The developer's mental model for ads - Meta ads for developers

01. Foundations & mindset

Introduction
Why Meta Ads still work for SaaS
The developer's mental model for ads
Competitor research before you spend
How much should you spend?
Metrics that actually matter

02. Account & technical setup

Business Manager setup done right
Pixel installation for web apps
Conversions API (server-side tracking)
Defining your SaaS events
Domain verification & aggregated events
Testing your setup

03. Audiences & targeting

Audience types explained
Building custom audiences
Lookalike audiences that work
Interest & behavior targeting
Advantage+ audiences

04. Campaign structure

Objectives for SaaS
Campaign, Ad Set, Ad hierarchy
CBO vs. ABO budgeting
Bidding strategies
Naming conventions

05. Creative & copy

Why creative is 80% of the game
Researching what works
Ad formats: static, video, carousel
Creating ads without a designer
Writing copy that converts
The "ugly ad" advantage
Building a creative testing system

06. Launching your first campaign

Pre-launch checklist
Your first campaign: step-by-step
The learning phase
Reading the dashboard

07. Optimization & iteration

When to kill an ad
Diagnosing problems
Iterating on winners
Competitor benchmarking
Audience refinement
Retargeting sequences

08. Scaling & advanced

Scaling without breaking performance
Full-funnel strategy
Analyzing competitor funnels
Common mistakes & how to fix them
When Meta Ads isn't the answer