Start with the four parts of the budget
Asking “how much does an ad cost?” can mean several different things. Media spend is the money allocated to advertising on Meta. Service fees cover the agreed work: planning, setup, monitoring and analysis. Creative production covers copy, photography, video and their variations. A landing page may also need to be built or updated if the ad sends people to your website.
Show these as separate lines in your plan. An “all-inclusive” figure should explain how much will actually be available for ad delivery. Add any other costs applicable to the project to establish the total. An existing page or usable images can reduce the production work without changing your chosen media budget.
Work out a media budget you can commit
Start with an amount your business can allocate to the test without relying on immediate sales to fund it. Set a duration and a specific question: does this offer attract enquiries that fit our services and the area we cover?
The planning calculation is simple: daily amount × number of days = media budget. Use the budget calculator to compare your assumptions. This calculation does not describe the exact billing pattern. Check the budget type and dates in Meta Ads Manager before launching. The official Meta Blueprint course on budgets and scheduling can help you prepare those settings.
FREE PRACTICAL WORKSHEET
Plan a media budget
This simulation adds your media budget to the fees you enter. It does not predict lead volumes or the amounts actually billed by the platform.
Use the same calculation basis and VAT treatment for all amounts. The quote and delivery settings confirm the agreed budget. The amounts you enter are not submitted.
Example: €10 a day for 30 days
€10 × 30 days = €300 in planned media spend. This is an arithmetic example to explain the calculation. It is neither an official Meta minimum nor a recommendation for every business, and it promises no number of enquiries or sales.
To make this scenario useful, choose one offer, a target area and the action you want people to take. Prepare a few message variations around the same offer, then keep a record of changes. Service fees, creative production and a landing page are additional to the €300 if needed. At the end, compare the actual spend with the enquiries received; this example assumes no volume of enquiries.
Choose between a Meta form and your website
A form within Meta can suit a straightforward enquiry, with questions that help you understand the need. Explain what happens after submission and arrange how the enquiries will be collected. A page on your website may be more suitable when you need to explain a service, show previous work or set out the details before asking someone to get in touch.
The choice depends on how much information people need, as well as the number of steps. In either case, test the journey on a phone and check that an enquiry reaches the right place. Meta also covers lead generation through forms, messaging and calls. Only choose a conversation channel if someone can reliably respond.
Measure useful enquiries, then sales
Cost per lead, or CPL, is media spend divided by the number of leads recorded for the same reporting scope. A submitted form does not automatically mean a useful enquiry. Define what makes a qualified lead: a need that matches your offer, a project in your service area and an opportunity to continue the conversation, for example.
Track enquiries, qualified leads, appointments and sales separately. You can then calculate media cost per qualified lead from your observed data. With no qualified leads, there is no useful unit cost to calculate. To assess profitability, compare sales, margin and the total project cost, allowing for the time customers take to make a decision.
Decide what happens after the test
Set the review date before the ads run. At the review, first check that enquiries were recorded and followed up: a lack of sales follow-up can distort your reading of the results. Keep a sale still under discussion separate from a completed sale.
- Continue: enquiries are relevant and the team can manage them; agree a new budget.
- Improve: an identifiable issue is getting in the way, such as an unclear offer or page; test a specific change.
- Stop or rethink: enquiries do not fit your business, or the cost does not work for your margins.
If there are too few observations, the review may remain inconclusive. Extending the test is then a budget decision to agree, rather than an automatic next step.
A checklist before committing the budget
These questions make the project easier to cost and the review more useful. A missing answer points to the next thing to prepare.
| Decision to make | Answer to prepare |
|---|---|
| Which offer are we promoting? | One service or product with a concrete customer benefit. |
| Where can we serve customers? | The towns, departments or area in France you actually cover. |
| What does the quoted budget cover? | Media, service fees, creative and landing page listed separately. |
| What happens after the click? | A form or page tested on a phone. |
| Who follows up enquiries? | A named team member and a plan for responding. |
| What will inform the decision? | Qualified leads, sales follow-up and a review date. |
FREE PRACTICAL WORKSHEET
Your campaign mini-brief
A practical worksheet to prepare a discussion or compare scenarios. You do not need to provide any personal information to complete it.
Download the worksheetEditable text file · Direct download, no registration.
Frequently asked questions
How many customers can I get with €300?
That amount alone cannot tell you how many customers you will gain. The €300 example only illustrates the media budget calculation. Enquiries and sales need to be observed during the test and followed up afterwards.
Do I need a website to run an ad?
A Meta form can collect enquiries without a dedicated page on your website. The right choice depends on your offer, the explanation customers need and how you plan to respond.
Should I increase the budget if the enquiries are a poor fit?
First review the offer, messages, target area and form questions. Increasing ad delivery before understanding the issue may simply generate more unsuitable enquiries.
Plan a test that suits your business
Tell us about your offer, the area you serve in France and the budget you have in mind. ALTO27 helps businesses across France define the contact journey, preparation needed and separate budget items.