Meet Samantha Lee: Growth Lead at PrepPro, a North American Test-Prep Specialist

Samantha has spent over four years growing PrepPro’s digital presence, focusing on native advertising to engage students prepping for GRE, LSAT, and MCAT exams. She’s built and scaled diverse teams to execute campaigns that blend seamlessly into content platforms, maximizing enrollments and brand trust. We sat down with her to unpack how mid-level growth professionals can structure and develop teams to drive native ad success in the higher-ed test-prep space.

Q1: What makes native advertising a unique challenge for growth teams in test-prep companies?

Samantha: Native ads are different because they don’t look like ads at first glance. They blend into the content environment—for example, an article on “Top 5 Tips to Improve Your GRE Verbal Score” sponsored by your test-prep service. This subtlety means your team needs a unique mix of skills: deep content understanding, creative storytelling, and strong data chops.

Unlike straightforward paid search or display ads that scream “Buy now!”, native ads aim to inform and engage. That requires your team to understand student pain points on a level that’s closer to editorial than traditional marketing.

Imagine trying to sell a GRE prep course on Reddit versus running a banner on Google. Native ads demand a gentle nudge rather than a push. Your team needs to master this balance.

Q2: What skills should you prioritize when hiring for native advertising in this space?

Samantha: Focus on three core skill clusters:

• Content and SEO expertise: Your team must craft articles and videos that rank well on Google and resonate with students. Understanding search intent behind queries like “best MCAT study schedule” is crucial.

• Data analysis and attribution: Native campaigns often run across platforms like Taboola or Outbrain, where attribution can get murky. Look for folks who can dig into engagement metrics—time on page, scroll depth, lead form fills—and tie those back to enrollment conversions.

• Platform fluency: Each native platform has nuances. Your team should be comfortable setting up, optimizing, and iterating campaigns on multiple networks.

For example, when PrepPro hired its first native specialist, we looked for a candidate with a background in journalism plus hands-on experience with Google Analytics and native ad platforms. This combo brought both storytelling and numbers fluency.

Q3: How should you structure your team around native advertising efforts?

Samantha: I recommend a pod model with three core roles that collaborate closely:

At PrepPro, we started with just two people wearing multiple hats—content and data. Once we hit scale, adding a dedicated platform specialist freed up bandwidth, allowing deeper experimentation.

Cross-functional alignment with sales and product teams also improves messaging relevance. For example, if the product team launches a new LSAT question bank, content strategists can quickly create native content around it.

Q4: What’s an effective onboarding plan for new hires in native advertising roles?

Samantha: Native advertising has a steep learning curve—there’s the nuance of platforms, the art of native storytelling, and the complexity of higher-ed customers’ decision journeys.

I’d suggest a phased onboarding process:

• Week 1: Focus on industry basics—test-prep exam cycles, student personas, competitor landscape. Use tools like Zigpoll or SurveyMonkey to gather feedback from enrolled students about what content helped them.

• Weeks 2-4: Deep dive into native platforms and campaign examples. Hands-on practice with small test budgets accelerates learning. Assign a mentor who can review their first campaigns and provide feedback.

• Month 2 and beyond: Encourage cross-training with SEO and product teams, plus regular check-ins to tweak strategies.

One PrepPro hire moved from novice to running $50K/month native campaigns in just 8 weeks using this approach.

Q5: Can you share an example where team structure or skills directly impacted native ad performance?

Samantha: Absolutely! We had a period where native ads were underperforming—conversion rates were stuck at 2%. After hiring a dedicated content strategist with a background in educational psychology, the team revamped headlines and rewrote ad copy grounded in how students think under test pressure.

The performance analyst introduced weekly data deep-dives focusing on micro-conversions like quiz completions and lead magnet downloads. Meanwhile, the platform specialist tested new native ad placements on niche sites popular with pre-med students.

Within 3 months, conversion rates climbed from 2% to 11%, and CPL (cost per lead) dropped 28%. This was a clear win from aligning the right skill sets and team roles.

Q6: What are some pitfalls mid-level growth professionals should watch out for when building native ad teams?

Samantha: One trap is underestimating the importance of storytelling. Hiring only data people can lead to campaigns that look good on paper but fail to connect emotionally with students. Test-prep buyers are making major life decisions; your content needs to reflect that.

Another is siloing teams. If content, analytics, and platform specialists operate independently, you miss out on synergy. Regular syncs and shared OKRs help avoid this.

Finally, native advertising isn’t a quick fix. Expect a learning curve. Testing and optimization take time, and sometimes campaigns flop before you find a winner.

Q7: How do you keep native ad teams motivated and continuously improving?

Samantha: Celebrate small wins. For instance, when a campaign hits a 5% engagement bump or a new creative drops CPL by 10%, make sure the whole team hears about it.

Encourage experimentation—native platforms often reward creative approaches. Give team members room to pitch new content ideas or test unusual placements.

Also, invest in learning. Online courses on platforms like Coursera or LinkedIn Learning focused on native advertising, or even internal “show-and-tell” sessions, keep skills fresh.

Use feedback tools like Zigpoll to gather student input on what content resonates. Sharing this feedback keeps the team connected to the audience they’re serving.

Q8: What advice would you give to someone building a native advertising team for test-prep marketing in North America?

Samantha: Start by hiring for curiosity and adaptability. Platforms evolve fast, and student needs shift with exam cycles and higher-ed policy changes.

Build small, cross-functional teams that communicate often. Make sure content creators and data analysts aren’t islands.

Invest in onboarding that blends industry knowledge with platform training.

Finally, remember: Native advertising thrives on authenticity. Your team should think less like advertisers and more like trusted guides walking students through their test-prep journey.

Summary Table: Hiring Priorities & Team Structure for Native Advertising in Test-Prep

By focusing on the right skills, structuring nimble teams, and investing in thorough onboarding, mid-level growth professionals can significantly improve native advertising success for test-prep companies in North America. With patience and the right people, native ads can become a key tool to connect meaningfully with students and drive enrollments.