Stem to Success

Ad Budget Planning for Florists: How Much to Spend (and When)

Let’s be honest—most florists either overspend during slow months or underinvest during big holidays.
Winging your ad budget month to month is like arranging bouquets without knowing the occasion. You might get lucky, but you probably won’t impress.
This guide shows you how to:
  • 💰 Set monthly ad budgets based on goals and seasonality
  • 📈 Allocate spend by platform (Google, Meta, retargeting)
  • 🧠 Decide how much is “enough” for your market
  • 🚫 Avoid common ad budget traps

Start With Your Goal, Not Your Gut

The #1 mistake florists make with PPC is picking a round number out of thin air:
“Let’s try $500 and see what happens.”
Instead, start with what you want to get from your ads.
Work backward from your revenue goal.

Example:

  • Target monthly revenue: $10,000
  • Average order value (AOV): $80
  • Required orders: 125
  • Conversion rate: 2%
  • Required traffic: 6,250 visits
If your CPC is around $1.50, you’ll need:
$9,375 in ad spend — which clearly doesn’t make sense.
So now you have choices:
  • Improve conversion rate
  • Focus on high-converting audiences
  • Target $5–7K in revenue instead
This forces you to budget based on math, not vibes.

How Much Should a Florist Spend on Ads?

As a rule of thumb:
  • New florists: $500–$1,500/month
  • Established local shops: $1,500–$5,000/month
  • High-volume shops (multi-location or eCom): $5,000–$15,000+/month
These are ballpark figures. Actual spend depends on:
  • 🌼 Season (Valentine’s Day = higher)
  • 📍 City size and CPC (NYC ≠ Omaha)
  • 🚚 Delivery area
  • 💳 AOV and margins
  • 📊 Conversion rate and ROAS

Allocate Your Budget by Campaign Type

Don't throw all your money at one campaign.
Florist ads work best when they’re layered.
Here’s a sample monthly breakdown:
Channel
% of Monthly Budget
Goal
Google Search Ads
40%
Intent-driven conversions
Meta Ads (IG + FB)
30%
Visual inspiration, demand gen
Retargeting (Meta + Google)
15%
Cart recovery, warm traffic
Email/SMS Growth Ads
10%
Lead gen, list building
Experiment/Test
5%
New creatives, audiences
If you’re tight on budget, focus Google + Retargeting.
If you’re looking to grow brand awareness, lean into Meta + Email list ads.

Plan Your Budget Around Seasonality

Here’s how a $2,000/month florist budget might flex across the year:
Month
Key Occasions & Themes
Suggested Budget
Notes
January
Prep for Valentine’s Day
$6,000
Warm-up phase: awareness, retargeting, lead gen.
February
💘 Valentine’s Day (Feb 14)
$15,000
Peak season—scale daily spend across Google + Meta.
March
🌷 International Women’s Day (March 8)
$12,000
Huge opportunity for florists with European, slavic-speaking base.
April
Spring, birthdays, early weddings
$8,000
Great time for evergreen gifting and subscriptions.
May
🌸 Mother’s Day (2nd Sunday of May)
$15,000
One of the biggest floral spikes—go all in.
June
Graduation, weddings, summer events
$7,000
Promote bouquets, events, and gifting subscriptions.
July
Slow season, retention, brand awareness
$5,000
Focus on loyalty, reactivation, and creative testing.
August
Back to school, late-summer weddings
$6,000
Refresh creatives. Push “just because” gifting.
September
Cozy florals, early fall events
$7,000
Local campaigns + new season energy.
October
Halloween, fall decor
$6,000
Promote home florals, autumn tones, and Halloween bundles.
November
Thanksgiving, Black Friday/Cyber Monday
$9,000
Highlight packaging, gifts, and bundles.
December
🎄 Christmas, New Year’s, corporate gifting
$14,000
Massive opportunity—scale delivery messaging + urgency.
See the pattern? Front-load for holidays, taper off for testing and retention in off-season.

What If I Can Only Spend $500?

That’s okay—you just need to prioritize tightly.
Here’s what a $500 budget could look like:
  • $200 → Google Search ads for “flower delivery near me”
  • $100 → Retargeting on IG and FB
  • $100 → Instagram Reels + boosted posts
  • $100 → Lead gen campaign (email signup)
You’ll get better ROI by going deep in one area, not trying to do it all.

Warning: Avoid These Budget Traps

❌ Spending evenly year-round
Holidays matter. Your ad spend should flex with them.
❌ Going dark in slow months
Even $200/mo of retargeting can keep you top-of-mind.
❌ No cap on low-ROAS campaigns
Set ROAS minimums and pause underperformers early.
❌ Scaling too fast after 1 good month
Let performance stabilize before tripling your budget.

When to Increase (or Decrease) Spend

📈 Increase budget when:
  • You’re hitting 3x+ ROAS consistently
  • You’ve got a major holiday coming
  • You’ve improved your website or conversion rate
📉 Decrease budget when:
  • You’re in the slow season
  • You’ve saturated your local area
  • You're testing a new offer or funnel

Final Thoughts: Treat Ads Like an Investment, Not a Gamble

Ad budgets aren’t just numbers—they’re levers for growth.
When planned right, your PPC spend becomes predictable and profitable.
If you're tired of guessing, stressing, or wasting spend…
Let’s build a florist PPC budget that actually performs.
Reach out and we’ll help make your next dollar go 10x further.
2025-08-27 23:37