Our Dumb Ad Worked
Also, I Got Owned by Canva’s Cancel Button
Hi, it’s Andreas, and I’m back with The Growth Diary — my newsletter where I share insights and learnings from my attempts to grow things without losing my mind.
I took a month (well, a little over a month) off. In the meantime, I got promoted and am now back in a growth role, leading the sales and marketing department. I also changed my newsletter positioning: instead of sharing startup case studies here, I now share insights from sales & marketing and my attempts to grow things without breaking them.
This week, I recap how our CRM once was a content graveyard, contact forms are conversion repellents, and Canva might be using psychological warfare.
Let’s unpack the chaos.
There’s a Whole Marketing Team Hiding in Your CRM
Back in my startup life, I opened our CRM and had a minor existential crisis.
We’ve got dozens of happy customers with great results, glowing feedback, and actual success stories. You know… things we could’ve used months ago to build trust and close deals faster?
Yeah. Just chilling in there. Unused. Like a gym membership in February.
So we pulled those stories out and turned them into proof. Real people. Real results. No stock photos.
And it helped us a lot to close deals faster and attract new customers… especially as we were still kind of early and untrusted.
Lesson: Before you build a new funnel, check the attic. Your best marketing assets might already be in-house.
If Inbounds Love You But Never Use Your Website… Guess What’s Broken
Once we’d had a flood of positive feedback. Users loved us. Referrals were coming in.
But weirdly, almost none of it came through the website.
Which raised a question we already knew the answer to: If people love your product but hate your site, what was broken?
So, we revamped our messaging and CTAs, and… conversions improved immediately.
Moral of the story: If your website isn’t closing the deal, it might just be quietly sabotaging it.
The Dumbest Ad That Still Crushed
We launched a LinkedIn campaign with all the creative complexity of a toaster.
One static image.
A lead gen form.
CTA: “Register.”
That’s it. No video. No fancy motion graphics. No aggressive funnel tactics.
And it pulled in 200 leads per month at €20 CPL.
Why?
Because we already did the hard part: brand building.
The ad was just the polite knock on the door. People already knew us… they just needed an excuse to say hi.
Sometimes it’s not about the flash. It’s about being familiar and useful.
Canva’s Cancel Page Is Low-Key Psychological Warfare
I tried to cancel Canva Pro the other day.
Here’s what happened:
They reminded me I’d used €100 worth of assets.
They listed every premium feature I’d lose - used 225 times. Suddenly I’m questioning all my life choices.
The “Continue Cancellation” button was red and scary. The “Keep Canva Pro” button? Calm and confident.
I didn’t cancel.
That cancel screen was ruthless. And honestly, brilliant. Every SaaS company should copy this.
Sales vs. Marketing: Let’s End This Toxic Relationship
Early on, taking over both sales and marketing felt like becoming a marriage counselor for two departments that hadn’t spoken since 2018.
Sales blamed marketing.
Marketing blamed sales.
Meanwhile, the pipeline was quietly bleeding.
So we did what every startup should: We combined them.
One person, one funnel, one narrative.
It’s cleaner. Smarter. And nobody has to passive-aggressively CC their frustrations anymore.
Please… if your sales and marketing teams are still fighting, put them under one roof. Or better yet, one brain.
Pro Tip: Your Contact Form Shouldn’t Be a Tax Form
Want more conversions? Start by asking less.
We shaved down our contact form to only the essentials. Suddenly, leads came in faster than expected.
No one wants to fill out a form that feels like applying for a mortgage.
Keep it tight. Ask what matters. Get out of the way.
That’s it for this week.
Check your database. Roast your own website. Fear your cancel screens. And remember: marketing doesn’t have to be complicated. It just has to work.
Until next time,
– Andreas
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