The User Acquisition Starter Guide
How to buy your first users profitably
A plain-spoken guide to buying your first users with paid ads. Learn the channels, the core metrics, how to plan and launch a campaign, read the results, and grow spend without losing money.
8 chapters · PDF · No email required
I have spent more than twelve years buying traffic and hiring the people who buy it. In that time I have watched a lot of smart founders and first-time marketers light money on fire, not because they were careless, but because nobody sat them down and explained how paid acquisition actually works. This guide is the conversation I wish someone had given me on day one.
It is written for the person about to spend real money on ads for the first time: a founder, an indie developer, a junior marketer, or anyone who wants to understand where the budget goes. I will keep it practical and honest. By the end you should be able to pick a channel, set a safe budget, launch a first campaign, read the numbers without panic, and know when you are winning.
What is inside
- 01 What User Acquisition Really Is
- 02 The Main Paid Channels and How to Choose
- 03 The Metrics That Actually Matter
- 04 Unit Economics and Setting a Safe Budget
- 05 Planning and Launching Your First Campaign
- 06 Creative Basics That Move the Numbers
- 07 Reading Results and the Test, Optimize, Scale Loop
- 08 Common Beginner Mistakes to Avoid