It’s Saturday night. Let’s take a breath.
Alright, tree service legends, we've hit Issue #20 of The Backcut.
Twenty issues of calling out marketing BS, calling out Google's shenanigans, and helping you win more high-value tree jobs without losing your mind (or your budget) in the process.
When we started this thing, we weren't sure if tree service owners in 2025 even wanted a marketing newsletter. Turns out you do.
And you're reading it.
Which is pretty cool.
So here's what we're doing today: Taking a victory lap through everything we've covered, and then asking YOU what you want us to tackle next.
This is your newsletter.
Your wins.
Your struggles.
Your questions.
So let's make sure we're covering what actually matters to you.
Let’s Rewind
We've covered some serious ground:
The Google Ads Deep Dives:
How Google is forcing your brand CPCs up (and the 2 ways to cut costs by 20-30%)
Why Search Partners is usually a money burner
The phantom lead problem (conversion tracking mistakes costing you $200K)
iOS 26 killing click ID attribution (and why perfect tracking is dead anyway)
How to calculate your maximum allowable CPA and breakeven CPC
The match type performance study (exact vs phrase vs broad in 2025)
The Business Growth Frameworks:
The marketing time barbell (short-term paid + long-term SEO)
Jay Abraham's three ways to grow any business (more clients, higher transaction value, more frequency)
Perry Marshall's Tactical Triangle (Traffic, Conversion, Economics)
Why 80/20 is at the center of everything
The Lead Quality Revolution:
The GNARLY framework for stopping fake leads from poisoning your campaigns
How reinforcement learning teaches Google's AI to find real customers
Why most tree services are celebrating garbage metrics
The Old-School Way That Still Works:
Every Door Direct Mail strategy (the 5 perfect times to mail)
Why your best leads might come from mailboxes, not Google
The Mindset Shifts:
Stop choosing between fast leads and long-term growth (you need both)
Your growth strategy isn't a strategy (tough love on actually having a plan)
Stop playing marketing roulette
Why Google reps don't want you to know certain things
Attribution was always a lie anyway
Now it’s your turn
Here's the thing: I've got a long list of topics we could cover, but I want to hear from you.
So I'm asking directly: What's your biggest marketing question right now?
What topic makes you want to throw your phone out the window?
What strategy are you curious about but haven't tried?
What part of your marketing feels like you're cutting branches in the dark?
Hit reply and tell me:
What marketing challenge is driving you crazy?
What topic would you like us to dive deeper into?
What BS in the industry needs to be called out?
What's working for you that other owners should know about?
Just reply to this email or drop a comment. I read every single one. And the topics that come up most? Those become future issues. I will write an issue and/or send a personalized strategy for anyone who asks.
Are you running ads and wondering if your agency is acting like a motion light, only showing up when you're watching? Book a $100 consultation, and we will find the gaps that no one’s been looking at.
Find out how your business could generate 3-5 more tree service leads per week.
Refundable if it’s not worth 10x your money. No long-term commitment.
Written by Jacob Hastings
Head of Growth & Client Strategy at Growth Ring Media
