Digital Marketing: The Easy Way To Set Your Budget & Balance Your Workflow

In today’s digital-first world, the most common questions we get from business owners in Harrisonburg, VA, are, “How much do I have to spend on digital marketing?” and “How can I keep revenue flowing in the off-season?” 

The answers are closer than you think.

In this article, we guide you through setting a digital marketing budget and using digital ads to balance your seasonal ups and downs so you can focus on running your business.

And if you’re new here—check out the rest of our Digital Ads blog series:

Use Digital Marketing To Balance Seasonal Workflow.

Navigating the ebbs and flows of winter rushes and slow summers (or vice versa) can be daunting for a seasonal business’s bottom line.

These three tips offer great solutions for spreading revenue more evenly throughout the year and addressing common workflow obstacles.

1. Prep Your Ads, Then Turn Them On & Off Like A Light Switch.

We recommend developing ad language, assets and landing pages ahead of time for all your potential campaigns. Then, when you’re ready to push, it’s as simple as a click.

2. Remarketing In The Off-Season Keeps Your Brand In Front Of Potential Customers.

Retargeting or remarketing is key to sustaining a steady cash flow. By keeping your brand in front of potential customers who showed interest but didn’t convert, you’re nurturing leads for future business, ensuring your revenue stream remains consistent, regardless of the season.

3. Developing Ads Ahead Of Time Helps You Hire Great People In A Crunch.

Many businesses are experiencing high turnover, often coming at the worst time. The trick is to craft compelling hiring ads in advance and pause the campaigns until you’re ready to hire. When you need the next great team member, just turn on your pre-approved hiring ads. This lets you jumpstart your hiring initiatives, saving you valuable time and energy.

How Much Do You Need To Spend For The Best Return On Investment?

Once you’re on board to invest in digital ads, “How much should I spend?” is the first question business owners ask. Or, more often—“How much do I need to spend?” Or most often (if we’re honest)—“How much do I have to spend?”

The answer is—like most things in life—complex.


How much you should spend depends on factors like your industry, business goals and average conversion rate.”

Answer these questions to determine an optimal budget:

1. Identify Your Goals: How many new leads would you like to bring in per month?

2. Understand Your Costs: What is the average cost of each lead

3. Consider Your Conversion Rate: What is the conversion rate of those leads? (i.e., how many new customers will you get from those leads each month)

Here’s A Real-World Example Of Setting A Healthy Digital Ads Budget.

Let’s say you are a regional home remodeling company with the following industry and business-specific information:

1. Identify Your Goals: 30 leads per month

2. Understand Your Costs: In your industry, it costs an average of $50/lead

3. Your Business’s Conversion Rate: 30%

It becomes a math equation you can work through based on your business’s goals:

  • If you want 30 leads/month and it costs $50/lead in your industry on average, your monthly ad budget should be about $1,500.
    • (30 leads x $50/lead = $1,500)
  • If your business’s conversion rate of leads to customers is 30%, you will get 9 new customers from those 30 leads.
    • (30 leads x 30% = 9 new customers)
  • This means you’ll spend ~$166 for each new customer.
    • ($1,500 / 9 new customers = $166/new customer)

And don’t worry; if you start to get more business than you can handle, you can lower your budget or pause campaigns at a moment’s notice.

On the other hand, if it’s not working, you can explore different strategies with a marketing agency to bring down your cost per lead.

Maximize Your Moment & Develop Your Digital Marketing Strategy With Estland.

Digital marketing offers a powerful tool for businesses to optimize ad spend and manage seasonal workflow fluctuations. You can maximize your digital marketing efforts by understanding your cost per lead and conversion rate and employing strategies like remarketing. At Estland, we’re ready to collaborate, leveraging the power of strategic digital marketing to help you make the most of your moment in Harrisonburg, VA and beyond.

What Are Your Digital Marketing Goals?