Organic Growth vs. Paid Growth | 52
We all know that growing your teacherpreneur business takes time, consistency and effort. But does it also need to cost money? In this week’s episode of Market, Scale, Grow we’re diving into the differences between organic and paid growth.
There are a lot of different ways you can grow your business from organic strategies like reels, collabs and SEO to paid strategies like giveaways and ads.
—> Some of these methods are great.
—> Some are expensive.
—> Some of them are downright silly.
Here are my thoughts on the good, bad and ugly of paid growth
Ugliest of all uglies
Giveaways! IMO these are a huge waste of money. Who is joining your list/follower count? Why did they join? Was it because they like your content/offer or because they like getting an iPad? If you’re gonna do a giveaway (I did one this week…) then make sure it is something that will attract your ideal people… People who want what you’re offering. I didn’t pay for mine… My goal was to increase engagement and awareness within my current following NOT drum up a bunch of uninterested new people. Just be clear on your goals…
The Bad
Paid advertising can be a lot of work because there are frequent changes to keep up with and honestly, it is one more thing to do. You may even feel like it’s expensive and pointless, especially if you aren’t exactly sure what you’re doing.
Good
I’ve been able to grow my own email list and over a dozen clients’ email lists using paid ads. The return on investment with a bigger email list can be felt for months or even years down the road.
Using paid ads is a great way to intentionally and sustainably build your business.
It’s really important to remember that all "real" businesses have a marketing budget. While you may start by putting a lot of time into your marketing initially, eventually it’ll be time to shift into paid marketing. I highly recommend that your first step is putting ad spend behind growing your list.
What’s your biggest takeaway from this week’s episode? Let me know on IG (@heyitsjenzaia)
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Episode Transcript:
Hey there I'm in Jenzaia. And this is market scale growth. A podcast created for ambitious teacherpreneurs, looking to have a bigger impact on the world. Achieve freedom, flexibility, and ultimately make more. With weekly strategy sessions and inspiring stories from fellow teachers, just like you. My goal here is to help you create a customized marketing strategy so you can grow your teacher business beyond your wildest dreams.
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I am Uber excited because I have a free live event coming up on December 15th at 8:30 PM. Eastern standard time. I'm going to share with you my three keys to growing your email list full of dream clients. And I want you there with me. This is your invitation. If you want intentional, authentic, and sustainable growth of your email list using Facebook ads without unpredictable results, without having to figure it all out yourself, and without feeling like you've wasted your money, then head to marketscalegrow.com/threekeys
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Welcome back to market scale, grow my name's Jenzaia.
And this is a Saturday strategy session today. We are going to be diving into organic growth versus paid growth. And I'm really, really excited. Because I actually have an exciting offer for you. If you are listening to this the day, this goes live November 27th and it is black Friday weekend, I guess it's technically, actually Thanksgiving weekend.
I'm Canadian. So we had Thanksgiving like a month ago, but in the states, it is Thanksgiving weekend right now. And that means black Friday deals. And I actually have a really, really exciting one happening right now. It ends today at midnight. So November 27th at midnight, head to my Instagram at, Hey it's Jenzaia so that you can find out all of the details. I am super pumped about it, and yea I really want you to find out, learn more and join us, head to my Instagram, find more.
This episode is all about organic growth versus pays growth. So let's just talk about the different types of organic growth so you can have, and I would probably say that this would be like, quote-unquote, the most basic or old-school way. And that is SEO, valuable content. So from your blog podcast, video content, that would be your searchable content, your long-form content. And you can use Pinterest to get that out. You can use social media to get that out. You can do giveaways or collaborations like those like Five For Friday, whatever it is to get more eyes on your blog.
But the best thing about the long-form content is that it is searchable. So if somebody says, I want to learn more about organic growth. And they might stumble across my podcast and then there's a new listener and that's how that grows. The next way is collaborations. So some examples would be conferences or events that you do with other people through Facebook groups, you can find people to collaborate with.
Or you can actually present for a Facebook group if you are an expert on something and then joint lives. And so this is my favorite one where you go live with somebody, either on Facebook or Instagram. And you talk about one or both of your areas of specialty something I didn't list. And I can't believe I didn't list it but would be. Guesting for someone else. So for example, I have guests podcast episodes, but you can also be like a guest blog writer, or you could do a guest video appearance. So being a guest on somebody else's long-form content, then you kind of get both, you get the collaboration. Because you're with somebody else's audience, but you also get that SEO power to being a guest on someone else's long-form content is a great way.
And then my third type of organic growth is relevant right now. And it's the short-form video content. So Tik TOK, videos, and reels have insane reach and are really great ways to help grow your audience, organically.
Now the types of paid growth, there are giveaways that you pay to join, and then you either post or maybe you're a ghost in the giveaway. You can also do ads. Now there are tons of different types of ads and I'm only going to list some of them. And then we can kind of talk about why you would do different ones. So Facebook ads, Instagram ads, Google ads, YouTube ads, tick-tock ads, LinkedIn ads, promoted pins on Pinterest. Again, that's just some of them, you can also get a billboard or a radio ad or on TV.
Those last ones are a little bit more old-school and much more relevant locally. So if you have a local brick-and-mortar store or a restaurant, anything that is like zip code, Orthodontist, regular dentists lawyers real estate agents. All those people would probably have more success relying on a billboard or a radio ad than an online one.
Might be because the online business is not geographically locked in place. Right? But those are all types of paid growth strategies. Let's talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly of paid growth. I'm going to start out with the ugly and that is a giveaway. I'm specifically thinking about those Instagram giveaways, where you can win a Peloton or three iMacs, or I guess iPads usually, or an apple lodge or whatever it is, teacher supplies for September, whatever it is.
And there are like 40 different people. Everyone shares the image on their Instagram. You get a thousand new people who follow you in three days and it's great. Or is it I've never actually been in one, I've been accepted to three of them, but I've never actually participated so full disclosure there I've never actually participated, but the cost of them was anywhere from 25 to $40 to get a thousand followers.
Now, The reason that these ones are under the ugly list is that who is actually joining your Instagram, who is following you with this? Well, people who want to win an iPad or a Peloton or those school supplies. That's like a lot of people. And it probably isn't your ideal client also, what's their motivation.
Is it that they like what you offer? Or is it that they want something free? Do they even remember who you are? Probably not for this. You're getting like random people who probably aren't your ideal client, probably aren't going to buy from you, and might just unsubscribe. So paying to be in a giveaway, paying to get more followers for me is just a waste of money and is not going to help you in the long run.
What's the bad of paid growth? So the platforms, especially recently have been changing frequently. They're trying to keep up with new privacy regulations and trying to keep their algorithms to keep the users happy. And it can be really hard and a lot of work to keep up with those changes, especially if you are also trying to run a business.
So that is hard. Ads are one more thing to add to your to-do list because there are more stipulations, more rules around ads than there are for organic posts. For example, in an ad, I can't talk about specific topics. Weight, money as in like any kind of money, like promises, guarantees that you're going to make money.
You can't talk about drugs or alcohol or gambling, which I don't talk about any of those things anyway. But if something I post is taken as any of those topics by the algorithm. Then I'm S.O.L. I can't run the ads. So for example, a long time ago, when my business was still all focused on math, I tried to promote.
A Halloween math activity where students would measure pumpkins in different ways. And the picture actually had a pumpkin and then there was a measuring tape, some blocks, a ruler, and a couple of other non-standard measurements. And it was just an Instagram post that I was promoting for engagement and it got declined.
The only thing that I and the like three or four other people who looked at the ad could figure out is that there was a measuring tape. And we were talking about measuring and it was misconstrued as a weight issue because it was under that guideline. Like it tells you which guideline it's being declined for or rejected for.
And so that, that was what we could come up with is that they were misconstruing my grade two measurement activity for a weight. It can be really frustrating when that happens. So there's definitely a lot more work that goes into running ads. Also, it can feel like, especially if you're not really sure what you're doing, where you're going, what's normal. What's not normal.
It can feel like it's a little bit. And that you're wasting money. That you're just like, you might as well just throw money down the drain when you're running ads properly. And you've, you know, what metrics to look at and what you should be tweaking based on the data then the ad should be more like an ATM machine or a slot machine.
But this is an amazing slot machine that every time you put in $5, you get $10 out. It can be a lot of work to get to that point. The good of paid advertisements. Number one, you are able to get intentional, authentic, and sustainable growth. Number two, if you follow the data, then you will be able to improve your return on ad spend.
And you'll see those returns that are like the slot machine that you put in $5 and you always get $10 out. And so using ads, once you collected the data and you're following the numbers. It can help bring some stability to your business. Now, my favorite way, if you know anything about me, my favorite way to use Facebook ads is to grow your email list and the difference between having a hundred people on your email list to a thousand people, to 10,000 people is just in.
The bigger your email list is the more security you have in it. Now I say that with the caveat, assuming that you are regularly scrubbing your list. So you're only keeping the most highly engaged people on your list. Now I know that it's hard to scrub the list and lose 10, 2300 people, whatever it may be, but it's important because generally speaking.
If you have an engaged list, you should be able to sell to one or two, maybe even 3% of that list. So let's go with 2%. If you sell to 2% of 100 people, then that is two people, your course is $197. So now you've made $300. 2% of a thousand is 20. Now you've made $3,000, 2% of 10,000 is 200 people. And so now you've gone from making $300.
Sorry, my, my math is totally off. So if your course is $197, then you're making $400. If you only have a hundred people on your list, you're making $4,000. If you have a thousand people, and if you have 10,000 people in your email list and you're able to convert 2% of them. Then that's 200 people, and you're now looking at a $40,000 launch, which is just insane, which is just insane.
There's so much security with a bigger list because. You own that list. I could go on and on and on why there's more security, but you own that list. So let's just say everything you have today disappears, except your email list. You can turn around tomorrow, promote that brand new thing to your email list, and wallah you're back in business.
If you have more people, and if you're using paid advertisements to grow your email list, then the return on ads. Just continues because you can continue to market to those people. You can continue to nurture those relationships and sell to them time and time again. So here's where the real work begins.
There is definitely a mindset shift that needs to happen when you are going from organic growth to paid growth. And especially, I think as teachers, we often have a lack mindset that we need to get over and shift from our business, being a hobby or a side hustle into looking at it as a real business.
And when you have a real business and I put real in quotation marks, but when you have a real business, you need a marketing budget. Let's think about shark tank. Very rarely. Do you hear people going on shark tank and when they're asked to say, like, share how they're going to be spending that money very rarely do they say, well, definitely not.
Almost always marketing is a significant portion of the money that they're going to be getting from the investors because marketing is what moves your business forward. That keeps it growing intentionally, authentically, and sustainably. And especially that sustainable piece. Yes, your business probably started as a side hustle or as a hobby, but once it transitions into a real business, paying for marketing is an extremely important and powerful piece.
And if it's not right, then it will impact your business positively for years to come. And so I really just want you to think about that and maybe journal on it a little bit. If you don't feel like paying for advertising is worth your money at this point. And I want you to really think, like, why do you feel that.
What part of it is making you feel nervous or scared? Is it that your business is too small? Is it that ads are expensive? Is it that you don't understand the tech that's involved? Really? And I would love it if you shared this with me, send me a DM on Instagram. I'm @HeyitsJenzaia I would love to know, and I'd love to chat with you and I help to break through that because.
Yes, organic growth is extremely important, but in today's marketing and today's digital era that we're in, organic growth is hard organic growth takes a really long time. And it really is the difference between your business scaling within one to three years or your business staying a side hustle or a hobby for those one to three years.
So I hope that this has given you a bit of insight on the importance of paying for advertisements and the difference between not paying for them and paying for them and a little bit of what you should avoid and where you should really go to. And if you're thinking like, yes, I want to do this, but maybe I should hire then go back and listen to episode 51.
That's the last one that I did. And it talks all about. How to know when you're ready to hire a Facebook ad strategist, but like with anything else you need to really think about your business and what would make the most sense for you? Sometimes that'll be Pinterest. Sometimes that'll be Facebook and Instagram.
Sometimes it will be Google ads. So really just thinking about the differences, how are your people. Going to be searching for you. Would it make sense for them to just see an ad as they're scrolling Instagram or Facebook, or would you prefer that they're specifically searching for you? That means Google ads might be better.
Do you do a lot of video content? So YouTube ads might be the best. So really just thinking, like, where are your ideal clients and how would they be. Most responsive to coming across your advertisements. If you are a plumber, then me scrolling through Instagram and seeing an ad for a plumber. I don't need a plumber. It doesn't really make sense, but if I'm Googling plumbers in Southwestern, Ontario, and your ad comes up, then that would be much more relevant.
Before I wrap up, remind you that I have an exciting live free event that is coming up on December 15th. If you haven't signed up yet, then head to marketscalegrow.com/threekeys. I would love, love, love to have you there. And thank you again for listening and being on this journey with me. I have a guest episode coming up for you. Saturday. So be ready for that.
Thank you for listening to today's episode today was brought to you by my absolute favorite customer management tool. If you're looking to streamline and systematize your service-based business, I highly recommend Dubsado for 20% off of your first month. Head to marketscalegrow.com/dubsado
And use the code at checkout. And don't forget to head to our community at marketscalegrow.com/community where you'll find inspiring ambitious teacher burners who are looking to grow and scale their businesses. Just like you. See you soon.