Before You Spend $1 on Meta Ads, Watch This

Before any Meta spend, check the funnel: a clear promise on the App Store page (ideally matching ad copy to screenshots), onboarding that shows value quickly, the paywall inside onboarding, and a purchase flow that works end to end with no bugs or crashes. Targets (averages): 5-10% install-to-trial (10%+ with a hard paywall), over 30% trial-to-paid, at least 2% install-to-paid. Example: 1,000 installs x 7% = 70 trials x 30% = 21 subscribers = ~2.1% install-to-paid, the bare minimum. Compare against RevenueCat's State of Subscription Apps medians (2.6% iOS download-to-paid by day 35, ~33% trial-to-paid) for similar apps and countries.

Prove that strangers (not friends, family or yourself) pay, using cheaper pull channels first: ASO and Apple Search Ads, where people search and you pull them in. Track paid conversions after trials finish and compare revenue, then scale with Meta. Expect Meta (push, interrupting people) to convert lower. Exception: categories where search won't work, such as a new social network, go straight to Meta and accept a pricier test phase.

Require at least $3 LTV per install (his friend Henry would set it higher), measured as LTV around month 11, not first revenue; for some apps month 1 and month 11 LTV are about the same. Find LTV per install in RevenueCat or your paywall manager (Adapty, Superwall). Apple Search Ads can work without hitting this bar.

Use only the Meta SDK at the start. Send install, paywall view (standard View Content event, fires when the paywall loads), initiate checkout, start trial and subscribe. In Meta Events Manager > Data sets > your app, pick the same date range as App Store Connect. Compare installs with App Store Connect Analytics > Total Downloads, and start trials with Analytics > Metrics > Subscriptions > Events > Offer Starts filtered to Free Trial Starts. Over Sept 14 - Oct 10: ~3,000 downloads in App Store Connect vs a little over 4,000 in Meta; 312 trial starts vs 276 in Meta.

In the Meta Ad Library pick All ads, search a competitor, keep the active-ads filter (sorted by impressions) and look for ads that started months ago; long-running ads are probably working. Open See summary and watch them. Look at direct competitors and complementary apps (for a calorie tracker: MyFitnessPal, Strava). Note the hook and the audience's problem, the demo, and the end slide with the App Store badge, and save useful examples with their start date.

Cal AI ad seen in the Meta Ad Library: 9 seconds long; hook 'best way to track calories' ("Wait, so is this literally all you have to do to track your calories?"), shows food then the app in use, ends with the App Store link. Started June 3 and still active in early October.

Start from ideal customer profiles (e.g. fitness users vs seniors 55+). Build different concepts rather than swapping the food or hook: for a calorie tracker, 'best way to track calories', a weight-loss before/after, and 'this app tracks everything, even snacks'; for a fitness app, 'stiff after sitting all day?', a short at-home session, real users, curiosity. Each ad: a stop-the-scroll hook, demo, offer/benefit, App Store end page. Put 3-5 concepts in one Meta ad set and let the algorithm pick; once a concept wins, test minor variations of it.

Meta delivers whatever you optimize for: optimizing for installs gives $1-2 installs but few payers, so optimize for the trial (as far down-funnel as possible). Meta needs at least 50 events a week. Math: $1,000 over a week or two at $2/install = 500 installs; at 7% trial activation = 35 trials (not enough for a week); at 30% trial-to-paid = 10-11 subscribers, ~$95 each. A first $1,000 mostly shows which creative works; you need a bigger weekly budget to reach 50 trials a week. Detailed campaign setup is deferred to part 2.

Phase two or three, not needed at launch. For each audience (e.g. people with ADHD vs CEOs and founders), tie the Meta ad to a custom product page whose screenshots match it: an ADHD screenshot for the ADHD ad, an executive angle for founders. Even at launch, match ad promises to your store screenshots so there are no broken promises.

Always put the paywall in onboarding; consider a hard paywall for all Meta paid traffic. Put the free trial on whichever plan (yearly or weekly) has the highest LTV. With a hard paywall aim for 10%+ install-to-trial.