Low ROAS is Not Your (Real) Problem

Welcome to this issue of The DTC Insider newsletter. 👋

We strive to deliver the latest growth marketing news and trends in the DTC space straight to your inbox every Wednesday.

Topics we'll cover today:

💠 Meta Announces Initial Test of Ads on Threads
💠 Low ROAS is Not Your (Real) Problem
💠 Balancing Business and Motherhood in E-Commerce

Meta Announces Initial Test of Ads on Threads

Threads hasn’t hit a billion users yet. But Meta is rolling out ads anyway.

Testing starts with select advertisers in the U.S. and Japan.

According to Meta: "businesses can extend existing Meta ad campaigns to Threads. No extra creative or resources needed. Just check a box in Ads Manager."

Threads now boasts 300 million monthly active users. Ads were inevitable.

What Advertisers Need to Know:
⤷ Use inventory filters to control ad placement sensitivity.
⤷ Ads on Threads are backed by Meta’s proven ad systems.

Why Now?

Threads is gaining momentum. Meta wants to capitalize on its growth.

And with $65 billion allocated to AI projects this year, Meta’s ad revenue will play a critical role.

Expect ads on Threads to roll out to more regions soon.

Will you start using Threads ads?

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Follow me on LinkedIn for more growth marketing content in the e-commerce space.

Want to Make 2025 Your Brand’s Best Year Yet?

In 2024, we audited over 120 brands, and we found that many of them have been stuck in a revenue plateau for 2, and even 3 years.

So, the question is: will you stay in the same place for yet another year, or will you draw a line in the sand and start a new chapter for your brand?

At BSR Digital, we have just 1 spot left for brands that want to unlock the next level of growth.

Will you be one of them?

Low ROAS Is Not Your (Real) Problem

Low ROAS is not your (real) problem.

It's the consequence of your business decisions.

(It's like blaming the scale, instead of your diet and workout routine.)

Last week, I was approached by one 9-figure and two 8-figure brands.

They all had a flat 2024, but they first pointed out that their ROAS had stagnated.

And most people link ROAS to in-platform problems.

However, many times it's flagging off-platform issues.
↳ Low AOV
↳ Slow/unclear website
↳ Unappealing offer/product

Contrary to popular belief, a ROAS of 3 might be more positive than a ROAS of 10.

The latter is probably due to:
↳ Super low scale
↳ Inflated attribution
↳ Targeting hot audiences only

Let's take ROAS out of the equation for a moment.

Whenever I meet a brand, I ask them:
↳ "How much did you grow YoY in the last 3 years?"
↳ "What's your growth plan for the next 12 months?"
↳ "Do you have ideas to create your own sales peaks?"

Lately, their answers are typically:
↳ "We didn't grow in the last 2-3 years."
↳ "We don't have a plan..."
↳ "What's that?"

And your team/growth partners should be helping you with this.

Just to illustrate the above, I can tell you the following...

(And it's what I show people in discovery calls, with proof).

By paying attention to those things, we've been able to:
↳ Help a brand grow 40% YoY for 3 years in a row.
↳ Turn the 2nd lowest month of the year into the best one after November.
↳ Take a brand from $70k/mo to $880k/mo in under 6 months (this was wild).

This is what our job is all about in 2025...not improving ROAS.

That's really one of the key differences between thriving brands and the rest.

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If you're looking for a growth partner that helps you make 2025 your best year yet, let's chat.

Balancing Business and Motherhood in E-Commerce

Successful brands don't hide behind their storefront.

Instead, here's what they do. 👇

This founder does it all:
⤷ Sat down on the street for 8 hours to sell product
⤷ Spends 2 hours/day creating content
⤷ Partners up with content creators
⤷ Started an ambassador program
⤷ Raised VC money after 50 "no"
⤷ Built a team of moms

All of this required her time.

And here's what she said about that (I LOVED the quote):

"Time is expensive. But if you are a struggling startup and you're trying to make profitability, your time is what you're gonna have to give."

This is so true!

Who am I talking about?

Remington Fraser, founder of The Revury.

Want to hear more golden nuggets from her?

Then check out this episode of The DTC Insider podcast 👇

We discussed:

👉 The Revury as a tech-enabled platform revolutionizing consignment.
👉 Remington’s journey from law to entrepreneurship for a better work-life balance.
👉 How empathy in business fosters productivity and stronger team dynamics.
👉 The benefits of flexible work schedules for both employees and companies.
👉 Strategies for successfully raising capital with a clear and compelling vision.
👉 The growing importance of profitability in today’s market climate.
👉 Leveraging offline sales to drive online traffic and customer engagement.
👉 The role of founders in actively participating in content creation.
👉 Unique skills and perspectives moms bring to the workplace.
👉 The power of networking and referrals in successful fundraising efforts.

Tune in:

📺 YouTube
🎧 Apple
🎙️ Spotify
🌐 Website

More episodes our listeners love:

💎 Bootstrapping a $100M E-Commerce Empire with Bear Handlon
💎 Unlocking New Revenue Streams in 2025 with Neal Goyal
💎 The Secret Sauce Behind BattlBox's Success with John Roman
💎 IQBAR’s Journey to 10,000 Locations And $50 Million with Will Nitze
💎 Supplement Brand Bootstrapped $10,000 and Built It Into Sales of $30 Million in Three Years with Ronak Shah

Also Happening in the DTC space

📰 TikTok Published 2025 Marketing Calendars
📰 China’s DeepSeek AI dethrones ChatGPT on App Store
📰 Instagram Says It Will Recommend Longer Reels in Explore

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