You do not need a big budget to start, but you do need enough to learn something. For most contractors that means roughly a thousand dollars a month in ad spend, which gives the platform enough delivery to find buyers and gives you enough data to make a decision.
Below that, the campaign still runs, but slowly. Small budgets take longer to gather data, which means the learning period stretches out and it takes far longer to reach the point where you can tell whether the channel works for you.
The other constraint is your own capacity. There is no point generating forty leads a month if your team can only follow up on ten. Starting smaller and scaling once the process holds up is almost always the better path.
For how to think about the number in detail, see how much should I spend on ads each month.
Related reading: How often should I change my ads, Marketing for Roofing Contractors and Marketing for Landscaping Companies.
What a starting budget has to cover
- Enough ad spend for the platform to gather real data
- Enough leads to judge whether the offer works
- A follow up process your team can actually keep up with
- Creative that gets refreshed as the campaign runs
- Sixty days before you make a final call