How to Know If Your Messaging Works
You’ve launched your first batch of color block ads. You’ve run your pain points through Meta. Now it’s time to find out if your messaging actually works.
This isn’t about whether your product is ready. It’s about whether your message—the core problem you’re solving—resonates with the people you want to serve.
This guide shows you exactly how to evaluate the results of your first messaging tests and what to do next.
The Two Metrics That Matter
There are only two numbers that really matter at this stage:
- Click-Through Rate (All) → Target: 1% or higher
- Cost Per Click (All) → Target: $0.50 or lower
These two numbers will tell you if people care enough about your message to stop scrolling, read, and click. That’s it. That’s the bar.
Why These Numbers?
CTR (Click-Through Rate) tells you whether people find your message interesting enough to engage with. 1% means one in every hundred people saw your message and clicked—solid early validation that the pain point is top of mind.
CPC (Cost Per Click) helps you understand your early customer acquisition potential. At $0.50 per click or less, you’ve got a cost-effective opportunity to scale attention and interest. You’ll use this to model your funnel:
- If 100 people click…
- 10–40% might engage meaningfully
- 5–8% might express purchase or demo intent
- 1–5% might convert
These are early signals, not hard projections—but they’re critical.
Where to Find These Metrics in Meta
To locate these numbers in Meta Ads Manager:
- Open the ad set you tested
- Select “Performance and Clicks” from the column dropdown
- Scroll right to find CTR (All) and CPC (All)
- Sort by each to highlight the best-performing ads
- Look for pain points that meet or beat 1% CTR and $0.50 CPC
Once you have those, you’re ready for the next step.
What If You Don’t Hit the Target?
Don’t panic. This is common—and part of the process.
Here’s what you can do next:
- Tweak the language – Flip a negative into a positive. Try a different emotional angle.
- Adjust your targeting – Are you reaching the right audience?
- Go back to the research – Pull new pain points or refine what you’ve written.
- Keep testing – Some great pain points just need small edits to break through.
Your job right now is not to find the perfect pitch. It’s to find the signal. What makes someone stop, think, and click?
What If You Do Hit the Target?
Amazing. If five or more of your pain points meet the 1% / $0.50 threshold:
✅ You’re ready to move to the next stage: building headlines
✅ You’ve found messaging that resonates
✅ You now have content to add to your homepage or landing page
✅ You have proof that your audience feels the problem you’re solving
Keep in mind: some pain points may outperform massively (5¢ clicks, 15% CTRs). That’s a great sign of demand—but it doesn’t guarantee product success yet. It just means you’ve struck a nerve. Use it.
What If None of It Works?
You may need to:
- Revisit your audience – Maybe your customer isn’t where you thought they were.
- Reframe the problem – The pain you’re solving may be real, but not urgent.
- Look for alternate platforms – If Meta doesn’t work, try LinkedIn, Google, or direct outreach.
That’s what we’ll explore in the next chapter.
Final Checklist
Before moving on, make sure you have:
✅ At least five pain points with 1%+ CTR and <$0.50 CPC
✅ Sorted your results in Meta Ads Manager
✅ Identified what worked and what didn’t
✅ A plan to iterate or move forward based on what you learned
If you’re stuck or unsure what to test next, reach out—we’re here to help.
