Get to Know Us

About Karen Nelson:

If you’re sick of spending all day in your ads manager instead of helping your own clients & customers...

or if you're tired of waiting on the account manager from the mega agency you hired to get back to you...

pull up a seat.

I help coaches and course creators like you scale their businesses with social media ads, so you can step away from ads manager and get back to serving your customers.

You’re here because you want to do things differently.

If you’re like most coaches and course creators, you want to get more clients, and have launches that are profitable. But you hate dealing with the Facebook ads platform and everything that comes along with it. 

Or you already have an Facebook ads agency on retainer, but it feels big and you feel small. You feel like you've been passed off to a junior team member and are just one of a dozen clients that the account manager has to deal with. You're not sure they even really understand your business.

It CAN be easier. And I can help.

Hi! I’m Karen Nelson, the owner of Karen Nelson Digital

and we’re a boutique social media ads agency for coaches, course creators and digital product creators who are tired of spending hours on their Facebook ads, or tired of working with agencies who just don’t seem to care as much about their business as they do.

We take social media ads management off your plate so that you can focus on serving your clients and customers. And we give you and your business the personalized attention you deserve.

Curious to know how I ended up here? Get cozy, because it’s a bit of story.

I wasn’t always a social media ads strategist. My first job out of college was actually "elementary school teacher." In fact, I spent a total of 15 years in the classroom teaching everything from preschool to 6th grade. My last classroom role was in a pre-kindergarten classroom and after 5 years in that role, I knew I was ready for a change. 

My first job after the classroom was at a corporate marketing agency that specialized in marketing to teachers. Two important things happened during my time at the agency: 

1. I had the privilege of managing marketing campaigns for huge corporate entities. I cut my teeth on campaigns for major brands like National Geographic, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Verizon.  

2.  I learned that social media ads were my absolute passion. 

When I realized that managing Facebook ads was the perfect cocktail of evaluating numbers AND identifying high quality creative, I was hooked. 

There were two types of people at my corporate agency: There were the creatives, who were all about what looked pretty, what sounded pretty and could almost pull beautifully crafted imagery out of the air but never watched the numbers.

And there were the numbers geeks who looked almost exclusively at the numbers but wouldn’t have been able to identify a compelling image or a powerful piece of copywriting if their life depended on it.

I was one of the few people at the agency who was able to keep a foot in both worlds. I could look at the numbers AND use them to identify compelling creative. And then use the data to amplify our result with more, similar creative.

And that’s exactly what we do in my agency today. We help business owners look at what’s working with their social media strategy. We look at the numbers and the creative.

And then we amplify that result with our ad strategy so that our clients are able to bring in even more customers. It a simple formula, but very few people have the skillset to evaluate both parts of the equation:

Evaluation and Interpretation of the ads metrics

Plus:

An understanding of good design and strong marketing copy

Equals:

More clients & customers for you in your business. 

It was at the agency that I learned that my real superpower was standing in that middle ground between data and creative.

My understanding of the relationship between the two is what actually brings results for my clients.

It was 6 years ago that I started offering this kind of help to my Facebook ads clients at Karen Nelson Digital. Hundreds of campaigns later, my small team and I have helped our clients generate millions of dollars in their businesses. 

And it's not just fantastic ad results we've delivered. We've also helped CEOs and Marketing Managers free up time so they can work in their own zone genius serving their clients and creating new products to help them reach their own goals.

I keep Karen Nelson Digital small on purpose.

We only take a few clients at a time so that every client gets the attention they deserve. Most of our clients stay with us for years because they trust us to show up and deliver results.

Our clients know that I don't just pass them off to a team member to handle their account and only check in once a month. If I do bring in a team member to help, I'm still a part of our conversations and available for you every single business day if you need it.

Looking for my fancy qualifications? I have a few:

  • Elite Ads Manager Certified
    Extensive training in creating ad campaigns and monitoring their performance.

  • Funnel Gorgeous Certified
    Training and certification in the 3 aspects of funnel building: Offer creation, Design & Copywriting. Plus experience with the FG Funnels platform and other Highlevel white labels.

  • JavaScript Programming Certification (University of Washington)

    Web development training using WordPress platforms and also building websites with code from scratch.

  • BA in Education

  • 3 Years at a Corporate Marketing Firm
    Working with brands like Walmart, National Education Association & Amazon

Certifications

The Values that Guide Our Work:

  • We prioritize integrity and honesty.

  • We strive to always treat people with kindness and respect.

  • We are experts in ad strategy and management.

  • We really care about outcomes for our clients.

Here's where I break the rules a little bit:

You aren't supposed to put personal stuff on your about page.

But since my clients and I work together for years, it's inevitable that we get to know each other a little bit. And I want you to know some things about who you might be choosing to work with.

  • I love stories. Netflix or novels, it doesn't really matter, I relax with fiction. And I love my happy endings. There's too much pain in the real world. I don't need to relive it during my down time.

  • Baking is fun for me. I'll spend hours on Pinterest looking for the perfect recipe. (Actually, I'll spend hours on Pinterest, period! It's my favorite.)

  • I've been married to my husband for 25 years and we have 2 college age kids who are in school in Boston.

  • I've lived in the Pacific Northwest for almost my entire life. (Except one year in North Carolina, where I was born, so the south also has a special place in my heart.)

  • I don't play sports but my kids play a lot of them. Neither has ever met a sport they didn't love. I don't catch a lot of their games now that they're off at college, but I still try.

  • I wasn't a dog lover until we got our first family dog 7 years ago. He's a Golden Retriever Cocker Spaniel mix named Logan.

  • I love Starbucks but don’t drink coffee. (Tea and hot chocolate for me, please. But none of that wimpy herbal tea. I like my tea black and strong.)

What Our Clients Say About Us

"Over 600 people have opted into the free mini-class we promoted in the ad campaign we set up just two weeks ago ."

-Shannon

“My first ad is up and running with a $0.53 cost per lead.”

-Heather

You're organized and know my business which is so helpful.

-Lori

Karen is so detailed and she genuinely cares. I would absolutely recommend her in a heartbeat.

-Kelly

Here’s my promise to you:

I want to help coaches, course creators, and digital product designers like you realize that scaling with social media ads really is possible — without wasting your days in ads manager or relying on big agencies that aren’t as committed to your success as you are.

And that’s exactly what I want for you too. I want to help you take social media ads off your plate while you continue to scale your business and serve your customers so that you can bring your own mission to life.

Ready to get started?

Whether you're looking to outsource your ads for the first time to lighten your load, or you're looking for a better, more high touch experience, I’ve got you covered. Discover how we can work together to make Facebook & Instagram Ads easy for your business.