Alex Hormozi is the Zeus of the entrepreneurial Olympus. He’s the go-to guru for many people who want to create their own business empires. And sure, he might be a big, jacked American dude on the surface, but there’s a lot more to him than just that.
He has millions of followers (including me), and the reason why people often flock to him is that he has a business model where he gives out free content for businesses to help them do better. Once they reach a certain size, he looks into acquiring them for his company, Acquisition.com.
He brought out a book a while back called $100M Offers, which I’d highly recommend, and he’s recently also come out with the blockbuster sequel, $100M Leads. That’s my focus for today, because a big part of his book covers paid ads and how to use paid ads to generate leads and excel in the competitive advertising landscape.
As a paid ads agency owner myself, I thought I’d take a look at this and give my own critique. I’ll tell you what I liked about the book, and what I think is missing from it.
Side note: I do have a YouTube video on this topic as well, and it’s one of the most popular ones on my channel! Give it a watch here.
It's a game of efficiency
One of the things that I love about this book is that Alex Hormozi claims that the game of paid ads isn’t about reach, but rather about efficiency. Remember that paid ads aren’t like SEO where you’re begging the universe to take notice of all your hard organic work.
The entire point of paid ads is to show your product or services to millions. But the catch is that showing your ads to millions of people isn’t enough. If you give me enough money, I could easily ensure that millions of people will look at your ad, so reach isn’t an issue. You need to make your ads efficient so that those people end up turning into leads or sales.
The four pillars of paid ads
Alex Hormozi also says that there are four pillars of paid ads:
- Where to advertise
- Finding the right audience
- Crafting killer ads
- Getting permission
The last part is really important, because you need to have a way of contacting a person. This could mean getting their email address or having them fill in an enquiry form.
Breaking things down this way allows you to have a really simple and clear summary of which steps you need to take to make your paid ads a success.
The art of selling seconds
Another gem from the book is that every second and every sentence should be used to sell the next, which I think is actually quite an old idea.
Think of it like a top-selling book: if the first chapter doesn’t interest you, you’re not going to be super motivated to keep reading. And the same goes for the second chapter, and the third.
When you’re making ads or content, you need to make sure that the first sentence hooks the viewer, and then you need to sell them on your content so that they stick with it until the next second and the next and the next, all the way down to your call to action at the end.
Dial that volume button
Turn up the volume! And no, I’m not talking about your car speakers. I don’t want you to damage your eardrums.
When Alex Hormozi talks about turning up the volume, he means watching ads. I know, I know. We’re all tempted to click the “skip ads” button. But rather than viewing that two-minute ad as an inconvenience, look at it as a learning opportunity.
Also, if you see a company running the same ad time and time again for extended periods, it’s probably safe to assume that it’s a profitable ad (although not always), so try to learn from that!
The big three
Another thing that I loved was that Hormozi discusses the what, who, and when. It’s an age-old formula for trying to transform your copy into a story that people are invested in. I won’t go into a lot of detail, but if this is something you’re interested in, I would highly recommend listening to his podcast, which you can access here.
It’s a really nice, simple formula that helps you to create something of value. Something that stood out to me was Hormozi’s focus on time. He talks about looking at the historical impact of your decision, as well as the current and future effects.
Your call to action should be, well, a call to action
Hormozi states the importance of having calls to action, but I’d like to take things one step further. You shouldn’t just have a call to action, you need to make it clear. That’s how you will improve your engagement and site statistics.
Don’t just say: “Get in touch”, but show them how to do it. Give them a link to a form. Add your email address. Make the process as friction-free as you can. Or give them an incentive, like a 10% discount.
KISS: keep it simple, stupid
We all know the KISS method, which stands for keep it simple, stupid. It’s a saying as old as time, and it still works in the modern day. Whether you’re using URLs, landing pages, or calls to action, try not to overcomplicate things.
People are already exhausted from their nine-to-fives; they don’t want to use brainpower just to use an ad. Keep your URLs short and sweet. Make your landing pages simple. I’ve seen people invest thousands into landing pages so fancy they’re fit for a royal, but sometimes, less really is more. Even Alex Hormozi’s own landing pages are simple, and that’s because simple stuff works.
Of course, what works for one person might not work for another, so I recommend testing it. Come up with a few simple variations of landing pages and test them to see which ones help you deliver and maintain Google Ads results!
The three phases of scaling paid ads
Scaling paid ads can sometimes feel like climbing a mountain, but as with most things, it becomes much less intimidating once you break it down. Hormozi says that there are three phases when it comes to scaling paid ads:
- Track the money so that you know where it’s going and where it’s coming from.
- Lose the money. Yes, you read that right – you’ve got to spend money to make money.
- Print the money. Not literally – that’s illegal. But once you understand which ads make you money, invest in them.
Another nugget of wisdom that Hormozi shares is that, in the end, good enough is good enough. As long as you’re breaking even, you’re not losing money, so you can build your leads up to help you scale and make more money. Your ads don’t need to be delivering a 10x ROAS right off the bat. Again: good enough is good enough.
Level up with lifetime value
If the paid ads world is a game, you can level up by focusing on lifetime value. Instead of determining your customer acquisition cost with a single sale, look at their lifetime value. Maybe they keep returning to your business because you’re just that good.
Zoom out a bit and try to look at the bigger picture when you’re running ads. Spending £10 to get a client who will make a £20 purchase doesn’t seem like the best use of your paid ads budget. But let’s say you’re an agency or a skincare brand, where clients return to you again and again. If that same client spends £20 every month for the next year, you’ve made £240 off them, so your initial £10 investment doesn’t seem that much all of a sudden.
The sales versus marketing dilemma
It’s easy to blame a lack of scales on your paid ads strategy, but take a step back before pointing fingers. Maybe, just maybe, the problem isn’t paid ads, but your actual sales.
Your paid ads might be generating hundreds of leads, but if you can’t turn them into customers, the issue is likely your sales team, not your marketing efforts. There, I said it. Well, actually, Alex Hormozi did. So if your ego is bruised, blame him, not me.
The end
That was a very quick, whirlwind tour of Alex Hormozi’s paid ads section in $100M Leads. This is just the tip of the iceberg: if you’re keen to learn more, you’ll have to read the book yourself.
Also, some shameless self-promo here: if you still feel like paid ads just aren’t something you can wrap your head around, pop my agency an email at company@snowballcreations.com to see how we can help you maintain Google services, find the right audience, and more.