Read Time: 2 minutes

Big thanks to our sponsors and affiliate partners who keep the Weekly Read free for subscribers! If you’d like to have your work showcased in front of 15k+ therapists, click here!

The Diversion Center: Elevate your coaching credibility by becoming a published author. Customize, reprint, and offer tailored workbooks to your clients. Discover more at privatelabelworkbook.com.

Productive Practice Accelerator Giveaway
– Everything you need to build a world-class support team for your private practice.
– Biggest, raddest, most audacious giveaway ever – actual value of $3,208.97
– Let us take training and support off your to-do list.
Enter to win now!

A way that I frequently make my clients mad is by trying to save them money. 🤣

Almost weekly in our Clini-Coach® Academy program, a client will come to us wondering if they should start using Facebook ads.

“I haven’t sold this program yet,” they’ll say, “but I just need more eyes on it. If the right people saw it, I’d have clients.”

“No,” I tell them, wicked stepmother that I am. “Put your credit card away.”

“But whyyyyy….?” they lament, kicking the dirt.

“Are you a sultan?” I ask. “A secret Kardashian? A person with a magical trove of cash under the floorboards?”

Oh, the side eye they hit me with then.

“But YOU run ads,” they say.

Yes. Let’s break down why I run ads and how to know when you should as well.

Question: Do I recommend Facebook ads for trying to fill a local therapy private practice?

No, in general I don’t. Facebook ads tend to perform better when they are targeted widely and not just to a very tiny local area. Google ads are better for filling local practices, and they are shown to people who have come specifically to Google looking for a therapist, which is what you want.

We’re more interested here in talking about ads for your offerings beyond your standard therapy practice.

Scenario one: I’m outgrowing my office and trying to sell a course or coaching program. I have not sold it yet but I think if I could just get more eyes on it it would sell. Should I try Facebook ads?

No. Not yet. (With exceptions: see Exhibit A above re: sultanship and/or secret treasure troves of cash)

Beginners should not spend money on ads yet. Here are the questions to ask yourself:

Do I know (via experience, not assumption) who my ideal clients are and where they hang out online?

Do I know exactly how to both market and sell this program (they’re different)? Have strangers paid me money to join it?

Have I run this (coaching program, course, etc) a few times so that I can safely say I know its strengths and outcomes?

Pro tip: If you have not yet sold your current offer, the answer to these questions is no, even if you’ve sold other offers in the past.

Pouring money into Facebook ads for an offer that is as-yet-unproven and untested–an offer that you haven’t yet mastered marketing and selling and delivering–is simply pouring money…into Facebook.

Ads money amplifies what already exists. Therefore, if no sales currently exist, ads money will only amplify No Sales.

Scenario 2: I really want to build my email list as I work towards launching my program. Should I try Facebook ads?

Maybe. This is where you need to get smart about your numbers. SETTLE IN FOR MATH. I know you’re excited.

Realistically, how much do you plan to earn on your program launch? Let’s say you want 10 people at $2k each or $20k total.

Now, decide how much of that you are willing to invest in building up your email list towards a successful launch.

Here’s a quick and dirty numbers breakdown. We can safely assume that across most industries, no matter what you’re selling, you’ll sell it to about 1-3% of your active and engaged email list.

So therefore, if you want 10 people in a group program, you need about 350 people opening your emails. (10 is about 3%ish of 350).

If your emails have a 50% open rate, you’d need about 700 people on your email list.

If your email list is currently 500, you’d want to add 200 more prior to your launch.

If a high-performing freebie ad campaign averages you about $5 per lead, it’ll cost you about $1k to add those 200 names. (If you’ve never run an ad before and you are DIY’ing it, you should probably double or triple that number to account for the learning curve!)

So back to your question: now that you’re dealing with actual numbers, are you willing to part with $1k–$3k to ensure a more successful launch?

Scenario 3: I’ve run my program a few times. I know how to sell it and I know that people buy it and I just need more eyes on it. I’m ready to scale up. Should I run Facebook ads?

Yes, absolutely. This is where FB ads are an extremely useful tool, and often the tool that helps you grow from hobby-business to full-time income.

When you know how to market, you’ll develop an effective ad (the creative).

When you know who your ideal clients are, you’ll help Facebook find them (the targeting).

When you know your financial goals, you’ll know when to turn ads on and off and how to hone in on the best performers without overspending (the budget).

Ads are a powerful tool that can take your business from side-hustle to seven-figures…when used correctly and at the right time!

One final note: Friends don’t let friends wade into the back of Ads Manager alone. It’s like learning a whole new language–and one that can cost quite a bit if you don’t speak it.

A few references, should you need a buddy over your shoulder:

The best ads class I ever took (and I took them all) was created by ads guru Amanda Bond. Besides having a cool name, she’s incredibly fluent in Ads-Manager-ese and her course helped me tremendously when I was DIYing my ads (which I did, for years, even as a super non-mathy person!). Here’s a link to check out her program.

Currently I’m lucky enough to employ an ads manager, and she’s wonderful. If you’re at the point where it’s time to take your ads to the next level or get them off your plate once and for all, I recommend Jennifer Sollenberger. You can find her here. Tell her I sent you and she’ll be extra super nice.