Paid ads, radically simplified

Who This Is For

Marketers who have tried paid ads and spent money without understanding why it worked or didn't. Founders considering paid traffic for the first time who want a no-fluff overview. Anyone running ads on a small budget who needs to know where to put every dollar.

What You Will Build

A single ad campaign — one audience, one creative, one offer — set up with the right objective for your goal. By the end you'll know how to read the three numbers that actually tell you if an ad is working.

What You Need

An ad account on any major platform (Meta, Google, or LinkedIn). A working landing page for the offer you're promoting. A daily budget of at least $10 — this session is not theoretical.

Going Further

Once your first campaign is profitable, duplicate it and change one variable. Pair paid traffic with the lead-capture teardown to make sure the click has somewhere to land. Track cost-per-lead, not cost-per-click — one number tells you if the business works.

Instructions

STEP 1 Pick the platform that matches your buyer Meta for consumer and SMB. LinkedIn for B2B with job-title targeting. Google for high-intent search. Pick one and stay there until it's working.

STEP 2 Define your audience narrowly Bigger audiences are cheaper per impression but convert worse. Start narrow: one interest, one job title, or one lookalike. Expand only after you have a winner.

STEP 3 Write one creative, not five Spend your testing budget on audiences and offers, not creative variations. One strong visual and one direct headline is enough to start.

STEP 4 Set the right objective If you want leads: Lead Generation or Conversions. If you want traffic: Traffic — but only if your page converts. Awareness campaigns spend money without telling you anything useful.

STEP 5 Read the three numbers that matter CTR (did the ad get attention), CPL (did the spend make sense), and conversion rate (did the page close). Everything else is noise until you have volume.