Why did my Facebook ads fail when I spent money on them?

Facebook ads typically fail for artists when they show ads to people who don’t know who they are, have no emotional connection to their work, and don’t care about what they do - then immediately offer a discount. You can’t spend money showing a 40% off coupon to cold traffic on the first time they see your art and expect results. That’s not Facebook’s fault. You need to build relationships first through consistent marketing (romance marketing), create emotional connections, and let people get to know you and your work before asking for the sale. The ads themselves aren’t the problem - it’s using them to right-hook (ask for the sale) before you’ve jabbed enough (provided value and built relationships).

---

Asked by an artist frustrated with ad results · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2018-04-04