Dropshipping Facebook Ads Strategy: Save Money on Initial Testing Phases

We are currently scaling for a store spending approximately 5,000 – 6,000 euros daily on advertising. Analyzing the entire process from the start would be quite long, but just looking at the last 2 months, you will see the store started accelerating from May 15th and quickly peaked at 8,200 euros daily. Subsequently, spending slightly decreased, but the conversion rate still remained at 5%, which is an extremely impressive figure.

Realistically, there is no such thing as a “standardized strategy” for Facebook ads. The nature of this platform is continuous testing. Regardless of the method you apply, its effectiveness will depend on the product you are testing and the specific niche. In this article, BlackHatWorld will share the necessary Facebook ad strategy for the business‘s dropshipping that we have successfully implemented, helping to maximize cost savings right from the ad testing phase. This is a practical approach, based on real data and direct experience from campaigns currently running thousands of euros daily.

Dropshipping Ads is becoming challenging in 2026. Solutions for remediation.

Before delving into the detailed solutions, we want to emphasize that 2026 is truly a “trial by fire” for every dropshipping advertiser. If, in the past, you could easily create an account, run a few test ad sets, and start scaling, now Meta has tightened everything up significantly. It is common for new accounts to be restricted, have distribution reduced, or be flagged right from the early days. This makes it almost impossible for many newcomers to recover.

However, if you are someone who prepared well in advance, as we always advise: an active Page, pixel with signals, the account looking like a real business, not a spam account… then you are in a better position than 90% of other newcomers. This is the foundational advantage that helps you step into the most crucial phase: creative testing.

The creative testing phase is the deciding moment when you will lose money or make money. We want to be clear about this: effective advertising is not luck, nor is it just about throwing up a few videos and hoping Meta will do the rest. Creative testing is the process of finding what works before you spend any advertising dollars.

Reference creatives from TikTok.

So where do we find ideas? The first source we always use is TikTok. When we searched for the product “weight loss patches,” TikTok returned an extremely simple UGC video, but with over 20,000 likes. We do not evaluate based on views but on likes because that indicates that viewers truly empathize, save, send to friends, or care about the product. This is the real demand.

You will notice this type of UGC video is usually very raw: no watermark, no logo, no elaborate editing, just focusing on authentically conveying the product’s benefits. This is the most valuable creative type for testing. We just need to copy the video link, download it using SSS Tik or SnapTik to get the no-watermark version, and then reuse it for testing.

In-depth research using Meta Ads Library

Here, we look for the videos, images, headlines, and offers that competitors are using. If multiple brands in the same niche repeat a certain angle, that is a very strong signal that the angle has a high conversion rate.

You can use Video Downloader Plus to download all competitor videos as research material. But keep in mind: do not copy the content entirely. We only take the angle, then input it into ChatGPT to rewrite a higher-quality version following three common approaches: problem-solving, convenience, and emotional benefit. We usually prepare about 5 best Facebook ad creatives, including both videos and images, so Meta has enough data to self-distribute and determine which one is most effective.

One of the most crucial things many people overlook is account protection and revenue protection. The biggest risk is not running ads at a loss, but having real customers purchase, but you lose money unjustly due to refunds, disputes, or chargebacks.

Dropshipping Facebook Ads Strategy: Save Money on Initial Testing Phases

When entering the product testing phase in the dropshipping model, many new advertisers often make the mistake of burning too much money without collecting accurate data. How to test products effectively, at the lowest cost, and still ensure sufficient data for decision-making? We will share the entire product testing process we use when running Facebook ads, along with a specific example with the “toaster lamp” product.

Setting up the standard campaign from the start

When testing new products, we always use a practical example for easy visualization. Suppose we want to test the toaster lamp. The first step is to go to Ads Manager and create a new campaign.

We select the Sales → Continue, then choose a Manual Sales Campaign to have full control. The campaign is always named after the product, e.g., Toaster Lamp, which helps keep your ad system tidy and easy to manage.

A note we have concluded: Do not enable Advantage Campaign Budget during the testing phase. Enabling ACB causes Facebook to automatically distribute the budget from the start, which can easily lead to money being burned on the wrong audience group.

Then click Next to proceed to the Ad Set section.

Create Ad Set

At this stage, the ad set name does not need to be set immediately because we will name it according to the interest later. You select:

• Conversion location: Website
• Performance Goal: Maximize number of conversions
• Pixel → Event: Purchase

We always emphasize to you: absolutely do not use Add to Cart or View Content when testing. These events cause Facebook to optimize too broadly, and you will waste a lot of money without getting a real purchase.

Calculating and setting the testing budget

This is the principle we use across all dropshipping accounts:

• Products priced under 70 USD: 10 USD/day
• Products priced 70–100 USD: 20 USD/day

Because the toaster lamp has a cost of goods of about 11 USD, multiplied by 3 is ~33 USD → selling price ~35 USD → 10 USD/day is enough.

Regarding the schedule, always set it for 00:00 the next day. If you start in the late afternoon/early evening, Facebook only has a few hours to spend the budget, and the delivery quality will be very poor.

Simple targeting to reduce cost

We always turn off Advantage+ Audience and switch back to Original Audience for self-control.

• Country: only select 1 country with a 10 USD/day budget, e.g., the United States or the United Kingdom.
• Age and gender: keep broad.
• Interest: select 1 broad group related to the product.

For example, type “Lamp,” select the Lamp interest of 22 million people. Just over 1 million is enough. Then copy the interest name to name the ad set, which helps in clear management.
Placements: keep Advantage+ placements because there is no need to limit placement during the testing phase.

Ad setup

• Name the ad: “ad number 1.”
• Page: select your fanpage
• Ad setup: single image/video
• Upload the image/video and keep the original format

Features we turn on/off:

• Relevant comments: ON
• Text improvement: ON
• Filter: ON
• 3D animation: OFF
• Expand Image & Catalog Items: OFF

Enabling content support features helps Facebook automatically improve relevance, saving a significant amount of CPC cost.

Writing ad content

We usually write content based on 3 parts:

• One sentence describing the product along with the prominent benefit
• Three bullets describing key features
• A powerful CTA at the end

Example:

• The toaster lamp helps make the room warmer every night.
• Soft, pleasant light
• Unique, super cute design
• Power saving

CTA: Shop Now
Website URL: toasterlamp.com

Creating 3 ad creatives and duplicating the ad set

In each ad set, we create a total of 3 ads, each ad using a different image/video for Facebook to distribute and find the most effective creative. Then, we create 9 identical ad sets and change the interests:

• 4 ad sets with new interests: Night light, LED lamp, lighting, home decor
• 5 ad sets with all interests removed (running broad)

Result after completion:

• 5 interest ad sets
• 5 broad ad sets
• Each ad set has 3 ads

This is the optimal testing structure we use for all dropshipping products.

Monitoring the first 3 days

Day 1

Each ad set needs to spend at least 5 USD before deciding whether to keep or turn off. We monitor:

• CPC > 2 USD → TURN OFF
• CPM > 50–70 USD → TURN OFF
• If CPC 1–1.5 USD and CPM < 35–40 → KEEP

If there is a purchase, keep it even if the CPC/CPM is high.

Day 2

When the ad set spends another 5 USD, we look at:

• CPC < 1.5 USD
• CPM < 40 USD
• Has 1–2 add to cart

If there is no ATC → TURN OFF (unless the CPC is super good below 1 USD).

Day 3

You need to have 1–2 purchases. If not:

• The product is not a winner
• the creative is too weak.

At this point, you need to change the creative or switch to another product to avoid wasting further budget.

In the initial testing phase, running dropshipping ads on Facebook is not a game of chance but a test of our strategic mindset and ability to continuously optimize. When you apply the correct testing process, analyze data daily, and know when to turn off – keep – scale, the advertising cost will significantly decrease, and the chance of finding a “winner product” will be much higher. We believe that with a disciplined and systematic approach, any advertiser can optimize performance right from day one.

Frequently asked questions

💬 Contact now for free consultation from BHW!

• Website: https://vi.blackhatworld.io/
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• Email: [email protected]

This article is also available in other languages:

• 中文： 
• Русский: Рекламная стратегия Dropshipping на Facebook: Экономия расходов на этапе первичного тестирования
• English: Dropshipping Facebook Ads Strategy: Save Money on Initial Testing Phases