2:02:54Matthew Larsen · Tutorial
Beginner Facebook Ads Course: How To Get Your First 10 Clients
A two-hour course from someone who spends $16,000 a day on Meta ads, arguing the ad itself is about 5% of whether you land a client.
September 28thThe argument in one line.
Facebook ad performance for coaches is decided by messaging before targeting or budget ever matter, because Meta's algorithm finds more of whoever responds to your words, so a 3-step sequence, problem-level targeting, identity-based language, and belief-reframing, determines who shows up and whether they can pay.
Read if. Skip if.
READ IF YOU ARE…
- A coach or consultant running, or about to run, paid Facebook/Instagram ads who keeps hearing 'I need to think about it' on sales calls.
- Someone whose ad copy still leans on generic lines like 'if you're a woman who wants to lose weight' or 'if you're an agency who wants more clients.'
- A creator curious why Meta keeps sending them broke, unqualified leads despite reasonable targeting and a decent funnel.
SKIP IF…
- You're not running paid ads at all and are looking for organic content or SEO tactics instead.
- You already have a documented, problem-level, identity-based ad messaging framework and are optimizing the funnel downstream of the ad.
The full version, fast.
Will Nelson argues most coaches' ads fail because of messaging, not targeting or funnel setup, since Meta shows an ad to people who respond and then finds more just like them. His 3-step framework: speak to a higher-level prospect by naming a problem only someone with money already has, and add friction, like stating a minimum ad budget, to filter out the rest. Speak to their identity by using the self-image they're proud of instead of the one they're ashamed of, pulled straight from sales-call language. Reframe their belief about why they're stuck, sourced from the actual objections showing up on sales calls. Get those three right and targeting stops mattering almost entirely, since the messaging itself tells Meta's algorithm who to find, which is why Nelson runs most of his ads completely broad with no targeting at all.
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00:00 – 01:01
01 · The claim: messaging beats everything else
Will opens with the claim that once you understand messaging, ads get easy, and that bad ad settings, funnels, or targeting don't matter if the words are off. He names the two jobs of messaging (catching attention, then creating interest) and previews the 3-step framework.
01:01 – 02:59
02 · Step 1: speak to a higher-level prospect
The level of problem named in an ad, not a stated income line, decides who responds, because Meta finds more people like whoever engages first. He shows how naming a required ad budget filters for people who can actually pay, trading a higher cost per lead for a lower cost per client.
02:59 – 04:38
03 · Step 2: speak to their identity, not their shame
Most coaches call out the identity a prospect is ashamed of, like 'struggling to lose weight,' which only attracts unqualified, broke leads. Using real client ads from Travis (ex-athlete dads) and Brett (Christian dads sold on becoming a spiritual leader), Will shows how speaking to who someone is proud of being converts better, and should be lifted straight from sales-call language.
04:38 – 06:25
04 · Step 3: reframe the belief behind their objections
Every sales-call objection is a belief the ad never addressed. Will gives the reframe formula, 'you think you're stuck because of this, but it's actually because of this,' and walks through his own niche and a client case study (Ross) where the fix came straight from listening to what prospects say on calls.
06:25 – 07:18
05 · Why targeting barely matters anymore
With messaging doing the work, Will says he runs most ads completely broad with no targeting, and some of his best-performing ads are plain static images. He closes with a two-part CTA: book a call, or watch the funnel-scaling video next.
Lines worth screenshotting.
- Meta shows your ad to whoever responds first, then goes and finds more people just like them, so broke-sounding ad copy trains the algorithm to deliver more broke leads.
- The level of problem you mention in an ad, not a stated income threshold, is what determines the income level of the prospect it attracts.
- Naming a minimum ad spend inside the ad copy itself, like 'if you're not willing to spend $3-5K on ads, this is not for you,' raises cost per lead but lowers cost per client.
- You can't get more leads and better leads at the same time, so a messaging strategy that deliberately filters harder is a tradeoff, not a mistake.
- The word 'struggling' in ad copy recruits people who are currently struggling, which usually means people with no money to spend.
- Speaking to who a prospect is proud of being, instead of who they're ashamed of being, is what makes the right person stop scrolling and think 'this is me.'
- The exact wording your best clients use to describe themselves on sales calls and in DMs is better copy than anything you'd write yourself.
- A fitness offer sold as 'becoming the spiritual leader of your household' instead of 'losing weight' generated over a million dollars cash collected in five months for one client.
- Every objection heard on a sales call is a belief the ad never addressed, which makes the sales call transcript a direct source for ad messaging.
- The reframe formula is: 'you think you're stuck because of this, but it's actually because of this other reason,' stated inside the ad itself, before the prospect ever books a call.
- Once messaging does its job, targeting and interest-group settings stop mattering nearly as much, which is why some of the best-performing ads run completely broad with no targeting at all.
- Some of the highest-performing ads in this framework are just static images with no production value, proof that the words carry the ad, not the visuals.
The 3-sentence formula behind six-figure ad copy
AD MESSAGING
Targeting and funnel tweaks are a rounding error compared to whether your ad names the right problem, speaks to the right identity, and reframes the right belief.
- Name a problem only someone who already has money would have, not a starter-level problem, because the level of problem you mention decides the level of prospect you attract.
- Add deliberate friction, like stating a minimum ad budget required, to trade a higher cost per lead for a lower cost per client.
- Describe the identity your prospect is proud of, not the one they're ashamed of; words like 'struggling' recruit people with no money to spend.
- Pull your ad language directly from how your best clients describe themselves on sales calls and in DMs, since their wording outperforms anything you'd invent.
- Treat every sales-call objection as a belief your ad failed to address, and reframe it inside the ad itself before the prospect ever books a call.
- Use the reframe formula: name what they think is keeping them stuck, then replace it with the real reason, stated as fact.
- Once the three messaging steps are right, detailed targeting and interest-group settings matter far less, because the ad's language does the targeting for you.
Terms worth knowing.
- Cost per lead
- How much it costs in ad spend to generate one lead, as opposed to one paying client; the metric most coaches over-optimize for at the expense of lead quality.
- Friction (in ad copy)
- A deliberate qualifying statement inside an ad, like naming a required budget, designed to discourage unqualified people from responding.
- Broad targeting
- Running a Meta ad with no audience restrictions (interests, demographics, lookalikes), letting the algorithm find the right viewers based purely on who responds to the ad's messaging.
- Identity-based messaging
- Ad copy written to reflect how a prospect sees themselves at their best, rather than describing the problem or struggle they're ashamed of.
- Belief reframe
- A messaging technique that names the prospect's current explanation for why they're stuck, then replaces it with the real reason, inside the ad itself, before a sales call happens.
Things they pointed at.
Lines you could clip.
00:00
“Once you learn messaging, ads become frickin easy.”
02:17
“I'll straight up say in my ads: if you're not willing to spend three to five thousand dollars on ads, this is not for you.”
04:57
“You think you're stuck because of this, but it's actually because of this other reason.”
06:50
“The messaging does the targeting.”
Word for word.
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Once you learn messaging, ads become frickin easy. but most coaches are pretty bad at it. And that's why they'll never scale past $100 ,000 a month like 121 of my clients have, or even a million dollars a month like I'm doing right now.
Because the quality of your ads, settings inside Ads Manager or your funnel don't matter if your messaging is completely off. So I'll show you exactly what language to use that makes attracting your ideal client easy instead of getting broke, unqualified prospects who'd be a nightmare to work with even if you did sign them up.
Now, messaging has two jobs. The first one is catching the attention of the right people. And the second one is getting those people interested in what you have to offer.
And you do that in three steps. Speaking to high level prospects, speaking to their identity and reframing their beliefs. But most coaches still use generic language in their ads.
Like if you're a woman who wants to lose weight or if you're an agency who wants more clients. And that's why they attract people who get on a call and say, wow, that's too expensive or I have to think about it. And you'll continue to get that.
of the person who says, yeah, that's no issue. I can pay in full. And that's who you actually are excited to work with.
And even the coaches who are more specific usually stop at step one and miss the two steps that actually turn the right person into a paying client. So let's start with step one, which is speaking to a high level of prospect, because that decides whether the person seeing your ad can even pay you in the first place. And the reason this matters so much is because Meta shows your ad to those people, sees who actually responds to it, and then find you more just like them.
So if your ad attracts broke leads, Meta's gonna go find you even more broke leads. And it's the exact same thing with your content. Now, most coaches think speaking to high -level prospects means saying something like, if you're a coach making $100 ,000 a year.
And you can still do that. But the main way you attract higher level people is through the level of problem that you talk about. So if my ads talked about getting you your first one to two clients, I'd attract coaches who are just starting out and have no money.
But when I talk about being stuck in fulfillment or getting clients from content, but not knowing how to scale it, those are problems only a coach who's already making money has. So the higher the level of problem you speak to, the higher level of the prospect you attract. And then you describe their situation.
Maybe they're working 50 to 70 hours a week in a corporate job or talk about what they've already. tried like two to three coaches that didn't work out and if you want to filter out even more of the wrong people you add some friction to your ads so I'll straight up say in my ads if you're not willing to spend three to five thousand dollars on ads this is not for you now your cost per lead will go up.
And I know that scares most coaches. But the leads you do get can actually pay you. So your cost per client goes down because you can't have more leads and better leads at the same time.
So that's step one. And it makes sure that the right people see your ads. But getting their attention is one thing.
Getting them to actually want your offer is another. And that's step two. Speaking to their identity.
This is all about speaking to their identity. So not just who they are on paper, but who they see themselves as. Who they used to be.
where they are right now, and more importantly, what they're proud of or what they want to achieve. Because when you speak to that person, the right person stops scrolling and thinks, wow, this is me. How do they understand?
And the biggest mistake most coaches make here is speaking to the identity their prospects is ashamed of instead of the one that they're proud of. So they say things like if you're struggling to lose weight or if you're struggling to get clients, I'll never use that word in my ads. But if you call out struggling again, you will attract unqualified people who are struggling.
And those are people with no money. So instead, you speak to who they are at their best. And one of my clients, Travis, does this really well because he works with ex -athlete dads.
In one of his best ads, he doesn't say, busy dads who want to lose weight, he says, you're an ex -athlete. You've already have the discipline.
That's not the problem. The problem is back when you had a coach and a plan, but now you're doing it all on your own. So he's speaking directly to the fact they see themselves as discipline.
And it's not a fancy ad at all. You can literally hear the wind in his microphone at he's at a stadium. But I've also got another client, Brett, who sells a fitness program to Christian dads, but he doesn't just sell them weight loss.
He sells them becoming the spiritual leader in their household. And that messaging made him over one. million cash collected in the last five months.
And you don't have to guess any of this because it's already in your sales calls and your DMs. Just listen to how your best client describes themselves, who they were and where they are right now, and use those exact words because their wording is always better than yours. Now, Travis also did something else in his ad because he told them the reason they're stuck isn't what they think it is.
And that's step three, reframing their beliefs. Because every prospect already believes something about why they're stuck and what they need to do about it.
So in your messaging, you either position your offer that it's the belief or you reframe it, which is usually what works best. Sometimes their belief is already right, like a coach who already knows they need to run ads, and then you just need to position your offer around that. But most of the time, what they believe is the exact reason nothing has worked for them.
And the simplest way to reframe it is you think you're stuck because of this, but it's actually because of this other reason. So Travis's prospects believe they just need maybe to push harder, a better diet. But he tells them that it's not an effort problem.
It's that they don't have a system that fits the life they have right now. And that's exactly what his program gives them. And it works in any niche.
If you're an online fitness coach, it could be that you think your hormones are broken, but they're not. Here's what's actually going on. And for my clients, it's that you think you need to post more content, grow a following, go viral.
But organic alone will never get you to $100 ,000 a month. And when your ads already shift that belief, you don't have to fight on the sales call, which is why you stop hearing, I need to think about it so much. And the easiest way to find which belief to reframe is to look back at the objections that you keep on hearing on your sales calls.
Because every objection is a belief your ads didn't handle. I saw this with one of my clients, Ross, who was struggling to scale. So I hopped on a call with him.
And then I looked at his ads. and the rest of his funnel, most of it was actually fine. So I asked him what he hears on his sales calls.
And he said, almost every guy tells him he needs an extra hour in the day or a clone of himself. And then there was nothing about that in his ads. So we turned it back into this hook.
Hey, if you're a guy in your forties, trying to find that extra hour in your day, the harsh reality nobody wants to tell you is that it doesn't exist. You have to create it. And now that belief gets handled before they even book a call.
Now, again, ads are easy. So when you get these three, steps right ads become so much easier because targeting and all the settings all the interest groups don't matter nearly as much as people think they do since meta finds the right people based on what you actually say in the ad i run my ads more times than not completely broad i don't do targeting anymore and meta still finds exactly who i want to work with because the messaging does the targeting and the ads themselves don't have to be anything special some of my best ads are just static images now messaging is just one part of getting your ads to work but it's probably the most important part and that's why you have to get it right first because then there's the funnel you're running how you adjust your ads based on the data when to scale an ad and when to kill it so if you want my team to help you with any of that go to the first link in the description and book a call or if you want to see the exact funnel we've used to help 122 coaches scale past 100 000 a month check out this video next
The Hook
The bait, then the rug-pull.
Will Nelson opens with a blunt claim: ad settings, funnels, and budgets don't matter if your messaging is off. What follows is a three-step breakdown, illustrated with real client ad screenshots, of exactly which words attract a paying client and which words attract a broke tire-kicker.
Named ideas worth stealing.
00:31list
The 3-Step Ad Messaging Framework
- Speak to a higher-level prospect
- Speak to their identity
- Reframe their beliefs
The sequence Will uses to write ad copy: first filter for who can pay, then make the right person recognize themselves, then remove the belief standing between them and booking a call.
Steal forany lead-gen ad for a coaching, consulting, or service offer
04:57concept
Belief Reframe Formula
State what the prospect currently believes is keeping them stuck, then immediately replace it with the real reason, inside the ad copy itself, before any sales call happens.
Steal forobjection-handling copy in any ad or landing page
How they asked for the click.
VERBAL ASK
06:54link
“go to the first link in the description and book a call”
Soft CTA at the very end, paired with a second CTA pointing to another video about the client-acquisition funnel.
MENTIONED ON CAMERA
FROM THE DESCRIPTION
PRIMARY CTAWhere the creator wants you to go next.
OTHER LINKSAlso linked in the description.
Visual structure at a glance.
