Playbook / Lessons / Partners and paid growth

Track marketing spend as a share of revenue

Firestone, the co-founder of BOOM!, says he keeps a weekly sheet of key numbers, and one is marketing spend as a percentage of net revenue. He recommends putting a share of yearly revenue into ads and says he checks whether the money drives revenue through order value, acquisition cost and customer lifetime value. If the share drops below his range, he reads it as under-investing in growth.

“One of my KPIs is marketing spend as a percentage of net revenue.”— Ezra Firestone, BOOM! Founder: Spend 30% of Revenue on Ads, May 2021

Do this

Add one line this week to your numbers sheet for ad spend as a percentage of revenue and set a ceiling for the month that you will not pass.

More in this pack

• Judge early paid spend by payback, not LTV
• Pay for affiliates only out of real margin
• Put marketing metrics in the partner contract
• Ask your other referral sources, not only past clients

Get your plan

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