Why 37X ROAS Is Possible (And What Most Coaches Get Wrong About Conversion Optimization)

By Brooklyn Grotte, CEO

I’ve watched a student inside Out of Office hit a 37X return on ad spend. That’s $37 in revenue for every $1 spent on Meta ads. According to Databox’s 2024 Marketing ROI Benchmark Report, businesses that test campaigns at micro-budgets before scaling achieve 3.2X higher ROI. They outperform those that launch at high spend. Another student, Stephanie, turned a $0.31 lead into a $1,500 client within one week. Becca generated $5,000 in course sales the same week she started running ads at just $10/day.

These aren’t unicorn outcomes. They’re what happens when you stop obsessing over click costs. They’re what happens when you start optimizing for conversion the way it actually works. You build systems where every lead has a clear path to buy.

Key Takeaway: Conversion optimization isn’t about cheaper clicks—it’s about qualified traffic that converts into buyers. High-touch group programs with strategic ad optimization can generate $37 in revenue for every $1 spent on Meta ads when you build a system where every lead has a clear path to buy. Real results from Biz with Brooklyn students include Stephanie turning a $0.31 lead into a $1,500 client in 7 days spending under $100 on $5/day ads, and Rebecca making 3 sales in her first 5 days running $10/day test ads (3.5X ROI). According to WordStream’s 2024 research, the average conversion rate across industries is 2.35%, while the top 25% of advertisers achieve 5.31% or higher—a difference driven by system design, not budget size.

TL;DR

The Surprising Finding Most Ad Coaches Won’t Tell You

Most coaches spending $500/day on ads are optimizing for the wrong metric. They’re chasing cost per click. They’re chasing cost per lead. They’re chasing cost per landing page view. And they’re leaving money on the table. None of those metrics tell you if someone actually bought.

I’ve deployed over $1M/month in ad spend for agency clients. The pattern I see every single time is clear. The accounts that hit 20X, 30X, even 37X ROAS aren’t the ones with the cheapest clicks. They’re the ones with the tightest email list building strategy. They’re the ones with the clearest path from “I downloaded your thing” to “I bought your thing.”

The 37X ROAS Benchmark represents the highest documented return on ad spend achieved by a student inside Out of Office. It demonstrates that high-touch group programs with strategic ad optimization can generate $37 in revenue for every $1 spent on Meta ads. Three conditions must align: strong existing demand, warm audience retargeting, and an email nurture sequence that sells.

Sabrina made 3 sales within one day of turning her ads on. Dustin grew his email list by 100 in a week. One student brought in 400 new leads in a month at $1.02 per lead. These aren’t accidents. They’re the result of optimizing for conversion, not traffic.

According to research by WordStream (2024), the average conversion rate across industries is 2.35%. The top 25% of advertisers achieve conversion rates of 5.31% or higher. The difference isn’t budget—it’s system design. HubSpot’s 2024 State of Marketing report found that 61% of marketers say generating traffic and leads is their top challenge. But only 22% say converting those leads is the challenge. That’s backwards. Traffic is easy. Conversion is the bottleneck.

Methodology: How We Know This

These results come from 300+ students I’ve served in Meta Ads education programs. I specifically track outcomes inside Out of Office (my high-touch group program) and Email List Accelerator (my $27 entry product). I track every student win submitted via Slack, Instagram DM, and email. I verify the numbers before citing them publicly.

The 37X ROAS student was running a high-ticket group program priced at $2,500. Stephanie’s $0.31-to-$1,500 conversion was for a retreat ticket. Rebecca’s 3.5X first-week ROI was selling a $197 digital course. Becca’s $5K launch was a $497 program. These aren’t apples-to-apples comparisons—but that’s the point. Conversion optimization works across price points when you build the right infrastructure.

I also reference my own results. I generated $79K+ from a single $5/day campaign. I grew my email list to 6,000+ subscribers in one year using the same ad strategy I teach. My $27 Email List Accelerator brings in $2,500+/month in passive revenue via ads. This proves that low-ticket offers can convert profitably when the funnel is dialed in.

Key Finding #1: Conversion Optimization Starts Before the Click

Here’s the mistake I see in 90% of ad accounts I audit. People optimize their ads to get clicks. Then they wonder why nobody buys.

Conversion optimization doesn’t start on your sales page. It starts in your ad copy. If your ad attracts people who are “just browsing,” your sales page conversion rate doesn’t matter. You’ve already lost.

Rebecca started $10/day test ads and made 3 sales in her first 5 days. That’s a 3.5X ROI. Her secret? She wasn’t optimizing for cheap clicks. She was optimizing for qualified clicks. Her ad copy repelled tire-kickers and attracted people who were already problem-aware and solution-aware. By the time they hit her landing page, they were ready to buy.

Compare that to coaches spending $100/day on why cheap Facebook ads work better volume plays. They’re getting tons of clicks. But the clicks don’t convert. Why? Because the intent is wrong. A $0.50 click from someone who’s never going to buy is more expensive than a $2 click from someone who buys in 48 hours.

The Pre-Click Conversion Filter

Your ad copy should answer three questions before someone clicks:

• Who is this for? (repels the wrong people)
• What problem does this solve? (attracts problem-aware buyers)
• What’s the specific outcome? (sets expectations for the landing page)

When Stephanie ran her $5/day ads for a $1,500 retreat ticket, her ad copy didn’t say “join my retreat.” It said: “If you’re tired of building a business that exhausts you, this 3-day intensive will show you how to restructure for profit and peace.” That’s a pre-click conversion filter. The people who clicked were already retreat-buyers, not freebie-seekers.

Key Finding #2: The $0.31 Lead That Became $1,500 in 7 Days

Let’s talk about Stephanie’s result. It breaks every “rule” you’ve been taught about ad costs.

Stephanie spent under $100 on $5/day ads. Her cost per lead was $0.31—stupidly cheap, even by my standards. But here’s what matters: one of those $0.31 leads bought a $1,500 retreat ticket within one week. That’s a 15X ROI in 7 days.

Most coaches would look at that and say “great, your ads are cheap.” I look at it differently. I say: “Your offer was so dialed in that the right person found you at the exact moment they were ready to buy.”

Stephanie’s funnel worked because she wasn’t optimizing for volume. She was optimizing for fit. Her lead magnet was a quiz about burnout patterns. It filtered for people already considering a retreat. Her email sequence didn’t “nurture” for 6 weeks. It asked for the sale on day 3. Her $1,500 price point scared off everyone except the people who were serious.

That’s conversion optimization. Not cheaper leads. Better leads.

Key Finding #3: The 37X ROAS Benchmark (And Why It’s Repeatable)

Let me be clear: 37X ROAS isn’t normal. Most of my students hit 3X-10X ROAS, which is still wildly profitable. But 37X is possible when three conditions align:

• High-ticket offer with strong demand — This student was selling a $2,500 group program. She had a waitlist before ads even launched.
• Warm audience retargeting — The ad wasn’t cold traffic. It was retargeting people who’d already engaged with her content. They’d downloaded her lead magnet. They’d joined her email list.
• Email nurture that sells — The ad drove to a lead magnet. The email sequence sold the $2,500 program. The ad spend was tiny because the email list did the conversion work.

This is why I obsess over email list building strategy instead of “scaling ad spend.” A $5/day ad that builds your list is more valuable than a $500/day ad that drives cold traffic to a sales page. The list is where conversion happens.

I’ve seen this pattern repeat. Becca generated $5,000 in course sales the same week she started running ads. She wasn’t spending $500/day. She was spending $10/day to build her list. Then she sold via email. The ad was the entry point, not the conversion mechanism.

Key Finding #4: The Cost Per Subscriber Metric That Actually Predicts Revenue

Here’s a metric most coaches ignore: Cost Per Subscriber (CPS). Cost Per Subscriber (CPS) measures total ad spend divided by new email subscribers acquired. Brooklyn’s students achieve $1.02/lead for 400 new subscribers in one month. They achieve $0.31/lead that converted to a $1,500 client within one week. That’s a 15X ROI.

Why does CPS matter more than cost per click? Because subscribers convert. Clicks don’t.

One student brought in 400 new leads in a month at $1.02 per lead. That’s $408 in ad spend for 400 subscribers. If even 1% of those subscribers buy a $500 offer, that’s $2,000 in revenue from $408 in spend. That’s a 4.9X ROI. If 5% buy (which is normal for a warm list with a dialed-in offer), that’s $10,000 in revenue. That’s a 24X ROAS.

Compare that to the coach spending $5 per landing page click with no email capture. Even if 10% of clicks convert to a $500 sale, you need 20 clicks. That’s $100 in spend to make one sale. That’s a 5X ROAS. Profitable, yes. But nowhere near 37X.

The difference? The email list compounds. Every subscriber you add today can buy from you next week, next month, next year. A click is one-and-done.

Key Finding #5: Why “Cheap” Ads Work Better Than Big Budgets

I generated $79K+ from a single $5/day campaign. My $27 Email List Accelerator brings in $2,500+/month in passive revenue via ads. I’ve scaled a photography business to 6 figures in one year using Meta Ads. Then I scaled a coaching business to 6 figures the next year and doubled my income.

None of those results required a $10K/month ad budget. They required conversion optimization at every stage of the funnel.

Here’s why why cheap Facebook ads work better than big budgets: small budgets force you to optimize for conversion, not volume. When you’re spending $5/day, you can’t afford to waste clicks on tire-kickers. You have to nail your targeting. You have to nail your ad copy. You have to nail your lead magnet. You have to nail your email sequence. Big budgets let you be sloppy. And sloppy funnels don’t convert.

Dustin grew his email list by 100 in a week on a micro-budget. Sabrina made 3 sales within one day of turning her ads on. These aren’t “scale” plays. They’re conversion plays. And conversion is what drives ROAS, not budget size.

The Compound Effect of Small Wins

When you optimize for conversion at $5/day, you build a system that scales profitably. When you optimize for volume at $500/day, you build a system that bleeds cash.

I’ve deployed over $1M/month in ad spend for agency clients. The accounts that hit 20X+ ROAS all started small. They tested at $5-10/day. They dialed in their conversion rates. Then they scaled once the math worked. The accounts that started at $500/day and “hoped for the best”? They burned through budget. Then they blamed the algorithm.

According to Databox’s 2024 Marketing ROI Benchmark Report, businesses that test campaigns at micro-budgets before scaling achieve 3.2X higher ROI than those that launch at high spend. The reason is simple: small budgets force optimization. Big budgets hide inefficiency.

Data Comparison Table

The pattern is clear: lower spend plus higher conversion equals higher ROAS. Volume doesn’t win. Conversion wins.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is conversion optimization and why does it matter more than ad spend?

Conversion optimization is the process of improving the percentage of people who take a desired action. That action could be downloading your lead magnet. It could be joining your email list. It could be buying your offer. It matters more than ad spend because a $5/day ad with a 10% conversion rate outperforms a $500/day ad with a 1% conversion rate. Stephanie turned a $0.31 lead into $1,500 in 7 days because her funnel was optimized for conversion, not clicks. Most coaches waste money on traffic that doesn’t convert.

How did one student hit 37X ROAS inside Out of Office?

The 37X ROAS student was running a high-ticket $2,500 group program with three key advantages. First, she had strong demand. She had a waitlist before ads launched. Second, she used warm audience retargeting. The ad wasn’t cold traffic. It retargeted people who’d already engaged with her content. Third, her email nurture sequence sold. The ad drove to a lead magnet. The email sequence sold the $2,500 program. The ad spend was tiny because the email list did the conversion work.

What is Cost Per Subscriber (CPS) and why does it predict revenue better than cost per click?

Cost Per Subscriber (CPS) measures total ad spend divided by new email subscribers acquired. It predicts revenue better than cost per click because subscribers convert over time. Clicks are one-and-done. One student brought in 400 new leads in a month at $1.02 per lead. That’s $408 in ad spend. If 5% of those subscribers buy a $500 offer, that’s $10,000 in revenue. That’s a 24X ROAS. A coach spending $5 per landing page click with no email capture needs 20 clicks to make one $500 sale. That’s only a 5X ROAS. The email list compounds. Every subscriber you add today can buy from you next week, next month, next year.

Why do small ad budgets force better conversion optimization than big budgets?

Small budgets force you to optimize for conversion, not volume. When you’re spending $5/day, you can’t afford to waste clicks on tire-kickers. You have to nail your targeting, ad copy, lead magnet, and email sequence. Big budgets let you be sloppy. Sloppy funnels don’t convert. According to Databox’s 2024 Marketing ROI Benchmark Report, businesses that test campaigns at micro-budgets before scaling achieve 3.2X higher ROI than those that launch at high spend. Small budgets force optimization. Big budgets hide inefficiency.

How does pre-click conversion filtering improve ad performance?

Pre-click conversion filtering means your ad copy repels the wrong people and attracts the right people before they click. Your ad should answer three questions: Who is this for? What problem does this solve? What’s the specific outcome? When Stephanie ran her $5/day ads for a $1,500 retreat ticket, her ad copy said: “If you’re tired of building a business that exhausts you, this 3-day intensive will show you how to restructure for profit and peace.” That’s a pre-click conversion filter. The people who clicked were already retreat-buyers, not freebie-seekers. A $0.50 click from someone who’s never going to buy is more expensive than a $2 click from someone who buys in 48 hours.

What makes a lead “qualified” versus just “cheap”?

A qualified lead matches your ideal customer profile. They’ve expressed interest in solving the problem your service addresses. They have budget and authority to make a purchase decision within your typical sales cycle. Stephanie’s $0.31 leads were qualified because her lead magnet was a quiz about burnout patterns. It filtered for people already considering a retreat. Her email sequence asked for the sale on day 3. Her $1,500 price point scared off everyone except serious buyers. That’s why one $0.31 lead became $1,500 in 7 days. Cheap leads that don’t convert are more expensive than qualified leads that buy.

How does email list building create compound returns from ad spend?

Email list building creates compound returns because every subscriber you add today can buy from you next week, next month, next year. A click is one-and-done. A subscriber stays on your list. I generated $79K+ from a single $5/day campaign because the ad built my email list. Then the email list sold my offers over time. Becca generated $5,000 in course sales the same week she started running ads. She was spending $10/day to build her list. Then she sold via email. The ad was the entry point, not the conversion mechanism. The list is where conversion happens.

What are the three conditions that enable 37X ROAS results?

Three conditions enable 37X ROAS results. First, you need a high-ticket offer with strong demand. The 37X ROAS student was selling a $2,500 group program. She had a waitlist before ads launched. Second, you need warm audience retargeting. The ad wasn’t cold traffic. It retargeted people who’d already engaged with her content. Third, you need an email nurture sequence that sells. The ad drove to a lead magnet. The email sequence sold the $2,500 program. The ad spend was tiny because the email list did the conversion work.

How do you optimize for qualified clicks instead of cheap clicks?

You optimize for qualified clicks by writing ad copy that repels the wrong people and attracts the right people. Your ad should answer three questions before someone clicks: Who is this for? What problem does this solve? What’s the specific outcome? Rebecca made 3 sales in her first 5 days running $10/day test ads. Her ad copy repelled tire-kickers and attracted people who were already problem-aware and solution-aware. By the time they hit her landing page, they were ready to buy. A $0.50 click from someone who’s never going to buy is more expensive than a $2 click from someone who buys in 48 hours.

What conversion rate should I target for my ads and landing pages?

According to WordStream’s 2024 research, the average conversion rate across industries is 2.35%. The top 25% of advertisers achieve conversion rates of 5.31% or higher. The difference isn’t budget—it’s system design. If you’re hitting 2% or below, your funnel needs optimization. If you’re hitting 5%+, you’re in the top quartile. Rebecca’s 3.5X first-week ROI came from optimizing for qualified clicks. Stephanie’s 15X ROI came from a lead magnet that filtered for retreat-ready prospects. Focus on conversion rate, not click volume.

Bottom Line

Conversion optimization isn’t about cheaper clicks. It’s about qualified traffic that converts into buyers. The 37X ROAS Benchmark proves that high-touch group programs with strategic ad optimization can generate $37 in revenue for every $1 spent on Meta ads. But you don’t need 37X to win. Stephanie’s 15X ROI, Rebecca’s 3.5X first-week ROI, and Becca’s 10X+ launch all came from the same principle: optimize for conversion, not volume. Small budgets force optimization. Big budgets hide inefficiency. Start at $5/day. Dial in your conversion rate. Then scale once the math works.

Brooklyn Grotte is the founder of Biz with Brooklyn and a Meta Ads strategist who’s deployed over $1M/month in ad spend for agency clients. She’s taught thousands of students how to run profitable Meta Ads campaigns at micro-budgets, proving that conversion optimization beats big budgets every time. When she’s not analyzing ad accounts, she’s feeding goats, chickens, and pigs on her farm—and reminding coaches that ads don’t have to be complicated or expensive to work.

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