This post is a looong time coming.
Truthfully, I should’ve written it the day after it happened. Stupid!
But with the all the news circling about Facebook’s ads:
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GM says Facebok Ads Don’t Work
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Startup Alleges 80% of Ads were from Bots
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Why do Some Startups Believe that 90% of Facebook Ad Clicks Are From Bots
And then this one today:
I Love Facebook Ads
I do love Facebooks ads!
I’m not even gonna lie.
I’m not saying this to suck up to any Mark. Zuckerbergs…its just true. I love them more than Google ads. I was nervous in saying that cause we got Perry Marshall coming to our upcoming online conference. But with his new book: Ultimate Guide to Facebook Advertising (don’t worry no affiliate link) I don’t think he’ll mind!
Again I love FB ads!
Alright…but let’s get to the nitty gritty. You didn’t pop click on this to hear my undying love for Facebook! 
1. Find the Right Subject
At the time I had just finished the 50th Law by Robert Greene and I was really impressed by the 50 Cent story. In hindsight, he was the perfect subject. Why? Because he loves talking about himself.
I tried the same strategy with Jeremy Lin…hasn’t been that effective. He’s not a 50 cent. This is nothing new though. Ryan Holiday used this same strategy to get in contact with Tucker Max. It’s simple: find someone who loves hearing about themselves, talk about them, and become friends!
2. Write a Conflicting Post
Did you catch the title: what 50 cent could teach Christian Entrepreneurs! And I made sure to use this photo:
What could THIS GUY teach CHRISTIAN Entrepreneurs???
That’s why I LOVE using the stories of Fight Club, Tim Ferris, Mel Gibson, Lady Gaga, AND then use the wisdom of the Bible. It has to be something that people cannot reconcile in their mind:
- Lady Gaga taking her entourage to Chick Fil for a sandwich
- Mike Huckabee at a Lady Gaga Concert with his right hand imitating the monster claw
- Money is “the root of all evil”…so let’s talk about some Christian billionaires
- Jesus was the humblest Man on the face of the earth…so pick a fight the way He did!!
3. On to Facebook
Facebook was simple. Group the two polarizing figures together:
Optimize the ad a little bit: age, demographics, location, and etc.
And yes I did use the above photo. $30 later the post was on his site!
Biggest Mistakes I Made
I didn’t know about Derek Halpern’s drafting technique at the time.
Had I known I would’ve
- Cold-emailed bloggers and journalists, showed them a snapshot of my post on his site, and wrote up the steps for them.
- Guest posted the steps on a popular blog
- Or just do what I did today: write it up on my blog
This post was written by...
Michael – who has written 77 posts on The Simple Strategies for Startups Blog.
Michael is the an author, blogger, and speaker, Why not give me a shout on Google
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Mr. Holmes,
I cant believe what I’m hearing: you grouped 50 cent and Christianity together for the sake of traffic!
“Christian billionaires…pick a fight the way Jesus did…Lady Gaga and Chick Fil-A.”
Sigh…I don’t even know what else to say!
Pastor,
With all due respect: I don’t think Mike did anything wrong. I agree his methods are a bit unconventional but I don’t think he did anything wrong. In fact, I would say it is just some smart marketing. Mike, I don’t understand why you didn’t write a post about this at the time…but I guess it works with the whole Facebook ads scandal.
Mike, I really did enjoy the post!
Thank you Greg! I do wish I had done it earlier…or that I took a snapshot of it…but…no sense in living with regret. Thanks for the encouraging words.
Pastor,
I have to say I agree with you. I think this is just shameful!
Pastor,
I do agree with you: I think this is rather shameful!
Mike,
I don’t care. I loved this post. Keep doing what you’re doing!
Thank you Jeff! I appreciate it!
I loved the post. Thank you I want to hear what Black folks have done to make this work.
I think your mashups were very smart. You pull a lesson out of most any situation.
Again
Thank you.
Thanks Michelle! Honestly, it was more of an experiment…but one that worked. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
OK, I missed the part that mentioned how much REVENUE resulted from this incident.
Hey Mike!
I loved the post! Very insightful and it mad lots of sense. I know everyone is entitled to their opinion but for anyone who thinks that this unconventional method is wrong just needs to learn to think outside the box. I think that it’s important to understand that when we succumb to only using conventional methods, we place limits on ourselves. Congrats for not placing limits on yourself!
Thanks Ryan! Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But like you said…we gotta think outside the box. And yes…conventional methods suck! Lol
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