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From $5000 Wasted on Meta Ads to 200+ Users in 2 Days at $2/User (Here's How I Did It)

TLDR: After spending $5000 on expensive Meta ads ($150-200 per user), built a platform that connects founders with users for just $2 per detailed feedback.

We've all been there. Posting about your project on Reddit, Twitter, or IH, refreshing constantly, and... crickets. Just "looks cool!" comments with zero actual users. Then you try Meta ads and watch your money disappear with barely any real feedback.

1 - After spending $5000+ on Meta ads across various AI products over the last 6 months, here's what I got:

  • Cost per click: ranging from $3.50 to $4.80
  • Conversion rate: 1.8% to 2.4%
  • Cost per actual user: $150-200

2 - Then I tried something different: paying users $2 for 2-minute feedback. Here's what happened in the last 48 hours:

  • Users acquired: 60-85 per product
  • Product usage rate: 100%
  • Detailed feedback rate: 85-95%

3 - How Try&Earn works (https://www.tryandearn.com/):

  • Users sign up based on interests (AI, dev tools, analytics, etc.)
  • Get matched with relevant new products
  • Provide 2-minute feedback
  • Earn $2

The quality difference is insane. Instead of random ad clicks, I get early adopters who actually care about new tools and are willing to pay for solutions that work for them. User base exceeding 600, with new signups streaming in.

If you've been struggling with getting early users, you can send a request here: https://tally.so/r/nGXPOo

I'm eager to hear what challenges other builders have faced here with getting users and how you overcame them + if you have any ideas on how to make this more useful.

on January 22, 2025
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    The $150-200 CPA you saw on Meta is almost always a conversion event mismatch -- if the pixel was optimizing for signup (or pageview), Meta delivers whoever completes that action cheapest, which rarely correlates with real intent. For early-stage AI tools specifically, downstream engagement events almost always outperform 'Complete Registration' as the optimization signal.

    Curious: did you have any purchase or trial event data in the account before scaling spend, or were you running cold off signups from the start? That usually explains why the funnel breaks at exactly that CPA range.

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