SSA #044: Your First 30-60 Days of Facebook Ads

Read Time: 3 Minutes 

Whether you're brand new to Facebook Ads or well-seasoned, I believe today's edition of The Saturday Self-Published Author will be beneficial to you.

And it should help set the stage for what to expect from Facebook Ads, no matter if you're about to embark on them for the very first time, or you just need recentring on how Facebook Ads work (something I need to do myself every 2-3 months).

Without further ado, let's dive into things...

Naturally, Facebook Ads evolves and changes every single day, but the fundamentals of how it works haven't changed for years.

There are just 2 expectations I believe you need going into Facebook Ads, and this is what I'm going to share with you today.

#1: Define Your 30 Day Budget

Facebook Ads take time to get traction. Sure, I've had Ads that have hit the mark overnight and immediately started generating sales, but these are rare – I can count on one hand how many of these I've had in the last three and half years.

Typically, you're looking at 2-3 days, minimum, before a new Facebook Ad starts getting some traction.

I don't need to teach you to suck eggs, but Facebook Ads cost money.

And in your first 30 days of running Facebook Ads, chances are, you're much more likely going to lose money than make money.

That won't be the case for every author, but it is for many.

With that being said, my number one piece of advice based on the expectation that you're going to lose money in your first 30 days of Facebook Ads, is to define a budget you're prepared to lose.

This should be a budget you can ringfence, allowing you to spend money on your Ads every single day, no matter the performance, and not turn them off.

I would recommend budgeting an absolute minimum of $10 per day, but for quicker results, budget $20 per day if you can.

This adds up to $300 - $600 per month, at a minimum. If you can spend more, great, go for it; you'll be able to collect data that much quicker.

#2: Prepare Your Ads in Advance

Before you start your first (or next) 30 days of Facebook Ads, I would highly recommend preparing all your Facebook Ads assets in advance.

By assets, I mean images and text.

Specifically, here's what I recommend you prepare:

– 12 images

– 8 x Headlines

– 8 x Primary Text

Then, when you start your 30 days, you can go straight into launching your Ads.

If you need some inspiration and ideas to get the creative juices flowing, I recommend checking out the Facebook Ads Library, where you can search for Ads by any advertiser.

When it comes to testing your Facebook Ads, I swear by Dynamic Creative, as this allows you to harness Facebook's algorithm, and allow it to find a winning Ad for you.

For each Dynamic Creative Ad, I use the 3:2:2 Method, which consists of:

– 3 x Images

– 2 x Headlines

– 2 x Primary Text

Let these Ads run for 5-7 days, identify the winners and then test your next 3:2:2 combination using Dynamic Creative.

These 30 days of testing will give you the data you need to gradually start scaling your Facebook Ads from Day 31 onwards.

Wrapping Up...

I don't need to tell you that Facebook Ads isn't a get-rich-quick scheme that's going to send your book sales into the stratosphere (though that can and does happen. Regularly).

It all takes time, persistence and iteration.

Your first 30 days of Facebook Ads are likely going to be a little... painful. And you are almost certainly going to lose money.

But what's 30 days in the grand scheme of things? 30 days in your author business? 30 days to build a Facebook Ads foundation that will last you for, potentially, years?

It's less than the blink of an eye.

Your second 30 days (i.e. Day 31 - 60) should be much more enjoyable than your first 30 days, providing, of course, that you've put in the reps, tested your Ads, studied the data and iterated based on that data.

To sum up...

Day 1-30 of Facebook Ads should be dedicated to testing your Ad Creative and building your skills, knowledge and confidence.

Day 31-60 of Facebook Ads should be dedicated to scaling up what works.

After that, it's a case of continuing to scale, to test, and hone your skills as a Facebook advertiser. 

You got this.

To Your Success
– Matt