Free 60-second calculator

If you spend on ads,
what do you get back?

Tell us about your business. We'll show you exactly what you can afford to spend — and what comes back when you do. No jargon, promise.

Scroll to calculate

Let's run your numbers.

Five quick questions. Live answers as you slide. Takes about a minute.

1

First — what kind of business do you run?

We've loaded the typical numbers for a to get you started — tweak anything that doesn't match your business.
2

A few quick questions

What does the average customer pay you?
Add up everything a typical customer spends in one visit or billing cycle — that's your starting point.
How many times do they buy per year?
How many years does a typical customer stay?
Be honest — most clients drift off after a while
How long they keep coming back before they move on — even a rough guess works.
Out of 10 people who reach out, how many buy?
Your close rate — calls, forms and DMs that turn into a paying customer
Ads buy inquiries — your follow-up closes them. Answering within 5 minutes can double this number, and every point here makes every ad dollar work harder.
What monthly ad budget are you considering?
We've loaded a typical starting budget for your industry — drag to explore
Meta, Google, anything — per month. Drag it and watch what it realistically buys you in your industry.
01 — The whole picture

Here's what one customer is really worth to you.

over their whole relationship with you

Most owners only think about the first sale. Your average customer actually pays you before they move on. That total is their Lifetime Value — and it quietly changes everything about how much you can afford to spend to win one.

02 — Your ceiling

Here's the most you should ever pay to win one customer.

per new customer
Healthy zone Losing money

The healthy rule: a customer should be worth at least 3× what you paid to get them. That caps you at per new customer. Pay more and you lose money on every sale; pay way less and you're growing slower than you safely could. The cost to win a customer has a name too — Customer Acquisition Cost.

03 — The realistic picture

Here's what that budget realistically buys you.

You put in
in ads per month
You get back
in lifetime value
That works out to

In your industry a new customer typically costs to win with ads. So /month should bring in roughly new customers — worth over their lifetimes. A guesstimate, not a guarantee — good creative beats these numbers, bad creative misses them.

! Heads up — below about $30/day in your industry, the ad platforms never gather enough data to work. Better to wait and start right than to drip money in slowly.
04 — The platform reality

What Meta and Google actually need from you — and what you get back.

3.0
× ROAS

ROAS = Return On Ad Spend — how many dollars come back for every $1 you put into ads. At , your $3,000/month in ads brings back about $9,000/month in revenue. Tap a number to see how the picture changes:

3× is the healthy target. Campaigns usually start lower while Meta and Google learn — that's the first 30–60 days — then climb as the system optimizes. And this only counts first purchases: every repeat visit makes your true return bigger.

Checking learning phase…

The 50-conversion rule. Meta's algorithm needs 50 tracked conversion events per week to exit "Learning Phase" — the period where results are unreliable and costs are high. At roughly 8–20 new customers/month from your budget, you'd generate about 28 tracked events/week (assuming a 25% lead-to-customer rate).

The fix: Track an earlier funnel action as your conversion — a phone call, a form fill, a booking link click — not just the final sale. Higher-volume events give the algorithm more signal, exit learning phase faster, and drive costs down.
05 — The part nobody tells you

Now, the part nobody tells you: patience.

Days 1–14
The platform is learning.
Expect almost nothing. It's figuring out who your buyers are — this is normal.
Days 15–45
First real signal.
Early conversions start landing. Don't panic if the cost still looks high.
Day 60+
Trustworthy data.
Now the numbers mean something. This is when you judge, and when you scale.
"Judging ads in week one is like judging a gym membership after one workout."

Get your full breakdown + what we'd do in your situation.

We'll send the numbers above plus a short, specific plan for your . No spam, no pressure.

Now you know your numbers. Want someone to actually hit them?

Pelora builds and runs the ads — you watch the customers show up. Book a call and we'll map your plan in 20 minutes.

Book a Call — Start Your Marketing →
Watch — from the founder

How much should you really spend on ads?

Preston Durnford, founder of Pelora Marketing — on the math most clinic owners never get shown.

Questions owners actually ask

Quick answers, no jargon.

How much should I spend on ads per month?

Anchor it to what a customer is worth — and what one realistically costs to win in your industry, not a wish number. A customer should be worth at least 3× what you pay to win them; that's your ceiling. Real acquisition costs sit well below it in a healthy business. Start with a budget that buys a meaningful handful of customers at those real costs — most health & wellness businesses land at 5–10% of gross revenue.

What is Lifetime Value (LTV)?

Everything an average customer pays you over the whole relationship — not just the first sale. Average sale × purchases per year × years they stay. A $350 med spa visit, 5× a year, for 3 years? That's a $5,250 customer, not a $350 one.

What is Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)?

What you spend in marketing to win one new customer. $6,000/month in ads bringing 30 new customers = $200 CAC. Profitable marketing means each customer is worth at least 3× that.

What's a good LTV to CAC ratio?

3:1 is the healthy benchmark. Below 1:1, you lose money on every customer. Way above 5:1 usually means you're underinvesting — and a competitor is happily buying the customers you're not.

How long before I judge my ad results?

60 days. Days 1–14 the platform is learning and results look bad — normal. Days 15–45 the first real signal lands. Day 60+ the data is trustworthy. Judging ads in week one is like judging a gym membership after one workout.

Does this work for behavioral health, med spas, and clinics?

Yes — there are presets for med spas, HRT clinics, concierge medicine, IV therapy, chiro, gyms, detox & residential treatment, PHP/IOP, and outpatient. Behavioral health is calculated from insurance reimbursement × length of stay — per day for detox/residential, per week for PHP/IOP, months for outpatient. Built by Pelora Marketing — health & wellness marketing from Newport Beach, serving Orange County and clients nationwide.

What is ROAS and what should mine be?

ROAS stands for Return on Ad Spend — how many dollars come back for every dollar you spend on ads. A 3× ROAS means $1 in ads returns $3 in revenue. For health and wellness businesses, 3:1 to 5:1 lifetime ROAS is healthy growth mode. Above 5:1 usually means you're underinvesting and a competitor is buying the customers you're leaving on the table. Below 2:1 and you're likely losing money after accounting for cost of service. Always calculate ROAS using lifetime value, not just the first transaction — otherwise you'll think ads aren't working when they actually are.

What is the Meta ads learning phase?

When you launch a campaign, Meta's algorithm enters a learning phase — a period where it tests different audiences, placements, and creative combinations to find who's most likely to convert. Results during this phase are unreliable, costs are higher, and delivery is inconsistent. The platform exits learning once it records 50 conversion events in a week. The most common mistake: killing a campaign in week one because "it's not working" — right when the algorithm needs to be left alone to learn. Do not make major changes during the learning phase, as every significant edit restarts the clock.

Why does Meta need 50 conversions per week?

Meta's delivery system is a machine-learning model that needs a minimum data set to optimize. Fifty conversion events per week per ad set gives the algorithm enough signal to statistically determine who your best buyers are and bid efficiently to reach more of them. Below that number, it's essentially guessing. The 50-event rule applies to whatever you've set as your conversion: a form submission, a phone call, a booked appointment, a purchase. The fix most businesses miss: track an earlier, higher-volume funnel action — like "booking page visited" or "click to call" — not just the final sale. More weekly events means faster learning, lower costs, and better results over time.

Do Google ads have a learning phase too?

Yes. Google's Smart Bidding strategies — Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize Conversions — all require a learning period. Google typically needs 30–50 conversions per month before its algorithm can bid efficiently, and shows a "Learning" badge on affected campaigns. Like Meta, the best fix when direct conversion volume is low is to track an earlier funnel step as a micro-conversion (a phone call, a contact form view, a directions click), then switch to the deeper conversion once volume builds. Both platforms reward consistent budget, patience, and conversion-event strategy over short-term tinkering.

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