You probably don't want to think about the next few months, do you? The time to file your taxes is coming up, which means you'll have to spend thousands on Google Ads, Facebook ads, and maybe even some radio spots that don't work very well.
Last year, a CPA firm I worked with spent $8,500 on tax season ads in just January and February. They did get leads, but it cost them $425 to get each new customer. It's hard to compete with H&R Block when they have so much money to spend on ads.
What if I told you that there is a better, cheaper way to get clients that makes you look like the expert people want to work with?
The Problem: Tax Season Ads Are Eating Up Your Budget
According to WordStream's 2024 benchmark report, the average cost per click for accounting keywords goes up to $6.75 during tax season. The cost per click goes up to $12.50 for more competitive terms like "tax preparation services."
If you spend $3,000 a month on ads and get a 3% conversion rate, you'll need about 40 clicks to get one good lead. That's $270 for each lead, and not all of them end up buying something.
When you know you're up against:
- Chains that can spend millions of dollars on ads
- Tax software companies are spending a lot of money to get people to do their own taxes.
- Other businesses in the area are working hard to get the same keywords.
What happens after the tax season ends? In July, your lead flow drops quickly because there isn't enough growth over the long term.
The Painful Truth About Paid Ads That No One Talks About
The biggest problem with tax season advertising is that you're renting people's attention instead of owning it.
In this way, think about it. Every dollar you spend on ads goes away as soon as you stop paying for them. To put it simply, you pay a fee every time someone tries to get in touch with you. According to HubSpot's research, 80% of people don't pay attention to paid search results and instead look for free listings.
But there's something that annoys me even more. People who see your ads often only care about how much it costs. Why? The answer is that they found you through a transactional search, not because they believe in your skills. They are looking at five other businesses that came up in their search results and comparing you to them.
What if you could make something that lasts all year?
This is when things start to get fun.
If you do it right, educational content can bring in new customers all day, every day, without having to spend money on ads. I'm talking about blog posts, guides, videos, and other things that give your ideal clients the exact information they need.
Let me show you how this works in the real world.
A tax expert in Austin started writing two blog posts each month in June 2023. "7 Tax Deductions Real Estate Investors Miss Every Year" and "How S-Corp Elections Can Save Small Business Owners $12,000 Annually" are two examples. The blog posts were easy to understand and answered common questions well.
By January 2024, those blog posts were getting 847 visitors every month. How much did she cost? Hiring a freelance writer costs about $600. She only had to spend $89 to get new clients. That's a drop of 79% from how she used to advertise during tax season.
The best part? The posts keep working. They were on the first page of Google and still get good leads every month, even when business is slow.
Ads can't Build Trust Like Educational Content Can
When someone reads your 1,500-word guide on how the R&D tax credit works for software companies, something amazing happens. They start to think of you differently. You're not just another tax pro trying to get the best deal; you're the expert who took the time to make hard ideas easy to understand.
The Content Marketing Institute's 2024 study found that 67% of B2B buyers read three to five pieces of content before getting in touch with a sales rep. That number goes up even more for service providers like accountants.
Potential clients can learn about your business and decide if they are a good fit through educational content. They've already made up their minds that you know a lot when they call. People aren't calling to ask how much something costs; they're calling because they want to work with you.
On the other hand, during tax season, someone clicks on your ad, goes to your homepage, and then goes to three other websites right away to see how much they cost.
How to Create Educational Content That Works
Let's be honest. You're busy, especially since tax season is coming up. You can't learn everything there is to know about content marketing in one night. This is what really works.
Start with the questions you answer every week. Keep a list on your phone for two weeks. Did a client ask how much they would have to pay in taxes over the next three months? Put that down. Is there anyone who doesn't know how to report 1099s? Add it to the list.
People are looking for answers to these questions on Google right now so they can help you come up with ideas for content.
Here is a simple outline: "Why Your Tax Refund Is Smaller This Year" is a problem post. "How to Handle Estimated Tax Payments as a Freelancer" is a guide on what to do. "Which Structure Saves More in Taxes: S-Corp or LLC?" is a comparison piece.
"Year-End Tax Planning Checklist for Small Businesses" is a checklist.
The Dollar-for-Dollar Comparison That Changes Everything
I know you're good at analyzing things (it's part of your job, right?), so let's look at the numbers.
The Old Way of Advertising During Tax Time:
- Every month, ads cost $2,500.
- The campaign will run from January to March, for three months.
- The cost is $7,500 in total.
- 45 leads
- Twenty percent of people who saw the ad bought something.
- Nine new customers
- The cost for each client is $833.
- The value left over after tax season is $0.
How to approach educational material:
- The cost of making content is $1,200, which is eight blog posts at $150 each.
- $800 for SEO
- The first year's total cost is $2,000.
- Year 1: 52 leads generated
- 28% conversion rate (higher because people trust you)
- 14 new customers
- Price per client: $143
- Residual value: The content keeps working for a long time.
The content approach costs 73% less and gets 55% more customers. But here's what makes it even better: Year 2 doesn't cost much. Those posts keep getting visitors, rankings, and leads.
A Step-by-Step Guide to What Your Content Strategy Should Look Like
Stop pretending that making content is hard. This is what you need to do:
Month 1: Write four important pieces that talk about the biggest problems your ideal client has. Write "The Complete Guide to Business Expense Deductions" or "How to Choose Between LLC and S-Corp Status" if you help small business owners. These should be at least 1,500 words long and useful.
Month 2: Make content that backs up those main points. Write shorter posts that go into more detail about some of the subtopics. Because of your full deduction guide, people have written posts like "Home Office Deduction Rules for 2024" and "Tracking Vehicle Expenses for Business Owners."
In the third month, add tools and resources. Include easy-to-use calculators, checklists, and templates for your readers. A simple "Quarterly Tax Payment Calculator" or "Business Expense Categorization Worksheet" makes you look helpful and brings in new customers.
Tip: It's better to publish regularly than to get everything right. Google likes content that is new and updated often, so two good posts a month are better than one "perfect" article every three months.
What This Really Needs
I won't tell you a lie. To get educational content, you have to do some work first. If you only write one blog post in November, you can't expect to get a lot of clients in January.
- But that work is nothing compared to always keeping an eye on ad campaigns.
- Changing bids to stay in the game
- Watching your budget disappear during the busiest time of year
- You have to start over every year when the tax season ads stop.
Content builds on itself. Your tenth blog post is better than your first because you know more about the topic. Google trusts your domain more. Your older posts get more attention because your newer ones make your site more relevant as a whole.
The Tax Season Advertising Option That Grows With You
A lot of tax professionals don't understand this: educational content is not only a way to get new clients, but it's also good for your business.
Every blog post you write is owned media, which means that it works all day and night to find good leads.
- Costs nothing to keep up with after it's out
- It gets more valuable as it gets more backlinks and authority.
- You can use it again for videos, social media posts, and email newsletters.
- Gives you a good chance to speak at industry events and work with other businesses
You're losing money for short-term visibility if you only advertise during tax season. When you create educational content, you're putting money into your marketing that will grow over time.
Josh Bauerle, who is in charge of taxes at Padgett Business Services, says it best: "Our clients want to know what's going on with their taxes." Companies that teach first and sell second are doing well right now.
The Conclusion: Build Once, Benefit Forever
There will always be room for tax season ads in the mix of marketing. Ads can help you get leads quickly if you need them.
But only using paid ads is like paying three times the market rate to rent office space and watching the landlord get richer. Educational content is buying the building.
The accounting firms that stopped spending more than their competitors and started teaching them instead are the ones that are growing, getting better clients, and enjoying their work.
Your knowledge is helpful. You can help solve real problems with what you know. Educational content helps the right people learn the truth without costing you a lot of money each season.
Instead of giving Google or Facebook more money, use that money to make something that works for you and doesn't go away when you stop paying.
Are you ready to switch up how you get new clients? First, see how much you're spending on ads for tax season. Please figure out how much you spent last year, divide that by the number of new clients you got, and think about whether it would be better to use educational content. You might not expect the answer. Right now, you can schedule your FREE discovery call at https://www.progeektech.com/1on1-strategy to learn how we help tax professionals create content systems that bring in leads all year long without having to pay for ads.