When should you start paying for Ads in your creative business?

To be honest – you should be willing to buy Ads from the very beginning. 

In the old days – businesses purchased Ads in print media such as newspapers and magazines, Tv commercials, Billboards, etc… No successful business has ever gotten away with not advertising and purchasing Ads.

Social media has lulled everyone into a false sense that they can grow a huge business on these social platforms for free – and for a few years, this was true when they were trying to build their own business. The thing about social platforms is you have a very short window for growth when they first come onto the scene before they begin to restrict your growth to monetize their business.

YOU are the product to them. They want to get as many people on their new platform in the beginning as they can for their own growth. Once they are big enough, then they will try to figure out how to monetize their business – and this comes at the expense of your business.

You should always be building your business on your own platforms and using social media to supplement it. You want your own website and your own email list. No one can take those away from you like they can your social media audience.

So what ads should you buy?

I believe you should purchase Ads for people to find your business to start out. Currently, Facebook gives you the most bang for your money. It is the 2nd highest driver of traffic to my site after organic traffic.

When your Facebook page and business are new – how are people finding you? You will have to advertise your page to people who would most be likely to be your target customer so you can grow your following for a bit of social proof. I would only do that for a short time until you have a few thousand fans on your page.

After you have grown your Facebook page to a number you are happy with, then I would switch that money over to Ads driving people to your own email list. You should focus all your Ad money on growing your own email and business on your own platforms.

The only other time I would pay for an Ad on Facebook is when I have something really important I want to get out to my followers – like a sale or something new.

On the other platforms – it will be a bit harder to grow your numbers as the same advertising tools are not available on every platform, and you will have to post on a consistent basis and engage with people on those platforms to grow your following.

How much should you spend?

You don’t have to spend a lot to get a good return.

On Facebook, you can spend as little as $5-$10 a day and build up a good following and have a good return on your investment. Obviously the bigger your budget – the faster your results – but keep it simple and consistent.

Consistency is what will win this race.

Keep at it every single day.

You build big things on the back of the little consistent things you do.

This is my own opinion and Ad strategy for my business, and it has worked out well for helping me grow my business. You can find plenty of business advise on the internet with various differing opinions on how and when to spend your money. You need to experiment and do some of your own Ads to see what is going to work best for you and your budget.