How should I think about return on investment with paid advertising for my art?

Smart marketers with the right perspective understand that you can actually afford to lose money on ads upfront. You might spend $1,000 on ads in a month and lose $950 of it, but over the course of the year, that same cohort of people you reached will generate $5,000, $6,000, or $7,000 in sales. That’s how advertising actually works—it’s a long-term investment in building your audience. You’re never going to see immediate ROI from cold traffic ads. The value comes from consistent marketing to the people you’ve reached over months and years, being there when they’re finally ready to buy.

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Asked by synthesized from teaching · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2021-02-13