Paid Acquisition Playbook for E-commerce (Pre-Seed Stage)
Step-by-step paid acquisition playbook for E-commerce companies at Pre-Seed. Team: 1-3 people, budget: $0-50K. Implementation steps, KPIs, and expert guidance.
Timeline: 2-4 months
Prerequisites
- ✓ Working MVP with users
- ✓ Analytics infrastructure
- ✓ Team capacity for 2-4 months execution
Step-by-Step Guide
Discovery & Audit phase for paid acquisition in e-commerce. Focus on understanding the landscape and planning.
Strategy Design phase for paid acquisition in e-commerce. Focus on understanding the landscape and planning.
Initial Implementation phase for paid acquisition in e-commerce. Focus on execution and iteration.
Measurement Setup phase for paid acquisition in e-commerce. Focus on execution and iteration.
Optimization Cycle phase for paid acquisition in e-commerce. Focus on execution and iteration.
Scale & Systematize phase for paid acquisition in e-commerce. Focus on execution and iteration.
Expected Outcomes
- ✓ Validated paid acquisition as channel for E-commerce
- ✓ Baseline KPIs established
- ✓ Repeatable process documented
KPIs to Track
- ● CAC by Channel
- ● ROAS
- ● CPC Trend
- ● Conversion Rate
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Ehsan's Growth Commentary
Most E-commerce founders over-invest in infrastructure and under-invest in Paid Acquisition. My recommendation: spend 80% of your time on the first 20% of activities that drive results. The companies reaching $1M ARR through Paid Acquisition all share this pattern.
The first 90 days of Paid Acquisition for E-commerce at Pre-Seed: weeks 1-2 audit and baseline, weeks 3-6 first experiments, weeks 7-12 double down on winners. Do not skip the baseline step.
Ehsan Jahandarpour
AI Growth Strategist & Fractional CMO
Forbes Top 20 Growth Hacker · TEDx Speaker · 716 Academic Citations · Ex-Microsoft · CMO at FirstWave (ASX:FCT) · Forbes Communications Council