Retargeting funnel structure
Awareness
Days 1–14
Goal: Stay top-of-mind without being pushy. Educate on problems they already feel.
Frequency: 1–2 impressions/week. Light touch.
Format: Short video (15–30s) or single image with bold stat.
Tone: Problem agitation. No hard sell. “Did you know…” energy.
Frequency: 1–2 impressions/week. Light touch.
Format: Short video (15–30s) or single image with bold stat.
Tone: Problem agitation. No hard sell. “Did you know…” energy.
Consideration
Days 15–45
Goal: Position Explorer API as the solution. Build trust with proof.
Frequency: 2–5 impressions/week.
Format: Carousels (20–30% lower CPC than single image), product UI screenshots.
Tone: Solution-focused. Social proof. Feature deep-dives.
Frequency: 2–5 impressions/week.
Format: Carousels (20–30% lower CPC than single image), product UI screenshots.
Tone: Solution-focused. Social proof. Feature deep-dives.
Conversion
Days 45–90
Goal: Drive sign-ups. Overcome final objections.
Frequency: 5–7 impressions/week (acceptable — audience is warm).
Format: Single image with strong CTA, testimonial video, lead form ads.
Tone: Direct. Objection-handling. Clear CTA.
Frequency: 5–7 impressions/week (acceptable — audience is warm).
Format: Single image with strong CTA, testimonial video, lead form ads.
Tone: Direct. Objection-handling. Clear CTA.
Key principles
Product screenshots outperform stock imagery by 40%+ for developer audiences. Every ad should show real Explorer UI, not abstract graphics.
Dark, monochrome design builds trust with technical audiences. Matches Blockstream brand and conveys premium. All creatives should use the Blockstream dark palette.
Developers have zero tolerance for cringe. No hype, no buzzwords, no “revolutionary.” Be specific, technical, and honest. If it sounds like marketing, rewrite it.
Blockchain API companies barely advertise on Meta. The space is almost entirely content/community-driven. Running polished retargeting here is a genuine competitive advantage — no one else is doing it.
Rotate creative every 2–3 weeks. B2B audiences fatigue faster than B2C. Maintain 3–5 unique creatives per ad set at all times.
Stage 1 — Awareness ads
AD-01
The Self-Hosting Problem
Primary copy
Running your own Bitcoin node costs 600GB of storage and 72 hours of your time.
Most wallet developers start by self-hosting Esplora. Then they hit rate limits. Then they realize maintaining a full node isn’t their core business. There’s a better way.
→ Learn more
Visual: Dark background. Terminal-style text showing a node sync progress bar stuck at 47%. Blockstream logo bottom-right. Stat “600GB+” in large JetBrains Mono type. Clean, minimal — looks like a developer’s screen, not an ad.
AD-02
The Rate Limit Wall
Primary copy
Your Bitcoin app works perfectly in dev. Then you ship to production.
Rate limits are the #1 pain point for Bitcoin developers. Every API provider has them. The question is whether they tell you about them before you ship.
→ See our rate limits (yes, we publish them)
Visual (video): Screen recording aesthetic. Shows a clean API response → cut to 429 error flooding the terminal → freeze frame on the error. Text overlay: “Sound familiar?” Blockstream logo resolve. 15 seconds. No music — just the sound of keystrokes and a terminal beep.
AD-03
The Bitcoin API Landscape
Primary copy
65 Bitcoin RPC providers exist in 2026. Most of them treat Bitcoin as an afterthought.
Multi-chain providers bolt on Bitcoin support next to 74 other chains. The result: shallow indexing, slow sync, and no Liquid Network support. If Bitcoin is your core business, your infrastructure should be Bitcoin-first.
→ Bitcoin-first infrastructure
Visual: Dark background. Large “65” in monospace type, fading grid of competitor logos behind it (abstract, not named). Single bright element: Blockstream logo with “Bitcoin-first” label underneath. Conveys the noise of the market vs. the signal of specialization.
AD-04
The Uptime Question
Primary copy
When Bitcoin hits $200K, your API provider will be the first thing that breaks.
Price spikes flood mempools. Mempools flood APIs. The providers that go down during volatility lose your trust permanently. The ones that stay up earn it.
→ Enterprise-grade uptime
Visual: Dark background. Split composition: left side shows a stylized price chart spiking upward, right side shows a clean green uptime status bar. Subtle tension. Blockstream logo. No flashy colors — monochrome with one green accent for the uptime indicator.
Stage 2 — Consideration ads
AD-05
QuickSync Feature Spotlight
Carousel flow
- Slide 1: “Wallet sync used to take minutes. Now it takes seconds.”
- Slide 2: QuickSync diagram — how batch UTXO scanning works
- Slide 3: Speed comparison vs standard Electrum sync
- Slide 4: “Available on all paid tiers. Starting at $40/mo.” + CTA
Why this works
- QuickSync is a unique differentiator — no competitor has it
- Carousels get 20–30% lower CPC than single image on Meta
- Product screenshots build trust with developer audiences
- Ends with pricing — anchors value before they click
Visual: Dark cards with clean product UI screenshots. Each slide has a single focal point. JetBrains Mono for stats, Inter for body. Consistent dark palette across all slides. Slide 3 uses a simple before/after bar chart (monochrome, not colored).
AD-06
Liquid Network Advantage
Carousel flow
- Slide 1: “The only API with native Liquid Network support.”
- Slide 2: What Liquid enables — faster settlements, confidential transactions, L-BTC
- Slide 3: Bitcoin + Liquid from a single API endpoint
- Slide 4: “Enterprise tier: dedicated instances, unlimited calls.” + CTA
Why this works
- Liquid support is completely unique to Blockstream
- Directly relevant to exchange and custody personas
- Positions Blockstream as the full Bitcoin infrastructure stack
- Enterprise CTA targets high-value buyers
Visual: Dark background with subtle Liquid Network branding. Clean API response examples showing Liquid data. Slide 3 shows a unified endpoint diagram. Enterprise slide is minimal — just the offer and a “Talk to us” CTA.
AD-07
Open Source, No Lock-In
Primary copy
Our API backend is open source. You can leave anytime. That’s the point.
Esplora is fully open source on GitHub. Self-host it, fork it, audit it. Or let us run it for you with enterprise SLAs, global distribution, and dedicated instances. Your choice. Always.
→ View on GitHub
Visual: Dark background. GitHub-style code snippet showing the Esplora repo header. Star count visible. Clean, developer-native aesthetic. Blockstream logo. This ad should look like it belongs in a developer’s feed, not an ad feed.
AD-08
Electrum RPC Deep Dive
Primary copy
Real-time Bitcoin data at scale. Electrum RPC on every paid tier.
Subscribe to address activity, get instant transaction notifications, and stream mempool data in real time. Built for applications that can’t afford to poll.
→ Read the docs
Visual (video): Screen recording of a terminal connecting to Electrum RPC, subscribing to an address, and receiving a real-time notification. Clean, no narration — just the terminal with subtle ambient sound. Text overlays explain what’s happening. 30 seconds. Ends with pricing tiers.
Stage 3 — Conversion ads
AD-09
Pricing Transparency
Primary copy
500K free API calls/month. No credit card. No surprise invoices.
Start free. Upgrade to $40/mo when you’re ready. Enterprise? Unlimited calls, dedicated infrastructure, custom SLAs. We publish our pricing because we’re not afraid of it.
→ Start free today
Visual: Dark background. Clean pricing table showing all tiers: Free (500K calls) → $40/mo → Enterprise. Large “$0” anchoring the free tier. Minimal design — the pricing IS the creative. No illustrations needed.
AD-10
Objection Handler — “Why Not Mempool?”
Carousel flow
- Slide 1: “Mempool.space is great. We use it too.” (disarming honesty)
- Slide 2: What Explorer adds: Liquid Network, QuickSync, Electrum RPC, enterprise SLAs
- Slide 3: “Different tools for different jobs. Here’s when you need us.” + CTA
Why this works
- Addresses the #1 objection directly and honestly
- Respecting the competitor builds more trust than attacking them
- Positions Explorer as complementary, not combative
- Developers respect nuance — “use the right tool” is their language
Visual: Clean, restrained. Slide 1 is warm and honest (no competitive aggression). Slide 2 is a simple feature comparison — not a “vs” table but a “what we add” list. Slide 3 is a clear CTA with use-case examples. Dark palette throughout.
AD-11
Enterprise Social Proof
Primary copy
Built by the team behind Liquid Network, Blockstream Satellite, and Bitcoin Core contributions.
Blockstream has been building Bitcoin infrastructure since 2014. The Explorer API is the same technology we use internally — now available with enterprise SLAs, dedicated instances, and priority support.
→ Talk to enterprise sales
Visual: Dark background. Blockstream product ecosystem shown as a minimal diagram: Liquid • Satellite • Green • Jade • Explorer. “Since 2014” in small monospace type. Conveys longevity and depth. No flashy graphics — trust is built through restraint.
AD-12
The 5-Minute Integration
Primary copy
From zero to your first API call in under 5 minutes.
No SDK required. Standard REST endpoints. Comprehensive docs. Just curl and go.
→ Try it now — free
Visual (video): 15-second screen recording. Opens a terminal, runs a curl command to the Explorer API, gets a clean JSON response. That’s it. No narration, no music. Just the product working. Text overlay at end: “500K calls/month. Free.” Blockstream logo.
Recommended campaign settings
Creative rotation plan
Weeks 1–12 rotation
Weeks 1–3: Launch with AD-01 (Self-Hosting), AD-05 (QuickSync Carousel), AD-09 (Pricing). One ad per funnel stage, test engagement baselines.
Weeks 4–6: Swap to AD-02 (Rate Limit Video), AD-06 (Liquid Carousel), AD-10 (Mempool Objection Handler). Fresh creative, same funnel structure.
Weeks 7–9: Introduce AD-03 (Landscape), AD-07 (Open Source), AD-11 (Enterprise Social Proof). Third rotation — by now you have performance data to cut underperformers.
Weeks 10–12: Run AD-04 (Uptime), AD-08 (Electrum RPC Video), AD-12 (5-Min Integration). Final rotation. Evaluate full funnel performance and decide what to scale.
After week 12: Double down on the 3–4 best performers. Create new variations of winners (same concept, different headline/visual). Kill anything below a 0.5% CTR.
Meta policy note
Crypto ad policy: Explorer API is blockchain infrastructure (not trading/investing), so it does NOT require Meta’s written pre-approval. Hardware wallets with storage-only capabilities and blockchain education/tools are exempt. Avoid words like “guaranteed returns” or “quick profits” — but these aren’t relevant to API marketing anyway.
Recommended approach: Drive initial awareness through crypto-native channels (Twitter/X, dev forums, hackathons). Use Meta exclusively for retargeting visitors who already showed intent. This avoids cold-audience policy scrutiny and maximizes ROI.