216: Organic vs Paid Traffic: What Actually Works in 2025
Jun 10, 2025
try harder
Podcast listeners! Dowload the calcualtor referenced in this episode here: https://better.biz/systems/email-calculator
Scaling your business in 2025 isn’t about going viral—it’s about doing the math. In this episode, I break down the real numbers behind organic vs paid traffic and show you how to actually scale using both. If you’ve ever wondered how much you should pay for a lead or when ads make sense, this is your blueprint.
Here’s what I cover:
Why business growth is math, not a popularity contest
How top “organic” creators are secretly spending big
The hybrid traffic strategy I recommend (and use)
Real numbers from my brands — from $1 leads to $1,500 LTVs
The exact formulas for calculating lead value, LTV, and acquisition cost
When it’s OK to “lose” money in the short term
How to use the free calculator to model your own business scaling path
Core Frameworks:
Lead → Trial → Paid → LTV Funnel: A simple model for tracking ROI from the first touchpoint to full customer value
Business Math for Scaling: Understand how much you can and should spend to acquire a customer
50% LTV Rule: A pragmatic threshold for profitable paid traffic
Email Conversion Back-Math: Reverse-engineering lead value from email performance
Cost Tolerance Matrix: When to prioritize fast scaling vs high margins
If you’re serious about growing your business—not your follower count—this is how you start making calculated moves. Business isn’t about going viral, it’s about making math-based decisions that scale.
Try hard. Then try harder.
Timestamps:
00:00 Business is math, not a popularity contest
01:00 Organic content vs paid traffic: the hidden cost of "free"
02:15 Why a hybrid traffic strategy is the future
03:00 How much can you actually pay for a lead?
04:00 Real ad performance numbers from my brands
05:30 Breaking down the lead → trial → paid funnel
07:00 How lifetime value (LTV) changes everything
09:00 Why most business owners quit too early
10:00 Back-of-napkin LTV calculation
11:00 How much you should spend to acquire a customer
12:00 Lead value math based on email conversion rates
13:00 The mindset shift most entrepreneurs need
14:00 Why I’ve never turned off paid ads
15:00 Final takeaway: scaling is math, not magic
