Solved: Need Tips for $14,000 Ad Budget for App Installs

Hi there,

I came across your situation and thought I'd offer some initial thoughts and guidance. A $14,000 budget is a decent amount to get started with and could really get you some traction, but it can also disappear pretty quickly if it's not pointed in the right direction. You've got a really interesting app there, sounds genuinely useful for people in the construction trade.

Here are my thoughts on how you could approach this to give yourself the best shot at success. I've broken it down into a few areas.

I'd say you need to refine your funnel first...

You've got the basic idea right with your funnel: installs, then sign-ups, then re-engagement. That's the classic path. But we can add a bit more detail to it to make it more effective from an advertising point of view. Your ads have a very specific job to do.

The real funnel looks more like this:
Awareness (The Ad) -> Interest (The Click) -> Consideration (The App Store Page) -> Conversion (The Install) -> Activation (The Sign-up) -> Retention (Re-engagement)

Your advertising campaign with this $14k budget is primarily responsible for the first three stages. Its job is to find the right person, get them interested enough to click, and presuade them enough that when they land on your app store page, they're ready to hit 'Install'. A lot of people forget that the ad needs to work hand-in-hand with your app store listing. Make sure your app store page is top-notch, with clear screenshots, a good description, and maybe a video. It's your digital storefront.

The install itself isn't the final goal, as you know. The activation (the sign-up) is where the user actually becomes valuable. If you get thousands of installs but only a handful of sign-ups, it tells you there's a problem with your app's onboarding process, not neccessarily the ads. So you'll need to track that 'install-to-signup' rate very closely. This will be your first major health check on the whole process.

We'll need to look at the best platforms for the job...

You mentioned Reddit, Facebook (Meta), and X. Let's break them down for your specific audience – construction workers. This isn't your typical consumer audience, so the platform choice matters a lot.

-> Meta (Facebook & Instagram): This is probably your strongest bet and where I'd put a good chunk of the budget initially. Why? The sheer scale and the targeting options. You can target people based on interests like 'Construction', specific tool brands they follow (DeWalt, Makita, Caterpillar), trade publications, and even some job-related demographics. It's a visual platform, which is perfect for showing off your app's interface with short, snappy video ads. People are scrolling on their breaks or after work, and a well-made ad can definatly catch their eye.

-> Reddit: This has huge potential but it's a different beast. You can't just run a corporate-looking ad here; you'll get ignored or worse. The power of Reddit is in its communities. You can target users who are members of specific subreddits like r/Construction, r/Carpentry, r/electricians, r/plumbing, r/bluecollar, etc. These are highly-concentrated pools of your exact target audience. The ad needs to speak their language, be direct, highlight the 'free' aspect, and solve a problem they actually have. It's more about being part of the conversation than shouting from the sidelines.

-> X (Twitter): Honestly, I'd be cautious with X for this. Targeting is less precise for this kind of demographic compared to Meta. You could try targeting followers of construction-related accounts, but it's a bit of a scattergun approach. It might be worth a small test budget later on, but I wouldn't make it a priority to start.

-> The Platform You Didn't Mention (But Should Use): App Store Ads. This is a big one. Both Apple Search Ads and Google Play Ads allow you to bid on keywords so your app shows up at the very top when someone searches for something relevant inside the app store. Think about it – someone searching for "timesheet app" or "construction tools" is a super high-intent user. They are actively looking for a solution. This is often a very efficient way to get high-quality installs. I’d carve out some budget for this for sure.

You probably should get your targeting spot on...

This is where campaigns are won and lost. Bad targeting means you're showing your ads to people who will never download your app, no matter how good it is. With a niche audience like construction workers, you have to be clever.

For Meta, I'd start by testing different audience 'themes' in separate ad sets:

• Interests (Broad): Start with core interests like "Construction", "Construction Worker", "General Contractor".
• Interests (Brands & Tools): Target users who like pages for brands like DeWalt, Milwaukee Tool, Caterpillar, Stanley, etc. This gets you closer to people who are hands-on in the trades.
• Interests (Publications & Unions): Target followers of trade magazines or members of construction union-related interest groups.
• Behavioural/Demographic: You can try layering interests with job titles, but be aware these can be a bit unreliable on Meta.

The goal is to find which of these pockets of users gives you the lowest Cost Per Install (CPI) and the highest install-to-signup rate. Once you have a few hundred sign-ups, you can then create a Lookalike Audience. This is where Meta finds millions of other users who are demographically and behaviourally similar to your best early users. This is often where you can start to scale things up effectively.

For Reddit, it's simpler: target the subreddits I mentioned earlier. The key is matching your ad's message to the specific subreddit. An ad in r/electricians could mention a feature for tracking specific materials for electrical jobs, for instance.

You'll need creative that actually works...

Your creative (the ad images/videos and copy) needs to do one thing: stop the scroll and show a clear benefit. A construction worker is busy, they don't have time for vague marketing talk.

Messaging: Your biggest advantage is that the app is FREE. This should be front and centre in your ads. Then, hit them with the direct benefits that solve their daily annoyances.

• Instead of "Manage your expenses", try "Snap a photo of your receipt, get paid back faster."
• Instead of "Collaborate with your team", try "Know who's on site today and chat instantly."
• Instead of "Efficient carpooling", try "Sort your lift to the site in 2 clicks. Save on petrol."

Ad Formats: I'd test a mix of formats. Don't just rely on one.

• Short Video Ads (15-30 seconds): This is your best weapon. A simple screen recording of someone using the app to log their hours or create an expense report is powerful. It shows, it doesn't just tell. I remember one campaign we worked on where we saw great results with this kind of user-generated-content (UGC) style video for other apps. It feels more authentic and trustworthy.
• Image Ads: A clean screenshot of the app's best feature on a phone mock-up, with a bold headline like "The FREE App Every Tradie Needs."
• Carousel Ads: Perfect for your app. Each card in the carousel can showcase a different feature: Card 1 for Timesheets, Card 2 for Expenses, Card 3 for Carpooling, etc. It’s a mini-tour of the app before they even download it.

The plan is to A/B test these. Run the same video with two different headlines. Run the same headline with two different images. See what get's the cheapest clicks and installs. Small changes can have a big impact.

I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:

In our experience with app campaigns, a good CPI for a free B2C-style app in developed countries is often somewhere in the $1-$5 range. I remember one case where we helped a client achieve over 45,000 signups at under £2 per signup using Meta Ads, Tiktok Ads, Apple Ads, and Google Ads, so it's definately possible. Your initial goal should be to get your campaigns optimised to hit that kind of benchmark.

This is a lot to take in, I know. Getting it right involves a lot of moving parts: setting up tracking correctly, building dozens of ad variations, monitoring performance daily, and knowing when to shift budget. That $14,000 is a fantastic opportunity, but it's also an investment you want to protect. Making a few wrong turns with targeting or creative early on can easily waste a few thousand dollars without much to show for it.

Working with someone who has done this before can help you navigate this process, avoid the common pitfalls, and get a much better return from your budget. We do this day-in, day-out for software and app clients.

If you'd like to chat through this in more detail, we offer a free initial consultation where we can map out a more concrete plan for you. No strings attached. Either way, I hope this gives you a much clearer path forward.

Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh