I put up an “Ask Me Anything” box on Instagram a few days ago and got absolutely flooded with questions about funnels, ads, tech, offers — basically all the things.
And instead of answering them one by one in the DMs, I turned them into a full podcast episode. Because if one person is asking a question, there are at least 50 other people wondering the exact same thing.
The questions that came through weren’t complicated. They were practical, real questions from people actually building funnels and running ads — questions like “how long until I see sales?” and “is 800 subscribers enough to run ads?” and “my funnel stopped converting, what now?”
Real questions. Real answers. No hedging, no “it depends” without context, no guru BS.
Here’s what we covered.
The Problem With “Funnel Advice” Online
Most of what gets shared publicly about funnels and ads is either surface-level tactics with no context, or advice from someone whose business situation looks nothing like yours.
The questions people are actually asking aren’t complicated. They just require someone willing to give a real answer instead of a hedge.
How long before you actually see sales? What counts as “enough” of a list? Should you spend $10 a day on ads or $200? When a funnel goes flat, do you torch it or tinker?
These are questions with real, concrete answers — and that’s exactly what this episode is.
What We’re Actually Talking About in This Episode
Here are the six questions I answered, and a glimpse at the thinking behind each.
1. How long does it usually take to see sales from a funnel?
Everyone wants to know this before they start — and fair enough. You’re about to invest time and possibly money into building something, and you want to know when you’ll actually see a return.
Here’s the truth: it’s probably faster than you think. But it depends on a few things most people don’t factor in when they’re asking this question.
If you’ve already validated your offer (meaning people have bought it before), you’re starting with warm traffic, and your funnel is set up properly — you could see sales within days. I’ve had clients make their first sales in the first 24-48 hours.
But if you’re starting cold, or your offer hasn’t been tested yet, or you’re relying purely on organic traffic — the timeline stretches. The episode breaks down what “working” actually looks like in those early stages and when you should actually start worrying versus just being patient.
2. Do you need a big list before running ads?
One person asked: “I only have like 800 people on my email list is that enough to start running ads or should I wait till I grow it more”
Short answer: The size of your list is not the metric you should be looking at.
I’ve seen people with 500 subscribers run profitable ad campaigns. I’ve also seen people with 10,000 subscribers burn through ad budgets because they didn’t have the right pieces in place first.
What actually matters is whether your funnel converts organically. If you can’t get sales without ads, ads won’t magically fix that — they’ll just amplify a broken system and cost you money faster. The episode walks through exactly what you need to test and validate before you turn on paid traffic.
3. How much should you actually spend per day on ads to see results?
The range people hear online is all over the place: $10 to $200+ per day depending on who’s talking. And honestly, both can be right depending on your situation.
Here’s a better framework: your ad spend should connect to your offer price, your conversion rate, and your goal.
If you’re selling a $47 offer and you need 20 sales to break even on ad costs, you can do the math backwards to figure out what spend makes sense. If you’re selling a $2K program, your numbers look completely different.
I break down the actual math and give you a starting point that makes sense whether you’re testing a new funnel or scaling one that’s already working.
4. What do you do when your funnel stops converting?
This might be the most stressful question on the list. You had something working — making sales consistently for weeks or months — and then it just… stops.
Before you scrap the whole thing, there are specific things to check. And most of the time, the fix is way simpler than you think.
Sometimes it’s ad fatigue (your audience has seen your ad too many times). Sometimes it’s seasonal (certain offers naturally slow down at certain times of year). Sometimes it’s a tech issue you didn’t even know was happening — like a broken payment link or an email sequence that stopped firing.
The episode walks through the diagnostic checklist I’d use to figure out what’s actually going on so you know whether to tweak, pause, or pivot.
5. All-in-one software vs. individual tech — what’s actually better?
Kartra, HighLevel, Kajabi on one side. WordPress + ConvertKit + ThriveCart on the other. Everyone’s got an opinion, and most of those opinions are based on what they use, not what’s right for you.
Here’s mine: all-in-one platforms are great until they’re not. They make setup faster and easier when you’re starting out, but they can also lock you in and limit what you can do as you scale.
Individual tools give you more flexibility and control, but they require more setup and maintenance. The question isn’t which is better — it’s which trade-offs you’re willing to live with. I share what actually matters when you’re making this call and what tends to go wrong with each approach.
6. Should you run ads direct to your offer, or to a lead magnet first?
Final question, and honestly one of the most important strategic decisions you’ll make when you’re ready to scale with paid traffic.
The answer isn’t one-size-fits-all. It depends on your offer price, how warm your audience is, and what your funnel looks like on the back end.
If you’ve got a proven low-ticket offer (under $100) and a warm audience, running ads directly to the sales page can work beautifully. You’re trading a lower conversion rate for faster cash and immediate ROAS.
If you’re selling something higher-ticket or your audience is cold, running ads to a lead magnet first lets you build trust, nurture the relationship, and sell on the back end. You’re playing a longer game, but your conversion rates will be higher when people do buy.
I walk through the logic behind both approaches so you can make the call that fits where you actually are right now.
The Bigger Picture Here
What all six of these questions have in common is that they come from people who are ready to build something that actually works on autopilot — but they’re stuck in the decision-making phase because they don’t have enough context to move forward with confidence.
That’s the point of this episode. Not to give you a list of things to think about. To give you actual answers so you can make a decision and move.
Because the business that keeps selling while you’re not actively selling it is built on clarity, not more information. The people who build that business are the ones who stop overthinking and start implementing.
Listen to the Full Breakdown
Catch the full AMA episode of the Doing It Online Podcast — all six questions answered in full, including the nuance and context that makes the advice actually useful.
Listen to the full episode here
Want to See How It All Fits Together?
If this episode sparked the question of “okay, but what does my actual funnel system look like?” — grab our free guide: The 3 Funnels We’re Using to Sell Our Offers in Our 7-Figure Business.
It shows you the exact structure we use behind the scenes — what each funnel does, why it’s in the ecosystem, and how they work together to create consistent automated sales without launches, without constant posting, and without you being the one driving every sale.
