Should You Spend Money on Facebook Ads? (The Strategic Approach That Actually Works)

If you're a coach or course creator reading this, I'm willing to bet you've asked yourself this question at least once: Should I be spending money on Facebook ads?

The short answer? Absolutely, yes. But the more important question is how you should be spending that money—because that's where most coaches get it completely wrong.

The Organic Content Trap

Here's what I see happening with successful coaches all the time: You start your business for time freedom, but somehow you end up working more hours than you ever did in corporate. You're creating content every single day, responding to DMs until 10 PM, and constantly wondering where your next client is coming from.

Sound familiar?

The problem isn't that you're not working hard enough. The problem is that you can't scale a sustainable coaching business on organic content alone. After you've tapped into your initial audience and that growth starts to plateau, you need a system that generates leads while you're actually serving your clients—or having dinner with your family.

Why Most Facebook Ads "Fail"

Before we dive into the right way to approach Facebook ads, let's talk about why so many coaches think they don't work.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard: "I tried boosting posts and got nothing" or "We hired an agency and wasted thousands of dollars."

Here's the thing—boosting posts from your phone gives you virtually no control over your targeting or data. You're essentially throwing money at Facebook and hoping something sticks. And don't get me started on agencies that promise the world but don't understand your specific business model.

The real issue? Most people jump straight into spending without testing their messaging first. It's like building a house without a foundation.

The Strategic Approach That Actually Works

When you approach Facebook ads strategically, everything changes.

Here's how to do it right:

➡️ Start with Messaging Testing

Your first goal isn't to generate a thousand leads. It's to understand what your audience actually wants. Use engagement ads to test different pieces of content—maybe a personal story, a client testimonial, or some thought-provoking insights about your industry.

The data will tell you exactly which messages resonate. You'll see which posts get higher click-through rates, more engagement, and most importantly, which ones lead to actual conversations and bookings.

➡️ Test Your Lead Magnets

Once you know what messaging works, it's time to test your lead generation. Create a few different lead magnets and see which one your ideal clients actually want. I'm a big believer in the MVP (minimally viable product) approach here—you don't need all the bells and whistles upfront.

I learned this lesson the hard way with one of my first campaigns. I was testing a simple Facebook ads guide with a $47 mini-course on the backend. Out of 200 leads, only one person bought. Instead of giving up, I tested different price points and, more importantly, different videos explaining the offer.

Four videos later, I recorded one at 7 PM in a wrinkled shirt (because that's real life when you're building a business), and suddenly I had a 10%+ conversion rate on the exact same offer.

➡️ Scale What Works

Here's where the magic happens. Once you have messaging that resonates and offers that convert, you can start testing different audiences and scaling your budget. But you only scale what's proven to work.

Your goal should be to have 6-12 working audiences. This gives you incredible scalability and ensures you're never scrambling when one audience starts to fatigue (which will happen—it's completely normal).