#399: The Freelance Industries Where Ads Are a Waste of Money

This is Episode #400 of the 6 Figure Creative Podcast. And it's my last one for a while. It's been an incredible 400 episodes and it’s helped to build the business to what it is today. But what got us here won't get us there. The podcast has been great for people to find us through ads, get sucked into the show, listen to a bunch of episodes, and eventually become clients. But there's no built-in discoverability. So we're diversifying and going big this year on YouTube and organic social among other things. My whole team is flying into Nashville this week to plan it out. And I don't know exactly when we'll launch or what it'll look like yet… The podcast feed may light up from time to time with new stuff…But this is the final episode for a while. For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/400

Are there cases where paid ads DON’T work for freelancers Yes, and I cover them on this week’s podcast episode. If you’re in one of these industries, ads might be a waste of money. If you’re NOT in one of these industries, you then what’s your excuse? There really shouldn’t be any reasons not to make them work, unless you just don’t want more clients. You could realistically go from someone seeing your ad to paying you money the same day (or at least within a week or so). For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/399

If you’re a freelancer and you’re NOT running paid ads, chances are you fall into one of two types: Type 1: Never tried paid ads because they were too intimidated, too overwhelmed, or convinced they won't work. Type 2: Tried ads and for whatever reason, they didn’t work Most freelancers don't even know they're doing it wrong. Common scenario: You spent $100 on ads. Nothing happens. You shrug and say, "paid ads don't work for me." But you have no idea WHICH part didn't work. Was it your hook? Your offer? Your landing page? Your inquiry form? Your sales process? All of the above? But most freelancers won’t take the time to figure out what went wrong. They just know "it didn't work." That's like saying "my car doesn't work" without knowing if it's the battery, the engine, or if you just forgot to put gas in it. If you're Type 1, this episode could save you from wasting thousands. If you're Type 2, this episode will show you exactly what went wrong. For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/398

The #1 fear that freelancers have with paid ads? They’re terrified of lighting money on fire and never getting it back. I get it. It feels like a gamble that may not actually get you clients. And if this is you, I’ve got a challenge for you that I hope will change your mind. It’s called the $500 ad budget challenge. I want to prove to you that it’s possible to turn $500 into $5k or more with paid ads, if you do it the right way. If you’re ready to keep an open mind, listen to this week’s podcast episode where I’ll cover: The 3 prerequisites to running paid ads (if you have all 3 of these, you’re in a good position) Our “smart testing process” to squeeze all the juice out of a $500 budget Real stories of clients who have gotten $5k, $15k, $25k clients from less than $500 in ad spend How to get us to pay for your first $500 in ads For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/397

It’s January. You know what that means? Well, it might be “panic about how slow the holidays were” time. But for smart freelancers? It’s the start of our favorite season: cheap AF ads. The holidays are insanely expensive and competitive for paid ads. Black Friday, Christmas, end of year deals - it’s a marketing free-for-all that drives up costs and makes it nearly impossible to be heard. The beginning of the year is the complete opposite. The noise has died down and in its place is a golden opportunity for freelancers. With fewer businesses competing for attention, the cost to reach your ideal clients plummets, making it easier than ever to generate leads and clients for your business. You know this, but in the back of your head you have this fear…. “If I run ads, won’t it cheapen my image or damage my brand?” This is one of the top toxic beliefs that freelancers have, and today I want to call it out and address it. Here’s why… We just brought a new client into our coaching program and he’s making half a million dollars a year as a freelancer. He still has capacity for clients - but this was one of the hardest closes I’ve ever had. Not because he didn’t trust us. Not because he couldn’t afford it. But because he was concerned that paid ads would damage his brand. Reality check: Ads do not hurt strong brands. Bad messaging hurts brands. This episode takes a deep dive into How to Promote Yourself Without Destroying Your Premium Brand. Because if: Rolex can spend $100 million per year advertising their watches… Birkin bags sell for $300,000 and have a six-year wait list but Hermès still runs paid ads… What makes YOUR freelance business so special? The answer: it’s not. And you can absolutely run paid ads in a way that actually grows your brand reputation. There’s a specific reason I’m bringing this up now… Next week, we’re offering something special to a handful of freelancers. And it MIGHT have something to do with us giving you $500 to spend on ads, so you can test completely risk free and find a profitable strategy without spending a dime of your own money on ads. You’ll get more info about that soon, but for now listen to this episode. For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/396

Pop quiz: What do freelancers fear MORE than death, public speaking, and spiders? Answer: Potentially, maybe, somewhat looking desperate when it comes to getting clients. It’s not your fault…back in school most of us were taught to stay quiet, not stand out from the crowd. That being “pushy” and asking for what you want is bad. You're taught that if you stay invisible, you'll never face rejection. And while that kinda sorta works in high school… In the business world, it means you never **post about your work on social media. You never go all in with content marketing. And you’re afraid to actively make offers to potential clients (if I’m good, they’ll just come to me, right?) But marketing isn’t desperation…it’s just marketing. The stuff that you're avoiding doing because of the fear of looking desperate? Exactly the same stuff that successful business owners do (without any hesitation whatsoever). One of our clients is a brand designer who had this exact fear. And when she finally overcame it, she had some of her best months EVER. If you secretly fear “looking desperate” (or you actually ARE desperate), this one’s for you. For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/395

Two freelancers. Both relying on referrals to bring in clients. One is fully booked solid with a 3-month waiting list. The other is barely scraping by. What makes the difference? These 7 “Referral Killers.” Get them wrong, and you’ll struggle for clients. Fix even just one of them, and you’ll get more leads and higher-quality projects. In this episode, we cover: How to give yourself a “referrability score” The secret force multiplier that makes all the difference How one freelancer spent $927 to land over $32,000 in projects (plus repeat projects and referrals) How to determine your #1 referral killer and fix it FAST For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/394

Pure creatives are selfish. They create art for themselves. And your potential clients don’t care about your personal creativity. They care about what's in it for them. So as a creative, we can't just be selfishly isolated in our little rooms creating art for art's sake because it fulfills us. When it comes to actually being a business owner, we have to create real value for other people, which means we can't be selfish when it comes to our creativity. We have to share it with others. As it says on the wall behind me in my office, “It takes more than passion.” If you’re running a freelance business, don’t forget - you’re running a business. And that takes entrepreneurial skills that may not come naturally for many creatives. This week’s episode is about finding the sweet spot between creativity and entrepreneurship. Both the creative and the entrepreneur are essential elements of your freelance business… And there are good parts and bad parts of both. In this episode you’ll discover: Balancing the creative and entrepreneurial sides of your brain What entrepreneurs understand that creatives don't Using people, processes, and systems, to create value Keeping your creative spark alive Scheduling time for creative and entrepreneurial tasks Expanding your horizons by joining communities and finding mentors For full show notes, visit ⁠https://6figurecreative.com/393⁠

You know what's wild? I had three of my coaches (Richie, Dennis, and Rob) on the podcast this week to settle the organic vs. paid ads debate once and for all. Combined, they've spent tens of millions on paid ads and generated hundreds of millions in revenue for clients. And here's what they said: If you're doing organic without paid ads, you're playing marketing on hard mode. Organic takes 90-100+ videos before you hit an inflection point. Each piece takes 3+ hours. And you're competing against dopamine-engineered content designed to keep people scrolling. Meanwhile, our clients spend $5-10/day on ads and get 5+ booked calls. But the weirdest part? The #1 objection we hear from freelancers about running ads is: "I'll look desperate." Especially music producers. They think if people see them running ads, everyone will assume they're struggling for work. Which is... completely backwards. We break down why in this week’s podcast episode. We also cover: When organic actually makes sense (and when it's a waste of time) Why choose YouTube over Instagram when creating organic content The real reason ads + organic work like rocket fuel together How one client spent $900 and brought in $40K For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/392

I need to tell you something you probably don't want to hear. You don't have a marketing problem. You have a leads problem. Let me prove it to you: You're generating less than 5 new leads per month Some months you get 10 leads, some months you get 1 That's a 1000% variance from your best month to your worst Meanwhile, my business generates 1,974 leads per month on average Our variance from lowest to highest month? Only 30% See the difference? When you only have 1-10 leads coming in, you're basically starving. You take whatever clients you can get. You can't be picky. You can't raise your rates. And you're one bad month away from panic mode. The answer? Uncomfortably simple: You need more at-bats. More opportunities. More people in your pipeline who could potentially become clients. And the best way to fix that? Paid ads. In this week's episode, you'll learn: The real root cause of feast or famine for 95% of freelancers (and how to fix it for good) What a niche photography studio doing $50M/year knows that you don't The exact number of ad variations you should be testing (hint: it's 100X more than you think) Most freelancers aren’t “bad at sales” - they just don’t have enough leads coming in to make their business model work. Let’s fix that. For full show notes, visit https://6figurecreative.com/391