If you just started an ecommerce or dropshipping business and want to scale your business, one option is to advertise on social media.
But here's the caveat: if you're on a budget, advertising on sites like Facebook can get pricey for someone who's just starting out.
Here is where free ad credits come in.
You can get (limited) free ad credits on sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat to run ads free of charge.
Let's go into more detail!
What are free ad credits?
Free advertising credits are free credits offered to a new or current customer on an online advertising platform such as Facebook or Snapchat.
These credits enable you to advertise on the social media platform for which you have the credits.
Now, you might be thinking, 'Where is the catch here?'
The truth is there really is no catch. However, there are some limitations obviously, because it's free!
Most of the time, you'll be given a budget that, once you hit, you'll have to start paying again to advertise and keep your campaigns alive.
How can I claim free ad credits?
Now, let's take a look at some of the best advertising platforms, each of their free credit programs, and how you can gain access to the free advertising credits for that particular platform.
1. Google Ads
The first platform we will talk about today is Google Ads.
Google Ads is how you advertise your product on Google's search results.
One of the ways you can get free Google Ads credits is when you first sign up for their site.
This offer is to help you get started advertising on their site. You can get up to $500 in free ad credits:
The main limitation of this offer from Google is that you must be new to their advertising platform and have a billing address in the United States.
You can check here if you are eligible for free Google Ads credits.
Another option to claim free ad credits is to go to your Google Ads account, click the 'Billing' icon, and then click 'Promotions'.
Google sometimes adds promotional codes here that can be redeemed as credits.
From the same page, you can also see how long it takes for Google to give you free credits as a reward for your advertising:
One last way to get promotions is through service providers such as web hosting companies offering promotional coupons to advertise on Google Ads.
For example, this is what we found on Domain.com's website:
In the same way, check your web hosting provider and see if they offer Google Ads credits.
Google previously had a promotional offer with Shopify for free ad credits, but as of 2024, they're not offering it anymore.
2. Facebook
The next platform we will go over is Facebook.
The chances are that you're already using Facebook to advertise, as it's the most common marketing platform for ecommerce store owners.
To clarify, before we talk about Facebook ad credits, they really are 'Meta ad credits' that can be used for both Facebook and Instagram, which we will discuss in the next section.
Now, the two main ways Facebook (Meta), says that you can receive ad credits are through product promotions, which Facebook does from time to time, or through @facebookmail.com.
@Facebookmail.com is an email address that Meta and Facebook use to send out notifications and promotions to their customers.
You can view these promotions in your email, and sometimes they include ad credits!
When you get one of these emails with ad credits, you can apply them to your Facebook business manager account.
Another way to gain Facebook ad credits is through Meta's partnerships with other companies.
Web hosting sites, on occasion, will offer deals when you purchase one of their products as incentives to get you to buy.
A couple of companies have participated in this, including GoDaddy and Bluehost.
Many ecommerce merchants might also be looking for Facebook ad credits from Shopify. We asked Shopify if they still offer it, and this is what they mentioned:
So, Shopify is no longer offering Facebook ad credits.
3. Instagram
Instagram is the next platform we will go over since Instagram and Facebook are owned by the same company, Meta.
Since they are owned and operated from the same place (Facebook Ads Manager), ad credits go hand in hand with each platform.
The way to get ad credits for Instagram is the same as with Facebook.
Meta will hand them out as proportional offers, or you can get them from other companies with which Meta has connections.
So, if you have ad credits on Facebook, those will work on Instagram too!
To check if you have any ad credits available, you can go to your payment settings in Facebook Ads Manager and click 'add payment method' in the ad payment section.
You'll see select ad credit if you have any available.
You can learn more about Meta ad credits here.
4. Pinterest
Pinterest is a great platform to begin advertising on as it makes advertising easy and has an engaged audience.
What's great is that they also have several ways to get free ad credits.
One way is to catch wind of a promotional offer that Pinterest occasionally runs. You can then apply these credits to your account.
Another way and a current offer that Pinterest has running is for Shopify users!
This one is really great for all the dropshippers and ecommerce store owners on Shopify who have yet to use Pinterest!
The incentive is for first-time advertisers on the Pinterest platform who run their business on Shopify. When you hook your Shopify store up to Pinterest and the bill is generated, you'll receive up to $100 off the bill.
Here are a few limitations for this offer:
- Your Shopify store must be connected to Pinterest.
- You have to agree to and accept the terms of service on Pinterest.
- Not have advertised on the platform in the last 90 days.
- No other coupons or credits are linked to the advertising account.
To check if you have any advertising credits available for use, log in to Pinterest and click the three lines at the top left of the page.
From here, go to 'business' and then to 'billing', and click 'promotions' from the left side of the navigation.
You can learn more about advertising credits on the Pinterest platform here.
5. Snapchat
The next platform we will go over to advertise and get free credits on is Snapchat.
You may or may not have heard of it, but chances are, if you're younger, you have an account and can use the platform.
This is why it's a great platform to advertise if you're selling a product targeting younger people.
Let's see how to get free ad credits on Snapchat.
Currently, Snapchat is promoting new advertisers on the platform. When you spend $350, you get up to $375 in free ad credits.
There are two firm stipulations with this offer. For starters, you have to be a first-time advertiser on the platform. The second is that the credits must be used within the first 30 days to be redeemable.
To learn more about this offer, you can go here.
6. Linkedin
LinkedIn is more of a business-oriented platform.
It may not be the best platform for advertising physical products, but for any digital or software-related products, it is suitable.
One of the ways that LinkedIn offers free ad credits is through email promotional offers. LinkedIn will occasionally email out coupon codes for free credits to those who are eligible.
They send out two types of emails. One is targeted at new advertisers, and the other is targeted at existing advertisers. The type you receive will be revealed to you in the email.
The coupon code value will depend on the offer and will be displayed in the email when you receive it.
What's cool about LinkedIn is that they sometimes make new posts about free ad credits on their LinkedIn Ads account. One example is this:
You can click here to see if you apply for the above campaign. If you want to learn more about LinkedIn's email promotional offers, you can click here.
7. TikTok
The last platform we will talk about in this article is TikTok.
TikTok, similar to Snapchat, which we previously talked about, is another app that reaches the younger generations with your products. It's also great to showcase short clips of your products.
Let's go over some ways to get ad credits on TikTok.
Like others on this list, one of the ways to get credits to advertise on TikTok is with Shopify.
To get this offer, you must connect your TikTok Ads Manager account to Shopify.
If you are eligible for the ad credit, you'll see a banner pop-up that will explain the details. Here is an example of that:
This is just an example of how it might look for you. TikTok doesn't guarantee that the amount will be exactly $300 for every customer.
You can learn more about how to set it up and see if you are eligible to get the credit here.
As of April 2024, TikTok has a promotion for new advertisers, and if you spend $50 in under 30 days, you will be eligible to get a $100 ad credit. You can learn more about this offer here.
Taking action
Reading and absorbing information and knowledge is great (definitely if it’s free!), but do you know what’s even better?
Taking action!
So, to help you with taking action with what you have learned in this article, take a look at the bullet points:
- Find what platforms you are advertising on and, based on this article, see if you can get credits by spending a certain amount or via promotional offers.
- Evaluate if you want to start advertising on a new advertising platform, and if so, see their offer for new advertisers.
- If you have web hosting or use Shopify, see if your platform has any promotions for free ad credits on your advertising platform.
Conclusion
There you have it!
These are the main advertising platforms and how you can access and unlock their free advertising credits.
Now you know that if you're just starting out or want to extend your advertising budget, there are other options, including free advertising credits.
So what are you waiting for? Go get your free advertising credits!
Good luck!
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Ready to move your online store to the next level? Check out the articles below:
