Free quiz

Ads plans for online stores

This is why your ads aren’t performing.

Meta and Google earn when you spend. Their recommendations, and the AI tools that repeat them, aren’t measured against your margin. Your Off Retainer plan is.

Built from your store’s own numbers, for stores on Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Wix, Squarespace and Neto/Maropost. You run it yourself in about 30 minutes a week.

Take the free 3-minute quiz See a full sample plan

Black Friday is 27 November. Go into your biggest weeks with a plan built on your numbers: A$149, paid once. No retainer.

Our presenter in a home office, listening to someone just off camera.
The opening page of a real Off Retainer plan, made for a made-up online store called Sample Store: the plan title, tabs for its twelve sections, the “Your 30 minutes this week” checklist of five timed tasks set from the store’s own numbers (such as its MER target and the spend at which to switch an ad off), and the start of section 1, “Your plan at a glance”, with its monthly budget.
Real plan page · made-up store See the full sample plan
  • Free quiz and check-up. No card needed.
  • A registered Australian company. Check our ABN
  • Questions? Email us. We reply within one business day.

Built for businesses spending A$500–5,000 a month on Meta. Spending less or more? Your free check-up says honestly how the plan fits.

News Off Retainer · news desk As of

This week: what changed on the platforms.

Real, dated changes, each with its source and how sure we are. Your monthly action list turns them into the few changes that matter for your store.

  1. Meta adds product browsing to existing ads unless you opt out

    Reported Source: PPC Land

  2. Meta can count purchases on shoppers’ devices on eligible sites, on by default

    Announced Source: Meta Business Help Centre

  3. Meta’s new terms make you responsible for its AI features

    Confirmed Source: Meta Commercial Terms

  4. Google shows fast-shipping badges in Australia for 3-day delivery

    Confirmed Source: Google Merchant Center Help

The monthly action list: A$49 a month, optional Confirmed: on the platform’s own page. Announced: the platform says it’s coming. Reported: trade press, not yet confirmed.

Our news-desk post about Meta adding product browsing to existing ads from 28 October, with the switch shown as a diagram.
Our news-desk post with two receipts for an example store, ex GST: at full price A$43 is left and the break-even ROAS is 2.3x; at 30% off A$13.60 is left and it is 5.1x.

Who it’s for

Written for your kind of store.

Each plan starts from an in-depth plan for your type of store: how your customers decide, the offers that work, your seasons and the rules your ads must follow. Then your answers set the numbers.

Store platforms covered

  • Shopify
  • WooCommerce
  • BigCommerce
  • Wix
  • Squarespace
  • Neto/Maropost

Your setup and tracking steps follow the platform you choose in the quiz. Selling something else online? Pick the closest store type.

Not an online store? Plans for venues, salons, gyms, trades and professional practices are coming. Join the waitlist

Why it happens

Good advice, measured against the wrong number.

Most of what you hear about your ads comes from the side that’s paid when you spend more. Some of it is good. None of it is checked against your margin.

Four people around a meeting table looking over numbers together, one turning a laptop towards the others.

The advice comes from the seller.

Meta’s revenue is advertising. Its Opportunity score in Ads Manager rises when you apply its recommendations, not when your sales rise, and an auto-apply setting will apply them for you. Even Meta says a high score doesn’t mean you’ll get results.

AI tools repeat it.

Ask an AI chatbot to fix your Meta ads and you mostly get Meta’s own advice back, reworded from its help pages and the blogs built on them.

Nobody checks it against your store.

None of it is measured against your margin, your break-even ROAS or your store’s own sales. Your plan is.

Meta’s AI is good at what you tell it to do. Your plan makes sure you’re telling it the right thing.

Our presenter explaining a point to someone off camera, in a home office.

Watch

One setting, one number, one rule at a time.

Short videos from our news desk, each about a minute: what changed, why it matters to a store, and what to do about it. First up:

  • Whose advice an AI chatbot gives back when you ask it to fix your Meta ads.
  • The lesson one of our own brands paid about A$1,300 for: pick an event your budget can actually reach.
  • Why Meta’s reported ROAS and your store’s own numbers disagree.
Take the free 3-minute quiz

The free diagnosis

The causes we check first.

When a store’s ads “don’t work”, Meta’s AI is usually doing its job with bad inputs. The quiz checks your answers against the usual causes and marks each one.

Likely Worth checking Unlikely

A phone showing a free ads check-up, on a packing bench among mailer boxes.

  • Your budget can’t feed the event you’re optimising for

    Meta learns from the one result you choose. Pick one your budget can’t reach often, and it has almost nothing to learn from.

  • Your budget is split across too many ad sets

    Each ad set learns on its own. Split a small budget several ways and none of them learns.

  • You’re paying for clicks and likes, not sales

    Optimise for clicks and Meta finds people who click. Optimise for engagement and it finds people who like things.

  • Meta can’t see your sales properly

    A pixel that misses, doubles or counts your own test orders teaches Meta the wrong lesson.

  • Meta is claiming sales you’d have got anyway

    Ads shown to people who already buy from you make Meta’s numbers look better than your store’s.

  • You’re selling below break-even

    If a sale costs more in ads than it leaves you, more budget means bigger losses. Fix the offer first.

  • Meta’s AI is changing your ads

    Automatic enhancements can crop, brighten, animate or reformat your ads. Check what actually runs.

  • You’re taking Meta’s recommendations on trust

    Meta’s Opportunity score rises when you apply its recommendations, not when your sales rise, and auto-apply can switch them on without you. Test each one against your margin.

Check my store’s ads: free quiz

Black Friday to Boxing Day

Your biggest weeks, run on your numbers.

Black Friday is Friday 27 November, Cyber Monday is 30 November, then Christmas and Boxing Day. A plan costs A$149, paid once, so you can run better ads through the season without signing up to a retainer.

Hands tucking navy tissue paper into a mailer box at a workbench by a window, with more boxes stacked behind.

  1. Price the sale before you run it

    A table of what an order keeps at each discount, and the deepest discount that still makes money on your numbers.

  2. Sale ads, made before the sale

    New dated ads that start at midnight on day one and stop on the last day. Never an edit to a live ad.

  3. Your next 90 days, dated

    The sale and gifting dates for your kind of store from the month you buy, with Christmas order-by dates for how you ship.

Full priceEx GST

OrderA$100.00
Product−A$40.00
Shipping−A$15.00
Fees (2%)−A$2.00
Left before adsA$43.00
Break-even ROAS2.3x
Example store, not a result. Break-even ROAS is the order divided by what’s left.

The discount ladder

DiscountOrderLeftBreak-even ROAS
None A$100.00 A$43.00 2.3x
10% off A$90.00 A$33.20 2.7x
20% off A$80.00 A$23.40 3.4x
30% off A$70.00 A$13.60 5.1x
40% off A$60.00 A$3.80 15.8x
The same example store. The discount comes straight out of what’s left, so the ROAS you need climbs fast. Your plan works out the deepest discount that still makes money on your own numbers.

Your next 90 days2026

  1. Wed 11 NovSingles Day
  2. Fri 27 NovBlack Friday
  3. Mon 30 NovCyber Monday
  4. Mon 21 DecParcel Post send-by, interstate (metro; earlier to WA and NT)
  5. Wed 23 DecExpress Post send-by (metro; 22 Dec to WA and NT)
  6. Fri 25 DecChristmas Day
  7. Sat 26 DecBoxing Day
Some of the dates a store plan bought in November lists. Australia Post send-by dates checked 20 October 2026.

How it works

From quiz to a 30-minute week.

Our presenter in a meeting room, pointing to a simple bar chart on a wall screen as he explains it.

  1. 1 3 minutes · free

    Take the quiz, read your diagnosis

    Your store, platform, budget, offer, margin and how you run ads now. The diagnosis is instant: the causes most likely holding your ads back, and your break-even ROAS.

  2. The top of a real plan page for a made-up store: the plan title, the section tabs and the 30-minute weekly checklist.

    2 A$149 incl. GST

    Get your plan

    Twelve sections built from your answers, within one business day: a private web page, a PDF and an AI-ready version.

  3. 3 30 minutes a week

    Run it yourself

    A one-off 2–3 hour setup, then the weekly routine, plus an hour every second week making new ads.

How it works, in detail

The plans

Meta first. Google and ChatGPT ads too.

The same quiz checks the ads you run now and says which plans fit your store, with the numbers behind each answer.

Three printed sample plans fanned out on a desk.

  • Available

    Meta ads plan

    Facebook and Instagram

    Campaigns, ads, audiences and the settings to change on Facebook and Instagram, built from your margin, budget and goals.

    Your week 30 min

    Ad budget: Your choice, paid to Meta directly.

    About the Meta ads plan

  • Available

    Google Ads plan

    Google Search and Shopping

    The campaign type that fits your business, the searches to bid on and the ones to block, the settings to switch off and what to bid.

    Your week 20 min

    Ad budget: Your choice, paid to Google directly. Your plan shows the monthly amount your clicks need.

    About the Google Ads plan

  • New: a test plan

    ChatGPT ads test plan

    Ads below ChatGPT’s answers, a pilot in Australia

    A safe, fixed-budget test: tracking that sees the sale, a bid capped at your break-even cost per click, a stop rule, and how to judge it on your own sales.

    Your week 10 min, during the test

    Ad budget: At least A$350 for a 14-day test, paid to OpenAI directly.

    About the ChatGPT ads test plan

Each plan runs in about 30 minutes a week or less; all three together, about an hour. Not sure which fit? Your free check-up says which plans suit your business, with the numbers, before you pay anything.

Compare the plans side by side

What you get

Twelve sections. All of them about your store.

Action first, theory last: the first two pages tell you what to do this week.

  1. Your plan at a glance

    Your goal, budget split, the campaigns to run, the targets to expect and your 30-minute week, on one page.

  2. Why your ads aren’t delivering

    The usual causes for your type of business, with the ones your answers point to marked.

  3. One-off setup (2–3 hours)

    Foundations and tracking for your website platform and booking or store system, at the depth your experience needs.

  4. Your campaigns

    Exact build steps and settings for your budget and goal, including which result to optimise for.

  5. Your ads

    Your offer, ad angles written for your business, a hook bank, a phone-shot list and filled copy templates.

  6. Your audiences

    Location and radius, audience suggestions, customer lists, retargeting and exclusions.

  7. Your 30-minute week

    The weekly routine and a scorecard with your numbers: when to stop an ad, keep it or scale it.

  8. Your next 90 days

    Your industry’s Australian calendar, starting from the month you buy.

  9. Fixes for your website

    The top changes from a review of your site, so the click has somewhere good to land.

  10. Rules for your industry

    The advertising rules that apply to you: consumer law, alcohol, legal, health and Meta’s own policies.

  11. When something goes wrong

    What to do when ads don’t deliver, costs climb, leads are junk, an ad is rejected or the account is restricted.

  12. Use this with your AI

    An AI-ready version of your plan and a ready-made prompt, so your own AI assistant works from your numbers.

Pages from a sample plan

Sample plan page: a checklist titled "Your 30 minutes this week" with four timed tasks and a fortnightly creative hour, each with a tick box.
Your 30-minute week sits at the top of your plan. Ticks reset every week.
Sample plan page: diagnosis cause 2.1, "Your budget can’t feed the event you’re optimising for", marked "Likely, from your answers", with what’s happening and how to spot it.
Every cause is marked from your answers, with how to spot it and the fix.
Sample plan page: "Your numbers", listing average order, break-even cost per purchase, break-even ROAS, customer value, targets and an MER target.
Your break-even point and targets, worked out from your answers.

Sample pages from a plan for a made-up online store. The store and its numbers are invented for the sample.

Read the full sample plan

Real results

From online stores: our own brands, and our clients’.

Three of the 15 online-store results we publish. Each shows what happened alongside a change, with the numbers.

From a client's account

Several ad sets folded into one

A client's online store consolidated several ad sets into one, at similar spend.

BeforeAfter
Ad spend A$6,540A$6,840
Purchases 131205
Cost per purchase A$49.92A$33.37
ROAS 2.44x3.81x
From a client's account

A second-piece offer

A client's fashion store ran a second-piece offer.

BeforeAfter
Ad spend A$8,190A$8,820
Average order value A$113A$139
Purchases 203235
Cost per purchase A$40.34A$37.53
ROAS 2.80x3.70x
From our own accounts

Optimising for purchases with no purchase history

One of our own online brands was new, with no purchase history, and optimised for purchases anyway. Delivery drifted to people aged 45+ in the Facebook feed.

Spent optimising for purchases ~A$1,300
Purchase events Meta received 0
Real add-to-carts in 18 days ~5
The lesson we now build into every plan: pick an event your budget can actually reach.

From client accounts and our own venues and online brands, anonymised. Individual results vary. Results disclaimer

See every result

Pricing

One plan A$149. Any two A$249. All three A$349.

Every price is up front and includes GST. Any mix of plans. The audit and the monthly list are up to you.

The plans

Plans built from your numbers

One plan
A$149
Any two plans
A$249
All three plans
A$349

Incl. GST, paid once. No subscription unless you add the monthly list.

  • Pick any mix: Meta ads plan, Google Ads plan or ChatGPT ads test plan
  • Each plan has 12 sections, built from your quiz answers
  • A private web page, a PDF and an AI-ready version of each
  • Targets, campaigns, ads, a 90-day calendar and the rules for your industry
  • About 30 minutes a week or less per plan, after a one-off setup
  • Arrives within one business day by private link
  • Add another plan later for A$100, the difference
Start with the free quiz

The quiz builds your plans, so every plan starts there.

Plan + account audit

Your Meta plan, checked against your live numbers

A$399 incl. GST, one-off

With two or three plans, the audit adds A$250. The Meta plan must be one of them.

  • Everything in the Meta ads plan
  • An audit of your Ads Manager exports and your sales or enquiry numbers: what we found, with the numbers
  • A dated fix list built into your plan, and what to leave alone
  • A re-audit after 30 days: what changed since your audit
  • For businesses already running Meta ads. Upload your exports, about 10 minutes. No account access, no sales calls
  • If your audit doesn’t find at least three changes worth making, you get a full refund.
Start with the free quiz

Meta only for now. Offered in your check-up if you already run Meta ads. Bought the plan already? Add the audit later for A$250, the difference. It finds the problems and sets out the fixes; it can’t promise results.

Optional add-on

Monthly action list

A$49 a month, incl. GST

  • One price covers every plan you own
  • The changes to make each month because of what changed on Meta, Google or in ChatGPT ads, matched to your plans
  • Billed at checkout, then monthly. Pause or cancel any time

It’s a separate tick box at checkout, off unless you choose it. The plans work without it.

  • Secure checkout by Stripe. We never see or store your card details.
  • Arrives within one business day by private link, with a PDF.
  • Tax invoice emailed. Every price includes GST.
  • Not right? We fix it, replace it or refund you. Refund policy
  • Questions first? hello@offretainer.com. We reply within one business day.

Pay by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Your ad budget is paid to Meta, Google or OpenAI directly, never to us. A ChatGPT ads test needs at least A$350 (A$25 a day for 14 days).

Our promise

If your plan isn’t tailored to the answers you gave, is materially wrong, or doesn’t arrive, we’ll fix it, replace it or refund you. Change your mind before it arrives and we refund you in full; there are no change-of-mind refunds once it’s delivered, and nobody can guarantee ad results. Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law always apply. Refund policy

The audit guarantee. If your audit doesn’t find at least three changes worth making, you get a full refund. It’s a promise about what the audit finds, not about your ad results.

Questions

Straight answers.

What is Off Retainer?

Off Retainer makes personalised ads plans for Australian online stores: a Meta (Facebook and Instagram) ads plan, a Google Ads plan and a ChatGPT ads test plan. You answer a 3-minute quiz, get a free diagnosis, and can then buy plans built from your own numbers: A$149 for one plan, any two A$249, all three A$349, incl. GST. You run the ads yourself. Each plan runs in about 30 minutes a week or less; all three together, about an hour.

Do you do Google Ads and ChatGPT ads too?

Yes. The Google Ads plan picks the campaign type that fits your business, the searches to bid on and block, the settings to switch off and what to bid, and judges it on sales or signed clients. The ChatGPT ads test plan sets up a safe, fixed-budget test with a stop rule, and caps your bid at your break-even, so a click never costs more than it’s worth. Ads in ChatGPT are a pilot, so it promises no results. The same free quiz covers them. Compare the plans.

Who is it for?

Online stores: fashion and apparel, beauty and skincare, jewellery and accessories, and home and lifestyle, on Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Wix, Squarespace and Neto/Maropost. Selling something else online? Pick the closest store type in the quiz. Supplement, food and alcohol stores have extra advertising rules, so they aren’t covered yet. Restaurants, cafés, bars, accommodation, function venues, accountants, lawyers, salons, gyms, real estate agents and builders come next: join the waitlist and we’ll email you when yours is ready. Built for businesses spending A$500–5,000 a month on Meta. Below that, the plan still works but Meta takes longer to learn; above it, the plan + account audit is usually the better fit, and your free check-up says so.

Does it work with my store platform?

Yes, if your store runs on Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Wix, Squarespace and Neto/Maropost. The quiz asks which one, and your plan’s setup and tracking steps follow it. There’s nothing of ours to install, and we never need access to your store or ad accounts.

What does the free quiz give me?

A diagnosis worked out from your answers: the causes most likely holding your ads back, marked Likely, Worth checking or Unlikely, plus the key numbers from your answers, including your break-even ROAS. The quiz and diagnosis are free. The full plan is A$149.

How much time does it take?

A one-off setup of 2–3 hours, then about 30 minutes a week: check three numbers, switch off what isn’t working, add new ads, read replies. Online stores add an hour every second week making new ads, because stores need fresh creative more often.

Do I need to know Ads Manager already?

No. The quiz asks how experienced you are. Beginners get the full setup, step by step. If you already run ads, setup becomes a checklist and the plan spends more time on structure and creative.

How is the plan personalised?

Every plan starts from an in-depth plan written for your type of business. Our own calculations then set your targets, budget split, campaigns, offer, audiences and calendar from your quiz answers, and the finished plan is checked against your answers before it’s sent.

Is my plan written by AI?

Partly, and on a short lead. Parts of each plan are written with AI from our own rules and the numbers in your answers, such as your ad angles in your business’s words. AI doesn’t make up the advice or guess the numbers: every rule comes from our industry plans, every number is worked out from your answers by our own calculations, and every plan is checked against your answers before it’s sent.

When do I get my plan?

Within one business day of buying. We email you a private link to your plan, with a PDF and an AI-ready version. The link works for at least 12 months, and the PDF is yours to keep. Your free diagnosis is instant. If your plan hasn’t arrived in that time, email hello@offretainer.com and we’ll sort it out.

Can I use it with my own AI assistant?

Yes. Every plan comes with an AI-ready version and a ready-made prompt, so your AI assistant works from your margin, budget and goals instead of generic advice.

Do you need access to my ad account?

No. You keep full control of your ad accounts, your Page and your spend. Your ad budget is paid to Meta, Google or OpenAI directly, separate from the price of the plan.

Will my ads definitely improve?

No one can promise that, and we don’t. Results depend on your product, offer, website, budget and market. The plan shows you what to change and which numbers to watch, so you can see for yourself whether your ads pay their way.

What if my plan isn’t right?

If it isn’t tailored to the answers you gave, is materially wrong, or doesn’t arrive, we’ll fix it, replace it or refund you. Change your mind before it arrives and we refund you in full. There are no change-of-mind refunds once a plan is delivered, and your rights under the Australian Consumer Law always apply. See the refund policy.

What’s the difference between the plan and the plan + account audit?

The plan is built from your quiz answers. The plan + account audit adds a check of your live numbers: you upload your Ads Manager exports and your sales or enquiry totals, and your plan gains an audit section with what we found, a dated fix list and what to leave alone, plus a re-audit after 30 days. The audit is offered only if you already run Meta ads. If your audit doesn’t find at least three changes worth making, you get a full refund.

Is Off Retainer part of Meta, Google or OpenAI?

No. That’s the point: your plan is measured against your results, not anyone’s ad revenue.

Who’s behind Off Retainer?

A small Australian business. Off Retainer is a business name of Pique Your Interest Pty Ltd, ABN 79 696 987 425, and you can check it on ABN Lookup. It’s run by an Australian operator with hospitality, e-commerce and client ad-management experience, who runs Meta ads for their own venues and online brands every week. We don’t put personal names on the site, to keep our own businesses and our clients private. More about us.

How do I contact you?

Email hello@offretainer.com. We reply within one business day, Monday to Friday, Australian Eastern time. A person reads every email, and there are no sales calls.

Before you buy

Who you’re buying from

A small Australian business that runs Meta ads for its own online brands and venues every week. Here’s everything you can check.

A registered company

Off Retainer is a business name of Pique Your Interest Pty Ltd, ABN 79 696 987 425. Check it on ABN Lookup.

A person answers

Email hello@offretainer.com. We reply within one business day, Monday to Friday, Australian Eastern time.

A promise in writing

Not right? We fix it, replace it or refund you. Your Australian Consumer Law rights always apply.

The audit guarantee. If your audit doesn’t find at least three changes worth making, you get a full refund. Refund policy

Our standards

  • No promised results.
  • No access to your ad account.
  • Every price up front, incl. GST.
  • No countdowns, no “spots left”.

Who’s behind Off Retainer, and how we build your plan

Find out what’s holding your store’s ads back.

Three minutes, free, and the diagnosis is worked out from your own answers. Your full plan is A$149 incl. GST if you want it.

Take the free 3-minute quiz

Free quiz and check-up. No card needed. Questions? Email us.