If you always wonder where you should focus your marketing and advertising efforts, then read on to finally settle the battle: organic vs paid advertising.
In solo Episode 71 of the Marketing Matrix Podcast, I share the foundational pieces you need before even asking yourself the organic versus paid question. I bust myths about paid and organic methods, and I also explore the right mindset for deciding which path to use.
Here are some of the most notable takeaways:
Common Misconceptions on Organic vs Paid Marketing
I constantly hear people say that organic works, and paid doesn’t. Or paid works, and organic doesn’t. So, which is it? Here are some things I hear often about paid vs organic marketing—and they’re all wrong.
- “Organic takes time, and paid takes money.” Wrong.
- “Organic brings better quality, but a smaller quantity of leads.” Wrong.
- “Paid is the only way to scale, but it brings in lower quality leads.” Wrong.
- “Paid traffic is the only way to get in front of new people.” Wrong.
- “You have to pay to play.” Wrong.
- “You shouldn’t use paid ads until you hit $10K months.” Wrong.
- “You cannot scale without paid traffic.” Wrong.
- “You’re a hypocrite if you do both paid and organic methods.” Wrong.
These are all false. They’re all misconceptions.
Here is what’s really true about organic and paid marketing.
Your Message Is The Most Important
Everything has to do with your message.
When you pay for traffic, you’re simply paying to have your message placed in certain places. No matter which you choose (organic vs paid), the goal is to get your message in front of people. But if your message is not clear, then putting paid traffic behind it is not going to help.
Facebook ads will not fix a broken system.
We can think of it like a match and gasoline. With organic efforts, you light your match and build the flame with kindling and wood. When you pour gasoline onto the bonfire, it’s going to explode. Now, let’s say you take a lit match but you don’t nurture the flame, but you just pour a bunch of gasoline right onto it. What will happen? The match is going to go out.
Ultimately, the clarity of your message is more important than it is about the type of traffic you’re using. If your message is not strong enough, it’s not going to work.
Find a System and Process That Works
To really win at paid advertising, you need to take the time to craft a repeatable and predictable system organically first. Then, you can automate and expand on that through paid traffic.
People often think that paid ads are what will scale your business. For the most part, that’s true. You do need paid ads to scale your business, but first and foremost you need to make sure your offer is profitable to begin with. You do this with an organic system in place.
Newsflash: just because you have a funnel, a product, or an ad, does not mean the universe owes you money! In the battle of organic vs paid marketing, both lose if you don’t have system and processes in place.
Two Truths in Organic and Paid Marketing
We looked at a lot of misconceptions in the paid versus organic debate, but here are two important truths to understand:
First truth: Paid and organic promote the same message and offer. The message might slightly differ due to advertising policies, but the core of the message is the same. The outcome and call to action are absolutely the same, no matter what.
Second truth: Both paid and organic methods take time and money. Yes: paid ads will cost you money. And organic methods take time, but there are different outcomes.
To illustrate this point: in my personal business, I count my podcast expenses against the income of my agency. I could use the money spent on my podcast to run ads, but when the ads are off the marketplace, my platform disappears. With podcasting and other similar organic efforts, it allows you to test messages, build brand fans, create repeat customers, work in a cheaper way, and create a sustainable platform to build a following.
Ask “When” Instead of “Which One”
The paid vs organic battle doesn’t have to be “which one.” The better question is, “When should you do each?”
Use organic methods when you:
- Are proving a new offer
- Have more time than money
- Are looking to build an audience of brand fans
Use paid methods when you:
- Have more money than time
- Are looking to quickly test a concept
- When you have a short timeline
- When you have systems in place for your business that can handle growth
Think differently from the conversations happening about organic versus paid marketing efforts. They both win!