Hey there, I'm Max, founder of SMITLINK, your go-to agency for mastering Telegram Ads and turning that massive user base into real growth for your business.
As of August 2025, Telegram boasts over 1 billion monthly active users worldwide, with India leading the pack in user numbers, channels are racking up trillions of views, making it a hotspot for targeted advertising. But let's be real: while the potential is huge, diving into Telegram Ads without a solid plan can burn through your budget faster than a viral meme spreads.
At SMITLINK, we've managed hundreds of campaigns across niches like crypto, e-commerce, and fitness, helping clients avoid the pitfalls that sink so many first-timers.
I've seen it all — ads rejected for silly formatting errors, budgets wasted on irrelevant channels, and campaigns that looked great on paper but flopped in execution. That's why I'm breaking down the top 5 mistakes to avoid when running Telegram Ads.
These aren't just theoretical; they're drawn from real-world data and our agency's hands-on experience. We'll cover each one with practical tips, examples, and ways to fix them, so you can launch smarter and scale faster.
Whether you're a startup hustler, a marketer tweaking your strategy, or a business owner testing the waters, dodging these errors can boost your ROI significantly.
Let's jump in and make sure your Telegram Ads don't join the "what not to do" hall of fame!
Mistake #1: Sloppy Audience Targeting
Picture this: You've got a killer product, say a fitness app, and you're excited to blast it across Telegram. So you target a bunch of broad channels at once, hoping for a flood of clicks. Big mistake!
One of the most common blunders is treating Telegram like a one-size-fits-all platform, lumping multiple channels into a single campaign without segmentation. This leads to murky performance data — you can't tell which channel is gold and which is a dud, wasting your ad spend on irrelevant audiences.
Why does this happen so often? Telegram's targeting is powerful, allowing you to zero in on channels, topics, languages, or regions, but newbies often go too broad, thinking volume trumps precision. The result? Low engagement, high bounce rates, and CPMs that climb because the algorithm senses your ads aren't resonating.
From our stats at SMITLINK, unsegmented campaigns see conversion rates drop by 50-70%.
Moreover, fraudulent practices have emerged, initially manifesting as inflated impression counts and now extending to artificial click increases. Despite these manipulations, no actual subscriptions are generated. As a result, allocating a large budget to such ad campaigns risks wasting funds entirely. This underscores the critical need for thorough channel quality scoring and cautious testing, avoiding the temptation to invest heavily in campaigns without proper vetting.
Targeting too many channels at once hides the real performers.
Neglecting niche-specific tweaks is another layer — each channel has its vibe. A crypto ad in a DeFi-focused group might crush it, but the same one in a general tech channel? Crickets. Overlooking audience targeting means your ads hit uninterested users, spiking costs without results.
Mistake #2: Crafting Bland Creatives or Breaking Platform Rules
Nothing kills an ad faster than a boring creative or one that gets slapped with a rejection. Telegram Ads are text-heavy (up to 160 characters) with optional images or videos, but too many advertisers ignore design quality or skate past compliance, leading to low engagement or outright bans. Overlooking ad design and content is a top errort — poor visuals and boring texts turn users away.
On the rules side, Telegram is strict: no profanity, explicit content, shocking images, or deceptive claims. We've seen ads denied for simple things like excessive emojis, all-caps, or superlatives like "the best ever.
You are faced with the task of finding a balance - you need to pass moderation, but keep the ad bright, eye-catching and engaging for the user. This is not an easy task.
How to Fix It and Best Practices
- Keep it engaging and concise: Address pain points like chatting with a friend — short, benefit-focused text with a clear CTA like "Get Free Tips Now." Use emojis sparingly and high-quality visuals tailored to niches (e.g., bonuses for gambling, real stories for finance).
- Compliance checklist: Avoid imperatives ("Click now!"), comparisons ("#1 app"), or politics. Links must match (one button, optional text to same spot). Proofread for grammar — typos trigger denials.
- Informal hint: first, you can moderate restrained creatives. And then gradually, element by element, make them more and more vivid and provocative. Often, this approach allows you to moderate creatives that would never have been able to pass it "head-on"
Mistake #3: Skipping Proper Tracking and Performance Metrics
Launching without tracking is like driving blindfolded. Telegram lacks built-in conversion tracking, so many ignore it, leading to unoptimized spend.
Not using invite links, UTM parameters as well as specialized services for building end-to-end analytics means you can't trace traffic sources, hiding inefficiencies.
This results in wasted budgets on underperformers and missed scaling opportunities. Our data shows untracked campaigns overspend by 30-50%.
How to Fix It and Best Practices
- Monitor key metrics: Track views, CTR, new followers, and ROAS weekly. If CPA's high, pivot.
- Ideally, connect end-to-end analytics services to the project, such as Prizma.tools. They are able to track the full path of users through your funnel from the first contact with an ad to the final sale. This is the most valuable information that allows you to build effective advertising campaigns based not on intermediate metrics, but specifically on the final revenue.
Data is your compass — use it or lose out.
Mistake #4: Mismanaging Budget and Skipping Tests
Starting with high CPMs or no testing drains wallets. Minimum CPM is 0.1 TON (~$0.5/1K views), but beginners bid big, burning cash without data.
Test with 10x target conversion cost budget. No A/B testing? It’s bad! Run at least four variations.
Pitfalls: Overspending on losers, unrealistic expectations — success takes iteration.
How to Fix It and Best Practices
- Start low, scale smart: Bid minimum, increase 20% if no impressions.
- The more expensive your product is, the larger the budget for testing.
- A/B everything: Test creatives, channels—pause after 1K views if poor.
- Always test only 1 element at a time.
- Optimization loops: Weekly reviews, blacklists for bad sources.
Patience pays — test, tweak, triumph.
Mistake #5: Overlooking Compliance and Ongoing Optimization
It is impossible to set up an advertising campaign once and expect that it will always work effectively on its own. It is necessary to constantly keep your finger on the pulse and continue testing. Creatives, audiences and funnels burn out, this is a natural process. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully monitor statistics and adjust your advertising campaigns to the needs of the audience.
How to Fix It
Continue testing each element of the campaign and implementing new ideas. Standing still = failure. Constantly improving and testing new ideas = the foundation for long-term sustainable success. Regularly maintain spending at least 20% of our weekly budget.
Wrapping Up: Turn Mistakes into Mastery with Telegram Ads
There you have it — the top 5 mistakes that can derail your Telegram Ads, backed by real insights and our SMITLINK expertise. Ready to level up? At SMIT LINK, we handle the heavy lifting. Drop us a line for a free audit or custom strategy. Let's make your Telegram Ads unstoppable — what's your biggest ad challenge? Share in the comments!
Stay savvy,
Maxim
Founder, SMIT LINK