ‘em.

Your Guide to Boosting FB Engagement

I’m all about proven strategies for boosting FB ad engagement, and my clients are living proof of it. (Like, hellllooOOOO, six-figure launches! Hi!) While there are a lot of things we utilize over here (I talk about testing constantly, as y’all know), here are the engagement strategies I swear by for boosting your Facebook ads.

Go back to your targeting: To put it bluntly, people don’t engage with the people they aren’t connected with. There’s just TOO MUCH on the internet for that. It’s why you need to make sure you’re targeting the right audiences, which is why it’s so important to get detailed, get nitty-gritty, and get, well, targeted. Build custom and lookalike audiences, take the time to warm up your people, and make sure that your targeting is correct and up to date within your Ads Manager.
Invite conversation with your creative: If you want people to engage with your Facebook ads, they need to be encouraged to do so. Make sure that your graphics or videos are aesthetically pleasing, conversational, and vibrant — and then integrate in questioning, direct speak, and clear calls to action within your copy. If you want people to respond, click, and comment, be sure you’re telling them exactly what to do.
Integrate limited-time offers and scarcity: An easy way to encourage engagement is by making it almost an emotional requirement to purchase at the lowest price/get in at the best time. To do this, build limited-time cart opens, discount codes, and incentives (like bonuses) into your ad campaign plan.

Examples of highly-engaging ads

I’m always the luckiest to have suchhhh incredible clients, and they make my job EASY. Here are some tidbits that can help you guide your strategy to get the MOST engagement…

Let your videos end on a cliffhanger. Kind of like cable TV (okay, not really). Instead of giving away EVERYTHING in a video ad, try testing a video format that needs a click to get the full answer. This format works especially well for something like a podcast ad. Instead of giving away the entire conversation, preview just the question and a snippet of the answer to make your audience seek more.

Try long-form copy. Conversational-style copy in a long story format can connect you to your audience. Make sure to sprinkle in your clearly defined call-to-action, but test telling a personal story! This makes your ads relatable, where people are bound to either like it, or best case, click to read MORE of your story on the landing page!

Get clear on the pain points of your offer, and list them. You KNOW you’ll relate to your audience if your offer can fix even ONE pain point they are facing right now. Brainstorm a BIG list of what your offer can fix, and then test out shorter copy on images or in your copy directly to shout out those issues and highlight yourSELF as the fix!

Your next steps

Now that you have a better idea of how to boost Facebook ads engagement, it’s time to start going for it! Here’s your homework: create a new ads campaign utilizing a WARM audience (don’t have one yet? Start working on warming up an audience before you do this), and then test with a few different versions of creative.

I want you to test one version with a video (I love a talking head video), one with a carousel ad that asks a question, and one with a typical graphic-on-image. Then, I want you to ASK for engagement in each version of that ad. You can ask people to “press play,” “take a click,” “leave a comment,” or something else entirely — but ask for engagement.

Then, take a look at your results. What encouraged the most engagement? What worked the best? Take that, learn from it, and run with it.

You’ve got this.

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Don’t Let the Algorithm Get You Down

by Buying Time | Sep 25, 2024 | Facebook™ Ads, Strategy

“UGH, the algorithm.”

“I can’t grow because of the algorithm.”

“The algorithm hates me.”

I could go on, and on… and on.

And, guys, I’m pretty sure that ANY business owner you ask has said at LEAST one version of it.

(I certainly have.)

But, here’s what I’ve learned: we all give the algorithm WAY too much power. Way too much. (And then some.)

In reality, there IS an algorithm — but all it is, at the end of the day, is a string of code that Instagram uses to organize feeds and Stories. That’s it. It doesn’t have morality, it doesn’t get angry, and it doesn’t hate you.

Promise.

So, let’s chat about it (and stop letting it get us all down).

How does the Instagram algorithm work?

On a high level, the Instagram algorithm uses a variety of things — user interactions, engagement, content type, recency, relationships, etc. — to, ideally, show the right content to the right people. It learns from your activity (and from that, your ideal audience) to categorize your content, it showcases certain things, and helps you to find new things and people, too.

Since Instagram wants you to create engaging content, it’s going to (more often than not) reward the kind of content that’s original and entertaining — but that, I think, is where we all tend to get tripped up. See, I’m sure ALL of us have had the experience of creating something we thought was SO. GOOD., only to see it…

…flop.

That’s the hard part.

But, it takes me back to what I said up there. At the end of the day, all the algorithm REALLY is just code and tech — no morality. No anger. No hate. I promise.

So, all of that being said…

How do you not let the algorithm get you down?

There are a few focuses I think all business owners should have when it comes to the online content world — especially if you’re stressing over the algorithm. Here they are;

Have a solid brand sense: At the end of the day, it can be really easy to lose yourself in the social sauce — which is why having a strong sense of your brand is so dang important. When you’re aware of, proud of, and tuned into your mission, vision, values, and everything in between, it becomes a lot easier to see if you’re creating content JUST to create it, or if you’re doing so purposefully. When you know you’re aligned, it’s a lot harder to stress about the algorithm. (Promise.)

Build a marketing team: So often, we try to do everything and then some in business — but why?! Not everything is our job or our zone of genius, and when we ACT like everything is our job/our zone, we end up panicking about things that don’t matter… and doing the wrong things in the name of “fixing” them. This is why building a marketing team (or simply finding marketing friends you trust!) and getting strategic advice. Keeping up with social media is a FULL-time job, literally.

Test and study: The real truth of the matter when it comes to social media is this: the algorithm will seem to “like” some things you do over another. (That’s just the way it is.) For example, carousels are having a *moment* on Instagram. All the “dumps” and “camera roll crumbs” and oodles of people posting a long line of images have caused IG to make carousels 20 images instead of 10. The platform is literally encouraging you to make aaaall the carousels. Next month, the platform might refocus on reels (hint* it’s testing vertical feeds, instead of square placements… very similar to another very-closely-related-video platform). Instead of getting fixated on ALL the change ALL the time, just be aware of it! Then, you can see what performs well — and create repeatable content formulas that lean on that!

Alright, friends — you have it: encouragement, advice, and some good ole’ fashioned SOLIDARITY. Because, trust me. I get it, and I’m here for you…

Every time.

Running Ads on TikTok: What You Need to Know

by Buying Time | Jul 10, 2024 | How To, Strategy

One of the coolest things about running an ads agency these days is the sheer amount of places there are to, well, run ads. Back in the earlier days of digital advertising, FB, website banners, and search engines were really the place to go — and these days, there are tons of options to play around with… like TikTok.

Now, I will say that we don’t advertise on everything over here. Meta is our bread and butter, and we’ve gotten into Pinterest, too — but with over 900 million daily active users (!!!), it would be insane to say that TikTok isn’t a massively important — and opportunity-filled — platform.

It’s why we’ve been having lots of fun lately (and driving lots of results!) as we test it out.

So, here’s the Q: what do you need to know about TikTok ads? I’ve got you.

First up: getting started with TikTok ads

Tiktok makes it pretty simple to run ads, and has an Ads Manager that’s pretty intuitive for creating and managing your campaigns. The targeting is fairly robust for how new it is, and you can create lookalike audiences or segment by demographics, behavior, and the like.

Most of the time, in-feed ads are going to be your best bet for selling an offer — but TikTok does have other options for advertiser content, too. You can purchase brand takeover ads, try out custom branded effects, and test unique engagement opps — but regardless, I always recommend keeping your ads concise, impactful, and fun. There’s also a big push on TikTok to consume and create trending content, so have fun leaning into trending sounds and effects when appropriate, too!

However, here’s a warning: commenters go a little rogue on TikTok, which can be stressful to keep an eye on. I hiiiiighly recommend that you have someone monitoring comments any time you run a TT ad. If they happen to get too spicy, restart the ad.

A look inside our client’s experience advertising on TikTok

Now, you’re probably wondering… do TikTok ads work? In short, YES. In fact, here’s a little mini case study from one of our clients. This client was in the 3rd year of one of her launches, and so we all felt like it was a good time to diversify her ad spend and crank up the dollars. She had a +$300K ad budget (which is huge!), and we spent $48K of it testing on TikTok.

The videos we tested were all 30-second videos, all with short ad copy. We uploaded audience lists to build our lookalike audiences and to retarget, and then we went for it! With that $48K, we ended up getting 23,000 leads for her free training — and those free training TikTok leads led to 148 sales on a $997 course. This, my friends, was a 300% return on ad spend… and it was just our first time trying!

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So, friends, whaddya think? Are TikTok ads something you’re thinking about trying? We’re always here to support you — and you can bet that we’ll always tell you the good, the bad, and the ugly.

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Let’s Talk Pinterest Ads

by Buying Time | Jun 12, 2024 | How To, Strategy

Here recently, we’ve become big, big fans of Pinterest ads. As a suuuuuper visual (and truly inspiring) platform, Pinterest is such an ideal, highly-engaged platform for advertising — and the targeting potential, longevity, and traffic-driving options it has make it a big favorite.

And, as Pinterest LOVERS over here, we want to share the wealth — AKA, talk about why, exactly, Pinterest ads should be next to try on your ad strategy.

Lets dive in.

Wondering why you should try Pinterest ads?
There are a LOT of reasons, but some of our favorite reasons to try Pinterest ads are:

It’s mobile heavy: Over 85% of Pinterest searches are done on mobile, making it the best for reaching online shoppers.
Longevity, longevity: Unlike ads that disappear into the stratosphere, Pinterest Pins can last a little longer — the average Pin is repinned 11 times, which means its reach continues to grow.
People are open to new things: As an inspiration and visuals-first platform, Pinterest has users that are looking for new brands and new ideas — meaning that 97% of searches are unbranded, giving a LOT of opportunity to sneak on in.
Pinners love to purchase: Data from Pinterest shows that close to 83% of weekly users have made purchases based on their Pins — and data from Shopify shows that the average order value from Pinterest traffic is $50.

How to get started with Pinterest ads
Laying the groundwork for a new ad account is always a liiiiittle overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be — promise. To get started, you’ll need to create a Business account on Pinterest (you can create a new one or convert your existing personal account). Then, install the Pinterest Tag code on your site to make sure you can track any actions.

When you start running ads on Pinterest, you can choose objectives for your campaign that align with your goals — which include awareness, engagement, video views, conversions, and the like. Then, define your audience (Pinterest allows you to create Lookalike Audiences!), create your ad group, and start running ads. Boom!

The actual ad process is very similar to any other type of ads you’ve run (AKA, on Facebook), and Pinterest has really robust analytics and creative options to analyze as you go.

Something to know about Pinterest ads
When it comes to Pinterest, you are very likely going to see a higher CPL (cost-per-lead) than you’re used to. However, you can also see a really HUGE return with a lot of potential — and it’s because Pinterest users tend to be more intentional, more eager to learn, and actively searching for results that your offer can give.

Take some numbers from a recent client launch we facilitated on Pinterest:

FB/IG cost per lead: $0.70
Pinterest cost per lead: $1.70
FB/IG ROAS: 266.28%
Pinterest ROAS: 1374.12% (!)

A little more expensive? Sure. A major level up in results? Heck yes.

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So, there you have it friends — a little primer on Pinterest ads for ya! I can’t wait to see you start implementing Pinterest ads into your strategy AND to see you start driving some insane results.

You’ve got this.

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Let’s Talk Story Ads

by Buying Time | Jun 5, 2024 | How To, Strategy

Let’s be real here… are there many things better than an Instagram Story?!

(We think… no?!)

I mean, come on. What’s more fun than a little morning tap-through session of coffee pours, business advice, and funny memes?

But, guess what? It’s even better than you’d think… AKA, Stories are phenomenal from a BUSINESS perspective.

In fact, data shows that over 500 million people use IG Stories daily — and ⅓ of the most viewed IG Stories are from business accounts.

That’s why running ads on Instagram Stories should be an absolute no-brainer for your business, friends.

Why you should run Story ads

A huge goal for business owners (AKA, you!) should always be to advertise in the most natural, aligned ways possible — and that’s where the Story ad placement comes into play. Focusing on the story graphic just as much as the square for the newsfeed is so important! Since they live in the same ecosystem of the beloved Stories your audience is already tapping through, they’re a seamlessly integrated vehicle for your own objectives.

It’s the best.

Plus, they drive a TON of engagement — and data from Meta actually shows that ⅕ of organic stories already drive DMs from viewers. It just makes sense that being able to occupy that same real estate, especially as a trusted business targeting the right audience, is a 10/10 idea for your goals.

What to post in Story ads

To be really effective with Story ads, you’re going to want to lean into the exact thing that makes Stories so fun to engage with — AKA, the real-life, seamless aspect that your audience already looks for.

Here are some ideas:

Lifestyle-esque content ideas that showcase your offer
Launch teasers
Highlight promotions of your existing content
Influencer collaborations and UGC content
Quizzes
Tutorials or short teaching snippets

Use Social Proof: Showing a behind-the-scenes look at real results (think receipts and $$$) or testimonials (the more organic the better! Even screenshots of DM’s and messages can work really well).

Talk Scarcity: “Time is running out”, “There are [X] spots left!” etc. works well for stories because they are so timely and this kind of messaging easily stops the thumbtap.

Get Emotional: The “why” is SO important behind your brand, course, product, and what have you. Why did you create something so amazing? Bring the user along the journey with you to better illustrate your story.

Once you’ve built up a repertoire of top-of-the-funnel Story ads that connect well to your audience, you can start implementing strategic sales slides, too — especially for your webinars, bonuses, and limited-time offers.

Plus, to make it even easier, follow copy frameworks like this:

Webinar ads
LIVE ON [DATE]
WEBINAR TITLE
Join me LIVE to learn how to [transformation]!
CTA

Cart open
HERO COPY SPEAKING TO THE TRANSFORMATION
ENROLLMENT OPEN
[big image]
CTA TO JOIN

Bonus offers
[TIME LEFT]
BONUS
SUBCOPY SPEAKING TO THE TRANSFORMATION
CTA TO JOIN

—

The world of ads is one that can be so, so seamlessly integrated into your daily content strategy, friends… and Story ad placements are really the BEST way to get you there. I’m always here for any questions!

What to keep in mind with Story ads

When you’re posting Story ads, I’d always, always recommend focusing on a few things: It’s all about the visuals! It’s a small space for text so be mindful of clear and direct messaging.

Branded colors and texts (brand awareness matters!), eye-catching font sizes and placements, and clear CTAs. This allows your Story ads to feel like part of the tapping journey rather than, well… an ad.

Need some inspo?

Here are some examples from our incredible clients: