Solved: Launching a SaaS Tool and Unsure About Sales Strategy

Hi there,

Happy to give you some of my initial thoughts and guidance on launching your SaaS tool. It's a common spot to be in – you've put all the effort into building a great product, and now the tricky part is getting it in front of the right people. It's good you've got beta users giving you feedback, that's a brilliant start.

Let's walk through how I'd approach this based on my experience running these sorts of campaigns.

We'll need to look at your launch strategy...

You asked about organic growth versus paid ads. Honestly, it’s not really an either/or question, they work together. But at the start, you have to be realistic about what each can acheive.

Organic growth on platforms like X and LinkedIn is great for building a community and brand presence, but it's a slow burn. It takes a huge amount of time and effort to create content consistently, and getting real traction can take months, if not longer. I've seen lots of founders get bogged down trying to be everywhere at once, and they end up spreading themselves too thin and not making a real impact anywhere.

You mentioned platforms like Product Hunt or Betalist. These are definately worth looking at for a launch. They can get you a quick burst of attention from early adopters and some valuable initial feedback. But this is usually a one-off spike, not a sustainable way to get to hundreds of paying users.

Paid ads, on the other hand, are designed for one thing: getting results quickly. It costs money, of course, but it's scalable. If you find a campaign that works, you can put more budget behind it and directly grow your user base. This is how you'll most likely get to 'hundreds of paying users' in a reasonable timeframe. The trick is not to waste money while you figure out what works.

I'd say you need to get your offer right first...

Before you even think about spending a single pound on ads, we need to talk about your website and your offer. This is the single biggest mistake I see SaaS founders make. They drive traffic to a page that just doesn't convert, and then wonder why their ads are so expensive. The best ads in the world can't fix a weak offer or a confusing website.

I've run quite a few campaigns for B2B SaaS, and the ones that succeed almost always have a few things in common. First, they make it incredibly easy for a potential customer to try the product. You're selling a new tool. Businesses are busy and risk-averse. They're not going to pay for something they've never used, especially when it involves changing their current workflow. You need to have a completely free trial. Not a demo, a proper, self-serve free trial. This is non-negotiable in todays market. One campaign we worked on saw their cost per trial drop after they perfected their free trial onboarding flow.

Think about your competition. They're probably offering generous trials and big discounts to get people in the door. You have to compete with that. Your beta users love the tool, which is great, but they are a warm audience. Cold traffic from an ad needs a much more compelling reason to even give you their email address.

You also need to be brutally honest about your messaging. Is your main selling point something businesses actually care about? I worked with a SaaS company once that was focused on privacy for their accounting software. It sounds good, but their customers cared more about reliability and specific features. We had to rework their entire landing page copy to focus on solving tangible business problems before the campaigns started working.

You'll need a landing page with really persuasive, proffesional copy that speaks directly to your ideal customer's pain points and shows how your tool is the solution. This is often an afterthought, but it's probably the most important part of your entire sales funnel.

You probably should decide on the right ad platform...

Once your offer and landing page are solid, then we can talk about ads. Your question about Meta vs. Google is the right one to ask. The answer depends entirely on who your ideal customer is and how they search for solutions.

-> Google Search Ads: Is your tool something that people are actively searching for? For instance, are they typing "project management tool for small agencies" or "automated invoicing software" into Google? If so, Search ads are likely your best bet. You're capturing intent. These people have a problem and are looking for a fix right now. The leads are usually higher quality, but it can be more competative and expensive.

-> LinkedIn Ads: If you sell to other businesses (B2B), LinkedIn is often the best platform. The targeting is unmatched. You can target people based on their job title, company size, industry, seniority, and so on. For example, if you sell a tool for HR managers in the tech industry, you can create an ad that *only* shows to them. This is incredibly powerful. I remember a campaign for a B2B software client where we targeted specific decision-makers and got leads for just $22 each, which was fantastic for their high-ticket offer.

-> Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram): Meta can also work for B2B, but the targeting is much broader. You can target interests like "small business owners" or admins of business pages, but it's not as precise as LinkedIn. It often works best for SaaS products with a very wide appeal or a lower price point. I recall one campaign where we brought in over 4,600 registrations at just $2.38 each for a B2B software client, proving it can be very effective if your audience is on the platform.

The key is not to guess. You need to build a clear picture of your ideal customer persona and then pick the one platform where they are most likely to be found. Start with one, master it, and only then consider expanding.

You'll need a plan to scale...

Getting a few initial signups is one thing. Scaling to hundreds of users requires a proper structure. It’s normal for campaigns to hit a plateau where you can't spend more without your cost per acquisition (CPA) sky-rocketing. This happens when you've exhausted the most receptive part of your audience.

The way around this is through constant testing and optimisation. This means having a structured approach to your campaigns.

-> Targeting: You'd start with your best guess for a target audience, but then you need to be constantly testing new ones. On Meta, for example, once you have enough data (say, 100+ trial signups), you can create Lookalike Audiences. A Lookalike of your paying customers will almost always outperform an interest-based audience.

-> Creative: You need to test different ad formats (images vs. videos), headlines, and messaging. We've seen some SaaS clients get great results with simple user-generated content (UGC) style videos. You never know what will resonate until you test it.

-> Retargeting: This is so important for SaaS. Most people won't sign up on their first visit. You need to run seperate retargeting campaigns to bring back website visitors who didn't sign up, or people who started the trial process but didn't finish. This is where a lot of your conversions will come from, and it helps lower your overall CPA.

I remember one client, a medical job-matching SaaS, had a CPA of over £100 when they came to us. By implementing a proper testing structure, optimising their funnel, and using smart retargeting, we managed to reduce their CPA to £7.

I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:

As you can see, launching and scaling a SaaS with paid ads is a process. It's not about just flipping a switch. It involves strategy, testing, and a deep understanding of how these platforms work. Trying to figure all this out on your own while also running your business can be tough and involves a lot of costly trial and error.

This is where working with an expert can make a huge difference. We've been through this process hundreds of times and can help you avoid the common pitfalls, get your foundations right from day one, and build a scalable system for customer acquisition much faster than you could on your own.

If you'd like to discuss this further, we offer a free, no-obligation consultation where we can take a closer look at your specific tool and goals and give you a more detailed plan. Feel free to book one in if you think that would be helpful.

Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh