Section 13
Paid ads
Decide if ads are worth it yet, then run small tests that pay back.
10 of 10 guides written. The rest are marked coming soon and become links when they are published.
Start here
- How much to spend on adsSet your first ad budget from what one sale leaves you: a yes-or-no check by business type, a test limit of 10 times that number over 14 days locked in Google, Meta or LinkedIn, a daily stop line at 3 times, and a Sunday rule to raise 20% or stop.
- How to make ad creativesMake ad creatives on a small budget: write 5 angles from your buyers' own words, make 4 new ads a day with free tools in each platform's sizes, post 2 free to see what people react to, and cut the bottom half every Sunday.
- How to set up retargeting adsSet up retargeting ads when your site gets only a few hundred visitors: install the Meta pixel, Google tag and LinkedIn Insight Tag and make 30-day visitor lists today, fill them with 100 messages, 2 posts on each of 2 channels and 20 answers a day, launch one capped campaign only once a list passes 1,000 people, and check list size and sales every Sunday.
Ads for stores
- How to run Meta ads for a Shopify storeD2CRun Meta ads for a Shopify store on a small budget: check you are ready, connect the store with Shopify's free Facebook & Instagram app and a test order, launch one Sales campaign locked to 10 times what an order leaves over 14 days, turn off losing ads daily, and raise 20% or stop every Sunday on Shopify's orders.
- How to test Facebook ad creativesD2CTest Facebook ad creatives on a small budget: give each new ad one stop line of 3 times what an order leaves, up to half your 14-day round, run 2 at a time in Meta's creative testing tool inside the campaign that sells, make 4 new ads a day and post the best free, and every Sunday keep only those Shopify shows selling at or under break-even.
- How to fix ads that get clicks but no salesD2CFix ads that get clicks but no sales: check your ad orders are counted, put five numbers from click to order in one sheet to find the step that leaks, fix clicks that never land, the product page and checkout surprises, then run the next test at the same limit and raise 20% or stop.
- Google Shopping vs Performance Max for a small storeD2CChoose between Google Shopping and Performance Max for a small store: check your store is ready and your products are approved, run one Standard Shopping test locked to 10 times what an order leaves over 14 days, cut losing products and wrong searches daily, raise 20% or stop every Sunday on Shopify's orders, and test Performance Max for 6 weeks only once Google brings 30 orders in 30 days.
- Amazon PPC for beginnersD2CRun Amazon PPC for a new D2C brand on a small budget: check the listing has 5 reviews and the Add to Cart box, lock one automatic Sponsored Products test at 10 times what an order leaves with a portfolio budget cap, turn off targeting groups and search terms past 3 times with no order daily, and raise 20% or stop every Sunday on ACoS.
Ads for software and B2B
- How to run Google Ads for SaaSRun Google Ads for your SaaS on a small budget: check you have 10 paying customers and a click price your trial can pay for, track signups, launch one Search campaign on 20 exact-match phrases with a locked 14-day budget, add negative keywords every day, and raise 20% or stop every Sunday on the signups in your own list.
- How to run LinkedIn ads for B2BRun LinkedIn ads for your B2B company on a small budget: check you have 5 orders from free channels, set one locked 14-day test at 10 times what a qualified enquiry is worth, target exact job titles with Audience Expansion and the Audience Network off, call every lead the same day, and raise 20% or stop each Sunday.