As this Thursday is Literacy Day, let’s talk about your advertising literacy.
I’m reminded often by the questions I receive –
As well as the blank stares or questioning eyes –
How unpracticed and unexperienced so many folks are
When it comes to advertising literacy.
It’s like picking up an English-speaking American and putting them
Down in the middle of northern China,
Where not even one single word
Actually sounds familiar.
CPM?
How about CPA?
CPL??
Ok, how about ROI?
You know ROI, right?
Sure, the acronyms can confuse anyone in the moment.
But they’re important!
They’re really, really…
Really important!
For the record, those above are:
CPM = Cost Per Mille, or 1000 Impressions…
Btw, an impression = times an ad is shown…
Not to be confused with Reach…
Which is unique individuals (people) who see those impressions…
And CPA = Cost per Acquisition…
But what’s Acquisition?…
That is acquiring a customer…
And CPL = Cost Per Lead….
And a Lead is getting someone onto your List as a Subscriber…
Which is not the same at all as getting an engager, like on IG…
IG of course is Instagram…
And you probably know ROI…
Your ROI = Return on Investment…
And of course the Investment might be your ad spend…
Specifically called ROAS = Return on Ad Spend…
All to say:
There is always some cost to doing business 
Literacy for advertising makes a huge difference,
So that you can communicate what you want and need,
And not be at anyone’s mercy.
I was recently honored as someone said:
“You have a caring heart and
You want your clients to succeed“…
All of which is too true.
It’s not just about the money,
But being of the most service as possible.
So let’s cut to the chase and find out:
What is your CPA and LTV?
The two main numbers I advise everyone to know,
Especially to figure out their advertising budget is:
What is your CPA, or Cost Per Aquiring a Customer?
And then…
What is your LifeTime Value?
Or LTV…
Which means,
What is the value of a customer to your business over
The lifetime of your relationship with them?
Here are some shortcuts:
If your CPA is $100 to acquire a paying customer,
And your LTV is $5000,
Then you can have a very healthy advertising and marketing budget!
Perhaps your own personal margins are still unclear.
You might even start out closer to breaking even,
So that your CPA is $500, and your LTV is $500.
This is good to know!
It motivates you to reduce your CPA…
And increase your LTV!!
What if your CPA was down to $200,
And your LTV increased to $1500?
Then you’ve created a beautiful profit margin,
And you can pour more profit into the business…
To grow!
Numbers don’t need to be hard.
They’re just reflecting what your audience is doing.
But without literacy…
It sounds like Chinese,
Or Greek,
Or Ghanian,
Or Welsh, which even in English is truly indecipherable 😉
Let me know your current CPA and LTV,
And let’s confirm that you are both!
1 Getting literate!…
And 2 getting great at your numbers 
Like they say, “it gets easier.”
50 Weeks Of Giving!
Let’s create opportunity for others through literacy with World Literacy Foundation.
With a lofty goal to “eradicate illiteracy by 2040”,
They’re focused on potential,
Just like I wish you for you to focus on maximizing your own potential.
Support the quest to create global literacy here.
