Join thousands of freelance social media managers who actually look forward to their emails. We mix practical tips, hot takes, and relatable advice to help you build a profitable business — without burning out or selling your soul. Expect smart ideas, swipeable strategies, and the occasional reference to reality TV or Chris Hemsworth’s abs (because balance.)
How much can you charge for ads management?
|
Hey , Ads pay better than organic because they take less time, not more. Most SMMs assume the opposite. They picture spending hours buried in Ads Manager, sweating over a client's budget, getting blamed when results dip. So they stick with retainers and stay stuck on the income ceiling that comes with them. Let's talk about what being an ads manager actually means. You'll charge a monthly retainer, which for a small business typically sits between £750 and £1,500 a month (more if they're big spenders). That fee covers strategy, campaign setup, copywriting, creative direction, daily monitoring, weekly tweaks, and a monthly performance report. The client’s ad spend is paid directly to Meta; you don’t touch it, so every penny you charge, you keep. Most ads managers work on a 3 to 6-month minimum contract, because ads need that long to gather enough data to optimise. And after that, it’s usually a rolling month-to-month contract. But here's the cool thing about managing ads. Once you know what you’re doing, a single client takes way less time than an organic client. Which means ad clients can pay you four figures a month for fewer hours than a demanding social media retainer would require. No more 9pm Canva sessions. No more last-minute reel rewrites. No more clients in your DMs at 7pm asking if you can "just quickly" change a caption. Now do you see why we're so passionate about SMMs learning to manage Meta ads? Ads Manager Academy covers everything you'd need to offer this service. How to set up campaigns, write copy, structure funnels, understand the data, AND how to package and price it as a service. The self-study programme is normally £1,250, but we're knocking off £751 to help you add a new skill to your business. Until 10pm on Friday, 8th May, you can get it for £499! Get Ads Manager Academy here → Use code AMA499 at checkout. We'll email again soon, Laura & Laura x P.S. Ads Manager Academy gives you everything you need to add Meta ads as a four-figure service to your business. It's £499 with the code AMA499 (normally £1,250). Offer closes at 10pm on Friday 8th May. |
Emails social media freelancers actually look forward to reading.
Join thousands of freelance social media managers who actually look forward to their emails. We mix practical tips, hot takes, and relatable advice to help you build a profitable business — without burning out or selling your soul. Expect smart ideas, swipeable strategies, and the occasional reference to reality TV or Chris Hemsworth’s abs (because balance.)
This is the number one reason SMMs don’t offer ads. “I’m not a numbers person.” → “I don't understand the data.” Yes, ads come with more responsibility than organic. You’re spending someone else’s money. That’s not nothing. But here’s the thing. Ads Manager isn’t some impenetrable code-based platform you need a computer science degree to understand. It’s just buttons and dropdowns. Every single setting has a label. Most have a small (i) tooltip next to them that explains exactly what it does...
This morning, we announced our biggest ever discount on Ads Manager Academy this year. For only £499 you can get full access to the programme. Meaning you'll get the skills and knowledge to confidently run Meta ads for clients, AND pay £751 less than usual! You're getting: The full Meta ads strategy taught the way an SMM actually needs to learn it: how to choose the right campaign objective, how to build audiences that actually convert, how to write ad copy and structure creative, and how to...
Hello Reader, Meta made £94.8 BILLION from ads last year, and most social media managers didn't see a penny of it. Every single one of those campaigns needed someone to set it up and manage it. But most SMMs assume ads management is harder than organic. Yes, the platform looks scary the first time you open it. The numbers feel high stakes. Reading data sounds like something other people do. But the truth is, managing ads is not harder than organic... It's just less familiar. Meanwhile, the...