Today we’re talking about the wonderful world of digital ads! Join us as Colby Flood, the founder of Brighter Click, shares lessons he’s learned while launching and scaling an education-first Facebook Ad agency. We’ll discuss important strategies to help you build credibility, communicate well, and carve out a specialty as a Facebook Ad Manager or Facebook Ad Freelancer.   Podcast Outline: [0:00] Introduction to Colby Flood and the topic of building a specialty as a Facebook Ad Manager or Facebook Ad Freelancer - Colby shares the story about his entry into the freelance space and his business, Brighter Click. [3:07] How the natural progression into freelancing often starts with general services before niching down to a specific area - the importance of finding your niche and having the confidence to further specialize in a service. [4:42] Why Colby chose the name Brighter Click, an agency name rather than his own name - reasons why your choice of name depends on the end goal for your business. [6:30] In light of the changes to Facebook, the potential for businesses who are seeking to improve their ad efforts - an explanation of the changes to iOS 14.5 and how it affected Facebook Ads. [7:46] How Facebook has been evolving and recommended changes for Facebook Ads strategies [9:58] The importance of having good SEO skills when offering Facebook Ad services (or finding someone who specializes in SEO to add on to your services) [10:50] The importance of going broad with Facebook Ads to let the algorithm work for you - a practical example with strategies you can apply to profiling your audience.   How to Get Started as a Freelance Facebook Ad Specialist [15:34] #1 Find an educational course, a resource, and a networking group to tap into - the benefits of staying on top of the changes in Facebook Ads by learning processes and best practices. [16:27] #2 Find some smaller clients and focus on building out case studies and processing out tasks as you go - examples of what to focus on and how to increase your rates. [17:08] The importance of training and experience - how Facebook advertising is changing a lot and requires you to be a relentless learner of your craft.   Lessons Learned from Launching and Scaling a Facebook Ads Agency [18:47] #1 Your value is often perceived by the level of your communication - the importance of ensuring your education and explanations match your skill. [20:01] How soft skills and hard skills are a winning combination - some examples of good communication between freelancers and clients. [21:30] #2 Once you’ve validated your business, be diligent about processing out the things you do - how to map out your process and some examples of tasks you’ll want to delegate. [22:29] The benefit of being an “education-first” agency with long-term goals - what it means to Colby and how his agency provides free educational opportunities to team members. [24:51] Education through content marketing - how it builds credibility, draws interest to your services, and differentiates you from other marketers. [22:53] How the freelance space taps into the skill-based economy, not necessarily relying on educational credentials [26:46] How to get to know Colby Flood [27:16] How to learn more about Freelance University    Resources and tools discussed in this episode: Freelance University    Learn more about Colby Flood: Website: Brighter Click     Connect with Colby: LinkedIn  Email: [email protected]    Tools and Resources: Facebook   Facebook Ads  Facebook Groups   Triple Whale   HighRoad   CustomerLabs  TikTok   Instagram  Slack   Depesh Mandalia   AdSignals (paid channel)   Facebook Ads Experts (organic free channel)  Andrew Foxwell (Slack channel and paid courses)   Cat Howell (courses)  Loom  Amazon  YouTube   Ad World  Ecom World Medium    Google