0% add to cart after hundreds spent on FB ads

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I took the leap and started my first drop shipping site.

The FB ads I've tested range from $2-$8 CPC (calling them ridiculously high would be an understatement). I've also sent out samples to IG bloggers... short spike in traffic but still no sales.

What are some other ways you drive traffic to your site? Any feedback/advice for a newcomer helps. Thanks in advance fellow warriors.
#add #ads #cart #hundreds #spent
  • Profile picture of the author BFX
    I am in the same situation. Like us are hundreds of people. My assumption is Facebook is doing tricky things with ads. IMHO.
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    • Profile picture of the author timeline
      One thing I'm not understanding is their audience insights. Seems as if no matter how different of interests I select, the audience insights results very insignificantly.
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      • Profile picture of the author Emilly94
        Yes, you should be very particular to about your target audience, otherwise you end up with the wrong audience.
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  • Profile picture of the author Oziboomer
    Originally Posted by timeline View Post

    I took the leap and started my first drop shipping site.

    The FB ads I've tested range from $2-$8 CPC (calling them ridiculously high would be an understatement). I've also sent out samples to IG bloggers... short spike in traffic but still no sales.

    What are some other ways you drive traffic to your site? Any feedback/advice for a newcomer helps. Thanks in advance fellow warriors.
    Perhaps you can share your general niche and targeting strategy and then others can offer advice with some better information to go on.

    Are you running a special offer in your ads?

    Are you taking people to a specific landing page or just dropping them on your homepage?

    Maybe you can share a little more so you get better advice from the other members.

    Best regards,

    Ozi
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    • Profile picture of the author timeline
      Sure thing. My niche is wood: wood accessories (bracelets, necklaces), home decor for the time being.

      My strategy so far has been promoting Page Post Engagement ads targeting strictly on mobile to age groups, interests and location. I've tested groups as small as 50k to 500k. This could be where the problem is. I seem to have trouble narrowing down the right audience, hence why my CPC is insanely high.

      I haven't run any special offers yet but I'm considering that next.

      Each ad/post as a shortened bitly link to the category page of the products shown in the ad, not the homepage.

      Let me know if there's anything I can clarify.

      Really appreciate the help Ozi
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      • Profile picture of the author Oziboomer
        Originally Posted by timeline View Post

        Sure thing. My niche is wood: wood accessories (bracelets, necklaces), home decor for the time being.

        My strategy so far has been promoting Page Post Engagement ads targeting strictly on mobile to age groups, interests and location. I've tested groups as small as 50k to 500k. This could be where the problem is. I seem to have trouble narrowing down the right audience, hence why my CPC is insanely high.

        I haven't run any special offers yet but I'm considering that next.

        Each ad/post as a shortened bitly link to the category page of the products shown in the ad, not the homepage.

        Let me know if there's anything I can clarify.

        Really appreciate the help Ozi
        Why are you running page post engagement ads? Are you trying to build fans on your page or do you want them to go to the product and buy?

        Why not try sending people from the advertisement directly to your website?

        Think about what have you got that you could bundle together to make a promotion profitable.

        Choose things that people would logically buy together so for example someone might buy a necklace, earrings and bracelet that all matched.

        Then you find two variants of that combination.

        Advertise simple ad asking people to choose their favorite.

        There are numerous ways of getting people to engage. getting someone to express an opinion about something is a great way (think about the Blue/gold, black dress example from the media a couple of years ago)

        Have two choices and ask people "Vote for your favorite"

        In the text of the ad you can make an offer for a deep discount or a low dollar offer for the item the respondent prefers.

        They will still pay for shipping so you should make this part a self liquidating offer where you don't lose money.

        Then take them to a landing page where they can choose the item they prefer.

        The key is on the landing page have the matching components that make up the bundle and have them preselected showing a total saving if someone buys the bundle.

        The basic offer could be get this bracelet for $1 but add the matching necklace $9 and the matching earrings for another $9 - total $19 that's a saving of over 72% on the combined regular price. (NOTE - substitute your numbers that you can afford to work with)

        The second part to this is having several sequences that follow the first offer.

        If someone only buys the $1 offer you upsell them with a last chance offer on the bundle at another price or combination.

        You also offer them the chance to buy other colours of the same design at the same time for either themselves or friends.

        You also offer the bundle in different colours so they can buy multiple quantities.

        There are many other ways of increasing the ACV (average cart value) to get a return on your advertising investment.

        Also retarget (pixel them) so you can build custom audiences later.

        This is an ad example of how we did it for a collectible football jersey where we asked the fans of the club to choose their favorite design. (we were giving away a prize)

        There were several steps to our funnel and apart from the initial sales what one of our main objectives was to build a few different audiences and also gather email addresses so we could go back and target them for every season thereafter.

        You just need to start thinking about the structure of your offer and how you can get someone to take action from that first ad in a way that you don't lose money.

        Here is one of our ads



        Best regards,

        Ozi
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        • Profile picture of the author timeline
          First off, REALLY appreciate your feed back once again.

          My understanding of starting off with a PPE ad is to build social proof. A part of my strategy was to run a WC ad with the audience form a winning PPE ad. The PPE ads link back to a collection page or a product page depending on what's featured.

          When asking people to vote (engage), would you go for a WC or a PPE since FB will optimize for those more willing to engage?

          Thanks for the tip on bundles! Would this be applicable to any store/product (bringing certain products to a low $ value even though increases ACV)? Or would this strategy have a adverse effect on overall brand?

          The pixel is also set up but w/o ATC, there won't be any retargeting.

          With the jersey ad, what type of ad did you run and did you direct traffic to a page with both jerseys or one?

          Thank you again Ozi
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          • Profile picture of the author Oziboomer
            Originally Posted by timeline View Post

            When asking people to vote (engage), would you go for a WC or a PPE since FB will optimize for those more willing to engage?

            Thanks for the tip on bundles! Would this be applicable to any store/product (bringing certain products to a low $ value even though increases ACV)? Or would this strategy have a adverse effect on overall brand?

            The pixel is also set up but w/o ATC, there won't be any retargeting.

            With the jersey ad, what type of ad did you run and did you direct traffic to a page with both jerseys or one?
            I was just running website clicks on that one.

            Shops and brands use loss leaders all the time to get people to buy.

            As long as you don't overuse or abuse the concept you shouldn't do an brand harm but you need to provide a reason why you are doing it. That's why things like the Black Friday sales are a great opportunity.

            You do need to know what you are prepared to invest to get a customer and I suggest you read the article linked from Dave Hermansen's post linked above to get a good overview of PPC

            Take a look at Dollar Shave Club or Dollar Beard Club to see how they master the idea of bringing someone in to their funnel for a low investment when really they are selling several better quality options and additional add-ons and on a recurring basis.

            You don't need someone to add to cart to fire the pixel. You should be pixelling across your website. Pixel everyone and then you can use a variety of parameters like URL includes/excludes etc inside your ads manager or editor to specify the audience.

            I was directing traffic to a survey --->
            https://go.masterframeracademy.com/favourite-bulldogs-frame

            I had several products and sequences set up for the promotion so there were multiple opportunities for my business to benefit either through selling something digital or a physical kit or a full custom job and then follow-up marketing to the fans in the following season with other collectibles etc so I'm not so reliant on making an immediate sale from the traffic.

            For me it is always more about how I can put my ideal prospects into the system at one point and generate revenue across the whole funnel.

            Once we have data and have refined our ads and sequences the way I scale is to go to different sports in different countries and translate the offers to each market.

            No-one ever really sees the whole picture from just looking at the front end offers.

            Best regards,

            Ozi
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      • Profile picture of the author cynthiaSEL
        Originally Posted by timeline View Post

        Sure thing. My niche is wood: wood accessories (bracelets, necklaces), home decor for the time being.
        If you make any of them yourself, you might put those items on Etsy to gain exposure... and sales.
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        http://howtolivebiggerdreams.com/ Risk! Apply expertise, serve people's needs. Get video skills...
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  • Profile picture of the author canvasvows
    I am in the same boat. I keep seeing all these FB ads saying "make $50,000/month on FB ads" and I am sitting here testing ad after ad, day after day with 0 ROI thinking "lose $50,000/month on FB ads".

    Right now I am using Adespresso.com they have a pretty cool system but no ROI yet
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    • Profile picture of the author gnojham
      Originally Posted by canvasvows View Post

      I am in the same boat. I keep seeing all these FB ads saying "make $50,000/month on FB ads" and I am sitting here testing ad after ad, day after day with 0 ROI thinking "lose $50,000/month on FB ads".

      Right now I am using Adespresso.com they have a pretty cool system but no ROI yet
      Why would somebody making $50k a month on Facebook ads tell you how to do it? Why wouldn't he just keep it all to himself? Maybe because they are full of shit and just want your money.
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    • Profile picture of the author timeline
      What benefit does Adespresso outside of something you can do yourself?
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      • Profile picture of the author canvasvows
        You input a few parameters and they create a whole bunch of A/B test ads for you and then monitor the ads and tell you which ones have a better click through rate and lower CPC. Then you can cancel the losing ads so that only the more efficient ads keep running. Then once you narrow down one parameter then you add that to more parameters and keep testing until you have a winning ad. That is the theory but for me at least, still no ROI yet. Got my CPC down to $.30 though and click through to 2%
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        • Profile picture of the author timeline
          With the CPC down to $.30 would still be your own targeting correct? Adespresso doesn't have anything to do with that except help you run A/B tests.
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          • Profile picture of the author canvasvows
            its down to .30 because of their A/B testing.
            Definitely something you can do yourself on FB ads manager but then you have to keep track of 50+ ads, monitoring them each day and stopping the bad ones. Thats what adespresso seems to do for you
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            • Profile picture of the author timeline
              This sounds like a good way to lower the CPC, will look into this. Thanks!
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      • Profile picture of the author Emilly94
        Yes, Is it paid or free to use? and How was your experience with it so far?
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        • Profile picture of the author canvasvows
          14 day trial, allows you to run some ads on their platform for free during that period. is a good way to see if it is a good fit for you
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    • Profile picture of the author dsimms
      people do make money on FB, however, I see those same FB claims you see, and what yanks my chain is those "store" owners that claim that have made it via FB, then all of a sudden, they use these "$50k" claims to sell their FB courses. You really need to be a FB guru, and it still can be hit and miss, and you need quite a bit of money as you will need to setup 100+ test ads, then start weeding out the losers. It would be really rare that you setup one FB ad, and it becomes a hit, and ends your money worries, in the real world, expect to have cash, and be ready to test 100s of ads, and if you do not know much about FB ads, then I would highly advise that you do not try, there are no easy answers, you could also try SEO, however, now you have to hire high quality content writers, keyword research, on page SEO, off page SEO, and the list goes on, and Content/SEO Marketing can also cost a pile of cash, take many months to years, and no guarantees.

      people that are making money online did not start yesterday, and they have
      certain skill-sets that others do not have, they know how to setup
      a good site, they know how to word their content, they know how
      to market the site the right way, sorry to say, not everyone has these
      skills, then you end up losing money, day after day, week after week,
      month after month, no matter the desire, not everyone will make it....

      you just cant setup any site, throw some FB ads on it, then expect
      to take the world by storm, those that are making money on FB have
      most likely been doing it for sometime, they have skills, they know
      what works, what doesnt work, and so on, so to lose couple 100
      dollars on FB is not really a big deal, most of your FB ads will
      be losers until you can fine tune the winners, and cut the losers....

      It is very difficult to sell stuff on FB when all your competitors are
      selling the exact same stuff, so how are you going to stand out?
      FB is nothing more then ad noise, why are you any different?
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      • Profile picture of the author timeline
        Such a good point and I'm all for testing, trial/error. It's a skillset I'm willing and trying to build up.

        It's always refreshing to see someone tell it like it is. Any skill good enough to make a living takes time to hone. I'm willing to take this journey just trying to learn from seasoned store owners is all
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  • Profile picture of the author ryanbiddulph
    Tough to understand this at first, but money spent is not a traffic driver. Solving people's specific probs through a self-hosted WP blog, email marketing, guest posting and social media, and developing skills over months and years in these areas, fills your cart.
    Signature
    Ryan Biddulph helps you to be a successful blogger with his courses, manuals and blog at Blogging From Paradise
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    • Profile picture of the author timeline
      Wise words, duly noted!
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  • Profile picture of the author imstarter2016
    nothing is easy....success is not a sure thing,it is a possibility,or a luck somewhat. you have to try bit by bit,don't gamble too much one time,bit by bit,then you would have some feeling,some experience.I don't know what your niche is,if you are in a competitive niche,then competition makes things even worse...I think the best way to win is to try bit by bit,then you will see which works,which does not work,then get rid of the not-working one,and focus on the working ones.Hopefully my humble opinion could help you a little bit.
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    • Profile picture of the author timeline
      Really appreciate the insight. It'll definitely take trial and error which will be an on-going process. I'm just trying to learn from more experienced members here in hopes of minimizing my ad spend during this whole process.
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  • Profile picture of the author dave_hermansen
    I'm trying to figure out how it would even be possible to make any money paying $2-$8 CPC? A 1-2% conversion rate is considered normal in eCommerce, so that means you'd be spending somewhere between $100 and $800 in clicks for every person who orders. You can't possibly making that much in profit from wood accessories. Social networks typically convert at a far lower rate than that so this seems like a campaign doomed to fail from the beginning.

    Look at the numbers. What does a typical sale generate in profit for you? If you are spending any more than 2% of that figure for a click, you cannot possibly come out ahead. PPC Rules of Engagement.
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    BizSellers.com - The #1 place to buy & sell websites!
    We help sellers get the MAXIMUM amount for their websites and all buyers know that these sites are 100% vetted.
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    • Profile picture of the author timeline
      You're right and it's not profitable at all. My targeting is clearly off hence the high CPC.

      Thanks for sharing the PPC Rules of Engagement! Will be diving in to this.
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  • Profile picture of the author MValmont
    You want to use PPE ads to test if you have a loser or potentially a winner quickly.

    You do a PPE ad, only to mobile user, and only in the news feed.

    If after you spend 4-5$, your cost per PPE is lower than something like 30 cents and your cost per click is lower than about $1, then you potentially have a winner. If these metrics don't look good after 4-5$, just kill the add. In 99% of the cases, even if you do a campaign for website conversion it won't convert well anyways.

    If you found a potential winner, then you want to delete the PPE ad and create a website conversion ad.

    This is the correct way to use PPE ads.
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    • Profile picture of the author timeline
      That's right. I lost track of the purpose of PPE ads and just used PPE ads only.

      Would you be able to dive deeper into:
      1) Why is it best to do a PPE only to mobile user, and only in newsfeed? Do you also choose "only when connected to Wifi?"
      2) What your daily budget if you cap the test spend at $4-5?
      3) After finding a potential winner, do you run the WC ad with the same audience as the PPE ad?

      Thanks for the help!
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  • Profile picture of the author TheMentorGuy
    Banned
    Have you considered using YouTube as a source of traffic? I have had success with YouTube traffic providing it is purely targeted.

    Have you attempted to build a list? Driving traffic from a list to your site is a proven method providing that built your list correctly.
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    • Profile picture of the author timeline
      I haven't considered YouTube partly because I'm not sure how to make a video ad plus I've never advertised on the platform before.

      I have a newsletter signup offering a discount off the entire first purchase. Barely any signup though.
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  • Profile picture of the author BusinessPerson
    My strategy so far has been promoting Page Post Engagement ads targeting strictly on mobile to age groups, interests and location. I've tested groups as small as 50k to 500k. This could be where the problem is. I seem to have trouble narrowing down the right audience, hence why my CPC is insanely high.

    I haven't run any special offers yet but I'm considering that next.

    Each ad/post as a shortened bitly link to the category page of the products shown in the ad, not the homepage.

    Let me know if there's anything I can clarify.

    If you make any of them yourself, you might put those items on Etsy to gain exposure... and sales.
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  • Profile picture of the author Emilly94
    Well, there are a lot ways to drive traffic to your site. But it depends on your target audience that which type of audience you want on your site.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ly Hang Phong
    I ran a PPE campaign, then I got 2k like, few comments, No share, No click link. What should I do next?
    1. Kill PPE, run a WC campaign?
    2. Continue running that PPE campaign and wait for a click?

    Please me a guidance!
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    • Profile picture of the author timeline
      It would depend on your spend (CPC) to see whether to kill it or not.

      If the results are not what you're looking for, I would modify the ad instead of running it as is.
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