boring ops. bigger life.

how to scale with math

"just post organic content and the customers will come."

hey there,

“just post organic content and the customers will come.”

that line works for the 1%…
the rest of us need math.

since 2011 I’ve driven nearly $30 million in online revenue.
mostly with paid traffic, email, and a podcast that never showed my face.
ads plus a simple calculator beat dancing for the algorithm every time.

here’s the quick reality check:

  • some of my fitness leads cost $1 each.
  • my personal‑brand newsletter leads cost $2.50, $3.
  • in a B2B offer I pay $10, $100 per lead…

good or bad?
no such thing.
there’s only “when the math maths.”

let’s take a fitness brand example…

  • cost per subscriber: $1
  • 30% of subscribers start a free trial.
  • 33% of trials convert to paid.
  • LTV per customer: $150

spend $100 → grab 100 leads → 30 trials → 10 paying members → $1,500 in lifetime revenue.

$100 in, $1,500 out.
amateurs only look at the next 30 days.
pros look at LTV.

so run your own numbers.

total revenue (lifetime of business) ÷ total customers (lifetime of business) = LTV.

say, since you started, you’ve made $600,000 from 400 customers.
LTV = $1,500.
willing to spend 50% of that to acquire the next buyer?
great. budget up to $750 per customer.
with a 5% email‑to‑purchase rate, you can safely pay $37.50 for every new subscriber and still win.

I built a free calculator so you can plug in your own data.
no spreadsheets, no guesswork.

👉 check it out: https://tools.better.biz/email-cost

big picture…here’s how to stop fearing paid traffic.

  1. accept that ads are an investment, not a gamble.
  2. track LTV weekly so you trust the math.
  3. keep ads running…budgets flex, but momentum compounds.

I haven’t turned ads off since 2011.
let’s that sink it for a second.
14 years. ads…never off.

campaigns change…
platforms change…
creative changes…
ads stay on.

business isn’t a popularity contest; it’s arithmetic.

master the math and you’ll scale faster than any overnight‑viral hope ever could.

grab the calculator, run your numbers, and get comfortable spending for growth.

try harder,

JM

P.S. I published two podcast episodes this week!!

Give it a listen and let me know what you think.

← All past issues