Paid ads

Paid Ads

Organic takes months; paid buys targeted reach now — if you measure it. Developer products fail at paid when they run generic B2C ads instead of intent-driven campaigns with landing pages that match the ad promise.

Chains from [[growth-strategy]] (ICP, budget, CAC targets) and feeds [[seo-growth]] (landing page quality). Coordinate with [[social-distribution]] for creative reuse.

Use paid-ads checklist alongside this process.

When to Use

• Launching to cold audience with budget allocated
• Organic channels plateaued — need scalable sign-ups
• Retargeting site visitors who didn't convert
• Testing messaging before heavy content investment

Skip when: no landing page, no conversion tracking, or budget < minimum viable test ($500–1000/mo).

Process

1. Define campaign economics

Field	Example
Goal	Sign-up, demo request, waitlist
Monthly budget	$1,000 test / $5,000 scale
Target CAC	$15 sign-up
Landing page	UTM-tagged, matches ad copy
Tracking	Pixel + conversion event verified

No tracking = no campaign.

2. Pick platforms by ICP

Platform	Best for dev products
Google Search	High intent ("developer networking app")
LinkedIn	B2B, career-stage targeting, mentors
Meta/Instagram	Broad, cheaper tests — lower intent
Reddit Ads	Subreddit targeting (r/programming, r/cscareerquestions)
Dev newsletters	Sponsorships — treat as paid, measure clicks

Start one platform for 2 weeks before splitting budget.

3. Campaign structure

Campaign: [Product] — Sign-ups — [Month]
  Ad set: ICP segment (e.g. bootcamp grads, 0–3 YOE)
    Ad A: Pain hook + screenshot
    Ad B: Social proof + CTA
    Ad C: Feature demo video

• 3–5 ad variants per ad set — kill losers after 1,000 impressions or 50 clicks
• One message pillar per ad set ([[growth-strategy]])
• Landing page headline matches ad hook exactly

4. Creative rules for developers

• Show the product — screenshot or 15-sec demo
• No stock photos of handshakes
• Specific benefit: "Find a mentor in your stack" not "Grow your network"
• Lead with problem, not logo
• Testimonial or user count if available

5. Launch and optimize (weekly)

Metric	Action
CTR < 1%	New hooks/creative
CPC high	Narrow audience or better landing page
Clicks but no sign-ups	Landing page / offer mismatch
CAC > target	Pause ad set; fix funnel
CAC < target	Increase budget 20%

Report to [[growth-strategy]] weekly review.

6. Compliance

• No false claims or fake urgency
• Privacy policy linked on landing page
• Ad platform policies (especially LinkedIn professional targeting)

Common Rationalizations

• "We'll optimize later" — Without week-1 kill rules, budget burns on losers.
• "Send traffic to homepage" — Generic pages kill conversion; dedicated landing page per campaign.
• "More platforms = more reach" — One platform mastered beats five at 10% budget each.

Red Flags

• No conversion pixel firing
• Ad promise ≠ landing page headline
• CAC unknown after 2 weeks
• All budget on one ad with no variants
• Retargeting everyone including converters

Verification

• Budget, goal, target CAC, landing page defined
• Tracking verified (test conversion fires)
• One platform chosen with 3+ ad variants
• Landing page matches ad hooks
• Weekly kill/scale rules documented
• First week metrics reported to growth-lead