Solved: Best non-paid strategies to grow a SaaS business?

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out. Happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance on your growth strategy based on what you've shared about your SaaS and where you're currently seeing traction versus where you're not.

Organic Growth: Pros and Cons

It sounds like you've done well with organic channels like founder-led content, community engagement, and some outbound automation. That's brilliant, especially for getting those initial users and building a foundation. Organic growth is invaluable because it helps build a real connection with your audience and can be very cost-effective. I've certainly seen first hand how things like getting listed on directories like Betalist or Product Hunt, which we used for one of our software clients, can bring in those crucial early adopters and feedback.

Content marketing and SEO, creating useful resources for people searching for solutions your SaaS offers, can also be a powerful long-term play. However, and you're likely seeing this, these non-paid strategies often take a significant amount of time and consistent effort to really gain momentum. Building a social following from scratch, for example, isn't a quick win. And whilst they are great, they can be difficult to scale rapidly compared to paid channels once you have a winning formula.

Understanding Why Paid Ads Haven't Worked Yet

You mentioned experimenting with paid ads but not getting traction. This is a common challenge for SaaS businesses, particularly in the B2B space, which I gather you're in. Paid advertising in B2B is inherently more complex and typically more costly because the sales cycles are longer and the decision-making process involves multiple stakeholders.

Often, when ads aren't working, it's not necessarily the *platform* or the *budget* that's teh main issue, but rather fundamental elements of the funnel and the offer itself. I've run quite a few campaigns for B2B SaaS, and while some can see ROI quite quickly, many take time to optimise because you need everything to align perfectly.

Your Offer and Website are Key

One of the most significant factors I see impacting paid ad performance for SaaS is the offer. For most SaaS products, especially newer ones or those asking businesses to change an existing process (like accounting software, for instance – based on my experience with clients in that niche), a free trial is almost essential. A demo is okay, but it requires more commitment upfront from a potential user than just signing up to poke around themselves. People want to kick the tyres properly before committing time to a demo or worse, paying upfront. Your competition are likely offering trials, sometimes for several months, and discounts to onboard new users. Without a very low barrier to entry like a free trial, your conversion rates from ad click to signup are likely to be very low, making your lead costs prohibitively high.

Equally important is your website, specifically the landing page where you send ad traffic. This page needs to be highly persuasive, clearly articulate the value proposition, and make it incredibly easy for someone to take the desired action, which is typically signing up for that free trial or a waitlist if it's pre-launch. Professional sales copy tailored to your ideal customer persona makes a huge difference here.

Choosing the Right Ad Platform for SaaS

Assuming your offer and landing page are solid, then it's about reaching the right audience on the right platform. For B2B SaaS, this usually means Google Search ads if your ideal customers are actively searching for the solution you provide. You'd target keywords related to their problems or what they might search for when looking for your type of software.

If they aren't actively searching, or if you need to reach specific decision-makers in certain industries or companies, LinkedIn Ads are usually the primary choice because of its narrow B2B targeting capabilities. While LinkedIn can be more expensive per click, the lead quality can be higher if your targeting is spot on. I've seen B2B decision-maker lead costs around $22 on LinkedIn for software clients.

Meta (Facebook/Instagram) can also work for B2B SaaS, particularly for lower-cost offers or if you can identify specific B2B targeting options available (though they are limited). We've had success for SaaS clients on Meta, achieving costs per trial around $7 and even B2B registrations for as low as $2.38 with the right creative and targeting. It really depends on your specific audience and offer.

Scalability: Where Paid Shines (Eventually)

While organic is great for building that initial buzz and community, paid advertising is usually where you turn when you want to scale consistently. Yes, there are limitations, and you can hit plateaus where costs increase as you scale. One campaign we worked on saw costs rise as we pushed spend because we were reaching saturation within the best audiences.

But unlike organic which is heavily reliant on algorithm changes and content velocity, paid offers more direct levers to pull for scaling: expanding audiences, testing new creatives, refining targeting, improving funnel conversion rates (which directly impacts CPA), increasing customer lifetime value, and eventually, expanding to other platforms. Proper split testing of creatives and audiences is crucial here.

Recommended Next Steps

Based on these thoughts, here's a summarised actionable solution:

Getting this right involves deep understanding of your specific market, continuous testing, and meticulous optimisation. It takes time and expertise to navigate, especially if you're trying to manage it alongside building your product.

If you'd like to dig deeper into your specific situation, look at your offer, website, and discuss how paid advertising could potentially fit into your growth alongside your current organic success, I'd be happy to book in a free consultation to chat through it.

Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh