S6E15 - Why Your Paid Ads Aren’t Working — And How to Fix Them (From $50M+ in Pipeline) with Patrick Cumming

May 27, 2025

Patrick Cumming, the Head of Marketing at KlientBoost and co-host of Client Boost Kitchen, shares invaluable insights on the pitfalls of paid advertising in the SaaS world. He stresses the necessity of having strong product-market fit before investing in ads, warning against the dangers of advertising without demand. Cumming introduces a five-step framework for creating effective ads and highlights the importance of targeted audience strategies and timing. He also discusses common mistakes when scaling ad campaigns, emphasizing data-driven approaches for maximizing ROI.

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ADVICE

Start Paid Ads With Product-Market Fit

Only start paid ads when you have strong product-market fit or clear signals of it.
Otherwise, paid search ads will waste your budget due to lack of existing demand.

INSIGHT

Complex Buying Journey and Frequency

The buying journey is complex and not linear; users have multiple touchpoints.
High ad frequency is better even if it mildly irritates prospects, as it builds brand recall.

ADVICE

Target Small Audiences Effectively

Target the right audience and avoid trying to reach your entire market with a small budget.
Aim for 80% audience penetration and 10 minimum ad frequency per sales cycle for impact.

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Before spending a single dollar on paid advertising, you need to ask one critical question: Do you have product-market fit—or at least clear signals of it?

In a recent podcast episode, Patrick Cumming, Head of Marketing at KlientBoost, emphasizes that paid advertising, especially paid search, is not a shortcut to growth. If your product doesn’t already have demand, paid search will likely drain your budget without meaningful returns. Instead, companies should assess how much of their total addressable audience they can effectively saturate with the budget they have. Success in paid advertising isn’t just about targeting the right people; it’s about delivering the right message in a way that resonates deeply with your audience.

Key Timecodes

(0:00) - Introduction: Patrick on product-market fit and paid ads
(0:54) - Guest Introduction: Joran introduces Patrick Cumming
(1:41) - Common Myths: Patrick discusses myths about SaaS paid ads
(2:53) - Small Audience Strategy: The benefits of targeting a small audience
(3:16) - B2B SaaS Ad Campaigns Failures: Reasons why ad campaigns fail
(4:35) - Reach and Frequency: Importance in marketing strategies
(5:48) - Ad Creatives: Patrick's five-step framework for effective ads
(7:49) - Audience Targeting: Importance in ad campaign success
(8:40) - When to Start Paid Ads: Timing and prerequisites for running ads
(10:19) - Experimentation: The challenges of creating new market demand
(11:45) - Scaling Mistakes: Common errors when scaling ad campaigns
(13:13) - Platform Usage: Using Google Ads and social media effectively
(15:27) - Cold Audience Challenges: Issues with targeting cold audiences
(16:00) - Building a Paid Ads Strategy: Framework for starting a campaign
(17:00) - Analyzing Data: Importance of understanding existing customers
(18:18) - High Intent Keywords: Starting point for Google Ads
(19:21) - Budget and Audience Saturation: Maximizing ad spend efficiency
(20:21) - Account-Based Marketing: Strategy for focusing on target audiences
(21:36) - Case Study: Successful strategy for a small audience segment
(23:57) - LinkedIn Revenue Attribution Report: Measuring ad performance
(25:26) - Correlation in Ads: Understanding ad impact beyond direct attribution
(27:54) - Tracking and Measurement: Challenges and importance in ad campaigns
(29:08) - Attribution Tools: Using Dream Data for understanding ad influence
(31:35) - Trust in Ads: Importance of trusting ad performance over time
(33:04) - SEO vs. Paid Ads: Balancing organic and paid strategies
(35:45) - Future of Marketing: Preparing for changes in tracking and privacy
(38:14) - Bold Advertising: Patrick's advice for standing out in paid marketing
(39:10) - Advice for SaaS Founders: Tips for reaching 10k MRR
(41:51) - Scaling to 10M ARR: Strategies for growing a successful SaaS business
(44:38) - Expanding Channels: Using tools like Primer and Metadata
(46:42) - Contact Information: How to connect with Patrick Cumming
(48:04) - Closing Remarks: Joran wraps up the episode