Should You Start with Fewer Ads?

The dominant strategy right now is to start a campaign with a high volume of ads. While the intent might be right, I don’t believe in the execution.

Let me explain why it makes sense for most advertisers to start with a small number of ads…

The Problems with More Ads

Let’s say you start a campaign with a high volume of ads. You don’t know what will work and what won’t. Meta chooses a small handful of ads and mostly ignores the rest. If you created 30 or 40 ads, that’s a bad use of resources.

More ads can also mean more bad ads. You’re so focused on volume that quality becomes secondary. So while you’re obsessed with hitting an ad quota, you’re missing on the basic elements that lead to good results.

So you only succeed at creating a bunch of ads, thinking that itself will lead to better results. But it won’t, and it can be a complete waste of time.

Do This Instead

Start with a small handful of ads, even two or three. It could even be one if you’re using the new creative workflow.

Lean into different customer personas and focus on their pain points. Provide different formats and multiple text options so you’ll still lean into creative diversity at a small scale.

Get these ads right.

Monitor results for a couple of weeks, and learn what worked and what didn’t. If your results are great, there’s no reason to do anything. If not, create a new batch of ads with uniquely different angles and visuals.

You may still create 30 or 40 ads eventually, but it’s not all at once. And you’ll do it purposefully, with knowledge of what’s working.

Start with fewer ads and focus on quality. You can add more later, but only if you need them. Don’t create more ads for the sake of creating more ads.