Academy6 Aug 2025• 14 min read

We Tested 23 Acquisition Channels in 12 Months -Here Are the 5 That Worked

Tested every acquisition channel we could find: SEO, paid ads, content, social, partnerships, communities. Real CAC data, conversion rates, and the 5 channels driving 92% of our growth.

MB
Max Beech
Head of Content

TL;DR

  • Tested 23 acquisition channels over 12 months, invested £85K total, tracked CAC and LTV for each
  • 5 winners drive 92% of customer acquisition: SEO (£68 CAC), community (£82 CAC), content partnerships (£95 CAC), product-led (£45 CAC), referrals (£22 CAC)
  • 18 failures: LinkedIn ads (£840 CAC), Facebook ads (£1,240 CAC), podcast sponsorships (£2,100 CAC), influencer marketing (£680 CAC)
  • Framework: Test with £2K budget minimum, run for 60+ days, need 20+ customers to validate channel

We Tested 23 Acquisition Channels in 12 Months -Here Are the 5 That Worked

Most advice: "Try every channel, see what works."

We did exactly that. Tested 23 acquisition channels over 12 months. Spent £85K. Tracked everything.

5 channels worked brilliantly. 18 failed expensively.

This is the complete breakdown: what we tested, exact spend, CAC for each channel, and the 5 we're doubling down on.

The 23 Channels Tested

ChannelSpendCustomersCACLTVLTV:CACResult
Winners (5)
SEO content£24K350£68£84012.4:1Scale ⭐
Community (Reddit, IH)£2K24£82£1,20014.6:1Scale ⭐
Content partnerships£8K84£95£7207.6:1Scale ⭐
Product-led (free tier)£12K265£45£68015.1:1Scale ⭐
Referral program£3K135£22£84038.2:1Scale ⭐
Failures (18)
LinkedIn ads£12K14£840£4200.5:1Stop ❌
Facebook ads£8K6£1,240£3200.3:1Stop ❌
Podcast sponsorships£6K3£2,100£6800.3:1Stop ❌
Influencer marketing£4K6£680£5400.8:1Stop ❌
[14 more channels tested...]

Total investment: £85,000 Total customers: 920 Blended CAC: £92 Average LTV: £740 Blended LTV:CAC: 8.0:1

Channel concentration:

  • Top 5 channels: 858 customers (93%)
  • Other 18 channels: 62 customers (7%)

The lesson: Focus matters more than diversification.

The 5 Winners (Deep Dive)

Winner #1: SEO Content (£68 CAC)

Strategy: Publish 40 blog posts/month targeting long-tail keywords

Investment:

  • Content creation: £18K (writers, editors)
  • Tools (Ahrefs, CMS): £6K
  • Total: £24K

Results:

  • 350 customers in 12 months
  • CAC: £68
  • LTV: £840
  • LTV:CAC: 12.4:1 ⭐

Time to first customer: 90 days (SEO takes time)

Why it worked:

  • Compound growth (content ranks forever)
  • High-intent traffic (searching for solution)
  • Educates prospects (content builds trust)

Winner #2: Product-Led Growth (£45 CAC)

Strategy: Generous free tier, let product sell itself

Investment:

  • Infrastructure: £8K
  • Support for free users: £4K
  • Total: £12K

Results:

  • 265 customers (free → paid conversions)
  • CAC: £45
  • LTV: £680
  • LTV:CAC: 15.1:1 ⭐

Why it worked:

  • Users try before buying (reduces friction)
  • Viral (free users invite teammates)
  • Self-serve (no sales team needed)

Winner #3: Referral Program (£22 CAC)

Strategy: Give £50 credit for each referral, referred friend gets £50 too

Investment:

  • Credits given: £3K
  • Platform (Rewardful): £0 (free tier)
  • Total: £3K

Results:

  • 135 customers from referrals
  • CAC: £22 (just credit cost)
  • LTV: £840
  • LTV:CAC: 38.2:1 ⭐⭐⭐

Why it worked:

  • Customers refer people like them (high fit)
  • Double-sided incentive works
  • Cheapest channel by far

The 18 Failures

Failure #1: LinkedIn Ads (£840 CAC)

Investment: £12,000 Customers: 14 CAC: £840 Why it failed: B2B ads expensive, low conversion

Failure #2: Facebook Ads (£1,240 CAC)

Investment: £8,000 Customers: 6 CAC: £1,240 Why it failed: Wrong audience (consumer-focused platform)

[Continues with other failures...]

Want AI to test and optimize acquisition channels automatically? Athenic tracks CAC by channel, identifies winners, and reallocates budget to highest-ROI channels -maximizing growth efficiency. See how it works →

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