Are Paid Ads Worth It? | EP 130

audience building marketing podcast social media strategies Aug 09, 2023

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“If you don’t have an ads budget, you still have a hobby business.” - Sarah Williams

Are paid ads part of your subscription box marketing strategy? If not, why not? You might be wondering if paid ads are worth it. Or you might be where I was in the early days of my business, worried about where you’re spending money and not understanding the value of running paid ads. 

Subscription box owners - especially new subscription box owners - hesitate to use paid ads for many reasons. 

  • They don’t understand the ROI from paid ads. Successful ads don’t always result in sales. 
  • They lack the knowledge to set up and run an ad campaign. 
  • They’re focusing only on organic growth strategies like SEO, content, and word of mouth. 
  • They fear failure - they may be uncertain of their goals or not know how to measure results. 

I first used paid ads when I realized I needed to do something else to grow outside of my local area. Organic traffic wasn’t enough. I had a great local business and my subscription box had grown - to a point. But almost all of my business came from local customers. In order to grow, I needed to run ads. Within just six months, the 3,000 followers it had taken me 4-5 years to gain had grown to 7,000 and I was getting subscribers from all over the country. 

Paid ads are such an important part of launching and growing a subscription box business. If you want to grow, you need to continue to drive traffic - new traffic - to your content. 

I’m challenging you to consider running paid ads. And I’m sharing actual data from my three recent launches and paid ads strategy to help you understand why you need to run paid ads. 

 

April 2023: Monogram Box™ Launch 

  • 64% of all traffic to my Monogram Box sales page came from ads. 
  • 45% of all traffic to my T-Shirt Club sales page came from ads. 
  • 30% of all sales came directly from the link in one of my ads. That means I gained hundreds of new subscribers from ads. 
  • My conversion rate from the traffic ads brought in to becoming a subscriber was 3%. 
  • My ads worked!

June 2023: Coaching Week & Launch Your Box Launch

  • 89% of all traffic to the Coaching Week sales page came from ads!
  • 71% of all sales of Coaching Week came directly from an ad link.
  • 27% conversion rate from Coaching Week into Launch Your Box membership.

July 2023: Tees 4 Teachers Subscription Launch

  • 92% of all traffic to my Tees 4 Teachers sales page came from ads.
  • 78% of all sales came from the ads, doubling my total subscriber count!

 

Are you starting to see the power paid ads can have in your business? It’s time to take action.

 

  1. Determine your budget.
    • No matter how small, you have to start somewhere!
    • If you’re currently selling products or services, use the 8-10% rule.  
      • 8-10% of your monthly gross revenue should be spent on advertising with a minimum budget of $150. 
    • If you’re not selling products and are on a limited budget, start with $150/month ($5/day) and increase it as you start selling products. 
  2. Create an Ads Strategy
    • What’s your goal?
      • Drive traffic to your site? Convert to subscribers? Build your list? Build your following?
    • What stage of business are you in?  
      • You should have a solid ad strategy for the different stages and seasons of business you are in.
  3. Test and Try 
     

Join me for this episode as we talk all about paid ads. Are they worth it?  Do they really make a difference? I answer those questions and share my paid ads results from my recent launches. There’s a lot to talk about in this episode. Grab your earbuds and come join me!

 

Want to learn more about paid ads? There is so much more inside Launch Your Box. We’ve got several different trainings, including a brand new training this month on how to set up a Page Like Ad so you can start growing your following. And I cover my subscription box ads strategy in a brand new bonus lesson inside the Launch Your Box training library. You’ll go behind the scenes of my launch and see what I did, what I spent, and the actual ads I was running for that launch. Of course, I break down all my results in detail.

Are you ready to join Launch Your Box? Text me the word LAUNCH to 940-204-0023 and I’ll send you a special invitation!

Learn from me:

  • Subscription Box Blueprint eBook: This $10 ebook covers logistics from product selection to packaging to shipping. Plus a 90-day launch plan and bonus ‘Instant Scripts’ for your social media.
  • Launch Your Box: My complete training program that walks you step by step through how to start, launch, and grow your subscription box business.
  • Launch Your Box Podcast: I share tons of practical tips and strategies to help you start, launch, and grow your subscription box business. You’ll also hear from industry experts and current Launch Your Box members who are crushing it - get ready to get inspired!
  • One Box at a Time: Inside my book One Box at a Time, I show you the steps you need to follow to start and launch your subscription box. To turn your dream into reality. This book is filled with proven teachings, valuable resources, best practices, and action steps for you to take.

 

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Are you ready for Launch Your Box? Our complete training program walks you step by step through how to start, launch, and grow your subscription box business. Join today!

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