Day 144: Planning Increase AOV and Backend Growth

Yesterday gave a bit of breathing space.

Revenue came in at 816 with ad spend translating to roughly 600 dollars, leaving around 216 dollars profit.

That’s not where this funnel needs to be long-term, but after some shaky days, it’s at least back in the “functional” zone rather than danger territory.

Today is sitting at 659 mid–late afternoon, so there’s still room to climb into the 800s or beyond by the end of the day.

The ad budget has now been pulled back to 400 at campaign level, and for now that’s staying put.

The goal isn’t to scale spend — it’s to hold stability while the real optimisation work happens deeper in the funnel.

Right now this is a protection phase, not an expansion phase.

The Strategic Shift Underway

The big move hasn’t been implemented yet — the 60-day post-purchase email system — but the plan is locked in.

That’s the lever intended to increase lifetime value rather than relying purely on front-end performance.

So the strategy at this moment looks like this:

Hold ad spend steady at a sustainable level
Let the current page split tests continue running
Shift focus to backend monetisation systems

This is a classic phase in funnel building where you stop pushing traffic harder and instead improve how much each customer is worth.

New AOV Idea: A Second Order Bump

Alongside the lifetime value work, a new test idea has gone on the board: introducing a second order bump.

This is a delicate area. Order bumps can raise average order value quickly, but they can also damage conversion if handled badly. There’s a clear pattern seen before:

If the bump price feels too high, people don’t just skip the bump — they hesitate on the whole purchase.

So this potential new bump would need to be:

Low friction
Clearly useful
Positioned as a small add-on, not a major decision

The aim wouldn’t be a huge jump. Even an extra 5 to 10 dollars on AOV, if it holds conversion rates steady, would make a serious difference to overall profitability.

But this isn’t a “rush it live” change. It needs careful testing because AOV increases are only good if front-end conversion stays healthy.

So for now, this sits in the testing queue behind the email automation build.

Priority Order Right Now

The optimisation priorities are now stacking up clearly:

First: build and launch the 60-day post-purchase automation
Second: let existing page design split tests mature
Third: explore AOV improvements like a second bump

The email system is the biggest opportunity because it works on every customer, not just new visitors. Once it’s built, it runs in the background — especially important with travel coming up.

Mindset at This Stage

This period feels less exciting than scaling phases, but it’s often where real business foundations are built. Instead of chasing daily sales spikes, the focus shifts to:

stability
systems
long-term profit per customer

Those backend improvements often have a bigger cumulative impact than another headline tweak or ad creative.