v.orlova_nails (courses for nail technicians): 6,221 subscribers at $0.10, 603% ROMI

The task

The client is a beauty expert (v.orlova_nails), the product — courses for nail technicians.

The task: set up a controllable flow of targeted subscribers to the Instagram account for subsequent warm-up and course sales.

Work period: August – October 2021 (the work continued afterwards).

What we did

• Over 3 months launched several ad campaigns in Facebook Ads with the “subscriber” objective (this metric and ad objective is configured separately).
• The Facebook ad account often gives distorted information on the number of target actions, so the real number of subscribers coming from ads was tracked through a dedicated service.
• Recorded the starting positions: the account’s organic growth — 5 people a day on average. This figure was taken into account when calculating results.
• Managed the budget: switched the ads off “to zero” and substantially increased the budget in the right periods.

Net growth calculation for the whole period:

• 8,285 subscribers while the ads were running.
• Minus organic growth: 5 a day × 91 days = 455 people → 7,830 subscribers.
• Minus 1,609 unsubscribes (they grow in proportion to the account’s overall growth) → net growth 6,221 subscribers.

Results

• Subscribers (net growth): 6,221.
• Cost per subscriber: $0.10.
• Ad spend over 3 months: $642 (budget 39,418 + VAT 7,883). Later we got rid of VAT — on large budgets, increasing costs by 20% is not worth it.
• Growth in account activity: likes, saves, reposts.
• Profit from course sales: in July — $457, in August–September — $4,513.
• 603% ROMI ($4,513 ÷ $642).

Cost per subscriber calculation:

• Ad spend: $642
• Number of subscribers: 6,221
• Average cost per subscriber: $0.10

Insights

• A targeted subscriber is an asset with its own price and LTV; its value grows over time.
• With the “subscriber” objective, the Facebook ad account data cannot be trusted — an external service tracking real subscriptions is needed.
• For a correct result calculation, organic growth and unsubscribes are subtracted from the total growth.
• VAT on large budgets = +20% to costs “out of nowhere” — we got rid of it.
• In October we set up a funnel in Instagram DMs and got subscribers at $0.07.