Solved: Struggling with Low ROAS on Facebook Ads, Need Agency

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out. Happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance on what you're seeing with your paid ads and how you might approach finding an agency. It's a common story tbh, diving into paid ads and finding it's not the magic bullet straight away. Spending a few grand for low ROAS and high CPA is rough, but it’s often part of the learning curve, especially on platforms like Meta if you're not constantly optimising.

You mentioned it feels like lighting money on fire, and that's totally understandable when the CPA is pushing $80 for a subscription box – that's way off unless your customer lifetime value is absolutely massive, which for most subscription boxes starting out, it just isn't. We’ve worked with subscription boxes ourselves, achieving results like 1000% ROAS, but that kind of performance comes after a lot of testing and refinement. It doesn't happen by accident.

What's Likely Going Wrong With Your Current Ads...

Based on what you've said, the most probable culprits for the low ROAS and high CPA are your targeting and your creative. Meta ads are incredible when you get these two things right, but if you miss the mark on either, or worse, both, you'll just hemorrhage money.

Think about it: if your ads aren't visually appealing or the messaging doesn't immediately grab the right person's attention, they won't click (low CTR), and the few that do might not be the right fit anyway. This drives up your cost per click and means you're paying for unqualified traffic. Even if someone clicks, if the ad doesn't lead to a landing page that's super persuasive and explains the value of your subscription box clearly, or if the website itself has issues, people won't convert. That's where you see high website visits but low add-to-carts or sign-ups. An $80 CPA suggests either the wrong people are seeing the ads, or the ads/landing page aren't converting them effectively, or likely a combination of both.

The fact you mentioned not being sure about A/B testing is a big red flag for why things aren't working. Paid advertising, especially on platforms like Meta, is a constant cycle of testing, measuring, and optimising. You can't just put an ad out there and hope it works. You need to be testing:

-> Different ad creatives (images, videos, variations of both)
-> Different ad copy (headlines, primary text, call-to-actions)
-> Different targeting audiences (interest-based, lookalikes, custom audiences)
-> Different landing pages (A/B test variations of your sign-up page or product page)

Without a rigorous testing process, you're essentially guessing. You don't know which elements are working and which aren't. Is it the picture that's bad? Is it the headline? Is it that the audience isn't interested? You need to isolate these factors through testing to figure out what resonates and what drives conversions profitably.

We've seen time and time again with eCommerce and subscription box clients how crucial this testing is. Sometimes a small tweak to the headline or swapping out one image for another can completely change the performance of an ad set. And audiences fatigue, so what worked last month might not work this month. It's an ongoing process, not a one-time setup.

Beyond the Ads: Your Website Matters Too...

While ads drive traffic, your website is where the magic needs to happen (or not happen, as it sounds like is the case now). Even the best-performing ads will fail if the website isn't converting. Looking at typical drop-off points can tell you a lot:

-> If you get visitors but few product page views: The traffic might be wrong (targeting issue) or the initial page they land on isn't compelling enough.
-> If you get product page views but few add-to-carts: Your product pages themselves likely need work. Are the photos good? Are descriptions persuasive? Is the pricing right? Are there any trust signals?
-> If you get add-to-carts but few purchases: The checkout process might be clunky, shipping costs a surprise, or lack of trust is causing people to abandon.

For a subscription box, the value proposition needs to be crystal clear immediately. Why should someone subscribe? What's in the box? What's the experience like? The landing page your ads send traffic to needs to answer these questions compellingly and make signing up as easy as possible. Adding social proof like customer reviews or testimonials can also significantly boost trust and conversion rates. It's often overlooked, but optimising the website conversion rate is just as important as optimising the ads themselves. Even a small increase in your website conversion rate can drastically lower your CPA.

Finding an Agency That Can Actually Help...

You're right, finding the right agency is tough, and wasting more money is a valid concern. It's like a minefield with so many options out there promising the world. To avoid picking the wrong one, you need to look beyond the flashy websites and smooth sales pitches and dig into *how* they actually plan to get results for you.

Here are some things I'd definitely be asking and looking for:

-> Their Process for Testing & Optimisation: This is probably the single most important thing. Don't just ask if they do A/B testing, ask *how* they do it. What's their methodology? How often do they test new creative and audiences? How do they use the data from these tests to make decisions? A good agency will have a structured, ongoing testing framework. They won't just set things up and let them run.
-> Their Understanding of Key Metrics: A less experienced agency might just focus on ROAS. A good one will look at the entire funnel. Ask them what metrics they track daily/weekly/monthly. You want them talking about CTR, CPC, Landing Page Views, Add-to-Carts, Initiate Checkouts, and Cost Per Acquisition (CPA). More importantly, ask how they use these metrics to identify bottlenecks and improve performance. For a subscription box, understanding Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) and ensuring CPA is sustainable based on that LTV is crucial. Do they ask about your LTV or how you plan to calculate it?
-> Experience in Your Niche (or Similar): While not always essential, experience with subscription boxes, eCommerce, or similar direct-to-consumer models on Meta is a definite green flag. They'll likely understand the unique challenges and opportunities of selling physical products online and driving recurring revenue. Ask them about specific results they've achieved for similar clients. As I mentioned, we've seen good results with subscription boxes on Meta, achieving a high ROAS, so that kind of specific experience is reassuring.
-> Reporting & Communication: How often will they report results? How detailed are their reports? Will they explain *why* certain things are happening and what their plan is to improve? You want transparency, not just numbers on a spreadsheet. Avoid agencies that use lots of jargon or can't clearly explain their strategy and the results in plain language.
-> Realistic Expectations: Be wary of agencies promising guaranteed results or unrealistic ROAS targets from day one. As you've seen, paid ads take time to optimise. A good agency will manage your expectations and explain that the initial period is often about gathering data and finding what works.
-> Fees Structure: Understand exactly how they charge. Is it a percentage of ad spend, a fixed fee, performance-based, or a combination? Make sure it aligns with your budget and goals. Be clear on what's included in their fee.
-> Red Flags: Avoid agencies that: don't ask many questions about your business, target audience, or goals; promise overnight success; can't clearly explain their testing process; focus only on vanity metrics like impressions or clicks without discussing conversions; seem overly salesy and less focused on understanding your specific problem; or pressure you into signing a long contract immediately.

Ultimately, you're looking for a partner who is methodical, data-driven, and has a proven process for taking campaigns that aren't working and turning them into profitable ones. Their initial focus should be on diagnosing *why* your current ads aren't working and then implementing a strategy to fix that through systematic testing and optimisation.

Actionable Recommendations Overview

Here's a quick overview of some immediate things to consider and points to bring up when talking to agencies:

This process of turning around unprofitable ads and finding the right agency partner takes time and effort, but it's absolutely necessary if you want to scale paid advertising profitably. It requires deep understanding of the platforms, constant analysis, and the discipline to test systematically.

It sounds like you've realised that managing this level of complexity and constant optimisation while also running your business is a massive undertaking, which is why looking for expert help makes sense. Getting someone with proven experience in this area, especially with eCommerce and Meta ads like we have, can fast-track your results and help you avoid costly mistakes.

Sometimes getting an outside perspective on your current setup and potential strategy is really valuable. If you'd like to chat through your situation in more detail, we're happy to offer a free consultation to give you some tailored insights based on our experience, with no obligation at all.

Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh