# How to create a LinkedIn ad campaign

URL: https://blackbox.plus/guides/create-linkedin-ad-campaign
Level 4: Run it as an ad (https://blackbox.plus/guides/run-ads)
Updated: 2026-11-01
Time: about 10 minutes
You'll end with: A LinkedIn campaign aimed at the right jobs and companies, drafted as a proposal in your brand’s thread
Do it in Blackbox: https://blackbox.plus/app/inbox

> Target people on LinkedIn by job title, company size and your own audiences, see the audience size as you go, and draft it. Nothing spends until you start it.

## Short answer

To create a LinkedIn ad campaign with Blackbox (blackbox.plus), connect a LinkedIn Ads account to your brand, click + in the Inbox and choose New Campaign. Under Or skip the plans, pick a goal such as Get leads, and check that LinkedIn Ads is on under Where it runs. Under Who should see it, add the places, then fill in the LinkedIn only block: copy one of your campaigns' targeting exactly, or target people by job title, or by function and seniority, narrow by industry and company size, add your LinkedIn audiences, and leave out people who should never see the ads. Choose how LinkedIn bids and whether the ads reach further. The estimated audience is LinkedIn's own count and changes as you edit; under 300 members LinkedIn won't run it. Then add the ad from a Studio post, set one budget and the dates, and run the checks. Draft the campaign: nothing is created until you approve it, and nothing spends until you start it.

## You'll need

- **LinkedIn Ads connected.** An ad account under the brand the campaign is for. (Guide: https://blackbox.plus/guides/connect-linkedin-ads)
- **Something to run.** A finished Studio post, or your own pictures and words. (Guide: https://blackbox.plus/guides/make-instagram-carousel-with-ai)

## How to create a LinkedIn ad campaign in Blackbox

1. **Open New Campaign.** In the **Inbox**, click the **+** button, then **New Campaign**.
   You'll see: **What is this campaign for?**, with goals to start from under it.
   Starts at: https://blackbox.plus/app/inbox
   ![The Inbox with the + menu open: New Campaign, paid ads on a connected account, ringed](https://blackbox.plus/guides/create-facebook-ad-campaign/01-new.png)
2. **Pick a goal.** Under **Or skip the plans**, click **Get leads**.
   You'll see: **Preset**, with **Get leads** under **Gets you** in the **Summary**.
   ![Or skip the plans and set it up yourself, starting from a goal: Sell on the website, Get leads, ringed, Get website visits and the rest](https://blackbox.plus/guides/create-linkedin-ad-campaign/02-goal.png)
3. **Check LinkedIn is on.** Under **Where it runs**, check that **LinkedIn Ads** is on with your ad account, then click **Continue**.
   You'll see: **Who should see it**, with **Places** and a **LinkedIn only** block.
   ![Where it runs: LinkedIn Ads switched on with the Daybreak Coffee · Office account in US dollars, Page: Daybreak Coffee Co., and Continue ringed](https://blackbox.plus/guides/create-linkedin-ad-campaign/03-channel.png)
4. **Choose the places.** Under **Places**, search for a city or region and click it.
   You'll see: The place as a chip, and under **Who** in the **Summary**.
   ![Places: All United States, and New York City Metropolitan Area picked from the search and ringed](https://blackbox.plus/guides/create-linkedin-ad-campaign/04-places.png)
5. **Or copy a campaign.** To target exactly who one of your LinkedIn campaigns targets, pick it under **Use one of your campaigns’ targeting**. To build it here, leave **Build it here instead**.
   You'll see: The fields below, or **Uses “…” exactly** with **Stop using it**.
   ![The LinkedIn only block: Use one of your campaigns’ targeting, with Build it here instead in the list, ringed](https://blackbox.plus/guides/create-linkedin-ad-campaign/05-copy.png)
6. **Target by job.** Under **Their job**, keep **Job titles** and add each title from the search.
   You'll see: Each job title as a chip, and how many under **Who** in the **Summary**.
   ![Their job: Job titles chosen, and Office Manager, Workplace Experience Manager and Facilities Manager added as chips, ringed](https://blackbox.plus/guides/create-linkedin-ad-campaign/06-job.png)
7. **Narrow by company.** Under **Their company**, click the company sizes to reach, and add an industry if you want.
   You'll see: The sizes you picked highlighted; none picked means any size.
   ![Their company: the industry search, and the company sizes with 11–50 and 51–200 picked, ringed](https://blackbox.plus/guides/create-linkedin-ad-campaign/07-company.png)
8. **Add your LinkedIn audiences.** Under **Your LinkedIn audiences**, tick any list you want the ads to reach.
   You'll see: A tick beside each audience you picked, with how many members it has.
   ![Your LinkedIn audiences: two company and contact lists, Website visitors, last 90 days ticked and ringed, and a predictive audience still building](https://blackbox.plus/guides/create-linkedin-ad-campaign/08-audiences.png)
9. **Leave people out.** Under **Leave out**, click the audiences and seniority that should never see the ads.
   You'll see: What you picked highlighted, and **leaves out** under **Who** in the **Summary**.
   ![Leave out: the office customers list picked and ringed, the job title search, and the Training and Unpaid seniority picked](https://blackbox.plus/guides/create-linkedin-ad-campaign/09-exclude.png)
10. **Choose how LinkedIn bids.** Under **Bidding**, keep **Maximum delivery**, or pick **Cost cap** or **Manual bid** and enter the amount.
   You'll see: A line under the choice saying how LinkedIn will bid.
   ![Bidding: Maximum delivery, Cost cap and Manual bid, ringed, with Maximum delivery picked — LinkedIn’s own default](https://blackbox.plus/guides/create-linkedin-ad-campaign/10-bidding.png)
11. **If you sell, pick what counts as a sale.** With **Sell on the website** as the goal, check the ticks under **What counts as a sale**. Your enabled Purchase rules start ticked.
   You'll see: A tick beside each rule LinkedIn will count as a sale.
12. **Choose where it shows.** Switch on **Audience Expansion** if you want people like your audience too.
   You'll see: Each switch with a line on what it does.
   ![LinkedIn Audience Network off, because LinkedIn doesn’t run lead form ads there, and the Audience Expansion switch, ringed](https://blackbox.plus/guides/create-linkedin-ad-campaign/11-network.png)
13. **Check the audience size.** Read **Estimated audience** at the bottom of the block.
   You'll see: LinkedIn’s count, like **About 7,400 members**.
   ![The two reach switches above Estimated audience: About 7,400 members, ringed](https://blackbox.plus/guides/create-linkedin-ad-campaign/12-size.png)
14. **Add a Studio post.** Click **Next: creatives**, then **New** and **From a Studio post**.
   You'll see: Your finished posts, each with **Use this post**.
   ![Creatives, with the New menu open and From a Studio post ringed](https://blackbox.plus/guides/create-linkedin-ad-campaign/13-source.png)
15. **Check the words.** Click **Use this post**, check the **Main text**, **Headline** and **Landing page**, then click **Save**.
   You'll see: The creative in the list, marked **Ready** and switched **In campaign**.
   ![Edit creative · Office coffee, delivered: the main text, headline and landing page filled from the post, how LinkedIn uses each, the LinkedIn preview, and Save ringed](https://blackbox.plus/guides/create-linkedin-ad-campaign/14-copy.png)
16. **Set the budget.** Click **Next: budget**, pick **Lifetime** or **Daily**, and enter the amount.
   You'll see: What it spends **a day on average**, under the amount.
   ![Budget: Lifetime, 700 dollars for 14 days, ringed, with 50 dollars a day on average](https://blackbox.plus/guides/create-linkedin-ad-campaign/15-budget.png)
17. **Run the checks.** Click **Next: review**, and fix anything marked **Block**.
   You'll see: **Ready to draft**, and **What the draft creates**, marked **All paused**.
   ![Review and draft: Ready to draft, ringed, with two warnings and the checks that pass](https://blackbox.plus/guides/create-linkedin-ad-campaign/16-review.png)
18. **Draft it.** Click **Draft the campaign**.
   You'll see: Your brand’s thread, open on the **Campaign proposal**.
   ![What the draft creates, all paused: one LinkedIn campaign group, campaign and ad, with Draft the campaign ringed](https://blackbox.plus/guides/create-linkedin-ad-campaign/17-draft.png)

## Good to know

- On LinkedIn the goals are Sell on the website, Get leads, Get website visits and Get followers. The others say Not on LinkedIn.
- LinkedIn reaches people by their job. For sales or website visits, expect a higher cost per result than on Meta; New Campaign says so under the Summary.
- Only LinkedIn reads the LinkedIn only block. The places above it are shared with any other channel you switch on.
- Copying a campaign uses its places, job targeting, audiences and exclusions exactly as LinkedIn has them. Click Stop using it to build the audience here instead.
- Job titles, or Function and seniority: LinkedIn can’t mix them, so it’s one or the other.
- Your LinkedIn audiences are your contact and company lists, website visitors and partner or predictive audiences, made in Campaign Manager under Plan → Audiences. Picked ones narrow the job and company targeting: people must be in both.
- Maximum delivery is LinkedIn’s own default. Cost cap keeps the average cost per result under your amount, and isn’t offered for Sell on the website. Manual bid pays up to your amount per click; leave it empty for LinkedIn’s suggested bid.
- What counts as a sale shows for Sell on the website only. It lists the ad account’s conversion rules from Campaign Manager; untouched, LinkedIn counts your enabled Purchase rules. Review blocks a rule that is switched off or gone, and warns when none of the ticked rules is a Purchase rule.
- LinkedIn Audience Network shows the ads in LinkedIn’s partner apps and sites too. It stays off for Get leads, because LinkedIn doesn’t run lead form ads there. Both switches start off.
- Get leads sends people to your website. To collect sign-ups in LinkedIn’s own form instead, open What it should get you and pick Native form under Lead destination.
- Write the ad in any language LinkedIn runs, Arabic included. Each language becomes its own LinkedIn campaign.
- LinkedIn ads run from the ad account’s Company Page, shown under Where it runs.
- Drafting creates nothing on LinkedIn. Approving the proposal creates the campaign group, campaign and ads paused, and only Start spends — see [Approve a campaign proposal and start it](https://blackbox.plus/guides/approve-campaign-proposal).

## Official docs

- [LinkedIn: targeting options for ads](https://www.linkedin.com/help/lms/answer/a424655)
- [LinkedIn: create a matched audience](https://www.linkedin.com/help/lms/answer/a415858)
- [LinkedIn: Audience Network](https://www.linkedin.com/help/lms/answer/a423409)

## Questions people ask

**LinkedIn Ads isn’t under Where it runs**

The brand has no LinkedIn ad account yet. Connect one under the brand on the Data page, then open New Campaign again.

**A goal says Not on LinkedIn**

LinkedIn can’t run that goal from Blackbox yet. Pick Sell on the website, Get leads, Get website visits or Get followers, or run that goal on another channel.

**What counts as a sale lists no rules**

The ad account has no conversion rules yet. In Campaign Manager, add a Purchase rule under Analyze → Conversion tracking, then run the checks again on Review.

**Estimated audience says Fewer than 300 members**

LinkedIn won’t run an audience that small. Remove a job title, a company size or an audience, or add a place, until it shows a number again.

**I can’t tick one of my LinkedIn audiences**

LinkedIn hasn’t finished building it; the line under it says so. It can be picked once Campaign Manager shows it ready.

**I’m worried drafting spends money**

It doesn’t. Draft makes a proposal. Approving it creates everything paused, and nothing spends until you click Start ads.