how to advertise products
How to advertise your products online, one category at a time
A candle, a protein powder and a phone case don't get advertised the same way. Each guide here takes one kind of product and plans it out for a small brand: the channels in the order to try them, the first 30 days, how to size a starting budget from your own price and margin, the offers that suit it and the rules that catch it.
Updated
In short
How should a small brand start advertising its products?
Start with one channel where your buyers already shop, usually Meta for impulse and gift products or Google Shopping for things people search by name. Make a handful of ads with different reasons to buy, size the budget from your margin, leave the ads alone for a week, and keep the angles that earn sales.
Beauty and grooming
- How to advertise skincare productsA plan for a one-hero skincare brand: claims written before the first ad, Meta and a routine email first, then creators and Shopping.
- How to advertise makeupA shade-first plan for a small makeup brand: video swatches on Meta and TikTok, one shade per ad, add-ons that clear free shipping.
- How to advertise perfumeA plan for a small fragrance brand: sell a sample or discovery set first, follow up by email, and size the budget from the full bottle.
- How to advertise hair productsA plan for a small hair care brand: one hair type per ad, short demos on Meta and TikTok, the set and the refill, no growth claims.
- How to advertise press-on nailsA plan for a small press-on nail brand: short video first, a sizing offer that removes the big worry, then paid ads on the clips that already work.
- How to advertise men's grooming productsA plan for a beard and skin brand: plain Meta ads all year for the user, kit ads for the gift buyer in December and June.
Fashion and accessories
- How to advertise a clothing brandOne hero product, fit proof on real bodies, returns counted before the budget: a first-month ad plan for a small clothing brand.
- How to advertise jewelryA jewelry ad plan built around the gift calendar: Meta for detail, Pinterest and Shopping before the peaks, and learning done before December.
- How to advertise bags and handbagsA plan for a small bag brand: prove capacity and materials first, give a $100 purchase time to happen, and make the first order pay for itself.
- How to advertise watchesA plan for a small watch brand: Meta and Google Shopping first, reviewers next, and a budget that admits a $185 watch sells slowly.
- How to advertise sunglassesTry-on video on Meta and TikTok first, Shopping for style searches, frame measurements in every ad and lens claims you can prove.
- How to advertise phone casesShort video on TikTok and Meta first, Shopping for exact-model searches, bundles that carry a low price, and the brand-name rules.
- How to advertise print on demand productsStart from what an order leaves after the supplier's cut, test designs on Meta, push sets over single tees, then add Pinterest and Etsy.
Home
- How to advertise candlesA candle brand's ad plan: Meta all year, Pinterest from October, a reorder email timed to the burn, and a budget that peaks for gifts.
- How to advertise home decorPinterest and Meta side by side for a small decor brand, a 30-day plan, a budget for slow deciders and the free-shipping line as your best offer.
- How to advertise wall artPinterest and Instagram first, retargeting for people who take days to decide, pairs to lift order value, and print and edition rules.
- How to advertise furnitureA plan for a small furniture brand: Google Shopping and Meta first, a budget built on add to cart, and ads for buyers who measure and come back.
- How to advertise kitchen productsCookware is bought by spec: Google Shopping and Meta demos first, a budget that leans on sets, and the coating claims to word carefully.
Food and drink
- How to advertise coffeeA roaster's plan: ads that win the first bag, emails and a subscription that win the second, and a budget that counts both.
- How to advertise drinksA plan for a drink brand selling cases online: a trial-sized first order, Meta and TikTok first, and a budget that survives shipping weight.
- How to advertise food productsA plan for sauces, snacks and pantry brands: sell the dish, answer how hot or how sweet, and build first orders that clear free shipping.
- How to advertise chocolateA plan for a small chocolate maker: ads timed to gift dates, a sampler as the first order, and a summer plan for the heat.
Health and fitness
- How to advertise supplementsA rules-first plan for a small supplement brand: adults-only Meta, a reorder email, then Shopping, with the claims each channel accepts.
- How to advertise protein powderA plan for a small protein brand: Meta and short video first, a taste trial to beat the chalky-tub doubt, and the muscle-claim rules.
- How to advertise fitness productsA plan for a small fitness gear brand: Meta demos first, then Shopping and short video, with the order-value math a one-time purchase needs.
Gifts, kids, pets and paper
- How to advertise giftsA plan for gift boxes and personalized gifts: ads for the giver, built backwards from each order-by date, with a budget for gift peaks.
- How to advertise baby productsA plan for a small baby brand that sells to parents and to gift buyers: Meta first, Pinterest and Shopping next, safe-sleep photo rules.
- How to advertise pet productsA starter plan for a small pet brand: Meta and a reorder email first, then Shopping and creators, with a budget sized from your margin.
- How to advertise stationeryFor a small paper brand: bundles first, then Meta, paper reviewers and two seasons a year, with a budget that respects a $24 notebook.
The short version
Where to start, by product
The first channel each guide recommends, what to add next, and the policy flag to know before the first ad. Each product's page explains why.
| Product | Start here | Add next | Watch first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skincare products | Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Email and SMS | Creators and seeded product | The viewer's skin |
| Makeup | Meta (Instagram Reels, Stories and feed), TikTok | Creators with different skin tones | Comments about the face |
| Perfume | Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Email and SMS | Fragrance reviewers and creators | Dupes and "inspired by" |
| Hair products | Meta (Instagram Reels, Stories and feed), TikTok | Stylists and creators with the same hair type | Growth, regrowth, thicker hair |
| Press-on nails | TikTok and Instagram Reels, posted organically | Meta ads (Facebook and Instagram) | Nail-health claims |
| Men's grooming products | Meta (Facebook and Instagram) | Google Shopping | Growth and filling patches |
| Clothing brand | Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Email and SMS | Creators and try-on | Fiber names and percentages |
| Jewelry | Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Email | Metal words | |
| Bags and handbags | Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Email | Google Shopping | "Leather" and "vegan leather" |
| Watches | Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Google Shopping | Reviewers and enthusiast communities | Water resistance |
| Sunglasses | Meta (Instagram first), TikTok | Google Shopping | Impact resistance |
| Phone cases | TikTok, Meta (Facebook and Instagram) | Google Shopping | Phone brand names in the ad |
| Print on demand products | Meta (Facebook and Instagram) | Designs that borrow | |
| Candles | Meta (Facebook and Instagram) | Calm, sleep and stress | |
| Home decor | Pinterest, Meta (Facebook and Instagram) | "Handmade" and "one of a kind" | |
| Wall art | Pinterest, Meta (Instagram first) | Google Shopping | Print or original |
| Furniture | Google Shopping, Meta (Facebook and Instagram) | Lead times and delivery dates | |
| Kitchen products | Google Shopping, Meta (Facebook and Instagram) | Creators and cooks | "Non-toxic" cookware |
| Coffee | Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Email and a subscription | Google Shopping and Search | Subscription terms |
| Drinks | Meta (Facebook and Instagram) | TikTok | Calorie and sugar words |
| Food products | Meta (Facebook and Instagram) | Email and the next flavor | "Gluten-free" |
| Chocolate | Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Email to past gift buyers | The health halo | |
| Supplements | Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Email and SMS | Google Shopping | Adults only on Meta |
| Protein powder | Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Email and SMS | TikTok | Muscle gain and weight claims |
| Fitness products | Meta (Facebook and Instagram) | Google Shopping | Weight loss promises |
| Gifts | Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Email and occasion reminders | Google Search and Shopping | Delivery promises |
| Baby products | Meta (Facebook and Instagram) | SIDS claims | |
| Pet products | Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Email and SMS | Google Shopping | Health and disease claims |
| Stationery | Meta (Instagram first), Paper and pen reviewers | Performance specs | |
| Etsy shop | Etsy Ads | Buyers and your email list |
How these plans are built
Most advice on advertising a product is a list of every channel that exists. These guides are opinionated instead: for each product they say where to start, what to add next and what to skip for now, with the trade-off of each.
Every budget on these pages is worked out the same way: your order value times the margin left after product cost, shipping and fees is the most a first order can cost before you lose money, and about 50 of those a week is what Meta says an ad set usually needs to leave its learning phase. The examples use our fictional sample brands' numbers, or made-up ones where there is no sample brand yet; use yours.
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