Solved: Low Budget Stalling Facebook Bingo Game Promotion

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out!

Happy to give you some initial thoughts on how to get more players for your online bingo game. I've had a look at what you've said, and I can see why you've been struggling. It's a tough market, and getting scammed twice is just rubbish, sorry to hear that.

The main problem isn't your game or your ambition, it's the approach. A tenner a day on ads is like trying to put out a bonfire with a water pistol. It's just not going to cut it, and it's probably why you feel like you're not getting anywhere. We're going to need to look at this a bit differently, starting with what a player is actually worth to you and then building a proper plan from there.

Below is a pretty detailed breakdown of my thinking. It should give you a much clearer picture of what's needed to actually make this work.

I'd say your biggest problem is the budget...

Let's be brutally honest right from the start. A $10 daily budget is not a trial run; it's a guarantee of failure. I know that sounds harsh, but it's the truth, and it's probably why you've had bad experiences before. Anyone who tells you they can work miracles with that amount is either inexperienced or trying to scam you.

Think about it like this. When you launch a new ad campaign on a platform like Facebook, its algorithm enters what's called a 'learning phase'. It's basically trying to figure out who the best people are to show your ads to – the ones who are most likely to actually become players. To do this, it needs data. Lots of it. It needs to see a good number of clicks, installs, and sign-ups to understand the pattern. The official number from Meta is about 50 conversions per week for an ad set to exit the learning phase.

With a $10 a day budget, you're spending $70 a week. If a new player costs, say, $5 to acquire (which would be a pretty good result), you're only getting 14 conversions a week. That's not nearly enough data. The algorithm never gets out of 'school', it never properly learns, and your campaign performance will be all over the place. Your costs will be high, your results will be poor, and you'll switch it off thinking "this doesn't work", when in reality, you never gave it enough fuel to even start the engine. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

This is the most common mistake I see. People are scared to commit a proper budget, so they "test" with a tiny amount. But the data you get from such a small test is statistically meaningless. You can't make smart decisions based on it. It's a false economy. You have to be prepared to invest a realistic amount to get real data that tells you if you have a winning formula or not. Anyone who took your money for a trial on that budget wasn't setting you up for success.

You'll need to figure out what a player is worth...

This is probably the single most important bit of work you can do, and it's something 90% of small businesses never bother with. You're worried about the cost to get a new player, which is fair enough. But the real question is: how much can you *afford* to spend to get a new player and still make a handsome profit?

The answer is in the Lifetime Value (LTV) of your player. How much profit does the average player generate for your game over their entire time playing it? Once you know this number, you're not guessing anymore. You're making business decisions based on actual maths.

The calculation is pretty simple. You need three numbers:

1. Average Revenue Per Player (ARPP) per month: How much does a typical player deposit or spend in your game each month?
2. Gross Margin %: What's your profit margin on that revenue? For a digital game, this might be very high after platform fees, maybe 80-90%.
3. Monthly Churn Rate: What percentage of your players stop playing each month and don't come back?

Let's run a quick example. Say your average player spends $20 a month, your gross margin is 80%, and you lose 25% of your players each month (a 25% churn rate).

The LTV formula is: (ARPP * Gross Margin %) / Monthly Churn Rate

So, in this case: ($20 * 0.80) / 0.25 = $16 / 0.25 = $64.

This means that, on average, every new player you acquire is worth $64 in gross profit to you over their lifetime. Now, the question changes. It's no longer "Can I get players for $2?". It's "If a player is worth $64 to me, am I happy to pay $5, $10, or even $20 to acquire them?".

A good rule of thumb in marketing is to aim for a 3:1 LTV to Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) ratio. So, with a $64 LTV, you could comfortably spend up to $21 to acquire a new customer and still have a very healthy, profitable business model. Suddenly that $10/day budget which might get you one player a day if you're lucky, looks very different when you realise you could afford to spend more to get more players and scale faster.

Use the calculator below to play with your own numbers. This will give you your single most important metric: your maximum affordable cost per acquisition.

I'd say you need to structure your campaigns properly...

Your game is broadcast on Facebook, so Meta's ad platform (Facebook & Instagram) is absolutely the right place to be. The targeting options for games of chance are excellent. We've had a lot of success in this area. We ran a campaign for a prize draw company that generated over £107k in revenue at a 618% return on ad spend. Another gambling client saw their purchases increase by 200% with a 7x return. It can work, and it can work brilliantly, but you can't just 'promote' your broadcast.

You need to think like a marketer and use a funnel. This just means you have different campaigns designed to do different jobs. Here’s a simple structure that works:

Campaign 1: Finding New Players (Top of Funnel - TOFU)

• Objective: This is CRITICAL. Your campaign objective must be Conversions. You'll likely want to optimise for 'App Installs' or 'Registrations' or whatever action a new player takes. Do NOT use 'Reach' or 'Brand Awareness'. If you choose 'Reach', you are literally telling Facebook "find me the cheapest people to show this ad to, I don't care if they ever click or play". The algorithm does what you ask and finds people who are proven to ignore ads. You end up paying to reach non-customers. A conversion objective tells the algorithm to actively hunt for people who look like they will actually sign up and play.
• Audiences to Test: You'll want to create different ad sets to test different audiences against each other.
  • -> Interests: This is your starting point. Target people interested in 'Bingo', 'Online gambling', and even competitor apps like 'Tombola', 'Gala Bingo', etc. Group similar interests together in one ad set.
  • -> Broad: Once your account has some data, you can try a campaign with no interest targeting at all. Just age, gender, and location. Meta's AI is pretty clever now and can often find players better than you can if you give it enough data to learn from. But you need a good budget for this to work.
  • -> Lookalikes: This is where the magic happens. Once you have at least 100-200 people who have taken a key action (e.g., made their first deposit), you can ask Facebook to create a 'Lookalike' audience. It will go and find millions of other people who share similar characteristics to your best players. This is usually the most profitable audience you can build. You could create Lookalikes of all players, or even better, a Lookalike of your *highest value* players.
• Creatives (Your Ads): You need eye-catching videos and images. Show the excitement of the game. A video of your host calling out a big win. A graphic showing your welcome offer (e.g., "Deposit £10, Play with £30!"). Testimonials from happy winners. You need to test at least 3-5 different ads to see what resonates.

Campaign 2: Bringing People Back (Bottom of Funnel - BOFU)

• Objective: Again, Conversions. You want them to come back and play or make a deposit.
• Audiences to Test (Retargeting):
  • -> Recent Visitors: Anyone who has visited your Facebook page or interacted with an ad in the last 30 days but hasn't become a player yet.
  • -> Players who haven't deposited: People who signed up but haven't put any money in.
• Creatives: The ads here need to be different. Give them a reason to come back. "We miss you! Here's 5 free games on us." or "Still thinking about it? Your first deposit gets doubled!". It's about overcoming that last bit of hesitation.

This structure allows you to have an always-on machine that's constantly finding new players and reminding interested people to join in. It’s far more effective than just boosting a post here and there.

You probably should look at what you're offering...

The number one reason ad campaigns fail, even with the right budget and targeting, is a weak offer. You're in a very competitive market. People playing online bingo have dozens, if not hundreds, of choices. Why should they choose you?

You need a compelling, irresistible introductory offer that grabs their attention and makes it a no-brainer to give your game a try. This isn't just about your game being fun; it's about the deal they get for signing up. This is a core part of your customer acquisition cost.

Have a look at what the big players are doing:

• "Deposit £10, get a £50 bingo bonus!"
• "Get 200 Free Bingo Tickets when you join!"
• "Play free bingo for your first 3 days - no deposit needed!"

These are powerful hooks. Your offer needs to be competitive with these. A simple "Come and play our game" isn't going to cut it. You need to package your service into a product with a clear benefit for the new user. It makes your service feel tangible and less risky for a buyer to invest in.

Think about what you can realistically offer. A deposit match? Free games? A special bonus for their first win? Whatever it is, it needs to be the headline of your ads. It's the bait on the hook that will get people to stop scrolling and actually pay attention.

So, what's my advice for you?

I know this is a lot to take in, especially when you're just starting out and have been burned before. But doing things properly from the start will save you a huge amount of money and frustration in the long run. Trying to cut corners with a tiny budget is the most expensive mistake you can make.

I've detailed my main recommendations for you below in a table. This is the step-by-step process I would take if I were in your shoes.

You'll need expert help to avoid getting scammed...

Given you've been scammed twice, your caution is completely understandable. The world of online advertising is full of people who talk a good game but can't deliver. Hiring an expert isn't just about them knowing how to click the buttons in Ads Manager; it's about paying for their experience, their strategic thinking, and their ability to avoid the costly mistakes you'd make on your own.

An experienced professional can take a look at your game, your numbers, and your goals and build a bespoke strategy like the one I've outlined above. They can help you calculate your LTV, advise on a competitive offer, write compelling ad copy, produce creatives, and manage the campaigns day-to-day to squeeze the best possible performance out of your budget. The fee you pay them should be more than covered by the money they save you from being wasted on ineffective ads and the extra revenue they generate.

If you want to have a chat about this in more detail, we offer a completely free, no-obligation initial consultation. We can go through your specific situation, look at your numbers together, and give you a clear, honest assessment of what's possible. It would give you a chance to see how we work and ask any questions you have, without any risk.

Either way, I hope this detailed breakdown has been helpful and gives you a much clearer path forward. Don't give up, just be a bit more strategic with your next attempt.

Regards,

Team @ Lukas Holschuh