We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Allison Harpole-Coley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Allison thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

After owning and operating my marketing business for nearly a decade, I decided three years ago to niche down exclusively into digital advertising. My fascination with ads started years earlier when I joined a mastermind that introduced me to the world of paid marketing. I was instantly hooked. Unlike organic content, ads gave me the ability to show real ROI — real numbers, real growth, and real results for my clients. It felt like I was playing a key role in helping them scale, and I knew I had found my lane.

In the early days, I tested everything — running ads for startups with no proven offer and very little data to work with. It wasn’t easy to get results, but every client became a case study. Every ad taught me something new about strategy, psychology, and what truly makes people take action. Those experiences shaped me more than any course ever could.

Eventually, I was invited to work as a coach, teaching online business owners how to run their own ads. That experience was like drinking from a firehose — fast-paced, hands-on, and incredibly eye-opening. I learned just as much from those business owners as they did from me, and I walked away with something that can’t be taught: confidence and clarity about the kind of educator I wanted to be.

After that, I went all in. I restructured my business into a full-service digital ad agency focused on Facebook and Instagram ads — and for the first time, I started working with businesses that had established funnels and proven offers. That’s when the results really took off. I helped one client generate over $3 million in lead value and another achieve her first six-figure launch — all from the right ad strategy.

But even with all the success my clients were having, I realized something was missing. I loved teaching. I loved helping business owners understand ads in a way that finally made sense to them. That’s when I had the idea for The Digital Ad Academy by Harp & Oaks.

The Digital Ad Academy by Harp & Oaks isn’t another self-paced course that collects digital dust after the first login. It’s a done-with-you membership where business owners learn how to run ads the right way — with expert guidance, personalized feedback, and support from someone who actually runs ads every day. I designed it for business owners who are tired of guessing, tired of wasting money, and tired of “ad gurus” selling theories that don’t hold up in the real world.

Inside the membership, I give my members the exact strategies I use with my agency clients — plus the systems to read their data in under ten minutes a day, know what’s working, and confidently make improvements. It’s not about becoming a marketing expert; it’s about finally knowing how to get consistent, profitable results from ads without the overwhelm.

Today, The Digital Ad Academy by Harp & Oaks is helping business owners get in front of the right audiences, generate quality leads, and scale their businesses with confidence. We’re not just running ads — we’re building clarity, strategy, and sustainable growth. And this is only the beginning.

Allison, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m the founder of Harp & Oaks, a digital ad agency and education business that helps business owners confidently run Facebook and Instagram ads that get real results. Not vanity metrics.

With nearly a decade of experience owning and operating my digital marketing business, I’ve worked with hundreds of business owners — from local brick-and-mortar shops to online brands, helping them turn their ad spend into measurable results. But the turning point came when I realized that there was a clear need for ad education that taught business owners how to get results from their ads through an easy-to-learn method that wasn’t confusing or overwhelming.

That’s where my passion lies — taking something that feels complicated and breaking it down into simple, step-by-step strategies that actually make sense.

Through my White Glove Ad services, my team and I manage ads for established businesses that are ready to scale quickly. And through my membership, The Digital Ad Academy by Harp & Oaks , I teach entrepreneurs how to run their own ads with confidence — without wasting money, guessing what’s working, or waiting months to see results.

Inside The Digital Ad Academy, members learn how to read their ad results in under ten minutes a day, identify what’s working, and make simple changes that drive growth.

The results speak for themselves. My agency has generated over $3 million in lead value for clients and helped others hit their first six-figure launches. But what I’m most proud of is the confidence my members gain inside my ad membership. Watching a business owner go from “I don’t get ads” to “I know exactly how to scale this” never gets old.

My goal is to help my clients and members get real results from their ads that make a difference in their businesses. Whether I’m managing ad campaigns for clients or teaching inside The Digital Ad Academy by Harp & Oaks, my mission stays the same — helping business owners harness the power of digital ads to scale their businesses with less stress and more freedom.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

One of my favorite stories is about a client who came to me feeling completely disheartened. She had worked with another ad agency before and felt like it was a total loss — no results, no clarity, and no return on her investment. Still, she knew ads were the right next step for her business. She just hadn’t found the right strategy — or the right partner — to help her get there.

That’s when she decided to take a chance and work with me.

At the time, her live launches were averaging around $55,000 in revenue. My goal was to help her not only increase that number but do it in a way that attracted the right audience — people genuinely interested in her offer. We built a customized ad strategy designed to drive high-quality registrations at the lowest possible cost.

I took a leap of faith and asked her to spend the most money she ever had on a launch. Although she was nervous, she trusted in me and the investment paid off.

By the end of her July launch campaign, she had 1,033 new registrations at just $8.19 per lead — well below our $12 goal. But the real magic happened once the launch went live. She showed up with incredible energy, hosting multiple live trainings and open houses to nurture those leads and pitch her program. The result? Her first-ever six-figure launch.

After that success, we didn’t stop there. Together, we developed a second ad strategy to promote her low-ticket offer — something she could sell passively. That one campaign alone brought in an additional $20,332 in revenue from 68 sales — all while she focused on other parts of her business.

Helping her find new opportunities for growth and create more consistent revenue through Facebook and Instagram ads has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. It’s stories like hers — where smart strategy meets hard work — that remind me exactly why I love what I do.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Ten years ago, I was a new college graduate who had just wrapped up a summer internship and moved back home, completely unsure of what I wanted to do next. I didn’t know where I wanted to live or what kind of career I wanted to build — I just knew I needed some time to figure it out.

So, I moved back to my hometown “temporarily” and started applying for jobs. I’ll never forget the day I walked into a local law firm for a job interview. I didn’t get the position I applied for — instead, they offered me something completely unexpected: a spot on their marketing team.

That opportunity changed everything. They became my very first client, and I began managing their social media and writing blogs for their website. That’s when the light bulb went off. I remember thinking, “If I can get one client to pay me for my marketing services… could I find a few more and turn this into a business?”

And that’s exactly what I did.

What started as a simple side gig has now grown into a thriving full-time business — one that specializes in helping entrepreneurs and online business owners scale their businesses with Facebook and Instagram ads. Over the years, I’ve evolved from taking on any marketing project that came my way to running a full digital ad agency and launching my own membership, The Digital Ad Academy by Harp & Oaks, where I teach business owners how to confidently run their own ads without the overwhelm or guesswork.

Looking back, I can see how one “temporary” decision led to everything I have today — a business I love, a career I built from scratch, and a life I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.harpandoaks.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allisonharpolecoley/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harpandoaks
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonharpole/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@allisonharpolecoley

Image Credits
Emily Margaret Photography