Your funnel is built – now it's time to bring as many qualified visitors as possible into this funnel so you can quickly collect lots of high-quality contacts. In this guide, you'll learn exactly that skill.
1. Why you should use ads
Ads are essential for your business growth for the following reasons:
Ads run independently of the time you invest.
You can precisely define who sees your ad and where, allowing for high effectiveness.
You can gradually increase your ad budget as your revenue grows, making it easy to win more customers.
In this article, you will learn how to create targeted and converting ads using our funnel software – all without an agency or coaching.
2. How to define your target audience
To create ads that deliver the desired contacts, we need a clearly defined target group.
Why you shouldn't advertise "to everyone": Avoid scatter loss. Trying to sell everything to everyone means you're really reaching no one.
Choose a specific target group with a specific problem. Here are a few examples:
Dentists who can't find good employees, OR women who feel uncomfortable in their bodies after pregnancy, OR local restaurants that don't have enough visitors.How to analyze your target audience in a few steps (e.g., demographics, interests, problems) – you'll learn this in the video.
3. How to set your advertising goals
Now that we've defined a specific target group and a specific problem to solve, we need to find the right path to lead them to us. This means choosing the right type of funnel:
Choose the appropriate goal: applications, leads, sales, webinar signups, newsletter contacts, etc.
Use one of our funnel templates so you can create the right funnel in just a few minutes. This article will help you find the right funnel template.
Choose a funnel and write fitting ad copy inside that convinces your audience. You'll learn how to do that in this article.
4. How to choose the right platform
Rule of thumb for beginners:
Are your potential customers actively searching for what you're advertising? Example: Dentist in Hamburg OR tailor in Munich. This is called pull marketing.
→ Use Google Ads for this kind of offer.Are people dealing with a symptom or problem but not actively searching for a solution? Example: “I’m getting fewer inquiries from my Meta ads” OR “My sales team is underperforming.” This is called push marketing.
→ Use Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram) for this.
Generally speaking, Meta Ads make sense in 8 out of 10 cases. Here’s why:
Billions of users use Facebook & Instagram.
The ad algorithm is one of the oldest on the market – and therefore the smartest.
There’s a ton of free information on how to run ads here – including an expert talk with our CMO on our YouTube channel.
Here you can find an article about how to connect your funnel with your Meta ads.
💡 Pro Tip: If you think your target audience isn’t on Meta, challenge yourself and really think about whether your offer, messaging, or funnel is as good as you believe. In most cases, optimizing is more effective than rebuilding the funnel or switching platforms completely.
Mindset: If you throw everything out, you’re starting from zero – even though you could analyze and improve what’s already there.
5. How to create good ads
An ad consists of 2 components and is collectively called a "creative":
It is a combination of the ad copy and the image/video
1. The Ad Copy
Key success factors for a good ad copy:
A clear headline
Problem-solving approach
Clear value proposition
Call-to-action
Example structure:
Problem → Solution → Proof/Trust → Call to action
Common mistakes to avoid:
Your texts are either far too long or too short
You use buzzwords with no substance like “innovative,” “next level,” “sustainable,” “holistic,” “scalable,” “smart,” etc.
Vague or exaggerated problem descriptions that make the target audience feel alienated
No clear value is communicated. Ask yourself: What’s in it for the prospect if they sign up?
No trust-building elements like “300 clients trust our system” OR “Already 12,000 users” OR “124 5-star reviews on Google.”
2. Image and/or Video
What works well:
Authentic images:
Still social media – try not to make the ad look like an ad. Make it look more like a post or story your friends might post.Dynamic video clips:
To grab and keep attention, create visual excitement – with cuts, overlays, or movement.Strong opening moments (the hook):
The first 2–3 seconds are crucial. The user must instantly know what it’s about and whether it’s relevant.
Tool tips for creating creatives:
Canva: Use ad templates, create your own, or edit videos.
Meta Ad Library: See competitor ads and get inspired. Look here.
Your own feed: Scroll through ads and analyze what grabs your attention and why – then apply those insights to your own ads.
💡 Pro Tip: Is a video or image better for ads? The Short answer is: Both work equally well if your messaging is strong.
But video lets you convey more information – not just with text, but through visuals, sound, environment, and mood. Plus, video content is easier to consume and increasingly dominant on most platforms.
A good mix of creative types is usually best to fully leverage the strengths of each.
6. How to connect your ad to your funnel
Once your offer is live, your funnel is built, and your ads are ready, the next step is to connect and activate everything inside Meta.
We’ve written other articles that walk you through it:
How to check if your ads are being tracked correctly
7. How to use tracking & measure your success
Once your ads are running and you’re getting traffic into your funnel, you’ll start seeing lots of data. Meta shows you numbers in the Ad Manager, and we show metrics in your funnel.
These numbers can help you improve performance – but not all numbers are equally important.
Here are the key KPIs and benchmark values:
Most important KPIs for a funnel using Meta Ads:
CTR (Click-Through Rate) – shows ad effectiveness
→ Should be over 1% in B2B and over 2% in B2CCPM (Cost per Mille) – cost per 1,000 impressions
→ B2B is typically more expensive: €40–€80, sometimes over €100
→ B2C should mostly stay under €40Conversion Rate – shows funnel performance
→ Should be between 10–20%. The higher, the better.CPL (Cost per Lead) – cost per generated lead
→ Important for calculations, but not the most critical metric.
→ Better to pay €50 for a high-quality lead than €7 for many poor ones.
We have another article that explains these metrics in more detail – linked here.
8. Common mistakes and how to avoid them
Target audience too broad or unclear
Meta needs clear signals to reach the right people.
❌ “Everyone aged 18–65 who’s kind of interested in business.”
✅ “Self-employed coaches aged 30–45 looking to generate leads via social media.”
No clear value or benefit
If your offer doesn't convince at first glance, your target audience will keep scrolling. People want to know immediately: What's in it for me?
❌ “Our product is innovative, high-quality, and modern.”
✅ “Save 3 hours a week with our automated scheduling – no extra tools needed.”
Weak or missing call-to-action
Without a clear call to action, the ad remains ineffective. Tell people exactly what they should do next.
❌ “More info on our website.”
✅ “Get your free trial access – limited time only!”
No or incomplete tracking
If you don't measure data, you can't improve anything. Without proper tracking, you lack the foundation for any optimization.
❌ Pixel installed but no events like ‘Lead’ or ‘Schedule’ active.
✅ Pixel + Conversions API active, with events like ‘View Content,’ ‘Lead,’ and ‘Schedule’ – regularly tested.
Too short runtime or stopped too early
The algorithm needs time to learn. Intervening too early often prevents the best performance.
❌ “No leads after 24 hours – I stopped everything.”
✅ “I gave the campaign 7 days to collect data and generate the first conversions.”
9. Your next steps
You now have a suitable funnel with an attractive offer for a specific target audience. You’re collecting leads at a good cost and increasing your revenue.
Before reinventing the wheel, it makes more sense to optimize what’s already working so you can increase your budget and generate more leads.
It’s much easier to optimize what’s already performing decently – since your collected data shows exactly where improvements can be made – than to rebuild everything from scratch.
Further info in our Help Center: