Beyond PPC Dependency: The New Growth Playbook for 2025

Sponsored by

Read time: 5 minutes.

Welcome to the 150th edition of The Growth Elements Newsletter. Every Monday and sometimes on Thursday, I write an essay on growth metrics & experiments and business case studies.

Today’s piece is for 8,000+ founders, operators, and leaders from businesses such as Shopify, Google, Hubspot, Zoho, Freshworks, Servcorp, Zomato, Razorpay and Zoom.

Today’s The Growth Elements (TGE) is brought to you by:

Unlock the Power of AI With the Complete Marketing Automation Playbook

Discover how to scale smarter with AI-driven workflows that actually work. This playbook delivers:

• A detailed audit framework for your current marketing workflows

• Step-by-step guidance for choosing the right AI-powered automations

• Pro tips for improving personalization without losing the human touch

Built to help you automate the busy work and focus on work that actually makes an impact.

Steal the Playbook

Keep This Stock on Your Watchlist

They’re a private company, but Pacaso just reserved the Nasdaq ticker “$PCSO.” No surprise the same firms that backed Uber and Venmo also backed Pacaso. What is unique is that 10,000+ regular people joined them. Founded by a former Zillow exec, Pacaso has earned $110M+ in gross profits to date. Until 9/18, you can join, too.

Invest While You Still Can

_{Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.}

^{Thank you for supporting our sponsors, who keep this newsletter free.}

The Crisis: "Paid acquisition costs are killing us!" Every growth team right now.

The Question: "How do I diversify from expensive PPC?"

The Answer: Build channels that compound, not channels that cost.

"Beyond PPC Dependency: How We Cut Paid Reliance from 58% to 38%"

The Wake-Up Call: Facebook CPMs up 200%. Google CPC is increasing 25% year-over-year. Your CAC is now higher than your LTV.

Strategy That Works:

[1] Month 1-3: The Foundation

• Audit current channel mix: Most companies discover 60-80% dependence on paid

• Identify owned asset gaps: Email list, content library, community engagement

• Set diversification targets: Aim for 40% owned, 30% earned, 30% paid

[2] Month 4-6: The Transition

• Launch content engine: Target keywords your paid ads already convert on.

• Build email automation: Nurture sequences for every stage of the funnel.

• Start community seeding: Engage where your customers already hang out.

[3] Month 7-12: The Compound Effect

• Organic traffic overtakes paid: Organic content begins to rank and convert.

• Email becomes top revenue driver: Owned audience delivers consistent results.

• Word-of-mouth accelerates: Community effects create viral coefficients.

Real Numbers:

• Month 1: 58% paid, 25% organic, 17% direct/referral

• Month 12: 38% paid, 35% organic, 27% earned media

• Result: 40% reduction in blended CAC, 65% improvement in payback period

"PSEO Engine: 650% Traffic Growth in 6 Months"

The Problem: Creating content is slow. Ranking content is slower. Scaling content feels impossible.

The Solution: Systematic content production that targets thousands of keywords simultaneously.

[1] Step 1: Keyword Universe Mapping (Week 1)

• Extract seed keywords from your best-performing paid campaigns.

• Use competitor analysis tools like Ahrefs/SEMrush to identify their ranking keywords.

• Long-tail expansion: Each seed keyword becomes 50-100 variations.

• Search volume filtering: Focus on 100-1,000 monthly searches (less competition).

[2] Step 2: Content Template Creation (Week 2-3)

• Identify content patterns: "How to [action] for [industry]" templates.

• Build modular frameworks: Introduction, problem, solution, case study, conclusion.

• Create dynamic elements: Industry-specific examples, tool recommendations.

• Optimise for featured snippets: Structured data, clear answers, bullet points.

[3] Step 3: Production Scaling (Month 2-4)

• Batch content creation: Write 20 similar articles in single sessions.

• Template automation: Use tools like Notion/Airtable for content databases.

• Quality control systems: Editorial checklists, fact-checking processes.

• Internal linking strategy: Connect related content for topic cluster authority.

[4] Step 4: Distribution Amplification (Month 4-6)

• Email newsletter integration: Every new article goes to subscribers first.

• Social media atomization: One article becomes 10 social posts.

• Community seeding: Share relevant content in industry groups.

• Backlink outreach: Target websites that linked to competitor content.

The Results Framework:

• Month 1: 50 articles published, 2,000 monthly organic visitors

• Month 3: 200 articles indexed, 8,000 monthly organic visitors

• Month 6: 500+ articles ranking, 15,000+ monthly organic visitors

• Conversion rate: 12% higher than paid traffic (higher intent)

"Community-Led Growth for B2B SaaS: Why It's Your New Unfair Advantage"

The Insight: Your customers are already gathering in communities. You're just not there yet.

The Opportunity: Communities have 10 times higher engagement than social media and 5 times better conversion rates.

Community Strategy Framework

[1] Phase 1: Community Intelligence (Month 1)

• Map existing communities: Slack groups, Discord servers, Reddit communities, industry forums.

• Identify key conversations: What problems are discussed most frequently?

• Find community leaders: Who gets the most engagement and responses?

• Audit competitor presence: Where are they active? What's working for them?

[2] Phase 2: Value-First Engagement (Month 2-3)

• Become genuinely helpful: Answer questions without pitching your product.

• Share relevant content: Your blog posts, industry insights, and useful tools.

• Host community events: AMAs, workshops, co-working sessions.

• Create exclusive resources: Templates, guides, and tools only for community members.

[3] Phase 3: Community Ownership (Month 4-6)

• Launch your own community: Slack workspace, Discord server, Circle community.

• Migrate engaged members: Invite your biggest supporters to join.

• Create exclusive value: Early access, direct founder access, peer connections.

• Facilitate peer-to-peer connections: Introductions, collaboration opportunities.

[4] Phase 4: Revenue Generation (Month 6+)

• Product feedback loops: Community drives feature development.

• User-generated content: Case studies, testimonials, success stories.

• Referral acceleration: Members recommend to their networks.

• Upsell opportunities: Natural upgrade conversations within the community.

B2B Community Playbook:

• Slack/Discord for real-time engagement: Daily conversations, quick questions.

• Circle/Mighty Networks for structured content: Courses, resources, long-form discussions.

• LinkedIn groups for professional networking: Industry thought leadership.

• Reddit for authentic conversations: Problem-solving, honest feedback.

ROI Metrics That Matter:

• Engagement rate: 25-40% monthly active users (vs 2-5% on social media)

• Conversion rate: 15-25% community-to-trial (vs 2-3% cold traffic)

• LTV multiplier: Community members have 3x higher retention rates

• Referral generation: 40% of new customers come from community referrals

Channel Integration Playbook

The Reality: These channels work best together, not in isolation.

The Compound Effect Strategy:

• SEO content feeds email lists: Every article includes newsletter signup.

• Email nurtures community growth: Regular invites to join discussions.

• Community generates content ideas: Member questions become blog posts.

• All channels reduce paid acquisition costs: Higher-intent traffic converts better.

Resource Allocation Framework:

• 40% Content/SEO: Long-term asset building, traffic generation.

• 30% Community: Relationship building, retention, referrals.

• 20% Email: Nurturing, conversion optimisation, customer retention.

• 10% Experimentation: New channels, partnership testing.

Bottom Line: The companies that survive rising acquisition costs aren't the ones that find cheaper ads. They're the ones that build audiences they own.

Stop renting your growth. Start owning it.

That's it for today's article! I hope you found this essay insightful.

Wishing you a productive week ahead!

I always appreciate you reading.

Thanks,
Chintankumar Maisuria