What No One Tells You About Scaling Paid Ads 💸🚀
Welcome to your latest edition of Welcome Tomorrow Insights, your go-to source for the latest in growth marketing strategies and impactful industry updates.
TL;DR:
Scaling paid ads isn’t as simple as throwing more money at them and hoping for the best. 💸 If you rush the process, skip testing, or ignore audience fatigue, you’ll end up burning cash instead of growing efficiently. 🔥 As Jandre pointed out, conversion journeys are anything but linear—users might click on an ad for one product and end up buying something completely different. 🤯 The key is to embrace the unpredictability, analyze patterns, and use those insights to refine your strategy. Smart scaling wins every time! 🚀
Scaling your paid ads feels like a natural next step when your business is growing, but let’s be real , it’s not as easy as just upping the budget and crossing your fingers. 🤞🏾 There’s a lot more to it than meets the eye. So let’s talk about what no one really tells you when it comes to scaling those campaigns and how to avoid the mistakes that could cost you. 💥
1. Going Too Big, Too Fast 🚨🔥
Scaling quickly seems like the right move, after all, if a little works, a lot must work, right? 💡 But here’s the thing: aggressive scaling can actually disrupt your ad performance. It’s like building a house without letting the foundation set…it won’t last. 🏠🚧
What really happens?
Your platforms (Facebook, Google, etc.) enter what’s called the "learning phase" every time you make a change. 🧠 Scale too quickly, and this phase keeps resetting, which means your ads won’t have time to optimise.
Your CPA can suddenly spike 🚀, and if you’re just throwing money at a campaign without considering how well your ads are performing, it won’t scale in the way you expect.
What’s a smarter move?
Try increasing your budget in small increments (maybe 20-30% at a time) and give it time ⏳ to stabilize before pushing further.
Think of scaling like a slow cooker 🍲 , let the algorithm work with the data before rushing into the next step.
2. Testing? Yeah, You Should Probably Keep Doing That 🔍🧪
Scaling your ad spend doesn’t mean you can skip the testing. It’s easy to think you’ve found the winning formula, but trust me, once you push out to a bigger audience, things will change. 🔄 A/B testing isn’t just for beginners , it’s essential.
What happens if you don’t test?
You end up wasting your increased budget 💸 on ideas that might’ve worked for a smaller audience but don’t hit the mark on a larger scale.
Without regular testing, you could completely overlook a creative or messaging angle that resonates far more with a broader demographic. 😳
What’s a better approach?
Keep testing variations of your creatives, copy, and targeting, not just once, but constantly 🔄, as your audience shifts.
Consider testing at a smaller scale (even with a limited budget 💵) to see what really delivers before scaling further.
3. Audience Fatigue Is Real, But You’re Probably Ignoring It 🔄😴
Sure, your ad’s performing well, but that doesn’t mean it’ll keep performing once it’s shown to the same audience over and over again. 🔄 Fatigue sets in fast when you’re scaling because the same people see your ads and stop responding.
What happens?
You see your CTR drop 📉 and conversions go flat 😬, but your spend continues to increase.
If your audience is saturated, your ads become background noise 🎧 and no one notices them anymore.
How to sidestep it?
Regularly refresh your creatives 🖼️, but don’t just recycle what you’ve already done, try something different.
Explore new audience segments 🔎 or interests that you haven’t tapped into yet. Retargeting isn’t the only way to stay relevant. 👀
4. Avoid the Vanity Metric Trap ✨📊
It’s easy to get hooked on vanity metrics like likes ❤️, shares 🔄, and click-through rates. They look great on paper but don’t always mean you’re heading in the right direction. Big numbers are exciting, but they don’t always lead to better outcomes.
What’s the problem?
Vanity metrics make you feel good, but often don’t tell the full story. For instance, you might see thousands of clicks 🤩, but if they’re not converting into leads or sales 💸, what’s the point?
The real question isn’t “How many people clicked?” but “How many of those clicks turned into customers?” 🛍️
What should you focus on instead?
Dig deeper into cost-per-acquisition (CPA), return on ad spend (ROAS), and lifetime value (LTV) 📈 these are the metrics that matter when you’re scaling.
Make sure you’re optimising for conversions, not just traffic. 👇🏾
5. Retargeting: Not Just for Small Budgets 🔄💡
You might be scaling to a bigger audience, but what about the people who already know you? Don’t forget the power of retargeting. 🔥 It’s not just a small-budget tactic. It’s actually one of the most effective ways to get more bang for your buck. 💥
What happens if you ignore this?
You’ll continue pouring money into cold traffic ❄️, missing out on the people who are already familiar with your brand but haven’t yet taken the plunge. 🏊♂️
Retargeting can be the secret sauce that boosts your conversions 💰, but too many brands only focus on fresh traffic and ignore their warm audience. 🔥
What’s the better way forward?
Invest in retargeting ads for people who’ve visited your site or engaged with your content 👀. They’re the ones most likely to convert.
Use segmentation 📊 instead of one broad retargeting campaign, consider segmenting your audience based on their level of engagement with your brand.
6. The User Experience Isn’t Just an Afterthought 💻
You’ve scaled your ads, now what happens when someone clicks? If your landing page isn’t ready for the traffic, all that money you’re putting into ads won’t do you any good. 💸
What happens if you neglect UX?
You get high traffic but low conversions 😒, which ultimately makes your ad spend feel wasted.
A slow 🐢 or confusing landing page can turn potential customers away before they even know what you’re offering.
What to do instead?
Check your landing page speed ⏱️ slow sites lose customers, and fast sites convert. 🏎️
Make sure the message and visuals on the landing page match what the ad promised 🎯. Continuity is key to making a seamless user journey.
Ready to Scale Like a Pro? 🚀
Scaling ads might seem like the obvious next move, but if you’re rushing it 🚨, skipping your tests 🔍, or pretending audience fatigue and retargeting don’t exist 🔄 you might as well be throwing money into a black hole 🕳️💸. It’s all about striking the perfect balance between growth 📈 and strategy, so you’re not just scaling for the sake of it, you’re scaling to actually win (and avoid that awkward “Why isn’t this working?” moment) 😅💥.
Got some wins (or facepalms) to share? Leave a comment below. 😊
Jandre’s Hot Take 🔥
An interesting phenomenon we’ve noticed is the non-linear conversion journey of users entering a conversion funnel. We’ve seen users click on an ad promoting one product and ultimately sign up for a product with entirely different features (which, in this case, is definitely not a bad thing).Bottom line: people are unpredictable, and even the best campaign logic can produce unexpected results. Always look for insights from these patterns because they provide an amazing window into your customers.
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