How much to spend on Meta ads, in ringgit

Meta has no price list. You set a budget, and the auction decides what each click, chat or sale costs. So the question is not "what do ads cost?" It is "what can I afford to pay for one sale, and how much do I need to find out if I can get it?"

This lesson answers both, in ringgit, with one worked example.

Step 1: know what one sale is worth

Your break-even cost per sale is the most you can pay for a sale and not lose money.

1. Take the price the customer pays.
2. Take away what that order costs you: product, packing, delivery, payment fees.
3. What is left is your break-even cost per sale.

Your target cost per sale should sit below that, so there is profit left. Write both numbers down. Every decision in this course comes back to them.

Step 2: size a test you can read

A test is readable when it buys enough results to show a pattern. One or two sales can be luck. As a rule of thumb, plan a test that can buy about 20 results in two weeks.

Test budget for two weeks = 20 × your target cost per result

Then divide by 14 for a daily budget. Hold it for the full two weeks.

There is a second number to know. Meta says an ad set leaves the learning phase after about 50 results in 7 days. To reach that, you need:

Daily budget for learning = 50 × target cost per result ÷ 7

For a sale, this is often more than a small shop can spend. That is fine. You have two honest options:

• Pick a cheaper, more frequent result. A WhatsApp chat or an add to cart happens more often than a sale, so a small budget can reach 50 of them.
• Keep the test in one ad set. RM 20 a day in one ad set gives Meta one place to collect results. Split across four ad sets, each one gets RM 5 a day, too little to learn from.

Meta also has a minimum daily budget. It depends on your currency and on what you optimise for, and Ads Manager tells you if you go below it.

Step 3: add service tax

When your ad account's Sold to country is Malaysia, Meta adds 8% service tax on top of your ad spend. A RM 20 daily budget is billed as about RM 21.60. Put the tax in your plan from day one, so the bill does not surprise you.

Step 4: daily or lifetime budget

Launch by hand in AdPlay.ai offers the same two choices: Daily Budget or Lifetime Budget. A lifetime budget also asks for an End Date.

Step 5: leave it alone

A large budget change counts as a big edit and can restart learning. Set the budget, then do not touch it for at least a week. Judge the test at the end of the two weeks, on your cost per result.

A worked example: the Ipoh brownie box

Say you sell a brownie box at RM 45, delivered in Ipoh.

1. Break-even. Ingredients, box and delivery cost you RM 20. RM 45 minus RM 20 leaves RM 25. That is your break-even cost per sale.
2. Target. You want profit on every box, so you set a target of RM 15 a sale. That is a third of the price, a common place to start.
3. Readable test. 20 sales × RM 15 = RM 300 for two weeks. That is about RM 21 a day.
4. Learning check. 50 sales × RM 15 ÷ 7 = about RM 107 a day. Too much for now.
5. The fix. You sell on WhatsApp, so you let Meta find chats instead of sales. Say a chat costs you RM 3. Then 50 chats a week cost RM 150, about RM 21 a day. The same budget now gives Meta enough data.
6. Tax. RM 21 a day becomes about RM 22.70 with 8% service tax. Over two weeks, plan for about RM 318.
7. Budget type. Daily, because this is an always-on test. For the Deepavali gift boxes later, a lifetime budget with fixed dates fits better.

Then you count which chats became paid orders. That gives your real cost per sale, which is what you compare with RM 25.

Checklist

• I know my break-even cost per sale in RM.
• My target is below it.
• My two-week budget can buy about 20 results at my target.
• I added 8% service tax to the plan.
• I picked daily or lifetime on purpose.
• I will not change the budget for at least a week.

For more worked examples, read how much to spend on Facebook ads and what Facebook ads cost in Malaysia.

Your homework

1. Work out your break-even cost per sale and your target, in RM.
2. Work out your two-week test budget and your daily budget, then add 8%.
3. Keep the numbers. When you connect Meta in AdPlay.ai, the last step asks What do you want from your ads? Pick Purchases and type your target in Target per sale. If you pick Leads, the box reads Target per lead.