Every scalable campaign starts the same way, and it’s not with a hook, a creative concept, or an ad set structure.
It should start with three questions.
I’ve managed millions in spend across coaching, consulting, ecom, and lead-gen, and these three questions are the fastest way to predict whether a campaign will scale or die on impact.
Most media buyers and founders skip them, then wonder why their CAC is unstable, creative burns out, or their lead quality tanks.
Here’s how senior operators think about the foundations. 👇
1. Who’s It For? (No, Seriously)
If your targeting description could fit inside a fortune cookie, your campaign is already in trouble.
“Busy moms” is not an audience.
“Entrepreneurs” is not a persona.
“Coaches” is not a niche.
Those are categories, not buyers. You should think two levels deeper:
Not “busy moms” → Busy working moms who feel guilty about not cooking dinner and want a 20-minute solution that doesn’t feel like junk food.
Not “entrepreneurs” → Coaches doing $10k-$30k/month who are stuck at personal delivery capacity and can’t scale without breaking their calendar.
Not “ecom founders” → Shopify owners scaling from $30k → $150k months who are terrified of rising CAC and creative inconsistency.
This level of specificity isn’t “nice to have.”
It’s the difference between thumb-stopping relevance and “this could be for anyone, so I’m scrolling.”
If you can’t write a one-sentence description that would make someone say “that’s me,” the platform won’t fix it for you.
I’ve worked with some of the biggest names in the coaching, consulting, and ecommerce space, and we scale programs with discipline, clarity, and zero guesswork.
If you want to diagnose your funnel and stabilize your CAC, reach out.
2. What’s the Pain? (The Real One)
People don’t buy features, they buy relief.
They buy the thing that removes the pressure they’ve been carrying around for months.
Most ads describe what the offer does. But the best ads show what the offer solves.
Ask yourself:
What’s the friction they’re fighting every day?
What problem are they embarrassed to admit out loud?
What’s the exact scenario that makes them say, “I can’t keep doing it this way”?
Examples:
A coach isn’t buying automation. They’re buying the ability to stop taking sales calls at 8 pm.
A consultant isn’t buying a funnel. They’re buying predictability so they can stop refreshing Stripe every morning.
An ecom founder isn’t buying creative testing. They’re buying stability so CAC stops swinging 40% week to week.
If you don’t know the pain, you don’t know the hook.
If you don’t know the hook, you don’t know the creative.
If you don’t know the creative, you don’t know the campaign.
Most campaigns fail because they solve problems the buyer doesn’t care about.
3. Why Now? (The Trigger That Drives Action)
Timing is everything on Meta.
The scroll is fast, the attention window is thin, and the platform rewards momentum, not ideas.
Your buyer needs a reason to stop, think, and act right now.
Ask:
What changed in the market that makes this offer urgent today?
What internal moment (pain spike, frustration, failure point) triggers action?
What external moment (trend shift, cost increase, seasonal window) creates urgency?
Examples:
Ad costs rising going into Q4 → “Fix your CAC before peak season hits.”
Creatives fatiguing faster → “Your ads are dying faster than ever. Here’s the solution.”
Buyers delaying decisions → “This is the cheapest your acquisition will be for the next 90 days.”
If there’s no “why now,” there’s no conversion moment. Urgency beats cleverness every time.
Most Media Buyers Skip All of This
This is the part nobody talks about.
Founders blame the algorithm.
Junior agencies blame the client.
Guru media buyers blame “creative fatigue.”
But the real reason 90% of campaigns fail? They launched without clarity.
Vague audience, undefined pain, and zero urgency.
It’s not Meta’s fault; it’s the strategy.
Senior operators don’t wait for the platform to fix sloppy inputs. They build campaigns that win before the first dollar is even spent.
If You’re a Coach, Consultant, or Ecom Founder Ready to Scale
If you’re doing $30k–$500k/month and want someone who actually understands Meta at scale (not guesswork, not hacks, not recycled agency playbooks), reply to this email. This is what we do every day at Grizzly Digital Media.