Step 8: Paid ads gate

Only when every box below is ticked · ← Step 7 · Back to the action plan

Goal

Not running ads yet is the right call when you can't measure. Ads multiply what already works; they don't fix a store page that doesn't convert.

The gate

• Tracking from step 1 works end to end (click → install → activation or purchase).
• You know your store or landing page conversion from at least 4 weeks of organic data.
• Screenshots and title have had at least one round from step 3.
• You know what one user is worth to you (price × share who pay, or ad revenue per user), even roughly.
• You have money you can afford to lose on a learning test.

First test

• Decide when and how much to spend: strategy-spend-and-timing.
• One channel only. For App Store products, check which placements Apple Ads supports for your platform at the time you run it.
• A fixed cap and a fixed end date, set before you start.
• A stop rule written in advance, for example: stop if cost per paying user is above what a user is worth.
• Log the result in growth/monthly.md, whether it worked or not.

Common mistakes

• Boosting a social post "to see what happens", with no tracked link.
• Spreading a small budget across several ad networks, so none gets enough data.
• Keeping a losing campaign running because "it might pick up".