In order to run a Facebook ad campaign that is set up for success, there are a few items I’d recommend checking off of your list first.

For a printable version of this checklist, you can scroll to the bottom to signup to have the PDF emailed to you.

1. Your pixel is installed and working.

Your pixel is a smart tool to have in your strategic marketer pocket. When you’re running a FB Ad campaign, you want to make sure your pixel is installed and firing on all cylinders. By that, I mean you want to make sure that everything a visitor will touch, it’s pixeled, even if it’s on a third party site (like LeadPages or ClickFunnels.)

2. Your landing pages is designed and up to date.

Where are people going when they click on your ad? We want to send them somewhere other than your website homepage or your Facebook page.

3. Your thank you page is designed and up to date.

What happens after they sign up to receive the thing you’re advertising? Too often, the thank you page becomes an afterthought or is a very generic piece to your customer’s buying journey (or sales funnel). It should let the visitor know what to expect next, and redirect them to your best pieces of content so that they’re encouraged to continue getting to know you.

4. Your email sequence is ready to go out.

How do you plan on delivering “your thing”? This is your first introduction to your new subscriber, so this is a perfect opportunity to “make it good”. You want to introduce yourself, deliver what you said you would, the follow up with a sequence to make sure they’ve opened the deliverable, and that they are being motiated and encouraged towards your goal (see #7!)

5. You’ve created UTM links.

Ah, yes, UTM links. Creating a UTM URL assumes that you have Google Analytics installed and that you understand the basics of using it. You can watch a video about that here: Creating UTM URLS.

6. You know or can predict your organic stats.

This comment is a little controversial in that many people use Facebook ads to test out new offers. And that’s fine.. BUT in this scenario, you have to enter in with the mindset that you can either invest time OR money into growing your business. If you’re going to invest TIME, that means creating an offer and promoting it organically. It will take longer to track statistics, but it’s free. OR you can invest money and figure out the conversion rates and test the pieces (like your offer, you landing page, sales page, etc.)

7. You have a strong understanding of your campaign goals.

I suggest you NEVER run an ad unless you have a very clear goal of how this pays off in the long run. That’s why I’m so anti-one-off campaigns like randomly boosting something OR running a like campaign. There are scenarios when putting money behind an existing post OR running a campaign for page likes, but ONLY when you understand how this plays into your business goals. Otherwise you may as well set your money on fire.

8. You know your budget.
This goes back to #7. IF you know your goals, and you know how this pays off in the long run, it’s easier to set a budget.
It also goes back to #6. If you know your stats, it’s easier to get to #9.

9. You understand your break even points.

At what level do your ads need to convert in order to pay for themselves? There are ways to calculate at what level your campaign is a “success” or a “bust”. There are times that even if your leads are converting at $20/lead, they could still pay for themselves based on your lifetime customer value.

How did you do on your checklist? Did you mark them all off? Great! Then you’re ready to run FB ads!

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