E-Learning: Hiring UK Ad Experts (The Founder's Guide)

I see this question a lot, and honestly, it’s a massive pain point for founders in the UK e-learning space. You've built a brilliant course, you know it delivers value, but finding someone to handle the ads feels like navigating a minefield blindfolded. The market is flooded with generalist 'social media managers' who think boosting a post is a strategy. It isn't. Promoting online courses, especially in the competitive UK market, is a completely different beast, and hiring the wrong person is the fastest way to set fire to your marketing budget.

The problem is that most founders don't know how to properly vet an ads expert. They get dazzled by jargon or big promises and end up with an agency or freelancer who applies a generic B2C eCommerce strategy to a nuanced educational product. It never works. You need someone who understands the psychology of a student, the longer consideration phase, and the critical importance of building trust before asking for a sale. This guide is designed to give you a foolproof framework for finding and hiring a genuine paid ads specialist who can actually move the needle for your e-learning business.

So, why is hiring for e-learning ads so difficult?

Let's be brutally honest. Selling an online course isn't like selling a t-shirt. With a t-shirt, the decision is impulsive and low-risk. With a course, you're asking someone to invest not just their money, but their time and their hope for a better future. The sales cycle is longer, the trust requirement is higher, and the messaging has to be spot on. A generalist sees a digital product and thinks "drive traffic to landing page, optimise for purchase." A specialist sees an educational journey and thinks about the entire funnel: awareness, consideration, trust-building, conversion, and even post-enrolment engagement.

Most 'experts' fail because they don't grasp this. They'll run broad awareness campaigns that get you thousands of useless impressions. They'll optimise for cheap clicks from people who will never buy. I once audited an account for a coding bootcamp in Manchester. Their agency was proudly reporting a huge 'reach' number and low CPCs. But their actual cost to acquire a student was nearly £1500, and their course was priced at £999. They were literally paying to lose money. This is the outcome of hiring a generalist. They don't understand the specific economics of the e-learning world and they don't know which levers to pull. You need a partner who can build a sustainable, profitable student acquisition engine, not just someone who knows their way around Ads Manager.

The Vetting Blueprint: How to Spot a Real Pro

Alright, so how do you find this mythical creature? It comes down to a rigorous vetting process. You need to become an expert at asking the right questions and looking for the right evidence. Forget their slick website or their confident pitch. Focus on proof and process. Here’s a step-by-step guide.

Step 1: Demand Relevant Case Studies
This is non-negotiable. Do not even get on a call with someone who cannot show you proven, specific results for other online course creators. And I don't mean vague testimonials. I mean hard numbers. Look for things like:

• -> Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): For every £1 they spent, how much revenue did they generate? One campaign we worked on for an e-learning client drove a 447% ROAS in just the first week. That's the kind of specific result you're looking for.
• -> Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): How much did it cost to get one student to sign up and pay?
• -> Volume & Scale: It’s one thing to get 10 students, it's another to generate $115k in revenue in a month and a half, as we did for another course creator. Ask for proof they can handle scale.

Don't be afraid to dig in. Ask about the course topic, the price point, the target audience. If their only experience is selling £20 drop-shipped gadgets, they are not the right fit for your £1,000 professional development course. When you are looking for an expert, the single best advice is to review their history, which you can do if you properly vet their expertise based on their past work and client feedback.

Step 2: Test Their Strategic Thinking on the Call
The initial consultation is not a sales pitch; it's your interview of them. A good expert will use this time to understand your business and offer genuine value, not just try to close you. We always offer a free strategy review where we'll look at a potential client's existing ad account and give them actionable advice on the spot. This shows them how we think and gives them value whether they hire us or not.

Here are some questions to ask:

• -> "Based on my course and audience, which ad platform would you prioritise and why?" Their answer will reveal if they have a one-size-fits-all approach or if they think critically. For many UK courses, the choice between Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads can be a critical one, and they should be able to explain the pros and cons for your specific situation.
• -> "What's your process for creative testing?" This is huge for courses. You need compelling visuals and copy. An expert will talk about testing different hooks, angles, and formats, not just swapping out images. Getting the creative right is often the biggest factor that determines if you'll see a positive return and if you can find creatives that convert your ideal students.
• -> "How do you measure success beyond the initial purchase?" A true pro will ask about your student Lifetime Value (LTV) and talk about how ads can support upsells and long-term customer relationships.

Listen for the questions they ask you. A good consultant will be more interested in your business model, your student avatar, and your goals than they are in telling you how great they are. If you're looking for someone specifically for your London based course, make sure you know how to find a Facebook Ads expert who understands the local market.

The Numbers You Can't Afford to Ignore: LTV > CPA

This brings me to the most critical, and most often ignored, piece of the puzzle. You cannot run profitable ads if you don't know your numbers. Specifically, you need to know your Customer Lifetime Value (LTV). Most founders obsess over getting the lowest possible Cost Per Lead (CPL) or Cost Per Acquisition (CPA). That's a mistake. The real question is: "How much can I afford to spend to acquire a customer and still be highly profitable?"

Your LTV tells you that. It’s the total profit you can expect to make from a single student over the entire time they are a customer. Once you know this, you can make much smarter decisions about your ad spend. Suddenly, a £150 CPA might look like a bargain if you know that student will be worth £2,000 to you over the next two years.

Here’s a simplified way to calculate it. You'll need:

• -> Average Course Price (or ARPA - Average Revenue Per Account): What a student pays you.
• -> Gross Margin %: Your revenue minus direct costs (e.g., payment processing, platform fees).
• -> Monthly Churn Rate %: If you run a membership, this is the percentage of students who cancel each month. For one-off courses, you'd calculate a 'repurchase rate' or factor in upsells. For simplicity, we'll use churn.

Let's use the calculator below to see it in action.

Once you know your LTV, a good rule of thumb is the 3:1 ratio. Your LTV should be at least three times your Customer Acquisition Cost (CPA). So, if your LTV is £1,500, you can comfortably spend up to £500 to acquire a new student. Any ads expert you speak to who doesn't bring this up or doesn't understand this calculation is not the right person to manage your money. This is fundamental to scaling profitably, which is the entire point of running paid ads for your courses in the first place.

What Should You Expect to Pay? A Look at Realistic Ad Performance

Founders always ask "what will my Cost Per Lead be?". The truth is, it varies massively depending on your niche, course price, and the quality of your ads. But based on our experience running campaigns for numerous e-learning platforms, we can give you some realistic benchmarks for the UK market.

High-ticket courses (e.g., professional certifications, B2B training) will naturally have a higher CPA than low-ticket courses (e.g., hobbyist workshops). But they also have a much higher LTV. The goal isn't the lowest CPA; it's the best ROAS.

These are just ballpark figures. A good agency will never give you a fixed CPA guarantee. Instead, they will talk about a testing phase to establish your baseline metrics, followed by a systematic process of optimisation to improve them over time. I remember one client with a medical job matching SaaS where we took their CPA from £100 all the way down to £7. That didn't happen overnight. It was the result of relentless testing of audiences, creatives, and landing pages.

Red Flags: When to Walk Away Immediately

Just as important as knowing what to look for is knowing what to avoid. The UK market has its fair share of cowboys. Here are some giant red flags that should have you running for the hills:

• -> "Guaranteed Results": Nobody can guarantee results in paid advertising. The market changes, algorithms change, and human behavior is unpredictable. Anyone who promises a specific ROAS or CPA before they've even run a single ad for you is either lying or naive.
• -> Vague Strategy & "Secret Sauce": If they can't clearly explain their process and strategy in a way you understand, it's a problem. There is no 'secret sauce'. Success comes from a solid methodology of research, testing, and analysis. If they're cagey about their methods, they probably don't have any.
• -> Long-Term Contracts from Day One: A reputable expert or agency will be confident enough to work on a shorter initial term, like 3 months, to prove their value. Being pushed into a 12-month contract from the start is a huge red flag. They should earn your long-term business, not lock you into it.
• -> Focus on Vanity Metrics: If their reports are full of fluff like impressions, reach, or clicks, but they're hazy on CPA and ROAS, they are hiding poor performance. You're not paying for eyeballs; you're paying for students.

Ultimately, trust your gut. If it feels like you're being sold to by a used-car salesman rather than being advised by a strategic partner, it's probably not a good fit. Finding the right ads expert is a critical step in scaling your e-learning business, so it's worth taking the time to do your due diligence and properly vet your candidates. It's a decision that will have a massive impact on your growth trajectory.

For UK based startups, this process can feel overwhelming, but following a structured approach to hiring your first paid ads expert will save you a world of pain and wasted budget down the line. It's about finding a partner who is as invested in your success as you are.

Your Action Plan for Hiring the Right Expert

Finding the right person is tough, but it's far from impossible. It just requires you to be systematic and to know what you're looking for. Don't rush the process. The right partner could transform your business, while the wrong one can set you back months and cost you a fortune. I've summarised the key actions for you in the table below.

This is the main advice I have for you:

Taking this structured approach will dramatically increase your chances of finding a true strategic partner. An expert won't just run your ads; they'll provide insights that can help improve your offer, your landing pages, and even your course content. It's an investment that pays for itself many times over when you get it right.

If you're going through this process and want a second opinion, or you'd like to see what a specialist approach looks like for your specific course, consider booking a free, no-obligation strategy session. We can take a look at what you're doing now and give you some clear, actionable advice on how to move forward. Hope this helps!