Neil Shoney’s origin story is the kind that makes you sit up straight: six months into launching a major fitness exhibition, he had sold less than 50 tickets, while already committed to over 200,000 pounds of outgoings at 21 years old. Facebook ads were a last-ditch roll of the dice, but after spending around 110 pounds and seeing ticket sales come in, everything clicked. “So if I keep putting that money back in. I can almost choose how many people I want to to be at the show.” This episode is a practical, confidence-building look at ads that actually lead somewhere.
Neil Shoney is a Facebook and Instagram ads strategist who has worked with just short of 3000 service-based businesses. He focuses on building repeatable ad frameworks that get people into a system designed to turn a click into a client, rather than chasing vanity metrics.
WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT
- Why the most important part of ads is where you send people after they click, and whether your system can convert that click into a client.
- Neil’s standard for a system: he is not interested if it cannot take a stranger to a client in under seven days.
- Why small businesses do not need to spend money on brand awareness like major consumer brands.
- Using lead magnets to collect name, email address, and phone number, with the goal of getting clients and also growing the list as a by-product.
- The thank-you page approach that can convert between 23% and 26% into booked calls.
- Why clear offer naming and simple messaging tends to outperform complex wording and puns on Facebook and Instagram.
- Using Facebook lead forms to reduce friction, and why you do not need a fancy landing page to start.
- A follower campaign approach: boost a simple direct-ask video, then message new followers with a short yes-or-no question to open a conversation.
If you have been avoiding ads because they feel risky or confusing, this episode will give you a simpler way to think about them: build the path first, then amplify it.
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RESOURCES MENTIONED
- Neil on Instagram: Neil Shoney Mac
- Neil’s course/workshop recordings: adsandfunnels.com/course
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