Paid Ads from Zero

Full advertising strategy for a first-time advertiser. Covers accounts, targeting, geo-fencing, billing, and exact spend across LinkedIn and X, peaking during Google Cloud Next April 21-24.

Budget: $600-800 Code ships 4/18 Ads start 4/21

00 How Ads Work

You enter an auction, not buy a billboard. Every time someone scrolls, an instant auction runs. You set a daily max and only pay per action (click, view, lead). Better ads cost less -- platforms reward relevance.

Key Terms

Term	Meaning
CPC	Cost Per Click. LinkedIn: $3-6. X: ~$0.74.
CPM	Cost Per 1K views. LinkedIn: $28-33. X: ~$2.
CTR	Click rate. Good: 0.5%+ LinkedIn, 1%+ X.
Geo-fence	Target people physically in an area.
Retarget	Ads to people who already visited your site.
Boost	Pay to amplify an existing organic post.

Targeting: LinkedIn vs X

LinkedIn = job titles + skills. Best for reaching "Senior Frontend Engineers at SaaS companies."

X = keywords + interests. Best for reaching "people who tweeted about Google Stitch." LinkedIn can't do keyword targeting. X can't do job-title targeting. Use both.

You can't target "conference attendees" directly. Proxy: Las Vegas geo during conference + tech job titles. X keywords on #GoogleCloudNext catches people literally discussing it.

01 Account Setup

Complete before April 21

LinkedIn Campaign Manager + Insight Tag

linkedin.com/campaignmanager → "For Business" → "Advertise"

Connect Fieldhaus company page (required). Personal profiles can't be ad accounts, but you CAN boost personal posts.

Add credit card. Not charged until ads run. Min $10/day.

Install Insight Tag on stitchwand.dev. Campaign Manager → Account Assets → Insight Tag. JavaScript snippet into Next.js layout.tsx head. This tracks visitors for retargeting.

Install tag NOW. Every organic visitor before 4/21 becomes retargetable. Data = free.

X Ads + X Pixel

ads.x.com → US, Eastern timezone. Add card.

Install X Pixel on stitchwand.dev. Tools → Events Manager.

UTM Tracking

Every ad URL should have UTM parameters so you can see in PostHog/Plausible which campaign drove which visits. Format:

stitchwand.dev?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=soft-launch
stitchwand.dev?utm_source=x&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=geo-fence

Use different utm_campaign values per campaign. This is how you know what's working.

Disable LinkedIn Audience Network

#1 beginner mistake. Enabled by default. Shows ads on random apps, not LinkedIn. Garbage clicks. Uncheck "Enable the LinkedIn Audience Network" on EVERY campaign. Saves 30-50% wasted budget.

Landing Page Readiness

Before spending money driving traffic, make sure the landing page converts:

Clear headline visible without scrolling. One obvious CTA above the fold ("npm install" or "Try it"). Works on mobile (most LinkedIn/X traffic is mobile). Loads in under 3 seconds. LinkedIn Insight Tag and X Pixel firing (check with browser dev tools → Network tab). PostHog/Plausible tracking installed. "Built by Fieldhaus" link in footer.

02 Soft Launch

April 21-25 · $15/day

LinkedIn: "Design System Pros" -- $10/day

Objective: "Website Visits"

Targeting: US (permanent). Job Function: Design OR Engineering OR Product Mgmt. Skills: "Design Systems", "Figma", "Google Cloud Platform", "React.js", "Tailwind CSS", "Design Tokens". Seniority: Senior+. Audience: 50K-150K.

$10/day x 6 days = $60 max. Bidding: "Maximum delivery."

Creative: sizzle reel video. Text: "I tried Google Stitch 10 times. It ignored my design system. So I built the bridge."

Test phase. After 3 days: CTR > 0.3%? CPC < $8? Yes = scale it. No = swap creative.

X: "Stitch Keywords" -- $5/day

Objective: "Traffic." Keywords: "Google Stitch", "DESIGN.md", "design tokens", "#GoogleCloudNext". Followers: @googlecloud, @tailwindcss, @anthropic, @figma. US.

$5/day x 6 = $30 max. Autobid.

X keyword targeting = closest to "people interested in Stitch." LinkedIn can't do this.

03 Ramp Up

April 19-21 · $35/day

Double Budgets + Demo Video

LI $10→$20. X $5→$10. Add full demo video as second ad (platforms A/B test automatically). If soft launch worked, keep winning creative. If not, swap.

Boost Best Organic Post -- $75

Find best-performing organic post from week 1. Click "Boost" on it. Works from your PERSONAL page. Target: same as Campaign A. 7 days, $75.

If you only do ONE paid thing, boost your best post. You know it works. Just show it to more people.

04 Peak -- Geo-Fence

April 21-25 · $90/day

LinkedIn Geo: Las Vegas + Tech -- $40/day

Objective: "Brand Awareness" (cheaper per impression).

Location: "Las Vegas, NV" → "Recent or permanent" (catches people whose IP is in Vegas NOW).

Job Function: Engineering/Design/Product/IT. Skills: "Google Cloud Platform", "Design Systems", "Figma", "AI". Seniority: Senior+.

$40/day x 5 = $200. Copy: "At Google Cloud Next? Your design system meets Stitch → stitchwand.dev"

LinkedIn geo = city-level, not building-level. Can't pin Mandalay Bay. But 30K tech pros in Vegas during Next week = mostly attendees.

X Geo: Las Vegas + Keywords -- $20/day

Las Vegas + "#GoogleCloudNext" + "Google Stitch". $20/day x 5 = $100. Tightest conference proxy available -- people both in Vegas AND discussing the event.

Nationwide Continues

Don't pause nationwide. Geo is BONUS. Peak total: LI $60 + X $30 = $90/day x 5 = $450.

05 Cool Down + Retarget

April 26-30

Pause geo campaigns. Nationwide: LI $10 + X $5. New retargeting campaign: Matched Audiences → Website → stitchwand.dev. Needs 300+ visitors. $5/day, stronger CTA: "npx stitchwand convert" or Fieldhaus audit.

Retargeting = highest ROI. 3-5x conversion vs cold. Even $5/day is worth it.

06 Budget + Monitor

Budget Breakdown

Phase	Dates	$/Day	Days	Max
Soft LI	4/21-25	$10	6	$60
Soft X	4/21-25	$5	6	$30
Ramp LI	4/19-21	$20	3	$60
Ramp X	4/19-21	$10	3	$30
Boost	4/19	--	--	$75
Peak LI geo	4/21-25	$40	5	$200
Peak X geo	4/21-25	$20	5	$100
Peak LI nat'l	4/21-25	$20	5	$100
Peak X nat'l	4/21-25	$10	5	$50
Cool all	4/26-30	$20	5	$100
Max				$805
Realistic				~$560-685

Daily Monitoring (2 min)

Check daily: Spend (on budget?), CTR (below 0.3% LI / 0.5% X = swap creative), CPC (above $8 LI = broaden targeting), Impressions (under 500/day = audience too small).

Stop if: CTR below 0.2% after 3 days, or $100 spent with zero site visits.
Double down if: CTR above 1%, or CPC under $3 on LI.

$200 Minimum Viable Plan

1. Install Insight Tag today. (Free.)
2. Boost best organic post $75 / 7 days.
3. LI geo-fence $125 during conference (5 x $25/day).
Total: $200.

Post-Campaign Analysis

Pull these numbers from Campaign Manager + PostHog:

Total spend, total clicks, total impressions, avg CPC, avg CTR, site visits from ads (UTM filtered), npm installs during campaign period, active users during period, Fieldhaus leads generated.

ROI calculation: Total spend / Fieldhaus leads = cost per lead. One engagement ($1,800/wk x 12 wks = $21,600) / total spend = ROI multiple. Even one lead from $800 spend = 27x return.

Save for next time: Which campaign had best CTR? Which creative won? Which targeting worked? This becomes your baseline for the next product launch.

Spend Schedule

Code ships 4/18. Ads start 4/21. Peaks 4/21-24.

Daily Spend -- April 6 to 30

$0 Soft Ramp Peak Cool

Timeline

Fri 4/18 · 11:59 PM

CODE SHIPS

npm publish. Deploy stitchwand.dev. Pixels already installed.

Mon 4/21

ADS GO LIVE

LI $10 + X $5. Nationwide. Design system pros + Stitch keywords.

$15/day

Tue-Fri 4/22-25

Soft launch

Monitor. Swap creative if underperforming after 3 days.

$15/day · ~$90 cumulative

Sat 4/19

RAMP + Boost best post

LI→$20, X→$10. Boost top organic $75. Add demo video.

$35/day + $75

Mon 4/21

Geo-fence launches

LI geo $40 + X geo $20. Conference copy: "At Google Cloud Next?"

$90/day

Tue-Thu 4/22-24

PEAK -- CONFERENCE

All campaigns live. LI $60 + X $30. In their feeds while they're in the building.

$90/day x 3 = $270

Fri 4/25

Last geo day + npm launch

npm release. HN post. Final geo push.

$90/day

Sat 4/26

Pause geo. Start retargeting.

Nationwide $15 + retarget $5. DM blitz.

$20/day

4/27-30

Cool down

Low retargeting. Product Hunt 4/28-29.

$20/day

Social Accounts

Should stitchwand have its own accounts?

Create @stitchwand on X

Devs find tools on X. Product handle for CLI demos, changelogs, release notes. Bio: "Design system toolkit for Google Stitch. Built by @fieldhaus."

Don't create a LinkedIn page

Zero-follower company pages get zero reach. Splits audience across three pages for no benefit. Brian 12K + Fieldhaus is plenty.

Skip Instagram, TikTok, YouTube

Zero followers + niche B2B + no time. Upload to YouTube under Fieldhaus for embeds only.

Account Matrix

Account	Platform	Use For
Brian	LinkedIn	Hot takes, build-in-public. PRIMARY reach.
Fieldhaus	LinkedIn	Official product posts. Brian reshares.
Brian	X	Conference live-tweeting, threads.
@stitchwand	X	CLI demos, changelogs, dev community.

Which Ads From Which Account?

LinkedIn campaigns → Fieldhaus page
LinkedIn boost → Brian personal (looks native)
X campaigns → @stitchwand (product discovery)
LinkedIn retargeting → Fieldhaus page

Toolkit

Ad copy templates, creative specs, A/B testing guide, and a reusable prompt to generate ad plans for any product.

Ad Copy Templates

LinkedIn -- Nationwide (soft launch)

Option A: "I tried to build an app in Google Stitch. 10 times. Every version ignored my design system. So I built the bridge between your tokens and Stitch. → stitchwand.dev"

Option B: "Your design system has 2,000 tokens. Google Stitch has no idea they exist. stitchwand converts your tokens into DESIGN.md so Stitch generates on-brand. → stitchwand.dev"

Headline: "Design system toolkit for Google Stitch"

LinkedIn -- Geo-fence (conference)

Option A: "At Google Cloud Next? Every AI generator ignores your design system. stitchwand fixes that. Your tokens → DESIGN.md → on-brand Stitch output. → stitchwand.dev"

Option B: "Seeing Stitch demos this week? Cool. Now make it respect YOUR brand. → stitchwand.dev"

Headline: "Make Stitch respect your tokens"

X -- All campaigns

Option A: "npx stitchwand convert ./tokens.json → DESIGN.md. Your design system, Stitch's language. stitchwand.dev"

Option B: "Google Stitch generates fast. But it doesn't know your brand. stitchwand bridges the gap. stitchwand.dev"

Conference: "At #GoogleCloudNext? Your design tokens → DESIGN.md → on-brand Stitch. Try it: stitchwand.dev"

Creative Specs

Platform	Format	Size	Notes
LinkedIn	Single image	1200 x 628px	2:1 ratio. PNG or JPG.
LinkedIn	Square video	1080 x 1080px	MP4. Under 10 min. 30-60s ideal.
LinkedIn	Landscape video	1920 x 1080px	16:9. Works but square gets more feed real estate.
X	Single image	1200 x 675px	16:9. PNG or JPG.
X	Square image	1080 x 1080px	1:1. Works well in mobile feed.
X	Video	1080 x 1080px	MP4. Under 2:20. 30-60s ideal.

Use your sizzle reel videos as ad creative. Export 1080x1080 square for both platforms. One export, two platforms.

A/B Testing

What to test: Run 2 ads per campaign with ONE difference between them. LinkedIn and X will split traffic automatically.

Test #1 -- Creative format: Video sizzle reel vs static terminal screenshot. (Video usually wins on LinkedIn.)
Test #2 -- Hook: Story-driven ("I tried Stitch 10 times...") vs benefit-driven ("Your tokens → DESIGN.md")
Test #3 -- CTA: Website link vs npm install command

When to call a winner: After 500+ impressions per variant OR 3 days, whichever comes first. Pause the loser. Keep the winner. Start a new test with a new challenger.

Reusable Prompt -- Generate Plans for Other Products

Copy this prompt. Replace [BRACKETS]. Paste into a new Claude conversation. Works for FigWand, Supergentic, PostGhost, UX Wand, or client projects.

You are an expert B2B digital advertising strategist. Create a paid advertising plan for this product. I have never run ads before — explain everything step by step.

## PRODUCT
Name: [PRODUCT NAME]
Description: [One sentence]
URL: [Website/docs URL]
Target users: [Job titles, roles, industries]
Differentiator: [What makes it unique]
Pricing: [Free/paid]
Parent brand: [Company name or "standalone"]
Social accounts: [What exists + follower counts]

## EVENT (if applicable)
Event: [Name, dates, city, venue, expected attendees — or "none"]
Code ships: [Date]
Promotion starts: [Date]

## BUDGET
Total: [Dollar range]
Platforms: [LinkedIn + X, or specify]

## GENERATE
1. Account setup checklist per platform (include tracking pixels, payment, disable LinkedIn Audience Network)
2. Campaign structure: nationwide + event geo-fence + retargeting + organic boost. Each with: objective, exact targeting (copy-pasteable), daily budget, dates, creative with actual ad copy text
3. Daily spend schedule with ramp curve peaking around the event
4. Budget breakdown table (campaign, dates, daily, max, total)
5. 2-3 ad copy variants per campaign (LinkedIn + X formats)
6. Creative specs (image/video sizes per platform)
7. A/B testing plan (what to test, when to call winners)
8. Daily monitoring checklist with stop/go thresholds
9. $200 minimum viable plan
10. Social account recommendations (own accounts? which platforms?)
11. Landing page checklist (UTM params, CTA, mobile, tracking)
12. Post-campaign analysis template (metrics, ROI calc, what to save)

## RULES
- Specific daily budgets, not ranges
- Copy-pasteable targeting parameters
- Honest about platform limitations
- Never recommend TikTok/Instagram for B2B with zero followers
- Structure: Setup → Soft Launch → Ramp → Peak → Cool Down → Retarget