Why DIY Ads Cost More Than You Think

The real cost of DIY advertising isn’t the wasted $20,000. It’s the opportunity cost of what you didn’t learn.

You (The DIY Approach)

You spend $20K on ads. You get some customers. Your takeaway: “Facebook ads work! My cost per customer (CPA) is ~$100.”

The reality: You don’t know why it worked. You have guesses, not a playbook.

Your Competitor (The Expert Approach)

They spend the same $20K. Their takeaways:

• Audience B has a $600 LTV (vs. $200 for A) → Action: Scale B, kill A.
• The “saves time” angle converts 3× better → Action: Use this message everywhere.
• Google’s CPA is $80, Facebook’s is $120 → Action: Shift budget to Google.

They got customers plus a precise scaling plan for the next $200K.

The Brutal Math

You’re stuck spending another $40K just to learn what your competitor already knows. While you’re still testing, they’re taking your market share.

The Old Problem — and the New Solution

That “Expert Approach” used to mean hiring a $10K/month agency.

Not anymore.

Meet Leo.

Leo is an AI marketer that works on your team — running your paid ad playbook for you. Leo finds the best audiences, messages, and channels… at 1/10th the cost of a traditional agency.

Stop guessing. Check us out. Join our November Early Adopters Program for 1 month of free Meta ads management.

– Brandon Benson, CTO, Stanford PhD