Question

Question on ROAS : since I started 3 years ago i have spent about 25k in ads.
I’m a photographers, ads getting me bookings fees (200$)
I have since then made 145k just in booking fees and over an average of 300-400k annually.
My question is : ROAS are just the direct result of the ads ? (Bookings fees) or you guys take to account what we earn after with clients sessions ?

Answer 1

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) is usually calculated based on the direct revenue generated by the ads — so in your case, the $200 booking fees from clients who came through your ads. Using that, your ROAS would be:

$145,000 (booking fees) ÷ $25,000 (ad spend) = 5.8x ROAS

This means every $1 you spent on ads brought in $5.80 in immediate revenue.

However, if your clients typically spend more after booking — like buying prints, albums, or booking future sessions — that extra income isn’t counted in standard ROAS. 

To include that, you'd need to calculate LTV ROAS (Lifetime Value Return on Ad Spend), which gives a fuller view of how profitable your ad campaigns really are over time. For high-ticket or relationship-based businesses like photography, LTV ROAS often tells a much more accurate story.