Guides for your first ad.
The questions people ask before their first ad, each answered in the first paragraph and explained underneath, in plain words. No price, and no number we cannot show.
Questions
Asked before the first ad.
How do real-time ad auctions work?
Every ad slot is sold in an auction that lasts a fraction of a second. Who bids, what decides the winner, who pays, and what it means for a small budget.
What is a CPM in advertising?
CPM is the price of showing an ad one thousand times. Why ad space is priced per viewing, what moves the price, and why Ailumic publishes no price list.
Banner, native or full-screen: which ad format should a small business choose?
A banner runs beside the content, a native ad sits in the feed, a full-screen ad fills an app between pages. How to pick one for the ad you have.
How much should a small business spend on ads to start?
Size a first ad budget by what you can afford to learn from, not by a rule of thumb: enough to run a full week, small enough that a lesson with no sale is fine.
How do I read an ad report?
Read an ad report in order: times shown, clicks, cost, then where and when it ran. What the click-through rate tells you, and what to change next.
How long should an ad campaign run?
Run a first ad for a full week and no longer than it takes to learn one thing. Why a week, why not months, when to stop early and when to add budget.
What is programmatic advertising?
Programmatic advertising is ad space bought by software, one viewing at a time, in an auction. What it replaced and what it means for a small business.
What is a DSP, or demand-side platform?
A DSP is software that bids for ad space on an advertiser’s behalf. How it differs from an ad exchange and a supply-side platform, and where Ailumic fits.
How do ads in mobile apps work?
An app sets aside ad slots, sells each one in an auction as it is about to appear, and draws the winning ad. What an advertiser chooses and sees afterwards.
How do I write an ad for my small business?
Write one message for one kind of person, say what to do next, and cut the rest. How to fit it to a banner, native or full-screen ad, and when to rewrite.
A question not answered here?
Write to support@ailumic.com; a person reads every message, and the questions that come up often become guides. If you are ready to try an ad, get early access.