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PAID ADS can be the difference between breaking even and breaking sales records. However, knowing when, how or even whether to use them takes more knowledge and experience than most people might think.
Silvia Coletto’s career path has made her an expert in this field and she has made it her mission to help small businesses achieve success through paid advertising.
Growing up in a tiny village in north east Italy, Silvia knew she was destined for more. Moving to the UK was never part of her plan but when she was offered a job in Milton Keynes in 2014, she saw an opportunity too good to refuse.
Starting with company translations, Silvia developed her role into PR then marketing by demonstrating her talent for spotting patterns and trends and using them to convert leads into sales. Her track record led to Silvia being offered a position as the first employee at a new marketing agency run by three former colleagues.
In 2019, she was headhunted to work for an in-house marketing team at smart transport solutions provider Connexas. Such was her success at generating new leads through marketing that Silvia earned promotion to performance and digital marketing manager for the UK and seven countries in mainland Europe after Connexas was acquired a year later by international company AddSecure.
The pandemic changed everything. It gave Silvia the motivation she needed to start the company of which she had always dreamed: The Paid Ads School.
Many small businesses are priced out of the specialist advice for which larger companies pay a premium. This means many do not know where to start when it comes to paid advertising, said Silvia who provides consultancy services, advice and training to SMEs that help them to figure out the most important question: are they ready for paid ads?
If the answer is no and if your business cannot afford to spend at least £1,000 per month on ads as a long-term investment, it probably is not ready. Instead Silvia works with clients to develop their advertising strategies to get them where they need to be.
She has even written a book Are Your Ready for Paid Ads?, aimed at business owners and marketing managers without the specialist knowledge but who need to make decisions about advertising budgets.
“I always work with the best interests of the company I am working with in mind,” said Silvia. “I put myself in their shoes and look at everything from their point of view to decide whether I would spend the money on paid ads or not.
“My decisions are always fair and ethical as I have a very strong sense of right and wrong. My brain will not let me sleep if I think something is unfair or unethical.”
Despite her expertise and passion, Silvia’s journey has not always been smooth. A difficult time with one employer had a knock-on negative effect on her self-confidence, her work and her personal life. Recognising that she needed support, Silvia began therapy, not knowing it would change her life in ways she would never have imagined.
Not only did therapy help her to deal with the challenges she had encountered and improve her confidence but her therapist also diagnosed her as autistic – something Silvia had never even considered.
“I thought my therapist was wrong at first but when she listed the traits of autism in women, I recognised many in myself and I realised she was right. I was so relieved there was an answer to why I had been struggling with relationships my whole life.”
A big part of why Silvia did not believe her diagnosis initially was because the only people with autism she had seen were characters on TV or in films who were all male and usually severely autistic.
What she did not know at the time was that the signs of autism are different in men to those in women. It is usually much harder to diagnose women with autism. Once Silvia accepted her diagnosis, she felt a sense of relief.
“Getting a diagnosis allowed me to relax because it explained the reason behind certain behaviours. It gave me a greater understanding of myself and meant I could put strategies in place to adapt to different situations.
“I take things literally and see the world in black and white but, now I know why that is, I ask questions to find the nuances and this helps me to develop great relationships.”
Silvia uses her autistic traits as a benefit in her business. Attention to detail is important in every job but Silvia’s is second to none. This skill means she understands exactly how all the different aspects of advertising and their metrics relate to each other and fit in the wider context of how the business is doing.
“My brain works as a process machine so I work a lot with processes and procedures, setting them up and putting them in place for my clients. I have developed a comprehensive checklist which I use in my initial consultation with new clients. This enables me to determine whether they should be paying for advertising.”
As well as consulting for companies and managing their ad accounts, Silvia trains people through The Paid Ads School. “Consulting and training are the areas of my job I love the most. The consultancy side empowers them with their decision-making and by saving them money and the training empowers them with knowledge.
“After any training is completed, I book in follow-up calls as I love to hear what is going on with the people and their accounts and I always see a positive difference.”
Silvia’s ambitions include expanding the education side of The Paid Ads School. “Catching businesses before they spend money usually saves them money,” said Silvia. “I want to make sure my clients get the most out of my services, even if that just means telling them they are not ready for paid ads yet.”
- Connect with Silvia on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/silviacoletto
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