Should my Facebook ad offer be free, or should I charge something or require a card?
Votel recommends charging something up front, requiring a credit card on a trial, or offering something with an immediate result such as booking a demo.
A free trial with no credit card is cheaper to get sign ups for, but it attracts people who like signing up for things and not paying, and Facebook learns to find more people like them. A card required free trial, a $1 trial or another low priced trial tells Facebook you want people who pull out a credit card. This small change can make the difference between a successful campaign and a failed one. People who put even a dollar on the line are far more likely to show up, do the work and respond to your calls than people who submitted a free form.
From lowest to highest cost per result, the usual order is:
- A lead captured on Facebook's built-in lead form (the person never leaves Facebook).
- A lead on your own website form.
- A card for a one-time low purchase, such as a $1 guide or a low priced challenge.
- A card for a low priced or free trial.
- A card for the full price of a monthly service.
Pick based on your budget and price point. With a small budget, start with leads, then move up to a paid low ticket offer or a card required trial when your budget allows. The two most valuable results to optimize for are sales and leads.