Guide 4 of 17 in Level 4: Run it as an ad

How to plan a Facebook ad campaign

To plan a Facebook ad campaign with Blackbox (blackbox.plus), open Plan, click + on the day it starts, choose Meta ads under Campaign and say what it is for, the way you would tell a colleague. Say what you are selling, by when, how many you can take, and whether it is a small test. Click Read the ask, check the one line it reads back, then click Looks right · propose three plans. A Campaign plans card opens beside the calendar and offers Lean, Recommended and Push, each in eleven sections: budget and dates, what to fix first, the audiences, the budget split by job, the messages, the stop rules and the results to judge it on. Every line is marked Proposed, Assumed or Measured. Click Pick this plan: it drafts one paused campaign with an ad set per audience, ads in Studio, fix and question cards, the stop rules and a dashboard. Review the campaign, approve it and start it. Nothing spends before that.

You'll need
Time
About 10 minutes 15 steps Updated
You'll end with
A plan picked, drafted as one Meta campaign with an ad set per audience, its fix cards and a dashboard
Do it in Blackbox Open Plan, after you sign in
Example
One sentence in, three plans out, and the one campaign the pick drafts, an ad set per audience

How to plan a Facebook ad campaign in Blackbox

  1. Step 1:Open New Campaign

    In Plan, click + on the day it starts, then Meta ads under Campaign.

    You'll see: What is this campaign for?, with a box for your words.

    Open this in Blackbox

  2. Step 2:Say what it’s for

    In the box under What is this campaign for?, say what you’re selling, by when, how many you can take, and whether it’s a small test.

    You'll see: Your words in the box, with Read the ask under it.

  3. Step 3:Read it back

    Click Read the ask.

    You'll see: We read it as: one line with the occasion, the dates and the size, and the searches it will measure.

  4. Step 4:Ask for three plans

    If the line is right, click Looks right · propose three plans.

    You'll see: A Campaign plans card beside the calendar, writing them, in about a minute.

  5. Step 5:Compare the plans

    Click Lean, Recommended and Push at the top of the card.

    You'll see: Each plan’s total on its tab, and its eleven sections under it.

  6. Step 6:Check the budget

    Read the budget section: the total, split by the job each channel does.

    You'll see: Each channel’s amount and about how much it spends a day.

  7. Step 7:Check who it reaches

    Read the audiences section. Each audience becomes an ad set of the one campaign.

    You'll see: Each audience’s name, who they are, why they’d buy and its share of the budget.

  8. Step 8:Check the stop rules

    Read Learn, back the winners, then push: the phases and the rules that guard the money.

    You'll see: Each rule with what it does, such as Raises a card for you to approve.

  9. Step 9:Pick one

    On the plan you want, click Pick this plan.

    You'll see: This plan drafted 1 campaign · 2 ad sets, its state and its ad sets.

  10. Step 10:Review the campaign

    When the row says Ready to review, click Review.

    You'll see: New Campaign open on Review, filled in from the plan.

  11. Step 11:Draft it

    Fix each check marked Block, then click Draft the campaign.

    You'll see: The row says Drafted, waiting for you to approve, with Open the proposal.

  12. Step 12:Approve and start it

    Click Open the proposal, then Approve & create and Start ads.

    You'll see: The row says Running.

  13. Step 13:Do the fixes

    Work through each Fix first card under Suggestions for now in Plan. Each says whether you do it or we do it with you.

    You'll see: A card per fix, with its deadline and a button where there’s something to open.

  14. Step 14:Answer what we need

    On each We need from you card, click Done once it’s in.

    You'll see: The card leaves the list.

  15. Step 15:Let a rule act on its own

    Optional: in Settings, open Autonomy and switch on a rule marked From a campaign plan.

    You'll see: The rule marked On.

    Open this in Blackbox

Good to know

  • The three plans differ by budget and breadth, never by shape. Lean runs every channel at its minimum. Recommended is sized from the results you want and what a result is worth to you, capped by what you can sell. Push adds about half again, only where the audiences have room.
  • Proposed is a figure Blackbox suggests. Measured comes from a connected account or a lookup. Assumed is a claim no data backs yet; the first check-in proves or kills it.
  • Not quite · edit the ask puts you back in the box. On the card, Change something opens the ask again, and Not now puts the card away.
  • Pick makes, the same day: one draft campaign whose ad sets are the plan’s audiences, each ad set’s share its part of the reach budget; a Studio creative draft per audience; a Fix first card per fix; a We need from you card per question; the plan’s stop rules; and a dashboard with the plan’s targets.
  • The campaign’s row moves from Drawing your ads, about a minute, to Ready to review, Drafted, Made on the platform, paused, and Running.
  • A city or interest Meta doesn’t know is left out of the campaign. The row and Review’s From the plan check name it, so you can add it under Who should see it.
  • The stop rules start off: when one is crossed, a card asks you to approve. Switching one on in Settings › Autonomy lets it act alone, and needs automatic changes on your plan. Only an admin sees Autonomy.
  • Rather set it up yourself? Or skip the plans, under the box, starts from a goal — see How to create a Facebook ad campaign.

Official docs

If something doesn't work

How much should I spend on Facebook ads?

Start from the plans. Lean is the least the channels need to run, Recommended is sized from the results you want and what each is worth to you, and Push adds more only where the audiences have room. Each says what to expect for its money.

The card says Couldn’t write the plans

Click Try again. If it fails again, click Report so we see it, or click + on a day, then Meta ads, and say the ask another way.

Why one campaign and not one per audience?

Each audience is an ad set of one campaign, so the check-ins compare them side by side and move money to the one that works. Plans picked before still show one campaign per audience.

A row says Not added from the plan

Meta didn’t know that place or interest. Click Review, open Preset and add one like it under Who should see it, or go on without it.

A rule was crossed but nothing was paused

Rules start off, so a crossed rule raises a card for you to approve. To let it act on its own, switch it on in Settings › Autonomy.

I don’t see Pick this plan

The card says An admin picks a plan. Ask an admin in your workspace to pick it, or to make you one.

Stuck at any step? Send us a message and we'll do it with you on a call. All of Level 4: Run it as an ad