/Advertising
Question
How do I structure my very first Facebook testing campaign without burning my whole budget?
Posted by •11/19/2025
Total beginner here and I'm overwhelmed by all the advice on YouTube.
Some people say:
- Start with CBO
- Others say start with ABO
- Some say run 10 ad sets, others say 2-3
- Some say 1 creative, others say 10 variations
I only have about $400 total to test my first product and I really don't want to blow it in a week with nothing to show for it.
Details:
- Product price: $39.99
- Niche: pet grooming
- I'm targeting US only
- I have 3 different video creatives and 2 thumbnails
- I know how to set up the pixel, events, etc., but not how to structure the actual campaign in a smart way
If you were starting TODAY with a small budget, how would you structure your first testing campaign?
- CBO or ABO?
- How many ad sets?
- How many creatives per ad set?
- What daily budget would you use?
I'm not trying to scale to the moon yet, I just want a SIMPLE framework that tells me when to kill an ad set and when to keep it running so I can learn without going broke.
Some people say:
- Start with CBO
- Others say start with ABO
- Some say run 10 ad sets, others say 2-3
- Some say 1 creative, others say 10 variations
I only have about $400 total to test my first product and I really don't want to blow it in a week with nothing to show for it.
Details:
- Product price: $39.99
- Niche: pet grooming
- I'm targeting US only
- I have 3 different video creatives and 2 thumbnails
- I know how to set up the pixel, events, etc., but not how to structure the actual campaign in a smart way
If you were starting TODAY with a small budget, how would you structure your first testing campaign?
- CBO or ABO?
- How many ad sets?
- How many creatives per ad set?
- What daily budget would you use?
I'm not trying to scale to the moon yet, I just want a SIMPLE framework that tells me when to kill an ad set and when to keep it running so I can learn without going broke.
3 Replies
•11/19/2025
This is exactly the kind of answer I needed. Super clear and not overcomplicated.
I was literally about to set up like 8 ad sets with 5 interests each because that's what one YouTuber recommended. Going to do 4 ad sets like you said and focus on reading the data instead of trying to do everything at once.
Thanks a lot!
I was literally about to set up like 8 ad sets with 5 interests each because that's what one YouTuber recommended. Going to do 4 ad sets like you said and focus on reading the data instead of trying to do everything at once.
Thanks a lot!
•11/19/2025
I did the whole "10 ad sets, 10 interests, 10 creatives" thing and burned through $600 with nothing.
Switched to exactly what the comment above said:
- 4 ad sets
- Broad + simple interests
- Same 3 creatives in each
Way easier to read what's going on and I actually got my first 3 sales that way. Don't let the gurus push you into overkill testing structures when you're just starting.
Switched to exactly what the comment above said:
- 4 ad sets
- Broad + simple interests
- Same 3 creatives in each
Way easier to read what's going on and I actually got my first 3 sales that way. Don't let the gurus push you into overkill testing structures when you're just starting.
•11/19/2025
You're overcomplicating it because of YouTube. For a beginner with $400, keep it stupid simple.
Here's a basic structure that actually works:
**1. Start with ABO, not CBO**
CBO can work, but it's less predictable when you don't know what you're doing. ABO (ad set budget) gives you control over what actually gets spend.
**2. Campaign structure**
- 1 campaign (Purchase objective)
- 4 ad sets
- All broad (no interests) OR 2 broad + 2 simple interests (e.g. "Dogs", "Pet grooming")
- $5–$10/day per ad set depending on your comfort
- Total daily budget: $20–$40
**3. Creatives**
You said you have 3 videos and 2 thumbnails.
Do this:
- Each ad set: same 3 video creatives
- Let Facebook find the winner inside each ad set
- Don't change 100 things at once. Let the data show you which creative wins.
**4. Simple rules to read results (after 3 full days)**
Look at each ad set separately:
- Kill ad sets where:
- CPC > $2.00 AND no adds to cart
- Or you spent 2x your product price and got 0 sales
- Keep/scale ad sets where:
- You get ATC and IC at a reasonable cost (under $5 ATC)
- Or you got at least 1 sale and the metrics look decent (CTR > 1.5%, CPC < $1.50)
You're not trying to make profit on day 1. You're trying to answer:
- Which audience gives me the cheapest traffic?
- Which creative actually gets people to click?
- Does my store convert at all?
If you can get:
- CTR (link) > 1.5%
- CPC < $1.50
- Some add-to-carts
…then your ads are GOOD ENOUGH and the next bottleneck is your store, not the campaign structure.
Here's a basic structure that actually works:
**1. Start with ABO, not CBO**
CBO can work, but it's less predictable when you don't know what you're doing. ABO (ad set budget) gives you control over what actually gets spend.
**2. Campaign structure**
- 1 campaign (Purchase objective)
- 4 ad sets
- All broad (no interests) OR 2 broad + 2 simple interests (e.g. "Dogs", "Pet grooming")
- $5–$10/day per ad set depending on your comfort
- Total daily budget: $20–$40
**3. Creatives**
You said you have 3 videos and 2 thumbnails.
Do this:
- Each ad set: same 3 video creatives
- Let Facebook find the winner inside each ad set
- Don't change 100 things at once. Let the data show you which creative wins.
**4. Simple rules to read results (after 3 full days)**
Look at each ad set separately:
- Kill ad sets where:
- CPC > $2.00 AND no adds to cart
- Or you spent 2x your product price and got 0 sales
- Keep/scale ad sets where:
- You get ATC and IC at a reasonable cost (under $5 ATC)
- Or you got at least 1 sale and the metrics look decent (CTR > 1.5%, CPC < $1.50)
You're not trying to make profit on day 1. You're trying to answer:
- Which audience gives me the cheapest traffic?
- Which creative actually gets people to click?
- Does my store convert at all?
If you can get:
- CTR (link) > 1.5%
- CPC < $1.50
- Some add-to-carts
…then your ads are GOOD ENOUGH and the next bottleneck is your store, not the campaign structure.