How do I run ads with a tiny budget?

Efri · 1 min read

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The main thing is that your objective and your targeting have to change when the budget is small. You can't run the same setup a big spender runs, because you'll never get enough data for the platform to learn anything.

If you're going for conversions: set the objective to conversions, but point it at warm people. Retargeting, your website visitors, your customer list, lookalikes off actual buyers. Don't go broad. Broad needs volume you don't have, and the platform will spend your whole budget learning and never get anywhere.

If you're going for awareness: set the objective to reach or engagement, and go wider. That's what a small budget can actually do well. You're not asking for a sale, you're buying familiarity, and that's cheap.

If you're somewhere in between: point at a cheaper conversion. Signups, not sales. You'll get enough events for the platform to optimise, and you can sell to those people over email for free.

Other things that matter more when the budget is small:

1. 1
   Fewer campaigns. One or two. Splitting a small budget across six ad sets means none of them learn.
2. 2
   Fewer creatives. Three good ones, not twelve.
3. 3
   Let it run. Small budgets need more time to reach the same number of events. Fiddling daily resets everything.
4. 4
   Retarget before you prospect. Cheapest money you'll spend.