Embodiments of the present invention generally relates to methods and apparatus for operating an artificial lift well. In one embodiment, the well is operated between an on cycle and an off cycle. Preferably, the off cycle is determined by detecting an increase in the pressure differential between the casing pressure and the tubing pressure. In another embodiment, the well is optimized by measuring the production of the well in one cycle of operation. The measured production is compared to the production of a previous cycle. A controller then optimizes the well based on the increase or decrease of the production from the previous cycle.