Module 6: The Duplicate-and-Restart Strategy
This is the single most important operational skill for managing your ads. When a campaign needs to be replaced, you duplicate it.
How to Duplicate a Campaign
- 1 Select the underperforming campaign
- 2 Click Duplicate
- 3 Deselect all Facebook recommendations when prompted — they will try to add unwanted changes
- 4 Change the date in the campaign name to today's date (YYMMDD format)
- 5 Edit the ad sets and set the start time to 1:00-2:00 AM the next day
- 6 Verify: placements, lead form, creative count are all correct
- 7 Click Review and Publish
You don't need to change anything else. Same creatives, same targeting, same budget. Duplicating puts your ads in front of a brand-new audience segment.
Running Old and New Simultaneously
You can keep the old campaign running while the new one starts:
- If the old one picks up by midday, great — keep both
- If the new one is producing and the old one isn't by 3 PM, pause the old one
- This avoids losing a day of leads during the transition
Always Duplicate from the Template
Always duplicate from your TEMPLATE campaign — the one labeled "TEMPLATE" in your account. If you duplicate from a running campaign that has had ad sets paused, the duplicate will be missing those components.
Reset Ads Manager After Duplicating
After duplicating or making changes, reset the Ads Manager. This discards unused fragments and prevents publishing errors.
Do Not Turn a Paused Campaign Back On
Once you pause a campaign, treat it as done. Duplicate and start fresh instead.