Today's sponsor

Find customers on Roku this holiday season

Now through the end of the year is prime streaming time on Roku, with viewers spending 3.5 hours each day streaming content and shopping online. Roku Ads Manager simplifies campaign setup, lets you segment audiences, and provides real-time reporting. And, you can test creative variants and run shoppable ads to drive purchases directly on-screen.

Bonus: we’re gifting you $5K in ad credits when you spend your first $5K on Roku Ads Manager. Just sign up and use code GET5K. Terms apply.

When we talk about scaling Meta Ads, everyone knows the pattern:

Spend goes up → ROAS goes down.

That’s just how it works. As a business grows, margins usually tighten too.

But with smaller budgets, you can slow down the ROAS drop — if the fundamentals are aligned.

And that’s exactly what happened here.

From 2024 to 2025, we doubled what the ad spend in Q1–Q3…

and ROAS stayed around 10.

On top of that:

  • Purchases more than tripled

  • CPA went way down

  • and we did this while selling cheaper items (€100–€300) instead of the €1,000 products we advertised in 2024

And no — we didn’t “hack” Facebook Ads.

We simply got the basics right, matched the offer to what people wanted, cleaned up the structure, and let Meta do its job.

Case Study Numbers

KPI

2024

2025

YoY Change

Ad Spend

€6,950 (34,390 RON)

€13,350 (66,050 RON)

+92%

Purchases

331

1,041

+215%

Revenue

€82,281 (410,117 RON)

€129,673 (645,358 RON)

+58%

ROAS

11.9

9.77

-18%

AOV

€2,740 (1,239 RON)

€1,373 (620 RON)

-50%

CPA

€229 (103 RON)

€141 (63.5 RON)

-38%

Proof of Results (Screenshots) 👇🏻

2024 Q1-Q4 | Home & Garden | Romanian Market

2025 Q1-Q4 | Home & Garden | Romanian Market

What Actually Happened Behind the Numbers

1. AOV dropped — and we expected it

In 2024, the brand pushed higher-value products (~€1,000 each).

In 2025, we focused on €100–€300 products instead.

A lower Average Order Value isn’t a problem when it’s part of the strategy.

It just means the product mix changed.

2. CPA went way down

Cheaper products convert faster, with less friction.

Meta doesn’t need as many touchpoints to get a sale.

CPA naturally dropped from €229 → €141.

3. Purchases more than tripled

Lower hesitation = higher volume.

Even with only a ~92% increase in spend, purchases jumped +215%.

4. Revenue still grew almost 60%

Even though we sold cheaper products, the increase in volume more than compensated.

Revenue climbed nearly +60% YoY, which signals strong, steady demand.

Bottom line: We didn’t just spend more.

We scaled volume, revenue, and total efficiency — even while selling lower-priced items.

What We Focused On to Keep ROAS High While Scaling

Scaling success stories often sound too good to be true.

Here’s what actually made the difference.

1. Putting the Right Product in the Right Market

Product–market fit and real demand matter more than any ad trick.

Before increasing budget, we asked:

  • What products are actually worth scaling?

  • Which SKUs have repeatable demand?

  • Which ones have strong margins and fast buying cycles?

We doubled down on what was already working and cut categories that weren’t.

Scaling works when you stop forcing products that people don’t naturally want. (Some small businesses really struggle with this.)

2. Writing Ads That Sound Like Real People

We shifted away from long, generic copy.

In 2025, everything was rebuilt around:

  • Real customer language (from reviews)

  • Benefits first

  • Emotional triggers: comfort, saving money, home-improvement satisfaction

  • Short, punchy lines built for the scroll

Rule: fewer words, more meaning.

3. Better Ad Ideas Instead of More Ads

Last year we had lots of ads… but they all said the same thing.

This year we had fewer, sharper creatives.

(Despite what TikTok “gurus” said after the Andromeda update…)

We leaned on strong angle frameworks:

  • Problem → Solution

  • Before / After

  • Benefit-first

  • “Worth the money”

  • Lifestyle fit

  • “Why now?” urgency

Better ideas beat more assets — especially on small budgets.

4. Understanding Our Real Customers

We simplified everything into two core buyer types:

  • The Practical Shopper → wants solutions, value, clarity

  • The Home Improver → function-first, wants upgrades that feel worth it

Romanian markets are price-sensitive, so practical value mattered a lot.

We built creatives for each mindset.

Meta doesn’t need manual targeting — it needs the right message to the right mindset.

5. Letting Meta Do What It Does Best

No over-optimization. No messy structures.

Just:

  • Single broad campaigns for the right categories

  • ASC for testing

  • 1–2 strong ads running longer

  • Only adding new creatives every 2–3 weeks

So… How Do You Scale With a Small Budget?

You don’t need a huge budget to make a huge impact.

You need:

  • A product worth scaling

  • Angles that hit

  • Ads that stop the scroll

  • Clear value, shown fast

  • A simple structure that lets Meta work efficiently

This brand doubled spend because the foundations were right — not because we got lucky or caught an algorithm update.

What’s Next…

We’re preparing for an even stronger Q4 than last year…

but that’s a case study for another DAS.

Stay tuned.

Would you like to see more case studies like this one?

Login or Subscribe to participate

How did you like this issue? (Be honest please)

Login or Subscribe to participate

Make Newsletter Magic in Just Minutes

Your readers want great content. You want growth and revenue. beehiiv gives you both. With stunning posts, a website that actually converts, and every monetization tool already baked in, beehiiv is the all-in-one platform for builders. Get started for free, no credit card required.

♥️ Tools we love to use at my agency: