From Online to Off-Screen: How I Built a Sustainable Herbal Business Without Leaning on Social Media

When I started my business, I knew full and well that I didn’t like social media—and I still don’t. But I felt like I had to use it if I wanted people to know who I was. I didn’t have an audience. No followers. No list. I literally started at zero, I did not ask for friends or family to support me before diving in.

And for a while, it worked. I built an audience. I shared posts, reels, and videos. It grew Yah’s Apothecary into a name more people recognized. But somewhere along the line—especially after getting pregnant and preparing for maternity leave—I noticed a shift.

My views started to dry up. My engagement went quiet. Even YouTube, which had always been a strong source of organic reach, began to favor paid ads, reaction videos, negative content and shorts creators. Meta had been “pay-to-play” for years, but now every platform seemed to be heading that way.

That’s when I decided to pivot. I began to focus more on building stability outside of social media—creating systems that didn’t depend on algorithms or burnout. I began actively reclaiming my time, my energy, and my peace while still growing my business faster.

Over the past year, I’ve learned how to leverage collaborations, podcasts, email, offline partnerships and other methods to generate leads equal to (and often greater than) what I used to get from a full month of posting. Let’s break down how in 7 detailed steps.

Partnering for Reach

Getting 10x Value From 1 Effort

How the CEO Schedule Keeps Me Focused

Offline & Low-Lift Marketing

Building Systems That Work While You Rest

From Evergreen to Semester

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1. The Reality Check: When Organic Growth Slows Down

For years, organic reach was my bread and butter. I could post a good reel or YouTube video and see sales flow in. But when that began to change, I had to face a hard truth: visibility doesn’t always mean profitability.

I decided to test this theory through a 90-day visibility challenge—posting consistently across all platforms, trying trending audio, hashtags, and new formats. But the results? Minimal. That experience put the nail in the coffin for me. It confirmed that I needed to focus on what was truly moving the needle: long-term relationships and evergreen visibility.

Actionable Steps:

• Track where your last 10 sales or leads came from. If most aren’t from social, shift your focus.

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