Practitioner pattern · Marcus Burke (Sells Meta ads consulting to subscription apps and plans a paid Meta ads email course)
Skip paid tracking tools early; use Meta's SDK and your subscription data
Most 10-20 person client teams run without one; no numbers
Unknownanalytics-attribution
What they did
You don't need an MMP to run Meta: implement the Meta SDK, set the SKAN model there and track the trial event. For a small developer, extra tooling is another breaking point and becomes a cost center once free tiers run out. Use subscription analytics (e.g. RevenueCat) for trial-to-paid by country to feed the model.
- Stage
- early
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · Scaling Your Subscription App with Meta Ads – Marcus Burke, Independent Consultant“I mean, you don't need an MMP to run Meta. They have their own SDK that you can implement, and you can insert your SKAN model there, track your trial event, and then it's doing the job.”
“if you're a small developer, start out with that and don't add on additional tooling, because it creates another breaking point”
Related topics
Get tactics like this every Monday
New tactics from the week's founder interviews, each linked to where it was said.
More from this episode
- InnoGames: Switch on each new Meta bidding option the day it launchesDoubled budget month after month while beating ROI targets (pre-ATT)
- Start with one Meta campaign and one ad set; split only as spend growsKeeps each campaign above SKAN's 88-installs-a-day threshold so Meta sees trials
- Optimize Meta ads for trial starts and rank trials highest in SKANApps with a trial in onboarding weathered SKAN better than games
- Wait at least a week before judging a new Meta campaignSKAN data arrives 2-3 days late; early reads show spend with zero trials
- Leave people under 25 out of your Meta ads at firstYoung users give cheap trials that rarely convert; age is the biggest lever
- Set up Meta campaigns by hand first; add Advantage+ later with lower bidsGuest's standard setup; no numbers given
- Check which placements each ad wins on, then make ads for those placementsGuest says most accounts miss this; no numbers given
- Put your best Meta ad in your App Store screenshots or videoGuest says matching the ad often lifts conversion; no numbers
- Match your onboarding reviews and prices to the people your ads reachCommon mismatch: young Reels traffic won't pay $80-90 a year
- Ask new users their age, gender and how they found youGives sample data per channel and age where SKAN misses up to ~50% of trials
- Turn ads on and off, check survey and opt-in data, then set cost-per-trial goalsScrappy model most small and mid-size teams use; no numbers
- Test new ads in a separate campaign, in your cheapest real marketProtects the main campaign from resets; results carry over better
- Follow news pages your audience reads to copy their headline and image style
- Base your Meta setup on SKAN; use AEM only to scale furtherAEM helped high-CPI apps below SKAN thresholds, but it's a black box
- Start with Meta ads early; use Apple Search Ads to test your pricingGuest's default channel order; no numbers given
- Marcus Burke consulting: Post practical Meta ads tips on LinkedIn every dayBuilt a large backlog of consulting clients; no numbers