The Four Traits of Successful Advertisers

So I have a unique perspective as a Facebook — and I guess now Meta — advertiser who's been doing this for a really long time. My experience goes back to 2011. While that makes me old, it also means that I've seen a whole lot.

I've seen that there are specific types of advertisers who are well-positioned for success. There are others who are bound to fail, and they're going to have a really tough time.

Now, I've thought a lot about this, and there are some very clear characteristics of those who succeed. So I want you to listen and ask yourself honestly whether you see yourself in these four characteristics.

So you ready?

Let’s begin.

Number one: You prioritize simplicity.

Now, I discussed the simplified approach to advertising on a prior episode, so I'm not going to rehash everything there. Make sure you go back and check that out. It wasn't all that long ago.

But here's a brief summary. Those who are most successful with ads start simple. While complex and complicated may sound more sophisticated, there are huge benefits to this.

So when I talk about prioritizing simple, I mean that you're actively trying to avoid complexity whenever possible. You start with the fewest number of campaigns, the fewest number of ad sets, the fewest number of customizations to targeting and placements. You set a performance goal that goes straight for what you want instead of dancing around it.

Now, it doesn't mean that there's no room for going outside of that, and that you should only use the simplified approach. But this should be your starting point. From there, make sure that you have a very clear reason for adding complexity or for customizing things like targeting and placement.

And look, there often are. But when you take this approach, you consolidate your budget and give what's running a better chance to succeed. You also make it a whole lot easier to figure out what is working and what isn't.

For more on this topic, before we move on, make sure to read my blog post about a simplified approach at jonloomer.com/simple.

Number two: You’re willing to change.

This one strikes straight to the heart for me. You recognize that advertising is fluid. What was true five years ago — 10, 11, 12, 13 years ago — even one year ago, or last week, may not be true today.

Now, I admit this was really difficult for me. Years ago, my approach was a whole lot different. I saw targeting as the most important factor in the success or failure of your advertising. So I was focused on micro-targeting strategies and finding the smallest group of most relevant people possible because I felt my primary role was to make sure the right people saw my ad.

I'd even say that targeting is what I became known for, and honestly, that was dangerous in the wake of all the changes that would come. That’s what made it so risky for me, kind of having to rebrand from this targeting guy to embrace these big changes to targeting — and really to the entire ad platform.

Then came audience expansion. You can imagine what I thought about that. Right? Meta is going to reach people beyond the ones I want to reach. I was so smart about isolating the right audience, I didn’t want them to do that. So when we had the option, I would always turn it off. But eventually, I couldn't turn it off anymore in certain situations.

It took me some time, but eventually, I embraced these changes. I started to understand how they worked and why they could benefit me. And I also came to understand when they could still be a problem and how to avoid it.

Amazingly enough, I'm now actually an advocate for the broadest targeting possible, especially when optimizing for purchases or most conversions.

The key here is that you have to be willing to change. I see so many advertisers — and I feel bad for them, because I see myself in them — who continue to use strategies like it's 2018. They resist every new change and enhancement in favor of what has always worked for them.

But this resistance has limited benefit. This stubbornness prevents you from seeing how you can leverage those changes. Not only will you not take advantage of these updates, but you're likely to make your results worse.

So yes, the people who are most successful are willing to change.

Number three: You learn mostly from doing.

This means you learn by trying and experimenting, instead of relying solely on so-called expert advice.

Now, this may sound contradictory coming from me since the entire point of my business is to help guide and support advertisers. But I think if you pay close attention to my message, you'll notice that my focus is on helping you understand how things work. I'm careful not to provide universal strategies that are guaranteed to work for everyone.

It's dangerous to fall for those traps, especially if you lack confidence in your approach. You turn to those you believe are subject matter experts for guidance. Some of that guidance may be helpful. Some of it will just confuse you more.

The truth is that there are very few universal truths when it comes to advertising. You should understand how things work so that you have clear explanations for your results and clear reasons for why you do what you do.

But otherwise, there are no strategies that are going to work for everyone. There isn’t a right way or a wrong way for all cases. There are always exceptions.

You need to find what works for you, for your client, for that industry, for that product, for that budget, and for all the unique factors that are specific to your situation.

Be the advertiser who learns something new from experience, rather than buying a course that teaches you how to use a certain strategy with supposed guaranteed results. That may be complete nonsense.

The most successful advertisers are curious. They experiment often so that they can learn from their experience. Instead of wondering whether a certain approach will work, they actually try it. And that curiosity can send you on a constant search for answers.

And finally, number four: You take responsibility for your results.

This is about focusing your time and energy on the things where you have the most control.

Now, it’s not that Meta is perfect by any means. But you're going to drive yourself crazy worrying about things that you can't do anything about.

The advertisers who have the most success aren't wasting time blaming Meta or coming up with conspiracy theories to explain their results. They focus on understanding why something happened, and then they learn from it.

They understand where they can make the most impact, and they create a plan that starts there. Your performance goal, your copy, your creative, your offer, your landing page — all of that matters.

That was a quick one, but here's the bottom of the glass. Here's what you need to drink up from the last of this episode:

To be successful with ads, I encourage you to model these four characteristics:

• Prioritize simplicity

• Be willing to change

• Learn from doing

• Take responsibility for your results

Doing these four things won't magically guarantee great results. But what they do is create a structure where you will be confident in your approach and your adjustments. There will be a “why” behind them, not just blind optimism.

So ask yourself these honest questions. Are there areas where you could improve? Are you making things more difficult for yourself?

It's okay if you can be better. Self-awareness is important. And honestly, it was my own self-awareness that I was on the wrong path that led me to the realization it was time to change.