124: Testing New Facebook Ads to Find What Really Converts
Heather’s been testing new Facebook ads, and the results might surprise you!
From direct-to-sale campaigns to freebie funnels, she’s sharing her recent experience experimenting with different ads and how each one performed.
Heather walks through what her ads looked like, where they led, the tweaks she’s made over the past few weeks, and the strategies that are working right now.
From honest frustrations to unexpected wins, she’s sharing it all so you can skip the guesswork and apply the same strategies to your own business.
If this episode helps you see your ads in a new way, share it with a friend who could use the same boost!
Key Takeaways:
- (03:30) The $27 course that reignited her Facebook ad strategy
- (07:00) Testing direct-to-sale ads
- (13:00) Shifting to a freebie + tripwire strategy
- (16:45) How she’s simplifying her business for stronger results
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What’s Working Now: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at My Latest Facebook Ad Experiment
Today Heather talks about her recent journey with Facebook ads—what worked, what flopped, and the crucial business lessons she learned along the way.
The Promise and Challenge of Facebook Ads
Heather admits Facebook ads can be the single most powerful lever to scale an online business—if you commit to strategically testing, refining, and iterating your approach. Yet, consistently focusing on this one avenue isn’t always easy.
With so many “shiny” opportunities in the digital world (from summits to course launches and webinars), it’s tempting to diversify your energy instead of doubling down on a single growth driver.
In hindsight, Heather recognizes she spent periods dabbling in lots of strategies and, at times, got away from rigorously testing her Facebook ad creatives and funnel. The result? She found herself relying on a handful of aging ads until they stopped performing, rather than maintaining a fresh, optimized ad library.
Lessons from the Facebook Ad Trenches
1. Don’t Set and Forget Your Ads
Before her recent push, Heather was running a single campaign with just two creatives—one of which was hogging all the spend and had been active since December.
Although it was profitable and generated solid leads, she knew she wasn’t maximizing her potential.
2. Testing “Direct to Sale” Ads
Heather tried reigniting direct-to-sale ads (sending prospects right to her Alphabet Kit sales page) using three types of creatives:
- Refreshed versions of old “flash sale” and product mockups
- Genuine photos of kids using the product
- “Native” Facebook-looking text ads
Surprisingly, the beautiful lifestyle shots she thought would perform best totally tanked. Instead, simple native-text image ads (styled to look like Facebook notes or conversations) garnered the most traction, though not yet at profitable rates.
3. The Importance of Profitability and Lead Generation
After a week of lackluster direct sales campaigns, Heather pivoted.
She realized that even if she wasn’t profitable, she wanted to at least acquire valuable email leads (who would buy later through relationship building).
Enter: the tried-and-true “freebie-to-tripwire” funnel approach.
The Game-Changer: Tiny Tweaks and On-Trend Creatives
Heather started experimenting aggressively, rotating through different freebies and watching campaign performance closely.
But her “aha” moment came via a seemingly minor change. She noticed that many ads and commercial brands were using bright orange backgrounds (mirroring Taylor Swift’s new album aesthetic). Right then, while uploading creatives, she switched one ad’s background to orange.
The result? That “orange” ad not only stood out but singlehandedly made her campaign profitable (averaging a 1.4 ROAS) while pouring quality leads into her funnel.
The Takeaways: Focus, Flexibility, and Consistency
What should you take from Heather’s journey?
- Constant testing is critical. Don’t let a winning ad run endlessly—you can always do better.
- Don’t chase every trend. Choose one strategy—like Facebook ads—and master it before moving on.
- Creative matters. Sometimes, the simplest or most visually striking creative—like a trending color—can make all the difference.
- Build your list. Even if you break even on ad spend, quality leads can be monetized over time through effective email marketing.
If you’re ready to start or scale your own teacher biz, grab my free Starter Guide!