Every time a big storm rolls through, tree guys expect the same thing:
Trees down, power out, and phones blowing up.

Sometimes that happens. Sometimes it’s weirdly quiet.

And when it’s quiet, most owners blame their ads.
“Facebook must be off.”
“Google’s acting up.”
“Algo changed.”

But a lot of the time, the problem isn’t that your ads suck.
It’s that you’re only showing up in two places… while your customers are checking a third.

When the weather hits, homeowners don’t just scroll Facebook. They’re opening local news apps to check storm alerts, outages, school closings, and neighborhood updates.

There’s one of those apps in particular that has a ton of the exact people who hire tree services… and almost none of your competitors are on it yet.

The app is called NewsBreak.

If you've never heard of it, you're not alone. But it's the biggest local news app in the country - 40+ million users, almost all U.S.-based. People open it to check storm warnings, local crime, traffic, and weather. Multiple times a day.

The core user? Ages 55–64. Homeowners. The exact people who hire tree services.

Here's why this matters:

On Facebook, you're catching people in scroll mode. They're looking at vacation photos and arguing about politics. Your ad is an interruption.

On NewsBreak, you're catching people in property mode. They just read a storm alert. They're thinking about their house. Your ad for “storm damage removal” or “hazard tree assessment” shows up right when they're already worried about their trees.

And because almost nobody in tree service is advertising there yet, your cost per lead is 20–40% cheaper than Facebook. Less competition. Lower bids. Same type of homeowner.

You can geo-fence down to specific ZIP codes so you're only paying for eyeballs in neighborhoods your crews actually service. Not three counties over.

Same basic controls you're used to (optimize for calls, form fills, conversions). Faster approval. Way less crowded.

Google and Facebook are highways - necessary, but packed.
NewsBreak is the back road with no traffic and the same destination.

If you're thinking about testing it, here's what actually works:

Here's my take: if you're spending a couple grand a month or more on Google and Facebook, and you're not testing at least one other channel, you're putting all your eggs in two baskets.

Not because Google or Facebook are bad. They work. But they're getting more expensive every quarter. And when one platform has a bad month, for example, an iOS update, an algorithm shift, whatever, your entire lead flow takes a hit.

NewsBreak isn't magic. But it's an underused channel with a local, homeowner-heavy audience that's checking their phones at the exact moment they're thinking about property damage and storm cleanup.

If you can add 3–5 extra jobs per month at a lower cost per lead than Facebook, that's real money. Could be an extra $5K. Could be $15K+. Depends on your average ticket, but it's enough to notice in the checking account.

Your competitors aren't on NewsBreak yet. But they will be. The question is whether you're early or late.

We'll look at your current ad spend, your service area, and your lead flow and tell you straight if NewsBreak is worth testing or if you should stick with what you've got.

We used to charge $100 for these. They're free for Backcut readers right now.

On the call, we'll walk through your Google, Facebook, and whether NewsBreak could fit into your lead flow. No fluff. No pressure. Just a straight answer.

Written by Jacob Hastings
Head of Growth & Client Strategy at Growth Ring Media