This guide teaches the fundamentals of digital advertising: why an ad stops working, who is worth showing it to and how to tell whether the money you spend is coming back. It does not explain Markettai's screens, which the rest of the documentation covers; it explains the craft behind them, so that you understand why the application proposes what it proposes.

It is written for someone who has never run paid advertising. If you already know how to read a cost per customer, half of it will be old news.

Markettai can do a good part of what is explained here for you, and exactly how much depends on your plan (see «What each plan automates»). Understanding these fundamentals is still worth it for a practical reason: you are the one who approves or rejects what the system proposes, and that decision is better when you know what lies behind it.

The fundamentals, in order:

1. «The three things a campaign depends on» The three things any campaign depends on: the ad, the audience and the content you publish for free.
2. «What makes someone stop and look at your ad» What makes someone stop scrolling and look at your ad.
3. «Who to show your ad to, and at what hours» How to describe your customer and what hours are worth showing up in.
4. «Why what you publish for free decides what works when paying» Why what you publish for free is the cheapest way to know which ad will work.
5. «The three phases of a campaign and when to retire it» The three phases every campaign goes through and when to retire it.

The day-to-day running:

1. «How an ad is put together and launched» How an ad is put together and launched, step by step.
2. «Which numbers to watch and which to ignore» Which numbers you watch and which you can ignore.
3. «When an ad has burnt out and what to do» How to tell an ad has burnt out and what to do then.
4. «How much budget to set, when to raise it and when to cut» How much to start with, when to raise it and when to cut.
5. «Turning a post that worked into an ad» How to turn a post that worked into a paid ad.
6. «How to read a Markettai suggestion» How to read a Markettai suggestion and what is expected of you.
7. «When it is worth letting the system act on its own» When it is worth letting the system act on its own.