The Anti-Overwhelm Ad Strategy: Why Coaches Should Start Simple (Before Automating Anything)

For years, online business advice has sounded something like this: “Build a funnel. Add a webinar. Automate your nurture sequence. Create five upsells. Then… the sales will roll in.”

And yet for many coaches and affiliate marketers, all that complexity leads to one thing: a whole lot of time, money, and energy spent before a single dollar comes back in.

Alex Morris, founder of To The Moon Digital, has worked on campaigns to generate over $10M in sales for some of the biggest names in the personal development and coaching space—using a simpler, faster, and more testable approach that prioritises results over bells and whistles.

His core belief is this: Automation has its place—but not until you’ve proven what actually works.

Start Simple, Learn Fast, Then Scale

Morris doesn’t reject funnels or automation. In fact, he uses them often—with great success. But for most clients, he doesn’t start there.

“People think automation means freedom,” he says. “But what they don’t realise is that it also means more moving parts, more testing, and more that can go wrong—especially early on.”

That’s why Morris focuses first on building a single, streamlined ad campaign: one that uses a lead form or direct message to capture interest, a quick video training to educate, and a simple calendar booking step to convert interest into sales conversations.

No long-form landing pages. No webinar registration flows. No 19-email sequences before the call to action.

Just a clean, direct path from click to call.

The Myth of the Magic Funnel

Many coaches believe they need a perfect, polished system in place before they can start bringing in leads—multiple pages, automations, timers, and nurture flows.

But according to Morris, that mindset can delay success.

“The problem isn’t funnels. It’s trying to build a perfect one before you’ve tested your message or offer. You’re optimising something that hasn’t been validated yet.”

Instead, the To The Moon team uses simple ad campaigns and lead-gen tools (like Meta lead forms and chatbots) to test angles, offers, and audiences quickly—without wasting weeks (or thousands of dollars) on funnel infrastructure that may not convert.

What Makes This Method Work?

Here’s what separates this approach from what most marketers are selling:

Fast testing with fewer variables: Simpler campaigns mean faster feedback. You know exactly which part of the process is working—or not.

Direct conversations with leads: Chatbots and messenger flows create a two-way conversation from the first click, warming people up naturally without long delays.

Email nurture after the fact: Once a lead is captured, then the automation kicks in. But only once it’s proven to be worth it.

No guesswork: With a clear test-and-learn strategy, coaches can launch, learn, and improve—instead of guessing what will work from the start.

Morris even shares a Low-Budget Testing Strategy that allows new advertisers to dial in winning creatives and copy with just $30 a day—something nearly any coach or consultant can implement quickly.

When to Add the Fancy Stuff

Once the campaign is working—once the offer is converting and leads are turning into clients—then it might be time to add the layers: landing pages, longer email sequences, upsells, webinars.

But even then? Morris says they often test those enhancements and find that they don’t outperform the simpler version.

“More branding and better tech doesn’t always improve results,” he says. “Sometimes it just makes people feel more polished—but that doesn’t always convert better.”

From Side Hustle to Strategy Powerhouse

Morris didn’t start in marketing. He worked in hospitality—first as a chef, waiter, and barista, before opening his own café at 23. When he moved into online business, he didn’t have a team, a funnel, or a strategy coach. He had ads.

And through years of hands-on experience, he discovered that a simple, focused, client-getting system could out-perform even the most elaborate funnels.

Today, his agency builds and runs ad systems for some of the top names in coaching, consulting, and affiliate marketing—while also teaching everyday entrepreneurs how to launch their own with zero tech headaches.

The Bottom Line

Morris isn’t against funnels. He’s just for results.

For most coaches and affiliates, the best next move isn’t to “build the full funnel.”

It’s to test a simple offer, connect with the right audience, and launch a no-friction system that turns clicks into conversations.

The rest can come later.

Because the fastest way to momentum in your business… is to start where results happen first.

To learn how To The Moon Digital can help you attract more clients without the funnel frustration, visit the website to get in touch.