The people who'd love your place live nearby.
Most of them just haven't heard of it yet. I'm Tim. I run Facebook and Instagram ads for small, owner-run places, built from what's actually happening at yours. Your next class, your next event, your open appointments, your shop on a Saturday. The goal is simple: the right people nearby hear about it in time to show up.
You'll talk to me, the person who builds and runs the ads.
- THUWheel throwing for beginnersNew session starts soonAd on
- SATHoliday pop-up marketOne day, out frontAd on
- TUEOpen appointment slotsFor the quieter daysSteady
- SUNA weekend at the shopNeighbors stop inWeekends
People love it once they're through the door. Getting them there is the hard part.
Most small places grow by word of mouth. Someone comes in, has a good time, tells a friend. It's the best marketing there is, and it's also uneven. Busy stretches, then quiet ones. A class that starts with open spots. An event where you hoped for more faces. A slow Tuesday.
That time doesn't come back. An open spot on the first day of a session can't be sold later. Neither can an empty chair at a pop-up.
You've probably tried to fix it already. Maybe you've boosted a few Instagram posts and couldn't quite tell what came of it. Maybe an agency or two has pitched you. That isn't you doing it wrong. It's that ads for a local place work best when they're built around a specific thing, for specific people nearby, at a specific time. That's the part I do.
Before anyone talks about ads, this is what owners want to know.
"My time is already spoken for."
You're running the place, and often teaching or serving too. This should take very little of your week. Most of it happens without you.
"It has to feel like us."
Your place has a feel. The ads are made from your own photos, flyers, and words, and nothing runs until you've said yes to it.
"I want to know what the money did."
You'll see what's running, what it cost, and who signed up or booked, in plain English. No ad dashboards to learn.
"Is it worth it for a place my size?"
Sometimes it isn't, and I'll tell you on the first call if I think so. When it is, the budget is sized to your place, not to a big brand's.
What I actually do, step by step.
Each thing you want people for gets its own ads, timed to it, shown nearby, and switched off when it's done.
Thursday class
I start from what's on your calendar
Your class schedule, your next event, the appointment slots you want filled, the hours your shop is open. Each one gets its own ads, timed to it.
The ads reach people nearby
Facebook and Instagram let us show ads to people within a short trip of your door who are likely to care about what you do. Not the whole city. The people who could actually come.
They're made from your own photos and words
Your real space, your real people, the way you already describe what you do. No stock photos. You see every ad before it runs.
The money follows what still needs people
When a class fills up or an event has passed, its ads come off, and the budget moves to whatever still has room. Nothing keeps spending on something that's already done.
You can see all of it in one place
You get a simple page of your own that shows what's running, what it has cost, who came from it, and what I'm doing next. Plus a short update you can read over coffee.
What's running
- Thursday wheel classRunning
- Saturday pop-upRunning
- Weekend at the shopPaused
What it cost
Spent so far this month, against the budget we agreed on.
Who signed up
What's next
- New photos from Saturday
- Start ads for the winter session
Here's everything I'd need from you.
- One call to start, so I can learn your place, your people, and what's coming up.
- Access to your Facebook page and ad account. If you don't have an ad account yet, we'll set it up together.
- Photos, videos, or flyers you already have. Phone pictures are fine.
- A quick yes or no when new ads are ready.
- Someone who answers new inquiries within a day. A fast reply matters more than any ad.
That's it. You keep running your place. I handle the rest and keep you posted.
What this looks like for a small school in Brooklyn.
Smith Street Maternelle is a bilingual school in Brooklyn. Like a lot of small places, they fill things that start on a date: summer camp weeks, afterschool, a fall start. Each one got its own ads, made from their own photos and video. These are two that ran.
We learn from children, every day.
A summer camp that feels like a second home. Children spend their days with the same two dedicated teachers in a group of just 15 kids. They garden, paint, sing, build, and play ... See more
Counting every completed registration across camp, fall, and afterschool while the ads ran. Each session got its own campaign, timed to its own start date.
"Tim's ads have quietly kept our programs full, from summer camp to afterschool. Every Monday we get a report in plain English that our whole team actually reads, and we always know exactly what is running and why. It is the first time advertising has felt this simple."
"The headline this week: 2 families completed a registration straight from the ads... the clearest conversion signal we've had, and both came off the evergreen brand post. The brand post is earning its lead spot, so we'll keep it front and center."
The same approach, at other kinds of places
The details change from place to place. The idea doesn't: start from what's actually happening there, and show it to the people nearby.
Louder LA: group classes for adults
Every new session gets its own ads, made from the owner's own flyers and class photos. When a class fills, its ad comes off and the budget goes to the classes that still have seats.
Auburn Jewelry: appointments and pop-ups
Ads built from video shot at their own pop-ups and parties, shown to people in the towns around each location.
Peridot Fine Jewelry: trunk shows
Each trunk show gets its own short campaign in the run-up to the date, aimed at people close enough to stop by.
Shelsky's: a neighborhood food shop
Ads shown to people in the few neighborhoods around the shop, made from its own photos and its best Instagram posts.
Who I can help, and when it's better to wait.
A good fit if
- You own a local place that grows when people come inStudios, schools, and camps. Appointment-based businesses. Shops that host events or pop-ups. Neighborhood stores. If more of the right people walking in or booking would make a real difference, we should talk.
- Something is coming upA new session, an event, open appointments, a busy season. Something real to tell people about.
- Enough people live within a short tripA city block or a town with one main street both work. What matters is that people nearby could actually come.
Better to wait if
- You're full with a waitlistThen ads would only frustrate people. Reach out when you add a class, open new slots, or plan an event.
- You're a franchise with marketing handled centrallyYour head office likely has this covered already.
What owners usually ask me first.
I've boosted posts before. How is this different?
Boosting is a fair place to start, and lots of owners have done it. What usually goes missing is the plan around it: what the ad is for, who nearby should see it, when it should stop, and whether anyone came in because of it. That plan is most of what I do.
I don't run classes. Is this still for me?
Probably. Classes are one example. The same approach works for appointments, pop-ups and trunk shows, and getting more neighbors into a shop. If your business does better when the right people walk in or book, it's worth a conversation.
What would it cost?
There are two parts: the ad budget itself, and my fee. Both depend on what you want to fill and how often, so we'll talk it through on the call with your calendar in front of us. You'll know the numbers before anything starts.
How soon would ads be running?
It depends on what's coming up and how quickly we can get access sorted. On the call we'll look at your calendar together and pick the first thing worth starting with.
Am I locked into anything?
We'll go over exactly how working together is set up on the call, so you can decide with everything in front of you and no surprises later.
How much of my time does it take?
Not much. One call to start, a quick yes or no when new ads are ready, and an update you can read in a few minutes. I work from the schedule and photos you already have, so there's nothing new to fill out.
What if it isn't working?
You'll see it in your updates about as soon as I do. If something isn't filling, I'll tell you what I think is going on, whether that's the ad, the timing, the offer, or the page people land on, and what I'd change next.
Tell me what's coming up at your place.
Book 20 minutes with me. Bring your calendar: the next session, event, or stretch you'd like to be busier.
I'll tell you what I'd run, roughly what it would take, and whether I honestly think it's worth it for you. If it isn't, I'll say so.
Tim