Ultimate Guide to Telegram Ads: How to Boost Your Product at Minimal Cost?

In March 2025, Telegram founder Pavel Durov shared that Telegram hit 1 billion active users globally. Among the countries with the largest audiences are India, russia, U.S., Indonesia, and Brazil. Also, the messenger has the highest user penetration in Eastern Europe and Central Asia relative to population size.

Telegram remains a convenient platform for many crypto communities and is one of the most efficient ways to engage real users. It is constantly developing and introducing new functions. Sure, it offers a function to place advertisements. Thus, today, we’ll focus on Telegram Ads.

What are Telegram Ads?

With Telegram Ads, you get access to direct users at a moderate price. The targeting of users is based on the Telegram channels they follow: DeFi, NFT, AI communities, etc. You can start and try with a small budget and then scale the successful campaigns. 

Among the key advantages of Telegram Ads are the lower cost per click compared to other marketing platforms, greater coverage, and the duration of how long your ad is shown. Your ad won’t disappear in a second or get lost among dozens of new posts in the feed. It remains visible for the full duration you choose.

The challenge with Telegram ads is that you need to manually set up analytics to track campaign performance – unlike platforms like Facebook or Google. Additionally, Telegram isn’t ideal for all niches – especially not for B2B.

Types of Ads in Telegram

You can advertise your channel on Telegram in three ways: through Telegram ads, direct ad buys from channel owners, and KOL marketing. 

Among Telegram ads features: 

• It’s clearly visible that it’s an ad
• Short text block with a call-to-action button
• Payment model: CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions)
• Targeting can be set by language, channel topic, and region
• Ads are automatically shown along all Telegram in public channels with 1,000+ subscribers

The second one is direct ad buys from channel owners. 

• It has the format of a native post. People understand it’s an ad, but it’s among other posts.  
• You collaborate directly with channel admins 
• You can use a broader range of content: videos, posts, GIFs.

The third type is KOL (key opinion leader) marketing, where the channel owner promotes you through a personal recommendation inside their own post.

Why are Telegram ads better than KOL Marketing? 

Compared to other blogging platforms, the Telegram channel is where users feel closer to their favorite bloggers. The audience here is more loyal and reacts to posts with greater interest.

However, there are many channels with fake or inactive followers. That’s why KOL advertising often doesn’t meet expectations. Prices range from $500 to $3,000, yet retention rates rarely exceed 5–15%.

It’s one of the most expensive ad formats because each influencer charges as much as they want. So, it’s like roulette for your marketing budget. 

In contrast, Telegram Ads give you precise targeting, reaching already active loyal users, easy analyzing, cost-effectiveness, scalable approach, and the opportunity to test and optimize campaigns across different audiences.

The main appeal is that the cost per acquisition is 5-10x lower than traditional influencer marketing. 

How to create Telegram ads by yourself? 

Step 1. Go to the Telegram Ads page. 

Step 2. Log in using your mobile phone where you have your Telegram account. 

You will be proposed to create a personal or organization account. Use “Personal account” if you’re running as an individual or small business, and use “organization account” – as a company. If you’re managing multiple campaigns, create an organization account. It will allow you better tracking and delegation.

Step 3. Fill in your data

Enter the required information. Once completed, click “Save Info and Proceed”.

Step 4. Create your Telegram ad

Click on “Create a New Ad” and enter the following details:

• Ad Title: A short, attention-grabbing headline.
• Ad Text: Keep it within 160 characters.
• URL: The destination link to your Telegram channel, post, or bot.
• Target Specific Channels: Choose the Telegram channels where your ad will appear.
• Daily View Limit Per User: You can set how many times a user will see your ad per day (1 to 4 times).
• Initial Budget: The minimum Cost-Per-Mille (CPM) is 0.1 Toncoin ($0.5 per 1,000 views).

Let’s take a closer look at some of these sections. Ad Text should be short, engaging, and address your audience’s pain points. Imagine you’re talking to your friend about the very essence of what he will get. 

CTA should convey urgency and drive action. Don’t write something abstract like “Dive into the world of technology,” but be clear about what they need to do: “Get a free ebook” / “Get free advice.”

Step 5. Set your budget 

In Telegram Ads, you pay 1000 impressions. The cost depends on numerous variables: industry, ad format, use of bots, and stage of the conversion funnel.

The average Cost per Lead (CPL) in official Telegram ads is $2–5. Top-performing campaigns can achieve CPLs below $1, especially when using chatbots and a well-built funnel. Start with a moderate CPM bid and change depending on campaign performance. 

Step 6. Choose the right target audience

For the best results, make sure your ad reaches the right audience. Telegram offers several targeting options:

1. Demographic targeting – based on age, gender, language, and location.
2. Interest-based targeting – reach users interested in specific Telegram groups and channels.
3. Behavioral targeting – based on activity and engagement patterns.
4. Custom audiences & retargeting – interacting with users who previously interacted with your brand.

Step 7. Set up ad scheduling and launch

Telegram allows advertisers to schedule ads for specific timeframes to maximize performance. For example, you can run it during the hours when the audience is most active and turn it off at night.

Once your settings are configured, click “Launch Campaign” to start.

Step 8. Monitor your campaign

Now, it’s time to see the results and analyze them. 

How to track campaign results?

• Set UTM tags for tracking traffic
• Telegram chatbots to collect, qualify, and segment leads
• Unique URLs or promo codes per channel or campaign
• Manual tracking of channel joins, bot activity, or inquiry volume
• CRM integration with your bot or forms.

What to track?

• Click-Through Rate (CTR) – how many users engage with your ad.
• Engagement Rate – user interactions such as clicks and conversions.
• Cost-Per-Acquisition (CPA) – Helps you measure ROI on your ad spend.
• Best Performing Channels – which Telegram channels drive the most engagement.

Common Mistakes You Might Make

You can make such mistakes while launching campaigns:

1. Running just a few ads. Even 20-30 ads might not be enough. You need to try different texts and CTA for different channels. 
2. Spreading the same ad on different channels. One ad should be for one target channel because the auditory interests can change slightly. And on the contrary, test various ad copies within the same target channel. 
3. Testing ads only in large channels. Sometimes, small and newly created channels can have a more loyal and narrow audience with a focused interest. 
4. Leading people to an unprepared channel. Make sure your Telegram channel is ready for new visitors and further subscribers. It should be full of helpful content, rubrics, and anchored posts so that a person immediately sees the value and understands what you do. If there are just a bunch of incomprehensible signals (in the case of the crypto trading channel), no reactions, and no comments, it might look like a conversation with yourself or your diary. 

To try or not to try? 

Advertising on Telegram is worth trying, first of all, for small and medium-sized businesses in the B2C sector. It is worth doing at least because it has a moderate and reasonable price and at most because it is one of the places the crypto-community has embraced.

Bitmedia crypto ad network is expanding its capabilities by integrating Telegram advertising into its platform—opening up a powerful new channel for brands to reach crypto-savvy communities.

Telegram has long been the go-to hub for crypto discussions, with millions of users gathering in niche channels to explore everything from DeFi to token launches and market news. Now, Bitmedia clients can directly tap into these engaged communities through targeted Telegram ads.

Telegram ads via Bitmedia offer several key benefits

• High Engagement: Crypto users on Telegram are actively seeking information, making them more receptive to relevant offers.
• Precision Targeting: Advertisers can now reach specific user segments based on interest and behavior.
• Privacy & Authenticity: Telegram’s reputation for privacy ensures real, engaged audiences—not bots or click farms.

Bitmedia makes the process easy: from strategic planning and creative development to campaign optimization and transparent analytics. Whether you’re launching a new Web3 product, boosting community engagement, or driving token sales, Telegram advertising can now be part of your omni-channel strategy.

If you want to promote your project via Telegram groups and channels, choose the relevant one on Bitmedia Marketplace

Ready to explore Telegram ads with Bitmedia?

Log in to your account and launch your campaign today — or register to get started. Publishers can also join the Telegram ad network via bitmedia.io/app/publisher/join and monetize their Telegram apps with quality campaigns.