Why should I learn the fundamentals of advertising instead of just jumping into tactics?

Learning the fundamentals is like the ‘wax on, wax off’ approach from The Karate Kid—it might seem theoretical or slow at first, but it teaches you to fight properly. Understanding concepts like traffic types and proper messaging prevents you from wasting money on mistakes that most beginners make. While it might feel like you want immediate ‘hardcore tactics,’ the fundamentals allow you to stack small wins into big ones. For example, understanding traffic types lets you coordinate email and ads to boost open rates, which can lead to that extra engagement that results in a thousand-dollar sale. Without the fundamentals, you’re just guessing and likely paying ‘idiot taxes’ on ineffective advertising.

---

Asked by general audience · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2017-03-09