Hi there,
Thanks for getting in touch. I saw your post and it sounds like a really interesting buisness model you've got there – connecting people directly with goldsmiths for custom pieces is a great angle. It’s a tough market but a rewarding one.
You’ve got a tight budget and you’re new to the ad game, which is a tricky spot to be in, but not an impossible one. It just means you have to be really methodical and not waste a penny. I'm happy to give you some of my initial thoughts and a bit of guidance based on my experience running campaigns for eCommerce brands, some in very similar high-end niches.
There's a lot to unpick, but let's focus on the big bits that'll make the most difference for you right now.
I'd say you focus your budget where it'll count...
Your first question about the budget and where to target is the most important one. With $500-$600, you absolutely cannot afford to target the US or even the UK right now. I know it's tempting, the idea of a bigger market with more potential customers, but trust me on this, your budget would just evaporate. The US market is incredibly saturated and expensive. You could easily spend £50-£100 just to get a handful of clicks that lead to nothing. You'd burn through the whole lot in a few days with very little data or learnings to show for it.
You MUST start with Denmark. It’s your home turf. The audience is smaller, which for your budget, is a good thing. It means you can reach a meaningful percentage of your target audience multiple times, which you need for a high-consideration product like custom jewellery. People don't often buy a bespoke ring after seeing one ad.
The language thing – Danish ads to an English site – isn't ideal, but it's manageable. Lots of people in Denmark have a high proficiency in English. The key is to make the ad creative and copy feel native and then ensure the landing page experience is flawless. When they click the Danish ad and land on the English site, it must immediately feel professional, trustworthy, and clear. A small banner at the top saying something like "We ship from Denmark! Site in English for our international customers" could even help build trust. Running English ads in Denmark might also be something to test, but I'd start with Danish ads first.
We'll need to look at your customer and how to reach them...
Your targeting of 'urban women 25-45' is a decent starting point, but it's far too broad. Think about the 'why'. Who are these women? Why are they buying custom jewellery? Is it for an engagement? A special birthday? A self-love gift? An anniversary? The creative and copy for each of these motivations is completely different.
On Facebook and Instagram, you need to get much more specific with interest targeting. Don't just target 'Jewellery'. That's everyone from people who buy cheap high-street stuff to those buying investment pieces. You need to layer interests to find your person. Think about what else they like.
-> Do they follow high-end fashion magazines like Vogue, Elle, or Harper's Bazaar?
-> Do they like luxury brands like Cartier, Tiffany & Co., or maybe more niche Danish designers?
-> Are they interested in 'handmade goods', 'artisanal products', or maybe even follow pages related to 'goldsmithing'?
-> You can also target behaviours, like people who have an anniversary within 60-90 days, or are 'newly engaged'.
You need to build a few of these highly specific audience groups and test them against each other with a small daily budget. I've put a few ideas for how you could group these interests together into seperate ad sets to test them.
| Ad Set Theme | Example Interests to Layer/Test |
|---|---|
| Occasion-Based (e.g. Engagement) | 'Newly engaged (3 months)', 'Engaged', AND interested in 'WeddingWire', 'The Knot', 'Engagement ring'. |
| Luxury & Design Aficionados | Interests in 'Cartier', 'Tiffany & Co.', 'Fine jewelry', 'Vogue', AND 'Interior design' or 'Art'. |
| Handmade & Artisan Supporters | Interests in 'Etsy', 'Handmade', 'Goldsmith', 'Slow fashion', AND maybe 'Small business'. |
Start with these kinds of tight, relevant audiences. Once you get some traffic and (hopefully) a few sales, you can start building retargeting audiences (people who visited your site) and lookalike audiences (people who are similar to your actual customers). That's when things get powerful, but you need the initial data first.
You probably should think beyond just images...
I know you said you suck at making video content, but for what you're selling, it's almost non-negotiable. An image of a ring is nice. A video of it sparkling under a light, on a hand, showing the fine details... that's what sells it. It conveys quality, craftsmanship, and desirability in a way a static image just can't.
It doesn't have to be a big professional production. In fact, authentic, 'real' looking video often performs better. Grab your smartphone – the cameras are incredible these days – and try these:
-> A 15-second close-up clip of a goldsmith's hands at work (get their permission!). The tools, the flame, the focus. This tells the 'handmade' story instantly.
-> A simple video of a finished piece on a clean background, slowly rotating. Or someone wearing it, turning their hand in natural light.
-> A quick 'tour' of a custom design on your website, showing how easy the process is.
These simple videos build massive trust and answer questions before they're even asked. They show it's a real, tangible product made by real people. It's definately worth pushing past your comfort zone here. Even if you test one simple video against your best image ad, I'd bet the video gets better engagement.
You'll need a website that actually converts...
This is probably the biggest hurdle for new brands. You can have the best ads in the world, but if they send people to a website that doesn't feel trustworthy, you've just paid to send potential customers to a dead end. For a high-value purchase like custom jewellery, trust is everything.
When someone lands on your site from an ad, they're asking themselves: "Is this legit? Can I trust them with my money? Is the quality as good as they say?". Your site needs to answer a firm "YES" to all of those, instantly.
Here's what I'd look at, based on what typically makes or breaks an eCommerce store:
-> About Us Page: This is huge. Tell your story. Who are you? Why did you start this? Who are the worldclass goldsmiths you work with? Show their faces, tell their stories. This humanises the brand.
-> The Process: Have a dedicated page that explains exactly how it works, from designing on the site to the goldsmith starting work, to the final piece being delivered. Use icons, simple steps, and clear language. Remove all uncertainty.
-> Social Proof: This is tough when you're new. But do you have any early happy customers? Get testimonials and photos from them ASAP. If not, can you get quotes from your goldsmiths about their craft? Any press mentions, even from a small local blog? You need to show that other people vouch for you.
-> High-Quality Imagery: Your product photos and videos need to be impeccable. This is non-negotiable. They must be clear, well-lit, and show the pieces from multiple angles.
Think about the funnel. If your ads have a low Click-Through Rate (CTR), your ad creative or targeting is the problem. But if you're getting clicks and no one is even starting to design a piece or adding to cart, the problem is on your website. They're landing, looking around, and not feeling confident enough to proceed. Fixing the trust and clarity on your site is just as important as the ads themselves.
This is the main advice I have for you:
I know this is a lot to take in. To make it a bit more straightforward, I've broken down my main reccomendations into a table for you. This is the path I'd take if I were in your shoes with that budget.
| Area of Focus | Your Priority | Specific Action to Take Now |
|---|---|---|
| Budget & Geography | #1 - Must Do | Forget UK/US for now. Dedicate 100% of your $500-600 test budget to Denmark ONLY. |
| Website Trust | #2 - Critical | Before spending on ads, add an 'About Us' with photos, a detailed 'Our Process' page, and any testimonials you can get. Make your site bulletproof. |
| Ad Creative | #3 - High Impact | Create 2-3 simple, authentic smartphone videos showcasing the product's detail and the 'handmade' story. Test them against your best image ad. |
| Audience Targeting | #4 - Optimisation | Create 2-3 specific, layered interest groups (like the examples above) to test. Don't use broad targeting like just 'Jewellery'. |
With such a limited budget, you have very little room for error. Every ad, every click, and every visitor to your website needs to work as hard as possible. This process of testing, learning, and optimising is where a lot of new businesses lose money because they're not sure what to look for or what changes to make.
Working with an expert can help you avoid those initial costly mistakes and get you on the right path to finding a profitable campaign structure much faster. For example, we drove 633% return for a cleaning products eCommerce business using Meta Ads, so we know how to make a limited budget work hard.
If you’d like to go through your site and plans in more detail, we offer a free initial consultation where we can give you more specific advice. It might be helpful to have a second pair of expert eyes on it before you spend your first dollar.
Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh
