I’m six weeks into an ad internship at a boutique shop in Chicago and was just asked to draft a first-pass media plan in Google Sheets for a Q2 launch with a $10k budget. If someone experienced can share how you set budget splits, KPIs, and channel mix (Meta vs YouTube vs display), I’d really appreciate a quick sanity check or mentorship so I learn to do this the right way.
For a $10k Q2 test, I’d start 70/20/10 Meta/YouTube/Display, front-load about 40% in the first 3 weeks to learn, then shift budget to the best CPA; use CPA as the north star with CPM/CTR as diagnostics and cap prospecting frequency at 2–3/week. Set one conversion event, clean UTMs, and a pacing tab, and sanity-check reach with Google’s Reach Planner (Create a YouTube Ads Media Plan with Reach Planner - Google Ads) — if creative is light or the audience is niche, 60/30/10 with heavier YouTube can be safer; think of it like a draft, not a tattoo.