Your account has been disabled
This morning I stumbled downstairs to my office, cup of coffee in hand, to find this friendly little message from Facebook waiting in my inbox:
Facebook Ads alert: Ad Account Disabled
Hi Josh,
It looks like your ad account was used to create ads that violate Facebook’s Advertising Guidelines. Facebook’s policies protect everyone on Facebook and help make it a good experience. As a result, your ad account has been permanently disabled.
Here’s why your account was disabled:User Trust
And then 5 paragraphs of boilerplate gobbledygook from their advertiser policies.
So…
No more Facebook ads for me.
I have no idea what my “infraction” was.
The ad I was running was based on my Wikipedia rant from a few weeks back, and people were LOVING it.
Maybe Facebook didn’t like the “tough love” tone of the post.
I’ll never know.
Technically you can appeal. But in 99.99% of cases, they just ignore your pleas while laughing maniacally (OK that’s a guess, but I’d put money on it).
This is not new territory for me. I got “suspended” by Google last year too.
It goes with the territory when you’re in marketing—the advertisers treat you like a leper.
In Google’s eyes, I might as well be running an online gambling ring or “adult” site.
I have a theory about these goliath ad companies:
I think they have hidden “tripwires” that you set off when your ads are successful.
The “squeeze page” I was using with my Google ads was converting cold traffic at 33%, which is a great signup rate even for WARM traffic.
And on Facebook, my post was earning a click-through rate of nearly 15%.
My conspiracy theory is that Google and Facebook would rather deal with all the unsuccessful advertisers who will just continue to light fistfuls of dollar bills on fire.
So when they see ads that are performing well, they put you under the microscope.
And with how opaque their terms of service are, they can pretty much nail you to the wall any time they want.
Think of it like a $500 billion casino.
The fat-cat gaming kingpins are happy to let the marks and the suckers throw money away all day long…
But when the unassuming guy at the blackjack table goes on a hot winning streak, every camera in the joint is trained on him.
They don’t care if you play by the rules—they’re just looking for an excuse to throw you out.
Frustrating, to say the least.
Fortunately for me, Facebook ads were not a major feeder into my business. I was just experimenting with them.
But for many businesses, the ol’ FB is where they get most of their traffic.
If that’s you, PAY YOU HEED.
As direct marketing godfather Dan Kennedy says, “The most dangerous number in business is ONE.”
ONE business model.
ONE group of customers.
ONE traffic source.
Yes, when you’re starting out it’s a good idea to focus on one way of getting customers.
But recognize that your house sits on a trembling foundation. And your very next move once you get your first traffic source working is…
Finding 3 more that work just as well.
There’s a million choices. Social media. Guest blogging. Direct mail. Banner ads. Podcasts. Kindle books.
These marketing channels are NOT created equal, though.
Some are more useful than others to your biz.
Figuring out which traffic sources to focus on RIGHT NOW is the topic of Chapter 10 in 80/20 Sales and Marketing.
This was a game-changer for me.
It shatters the “I need to do everything and be everywhere” myth that had me (and so many other entrepreneurs) scurrying around in a panic.
Get a copy here: