Ad Specialist for Small Local Business Clients With Small Budgets - Hourly

*Please read this full post before applying as it's not for everyone * I am not looking for a canned proposal. I won't respond to obviously AI responses * Potential dealbreakers below I am looking for a long-term Google Ads and social media ads specialist who understands small business budgets, local service businesses, hourly work, and clear reporting. I have been in the website and marketing industry for 20+ years. Over time, I have focused my work on WordPress websites, SEO, and marketing support for American small businesses. Most of my clients are local, service-based businesses, no e-commerce. My clients include general contractors, excavators, concrete companies, fence builders, deck builders, dog walkers, therapists, nonprofit consultants, tree farms, and other small business owners. I am looking for someone who can help manage simple paid ad campaigns for some of these clients. This may include Google, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and maybe even ChatGPT ads, or a mix depending on the client. Some campaigns may be ongoing. Others may be short-term campaigns for a specific service, event, season, promotion, or business need. I need someone who is comfortable with both. This would be a small team relationship. I want someone reliable, practical, honest, and easy to communicate with. *Possibly dealbreaker for you* Important pricing and workflow note: I do not work on large monthly retainers or project-based pricing. My company bills clients based on real time worked. I know most ad specialists have a monthly minimum per client with package deals starting at $500-1,000/month. That just doesn't work for my clients who are small, local businesses with tight budgets. Each invoice to my client is broken down by: Client Task Time worked If a task takes 10 minutes, I bill 10 minutes. If it takes 47 minutes, I bill 47 minutes. I need someone who is willing to work the same way. Please do not apply if you require a monthly minimum per client. Some clients may only have $100 per month available for ad management. Some may have more. The work will vary by client and by month. This is very important. I work with small businesses that need honest, practical marketing help without being forced into large retainers they cannot afford. Time tracking and payment: You will need to use my FreshBooks Contractor account to track your time. Time must be tracked by client and task. I invoice clients and pay contractors around the first of each month. Honest time tracking is required. Inflated time, padded hours, vague time entries, or time clock theft are dealbreakers. I am loyal to good people, and I want this to become a long-term working relationship. But honesty, integrity, clear communication, and accurate time tracking are non-negotiable. The work may include: - Setting up basic Google and social media campaigns from scratch - Some ad accounts have already been started so will need to give you access. After which, you're welcome to work your magic with the data I've got and create new campaigns. - I'll need you to take lead on guiding me to get you the right access to accounts and to share with me. - Generating New Ads: Doing basic keyword research, writing ad copy, setting location targeting based on client direction and current website, reviewing landing pages if necessary, etc. - Maintaining Ads: Checking search terms, pausing poor-performing items, adjusting keywords or targeting, updating ad copy, reviewing spend, etc. - Monthly Reporting: Send a monthly report via email to me that I will forward to the client after review. You can include any notable highlights they should know or questions to ask. Most campaigns will be simple. I am not looking for overly complicated agency-style campaign builds. I need clean, organized, practical campaigns for local service businesses. You should be comfortable communicating with me directly. Over time, if needed, you can communicate directly with my clients after I make an introduction. Please have: - Well-written communication - Strong customer service skills - A positive attitude - Patience with small budgets Tools You'll Use: - Asana for project management - FreshBooks for time tracking - Search Atlas - I use for SEO but you can use whatever tool you prefer This may be a good fit if: - You intimately understand the back end of the Google ecosystem (Ads, Analytics, Search Console, Tags, etc.) - You've been doing this long enough that you don't need much direction. - You don't just go through the motions of running ads but actually use your brain and help these small businesses get leads and survive. - You're completely comfortable with small budgets, small business owners, and sometimes fickle budgets. - You don't require monthly minimums and have no problem working hourly and even prefer it that way for transparency and honesty. - You're interested in long-term work. This is not a good fit if you: - Only work with large ad budgets - Require a monthly minimum per client - Require large retainers - Only work on project-based pricing - Do not want detailed hourly tracking - Do not want to use FreshBooks for time tracking - Do not want to work with small local businesses I am looking for someone for the long haul. If I find the right fit, I believe this can grow over time. I already have a solid base of about 40 clients, and I am confident I will bring in more work once I have the right person helping with paid ads.