Pod Insights The $100 MBA Show MBA2607 Why Most Entrepreneurs Waste Money on Ads (And What to Do Instead) About this episode Are your ad dollars disappearing without delivering the sales you hoped for? Wondering why some businesses nail advertising while others just burn through cash? If this sounds familiar, this lesson is exactly what you need. Omar dives into the common mistakes entrepreneurs make with ads and shares a smarter strategy for success. You’ll learn why sending cold traffic straight to a sales page doesn’t work. By building trust and nurturing relationships first, you’ll discover how to turn leads into loyal customers. Ready to rethink your ad game? Click play at the top of the page and dive into this lesson—it could save you from some costly mistakes! Watch the episodes on YouTube: https://lm.fm/GgRPPHiSUBSCRIBEYouTube | Apple Podcast | Spotify | Podcast Feed
Transcript 0:00 Speaker 00 Small business owners, listen up. You started your business, but you can't do it alone. And that means you have to hire people to help. That's where Justworks comes in. Justworks is the payroll, benefits, and global hiring platform to unburden your brain from all the complicated small business stuff. They handle the things you can't afford to get wrong, so you don't have to worry. So you can focus on the parts of running a business that you enjoy, knowing everything else is running smoothly. You don't have to worry when it just works. Ever invest in something that seemed incredible at first, but didn't live up to the hype? For example, I really wanted to love the show Mad Men. I really tried to watch it and love it, but it just didn't do anything for me. As a marketer and business person, the show was a little bit of a disappointment.
0:45 Speaker 00 Marketers know that feeling. They optimize for the numbers that look great, like impressions. But then we don't see revenue. LinkedIn has a word for that: bullspend. Instead, you can get the highest ROAS of major ad networks with LinkedIn Ads. Cut the bullspend, advertise on LinkedIn. Spend $250 and get a $250 credit. Go to LinkedIn.com/MBAShow. Terms apply. Most rookie entrepreneurs think they could just throw money at ads and suddenly customers will show up. The reality is that that's the fastest way to burn through cash and get nothing in return. In fact, 80% of businesses that run paid ads lose money on them. That's according to WordStream.
1:27 Speaker 00 So if you're running ads or thinking about running ads, you need to gobble up today's episode. I'm going to show you why most entrepreneurs waste money on ads, and more importantly, what to do instead to actually make your marketing work. Let's get it.
1:45 Speaker 00 Welcome back to the $100 MBA Show. I'm your host, Omar Zenhome, where I deliver practical business lessons three times a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, to help you start, grow, and scale your business.
1:59 Speaker 00 Most people lose money on ads because they don't understand how ads actually work. Here's what most struggling entrepreneurs do. They run ads with no clear strategy. They boost random posts hoping for a sale. They send people straight to the sales page. Most people don't buy the first time they see something. They don't track conversions properly. They have no idea what's working and what's not. The result? Wasted money, no ROI, and a truckload of frustration. When I first started running ads over 15 years ago, I made all these mistakes. I was spending thousands on ads only to realize I was sending cold traffic directly to a $1,000 offer. No trust, no relationship built, no sales.
2:43 Speaker 00 So here's what I did instead. Ads don't work in isolation. They need to be a part of a bigger strategy. Instead of spending money blindly, here's what actually works. Step one, capture leads first. Run ads to a free, high-value resource, not a sales page. Okay? You want to get your cost per acquisition as low as possible. So getting somebody's name and email address is a lot cheaper than trying to get them to buy. And by having a lead, you can then nurture them, educate them, and then convert them into a customer. Think of the long-term goal here. Don't try to get a sale immediately. So how to get the lead?
3:25 Speaker 00 Well, you use a lead magnet like I talked about, like a PDF guide, like a video training, like some sort of tool or template. Why? Again, because people are more likely to give their email than to buy right away. They're going to get instant gratification by giving their name and email address to get your lead magnet, and they're going to get satisfaction, they're going to get value immediately from you. Step two, once you have their email, don't pitch right away. Don't make this mistake. Provide value. Build that relationship. Share useful content, week after week, on your newsletter. Build trust over time. When I started WebinarNinja, a software company, selling software, not content, right? We ran email capture ads first, instead of selling the software upfront. We actually gave away content as our lead magnet.
4:10 Speaker 00 We gave away a free masterclass on running webinars. The results? We built an email list of engaged leads who were far more likely to buy later. Step three is to retarget and close the sale. Now that people know you and trust you, this is where you run the conversion part of this equation. You start running conversion ads. This is where you retarget people who have downloaded your lead magnet. This is where you send them to a webinar where you can educate them further and then make an offer. This is when you can send them a limited time incentive to get started and buy. So maybe this is a bonus or some sort of discount or deal. For example, with our software, Webinar Ninja, we ran retargeting campaigns only to those
4:55 Speaker 00 who were on our webinars, who watched our demo webinar. The result? We converted 10 to 15% of those leads into paying customers profitably. Now I get it. You might be asking, Omar, what if I don't have the budget for ads? Don't worry, I got your back. If you're not ready to run ads yet, here's what you can do instead. Organic content marketing. Post valuable content on YouTube, start a podcast, write some blog posts, write some posts on LinkedIn, X, whatever you prefer. This is going to get people curious about what you do. Just remember that when you post this content, to end on a call to action, asking them to download your lead magnet so they can get on your email list and start this cycle. Leverage other people's audience.
5:39 Speaker 00 Use partnerships, guest blogs, be a guest on a podcast. Use collaborations as much as possible so you can leverage other people's audiences. Lastly, leverage word of mouth. It still works. Ask your early customers for some referrals. Ask them to share their experience with their friends and family. Before I spent a single dollar on ads, I grew my podcast audience first. And through this podcast, I was able to build my email list. And through my email list, I'm able to sell my products and services. And by the time I got that point and I have some profit, now I can afford some ads. That first original organic traffic became my first 1,000 customers without spending a dime.
6:20 Speaker 00 But once you start making some serious profit, you can speed up your growth by leveraging ads like I mentioned.
6:27 Speaker 01 Does it feel like it's getting really hard to figure out the best way to save for retirement? Fidelity can help you find clarity, so you can save the best way for you. With a free personalized plan, goal tracking, and timely insights, you'll be set to take on retirement your way. Get started at fidelity.com/future. Expenses charged by your investments and other costs and fees associated with trading or transacting in your account apply. Fidelity Brokerage Services, member NYSE, SIPC.
6:55 Speaker 00 Today's episode is supported by Rosetta Stone. I absolutely love Rosetta Stone because it's helping me learn Italian faster than I can ever imagine. Why do I want to learn Italian? Well, who doesn't love Italy? But of course, Nicole's family is Italian, and I'd love to have some quick Italian conversations with her mom. And Rosetta Stone just came out with Rosetta Stone Sapphire, their biggest launch in over a decade. One of the coolest features is chat missions, which turns conversation practice into a game. With chat missions, you're put in interactive scenarios and given three objectives: a mission to accomplish, like asking how much something costs, ordering a cold brew coffee, or getting a Wi-Fi password. Along the way, you get real-time corrections and feedback to help you sound more natural
7:40 Speaker 00 and confident. It's a supportive way to build confidence before putting your language skills to use in real life. I've been using Rosetta Stone for over two years, and I actually can have some small Italian conversations with Nicole's mom now. Just the other day, she asked me, "When are you traveling?" And I said, "Dopo domani mattina," which means "after tomorrow morning." She was incredibly impressed I was able to answer in Italian. How could you put a price tag on a happy mother-in-law? If you want to take your language skills to the next level, don't wait to try Rosetta Stone Sapphire. The $100 rate show listeners can get 20% off the Rosetta Stone Sapphire subscription when they sign up today. This gets you access to Rosetta Stone Sapphire in 25 languages.
8:20 Speaker 00 So I hope I've shown you that most entrepreneurs waste money on ads because they're using them the wrong way. They're blindly running ads hoping for sales. Build a system first, capture leads, nurture them, then sell, right? Retarget those warm leads, sell to people who already trust you. Focus on organic marketing first. Ads should amplify what's already working. If you're not selling your products and services without ads, your product, your offer is probably not strong enough yet. So you should be able to sell it without ads. If you can and you want to amplify it, that's where you go. The ads route. If you get this right, ads will scale your business instead of draining your bank account. If you take one thing away from today's episode, then let it be this. And I want to leave you with this. More money won't fix a broken system.
9:04 Speaker 00 Your goal isn't just to get more traffic. It's to create a system that turns that traffic into loyal customers. The right customers, the right way. Don't rush to burn cash on ads because you're impatient or that's what everybody else is doing. Focus on what actually moves the needle. And when you get that system in place, ads will become the fuel to scale, not a money pit. You got this. If you're serious about building your business, then join my three things newsletter. Every week I send you three things. One, something to think about, something to shift your mindset. Two, something to do, an actionable step to grow your business. Three, something to learn, a valuable resource to keep you ahead. It's completely free and it's my way of coaching you from afar.
9:47 Speaker 00 Just go to 100mba.net and sign up for any of our free guides and you'll automatically be added to the newsletter. If this episode helped you in any way, subscribe and share it with somebody you know needs to hear this. I'm Omar Zenom and I'll see you in the next episode.
10:08 Speaker 02 My six-year-old little sister is taken from her bed and violently murdered and we don't have any answers? It's been 30 years. It's not okay. We will find this person. It's not a question of if, but when.
10:18 Speaker 03 Who killed JonBenet Ramsey? You think you know this mystery? But do you know about the DNA at the crime scene? Can science finally solve this case? And who is unknown male one?
10:29 Speaker 04 An intruder, a third party male. So unknown male one is out there somewhere. Yes.
10:34 Speaker 03 The stunning, all-new Diane Sawyer investigation, tonight on ABC.
Previous MBA2606 Q&A Wednesday: How to Build a Profitable Business with $500 Next MBA2608 Why Desperation Is Killing Your Business Page updated November 7, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated
