Skill: elias-didoo/meta-ads-budget-planning (version 1.0.0)

--- name: meta-ads-budget-planning description: "[Didoo AI] Framework for planning and allocating Meta Ads budget across campaigns, audiences, and testing phases. Use when launching first campaigns, planning quarterly budgets, or allocating spend across multiple campaigns." --- # Meta Ads Budget Planning Guide ## When to Use - Planning your first Meta Ads budget - Allocating spend across multiple campaigns - Deciding how much to test before scaling - Planning for seasonal campaigns vs. always-on --- ## The Core Budget Rule — What Actually Determines CPA Meta Ads CPA is driven by: 1. Audience size — larger audiences = more impressions available = potentially lower CPM 2. Competition — CPM varies by category, season, and geo 3. Creative quality — higher relevance = lower CPA 4. Budget — enough budget to exit Learning Phase and run long enough for Meta to optimize The most common SMB mistake: Spreading $300–500/month across 5 campaigns at $10/day each. None get enough learning data. All perform poorly. --- ## Budget Tiers for New Advertisers ### Tier 1: Testing Budget ($300–500/month) Goal: Find product-market fit in Meta Ads | What to run | Budget | Duration | |---|---|---| | 1 campaign | $15–20/day | 14 days minimum | | 1–2 audiences | Don't spread thin | Focus on learning | What success looks like: CPL within 20% of target OR ROAS > 2x with enough volume to be statistically meaningful. ### Tier 2: Learning Budget ($500–1,500/month) Goal: Validate what works and start optimizing | What to run | Budget | Duration | |---|---|---| | 1 proven campaign from testing | $20–30/day | Ongoing | | 1 new audience test | $10–15/day | 14 days | ### Tier 3: Scaling Budget ($1,500+/month) Goal: Scale winners, test new audiences | What to run | Budget | Duration | |---|---|---| | Proven winner | Scale 20% per week | Until efficiency drops | | New audience test | $15–20/day | 14 days | | New creative test | $10–15/day | 14 days | --- ## Campaign-Level Budget Allocation ### The 60/20/20 Rule for Active Portfolio | Bucket | % of Budget | Purpose | Example ($1,000/month) | |---|---|---|---| | Always-On (proven winners) | 60% | Consistent lead gen / sales | $600 | | Testing New Audiences | 20% | Find new scalable segments | $200 | | Creative Testing | 20% | Keep winning creatives fresh | $200 | ### For Lead Gen Specifically | Scenario | Minimum Daily Budget per Adset | Why | |---|---|---| | Testing (new campaign) | $15–20/day | Need 50+ results to exit Learning Phase | | Proven campaign | $20–30/day | Maintain statistical significance | | Scaling winner | Increase 20% weekly | Controlled growth without disrupting learning | --- ## How Much Budget to Allocate Per Audience Rule of thumb: Each audience (adset) needs $10–15/day minimum to learn within 7 days. | Daily Budget | Max # of Active Audiences | Notes | |---|---|---| | $300–500/month ($10–17/day) | 1 audience | Don't spread thin | | $500–750/month ($17–25/day) | 1–2 audiences | One proven + one test | | $750–1,000/month ($25–33/day) | 2–3 audiences | Start building a portfolio | | $1,000+/month | 3–5 audiences | Ready for systematic testing | The 5-Adset Rule: In any campaign with CBO, don't create more than 5 adsets — each needs enough budget to learn. --- ## Budget by Campaign Objective | Objective | Minimum Budget for Learning | Expected CPA Range | |---|---|---| | Lead Generation | $15–20/day per adset | $5–100+ (industry-dependent) | | Conversions (E-commerce) | $20–30/day | Varies widely by product and margins | | Link Clicks | $10–15/day | $0.50–$2.00 CPC typical | | Brand Awareness | $20–30/day | CPM $5–15 depending on geo | --- ## Testing Budget — How Much to Reserve Always reserve budget for testing, even when you have a winner. Minimum testing reserve: 20% of total ad spend should go to testing new audiences or creatives. Testing velocity: - Launch at least 1 new test per week if budget allows - Kill tests that don't hit baseline by day 7 (with $10+ spend) - Winners from tests should be scaled within 14 days --- ## Budget Planning for Different Business Types ### Local Service Business ($500–1,500/month) - Focus on 1–2 geo-targeted campaigns - Lead gen objective with clear offer (free consultation, quote, etc.) - Recommended split: 70% proven offer / 30% new audience test - Typical CPL range: $15–80 depending on service and market ### E-commerce / DTC ($1,000–3,000/month) - Start with retargeting (website visitors, cart abandoners) - Then scale to cold prospecting with lookalike audiences - Recommended split: 40% retargeting / 60% prospecting - Typical ROAS target: 2x–4x (varies by margin) ### SaaS / Digital Products ($500–2,000/month) - Focus on lead quality over quantity - Use content-style ads to warm cold audiences - Longer attribution window (7-day click) - Typical CPL: $20–100+ depending on product price point ### Small Digital Agency / White-Label ($1,000–5,000/month) - Multi-client management with separate campaign per client - Each client needs minimum $15/day per active campaign - Track per-client ROAS separately - Use meta-ads-audience-analysis quarterly to audit allocation --- ## Budget Seasonality Planning | Period | Strategy | Budget Adjustment | |---|---|---| | Pre-season (4 weeks before) | Start prospecting, build audience data | +30–50% vs normal | | Peak season | Scale winners, reduce testing | Maintain proven campaigns | | Post-season | Wind down, analyze results | -20–30% or pause | --- ## Quick Reference: Budget Rules Summary - Minimum per adset: $10–15/day (below this, learning phase never completes) - Budget change rule: Max 20% per adjustment, wait 2–3 days between changes - Testing minimum: 20% of total budget always reserved for new tests - Scale ceiling: When CPL rises > 15% after budget increase = stop scaling - 5-adset max per CBO campaign: More adsets = less budget per adset = slower learning --- ## Next Step After completing budget planning → go to **meta-ads-strategy** to define campaign structure (CBO vs ABO, audience targeting, bidding approach) using the budget you've allocated.


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