How to Start a COD Business With Facebook Ads
Starting a COD (Cash on Delivery) business through Facebook Ads is the most common route in Asia — but without the right structure, budget disappears fast with nothing to show for it. Here’s the exact process we follow for every new campaign.
Step 1: Campaign Structure
Always build a new campaign in PAUSED state — campaign first, then ad set, then ads. Activate in sequence, and check performance after each step before moving to the next.
- Campaign objective: Purchase (if your pixel is already collecting events) or Conversions
- Budget: Start with CBO (Campaign Budget Optimization) so Facebook can decide which ad set deserves more spend
Step 2: Targeting
For Asia, broad targeting consistently delivers the best results:
- Location: Asia (the whole continent — don’t restrict to a specific country unless you have a strong reason to)
- Age: 25–55
- Interests: Never use invented or placeholder interest IDs — if you need a specific interest, select it from Facebook’s official targeting search only
Step 3: Pixel Setup
Install your Facebook Pixel on every page of your site, especially:
- The product/landing page (PageView event)
- After the order form is submitted (Purchase or Lead event)
Without a pixel, Facebook has no way of knowing which audience is actually converting, and optimization simply won’t work.
Step 4: Placement — An Important Warning
Always exclude Audience Network placement. We discovered this in our own campaigns — orders coming from Audience Network have a much higher ratio of fake or wrong-number COD orders, which wastes courier costs and time.
In your placement settings, keep only:
And omit the audience_network_positions field entirely — don’t include it at all.
Step 5: Activation
Once everything’s reviewed:
- Activate the campaign
- Activate the ad set
- Activate individual ads
After each step, wait 24–48 hours and check CPR (Cost Per Result) before taking the next step.
Next article: What Is a CBO Campaign and When Should You Use One.