My 9-point pre-launch checklist (built from blown launches)
Every item on this list exists because skipping it once cost me money. Run it before a single dollar goes live.
The checklist
— Pixel fires? Open the LP, trigger the event, confirm in the platform's test tool. (Skipped once, ran blind 3 days, ~$220 unattributable.)
— Postback test conversion logged in the tracker? Send one manually.
— Cloaker, if used, shows safe page to the bot IP and money page to the geo? Test with a VPN.
— Offer cap not already hit for the day? Ask the manager.
— Geo/device targeting matches the offer's allowed list, not just "all".
— LP load under 2.5s on 3G throttle? Slow LP = bleeding the top of funnel.
— Capping/frequency set so you don't pay for the same user 6 times.
— Daily budget cap set, not just bid. One typo on a CBO and you wake up to $900 spent.
— Tracking links have the right sub-IDs to slice later.
The numbers
This list takes ~20 minutes. The launch it saved most: a broken postback would've hidden $1,100 in real conversions, making me kill a winner.
The lesson
The expensive mistakes aren't bad creatives, they're invisible plumbing failures.
What I'd do differently
Laminate it. Figures illustrative, the order is not.
Arb Files
@ArbFiles