he gambled $20,000 on ads... (was it worth it?)

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Most people would have turned off the ad.

It wasn’t converting. Mօney was bleeding. And every “expert” would have said, kill it and move on.

But instead of panicking, he did something different.

For three months, he kept testing.

Changing the offer.

Tweaking the hook.

Refining the message.

And then—boom. The ad hit.

That one Facebook ad brought in so much business, it ran profitably for 18 months straight.

Meet the king of the inbox.

If you’ve been in the eCom game long enough, you’ve probably heard of Nick Shackleford—the mastermind behind some of the most effective email and ad campaigns in the space.

But before he built his recruiting empire and grew his agency to massive success, he was just another marketer figuring things out.

And one of his biggest lessons?

Most people don’t have the guts to let an ad run long enough to work…

And here’s what he learned from spending $20,000 on Facebook ads before cracking the code:

1. Creatives win campaigns, not hacks – He tested 150+ creatives before finding two that drove 75% of results. What’s your next home-run ad?
   

2. Scaling requires discomfort – Most brands shut ads down too soon. “I probably spent $20K before it finally started working,” Nick said. Do you have the patience to let your funnel play out?
   

3. Service beats performance – Nick realized agencies lose clients over communication, not results. Are you keeping your customers engaged—or just assuming they’ll stick around?

What can we learn from Nick?

• Great ads take time – Are you pulling the plug too soon on campaigns that could work?
  

• Your best creative is probably still untested – Are you launching enough variations to find your #1?
  

• Execution beats hesitation – Are you making decisions like a marketer—or like a CEO?

Nick’s story is a reminder that marketing is a game of endurance.

The best ideas don’t always work right away—but if you keep testing, refining, and optimizing, you might just land on something that changes your business FOREVER.

Want to hear the full story and more lessons from the email marketing king?

Listen to the full podcast episode here!

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