Inbound Funnel Strategies

3 years ago we made the call that creating an inbound marketing engine based on content would be our go-to-market, and it would be entirely earned media. I'm so pleased/proud of how far we've come. We knew it would be slow because we had no idea what we were doing. But the outcome would be a semi-hands off distribution for our product and mean we could pay more attention to higher-intent buyers + our customers. We've written and rewritten countless pieces of bottom of funnel content ourselves and spent thousands of hours editing videos and content on our website. Our investment has been $120 of capital and we reinvest every bit of revenue for strategic experiments. Our options are limited. We tried a content agency for a bit and we learnt something from that. Notably, that you can either write the content yourself to get the quality you want, or become an editor to get the quality you want. Maybe the maths changes when you're spending someone else's money, but for us it quickly felt like we were just paying someone else a salary instead of ourselves (which was 100% true at the time.) These are our rules for inbound marketing in an extremely competitive niche: ✴︎ Use AI ✴︎ But devote the time necessary to craft every paragraph with a perspective that actually brings something new to the search results. Don't just spit out the same BS from the top 10 results and expect a different ranking. You will inevitably float around No. 12-15 and never hit the top. We didn't have the domain authority to get to the top 3 so the quality had to be there, and top 3 gets you into the LLMs. ✴︎ Mixed media ✴︎ Bring something to our best performing content to keep it there and create a moat. A specifically created YouTube video, an interactive quiz, an interactive demo, a playbook. Something. Anything. That says to the reader "a person was involved in creating this, stay on this page a little longer." ✴︎ Always include an interactive demo ✴︎ If we don't include an interactive demo, we're not putting our best foot forward. Interactive demos in our own content say to the reader: (1) Interactive demos are cool aren't they? (2) We believe in our product. (3) This is a better way of discovering/exploring a topic. ✴︎ Don't get sucked into top of funnel content ✴︎ We aren't in a position to create the market (yet). That's a VC-cash game. Our content needs to either capture demand or educate marketers on a topic that can be clearly connected to interactive demos as the solution. Our competitors have created 1000's of tutorials about how to perform simple tasks in Canva. They use interactive demos for these tutorials, but is the primary school teacher trying to copy a design in Canva our ICP? It's a volume game for them. It's a quality game for us. Our GSC shows a 310% increase in impressions YoY for the last 3 months, and a 220% increase in clicks. Despite the shift to LLMs, traffic to the content we've written ourselves continues to increase.

We helped a client see a 47% reduction in cost per incremental conversion, 18% lower CPMs. 24% more reach, all from moving Meta budget out of purchase campaigns and into upper funnel. The purchase campaigns looked efficient, but frequency was climbing and so was CPMr. The algorithm was re-serving ads to the same people, and the "strong ROAS" was mostly Meta converting warm audiences it had already saturated. We needed net-new reach. The playbook: Step 1: Run a Conversion Lift test before you touch anything. You need a real benchmark of what your campaigns are actually doing incrementally, not what the platform tells you. Step 2: Set up lift custom conversions so you can track incremental impact at the campaign level going forward. Step 3: Launch upper funnel campaigns using creative you already have. Take your best performing purchase campaign creatives and run them in awareness and Google Referral traffic campaigns instead of optimizing for purchases. Full exclusions, custom placements. Step 4: Let it run for four weeks. Upper funnel doesn't convert in-platform the way purchase campaigns do, and that's the entire point. You're expanding the pool of people who know you exist so the downstream conversions are actually incremental. Step 5: Repeat your lift tests. Compare to your benchmark. This is where you find out if your upper funnel investment is driving new customers. Step 6: Now build dedicated upper funnel creative. Raw, native-feeling content, demos, social proof, user submitted stuff, etc. The evergreen assets got you started, but purpose-built TOF creative will outperform for cold audiences over time. Step 7: Update strategy based on the data, repeat the cycle. Short term, you're watching for frequency and CPMr to come down while rolling reach climbs. Your in-platform ROAS will probably look worse because you're reaching colder audiences, and that's the point. Longer term, growth in total new customers and reduction in nCPA. If you're hitting a ceiling on Meta and want a second set of eyes, feel free to hit me up.

Your LinkedIn should be your best lead-gen machine. Here’s how to make it work. Most founders and coaches post on LinkedIn, but their inbox? Empty. Why? Because they treat LinkedIn like a billboard Not a lead-generation system. You don’t need fancy hacks or viral stunts. You need a strategy that guides someone from “I just saw your post” → “I want to work with you.” Here’s how to fix it: 1. Generate Organic Traffic Stop posting random content. Use a strategy: • The Awareness Post: Grab attention. • The Personal Story: Build trust. • The Education Post: Show your expertise. • The Conversion Post: Prove your method works. • The How-We-Do-It Post: Teach your IP. → Organic doesn’t mean unplanned. It means real value, consistently delivered. 2. Understand Your Funnel Your audience isn’t one blob. • TOFU: Curious? Educate. • MOFU: Considering? Nurture. • BOFU: Ready? Convert. → Pro tip: Want to sell faster? Niche down. Want to grow big? Broaden your funnel. 3. Optimise Your LinkedIn & Offer • Strong headline & subheading on your page. • Clear, unique offer. • Social proof. • Benefit-focused CTA (“Download Now”, “Get Instant Access”). → Don’t be vague. Clarity converts. 4. Use Automation That Works ❌ What doesn’t work? • Spammy DMs • Overcomplicated funnels • AI content with no soul ✅ What does work? • Real conversations in DMs • Smart sequencing • GPT-assisted writing • Behaviour-based scoring • Tailored messages → Automation should enhance your voice, not replace it. 5. The Webinar Funnel Blueprint • Generate attention with content. • Offer strong lead magnets. • Deliver high-value webinars. Use the 70/30 rule: 70% teaching, 30% selling. → Create sequences for hot leads, warm leads, and no-shows. 6. De-Platform Your Audience LinkedIn is rented land. Your newsletter? Owned land. Move followers to email. Offer genuine value so they want to sign up. 7. Personalisation & Segmentation Stop blasting the same thing to everyone. Ask: • Who is this for? • What do they need next? Segment by experience, industry, goals. → Personalised = Higher conversions. 8. Stay Consistent Most people fail because they stop. • Build a repeatable system. • Batch content. • Track what works. → Consistency beats perfection. If you’re frustrated that your LinkedIn isn’t generating leads: ✅ Simplify your process. ✅ Make it about serving, not selling. ✅ Stay consistent, even when it feels like no one’s listening. Because trust isn’t built overnight. But if you show up for your audience, they’ll show up for you. ♻️ Save this post to revisit when you’re building out your system.

We increased Champify's inbound demo requests 3x by moving from a form to a self-scheduling calendar flow. Here’s why this was bad (and why benchmarking on only MQLs is dangerous): In order for a demo request to be meaningful it has to convert into revenue. In month one our inbound –> stage 2 conversion rate dropped from 80% to 20%. Making access easier also increased the number of tire kickers: Here’s what we changed to bring our conversion rate back up: 1. Updated language and FAQs on the pricing page on the website to help visitors self-qualify 2. Built a workflow using Dock/Loom that would help hand-raisers on the edge of “good fits” learn more before taking a call with an AE 3. Provided more information on the website so people with lower intent did not have to book a demo ( 👀 looking forward to adding some interactive demos soon) Our conversion rate to qualified pipeline is back up above 60%.  TAKEAWAY: Marketing’s job isn’t MQLs. It’s impacting the full funnel. In 2024 the goal is efficient growth. If you’re only measuring top of funnel you’re never going to get there. It’s not just about  the volume of leads. It’s about the quality. Make sure you are watching your full-funnel conversion rates. And your top of funnel is turning into revenue.

Product marketing teams are obsessed with GTM signals and AI prospecting voodoo these days. But all that falls flat when they botch their most critical asset: Their marketing website. At vFairs, our inbound engine solely rests on the efficacy of our marketing website. When it works, we see millions of $ flow through. When it stalls, it becomes a leaky bucket. Every GTM motion almost always funnels through your website, but most companies build for one motion while running three others. Some pointers from my experience: 1→ Congruence is everything. If your LinkedIn ad says "dynamic project dashboards" but you're landing that prospect on a "project management software" page, you're creating distrust. Messaging misalignment kills conversions despite strong click-through rates. 2→ Move prospects to the next step faster. The best hack that's worked for us: Get prospects to fill a form, then pop a calendar to book immediately (use a tool like Chilipiper or Hubspot). Get SDRs to follow up in minutes, not hours. Make use of your prospect's momentum. 3→ Cohesion creates compound returns. One page = one topic. Build specialized pages for "project management for HR teams" instead of just "project management software." The messaging hits harder when it speaks directly to that visitor's context. 4→ Have clear flows for hybrid GTM motions. It's ok to have dual flows. But don't have "request demo" CTAs in a PLG experience. Don't pitch free trials when you're doing consultative sales. Each ICP has different buying preferences, so build separate paths. 5→ Showcase the product transparently. Screenshots matter. Interactive demos work. My favorite example of this is Intercom, which shows exactly what to expect with no mystery boxes. Your website handles 100% of your traffic but probably gets 10% of your marketing investment. I know companies that spend $50K on demand gen, then use flimsy Wordpress templates that fight against their GTM strategy. If you're starting in a new marketing role, I suggest sharpening the buyer journey on the site before building the top of funnel layers. Lack of conversions due to site flaws erroneously suggests the GTM motion isn't working. What marketing site tips have helped you win better?

In the last 4 weeks, I asked 28 growth and revenue leaders at hyperscaling Series B-F startups how they're winning their categories. Here are the 6 strategies they shared: (1) Nailing ICP   A founder I spoke to recently 3x'd their win rates just by narrowing focus—it dramatically improved their sales process for ICP accounts. Trying to sell to everyone too early stresses your product team. In March and April, we narrowed our ICP to deliver a 10x better experience to a focused market segment.   Be crystal clear about who you're building for today, who you'll build for tomorrow, and who you'll never build for. (2) Dominating social LinkedIn powered 19% of Unify's inbound pipeline last year. In the last 30 days alone, we generated 64 inbound demos from LinkedIn. The compound effect is real—we routinely hit 250,000-500,000 impressions/week. But it took 6 months of consistent posting before the channel really took off. (3) Leveraging warm investor intros I met with a breakout startup recently that books enterprise pipeline primarily through investor referrals. The credibility earned from a trusted investor can open doors quickly that may take months via cold outreach. Use your network, especially if you're targeting the enterprise. 5 of our first 10 customers at Unify came from investor intros. We continue to win with this strategy as we add new investors to our cap table. (4) AI-first operations High-growth companies are rethinking how they build teams in an AI-first world. At Unify, we use Pylon to automate 25% of support tickets for our growth customers. The goal is to increase % of tickets resolved with AI. We also automate competitor research and call insights with Attention. We want to have continuous feedback loops from what our customers are saying on calls to our entire company so that no context is lost. (5) 10x outbound sellers Spray-and-pray is dead. Hyper-targeted outreach is thriving. The best BDR teams operate like outbound engines. They use real-time signals to craft 1:1 personalized outreach. Cold calling and LinkedIn are still effective channels, and you need humans for both. (6) Sales development as a talent pipeline Outbound is a hard job. The sellers who are successful in outbound are often great fits in other roles. I met a sales development leader at a public company who referred to her job as 50% delivering pipeline, 50% building a talent machine. Our SDR-to-AE promotion track has been extremely successful. In 13 months, we've promoted 3 SDRs to AE. Tameem went from NBR to commercial to mid-market AE all in one year. Nikko and Sam Seiler have both recently moved from SDR to AE. Outbound is great practice for closing. If you excel at that, you'll be successful as an AE. -- Go-to-market is evolving insanely quickly, and the best teams are always looking for alpha with new plays and strategies. Test some of these strategies out for yourself. Please drop anything I missed in the comments 👇

There’s a temptation in retail to pour every marketing dollar directly into the bottom of the funnel. But over-optimizing for the last click is a quick way to choke your own pipeline. To put hard numbers to this, Google partnered with Fospha to analyze Q4 2025 performance across 25 retail eCommerce brands. The findings in the new “Full-Funnel Google Report” prove exactly what the best marketers already know: investing in the upper funnel actively makes your lower-funnel channels work harder. When you stop treating the funnel like isolated silos and start treating it as a single connected ecosystem, the efficiency gains are undeniable. Here is what the data showed: Diversification Drives Efficiency: Brands that added just one additional Google channel (like Demand Gen) saw a 14% higher ROAS. Brands that added two channels saw a massive 37% ROAS increase compared to those that kept their mix unchanged. The Demand Gen Multiplier: Brands allocating 10–20% of their Google budget to Demand Gen delivered 2X higher overall ROAS compared to those spending 5% or less. Full-Funnel Synergy: Scaling Demand Gen and YouTube actively warmed audiences, which dramatically improved PMAX returns and drove down Brand Search CAC. This isn't just theoretical. Look at Finisterre: by scaling their Demand Gen daily spend by 5.7X during peak season, they achieved a 73% reduction in Brand Search CAC. And, Derek Rose used a similar two-phase upper-funnel scaling strategy to drive a 44% uplift in overall Google ROAS. That’s the Power Pack in action. If you are starving your upper funnel to feed your lower funnel, you are ultimately starving your business. Full-funnel marketing isn't just a branding exercise; it is a measurable performance multiplier. Check out the full report here: https://bit.ly/4cLB7mj #DigitalMarketing #Ecommerce #MarketingMeasurement

When I was at Gong, we grew from 12K → 220K LinkedIn followers and generated millions in pipeline — without talking about our product once. Here’s the strategy that made it work. 𝟭. 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 We mapped the micro-frustrations sales reps deal with every day — ignored cold emails, awkward discovery calls, pricing objections. Each pain point became content gold. 𝟮. 𝗕𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿 Instead of promoting Gong, we focused on helping sellers do their job better. If the content couldn’t help someone tomorrow, we didn’t publish it. 𝟯. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 Data matters, but emotion hooks attention. We opened with real stories sellers recognize before bringing in insights or research. 𝟰. 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗽 (𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆) 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 Blog for readers. Podcasts for listeners. Videos for visual learners. Your audience consumes content differently. Meet them where they are. 𝟱. 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 We looked beyond last-touch attribution and tracked signals like follower growth, direct traffic, inbound opportunities, and pipeline influenced by content. The results: 220K LinkedIn followers  100K podcast downloads  Webinar registrations jumping from 500 → 2,500 Inbound pipeline grew quarter after quarter. Most marketers fight for existing demand. The smart ones create it before they need it.  Which game are you playing?

The inbound marketing playbook is being rewritten by AI in real time. For years, inbound followed a predictable formula: Write long-tail SEO content → gate it → nurture with automation → hand off to sales. This approach shaped how marketing was done for more than a decade. Today, the funnel looks very different and far more fragmented. AI tools like ChatGPT, Google SGE, Perplexity, Claude, Bing Copilot, and even industry platforms like G2 now handle the curiosity-driven, top-of-funnel questions that once brought people to your blog. By the time buyers land on your site, they are already in evaluation mode. This shift changes the job of marketing: 1️⃣ Top-of-funnel hasn’t disappeared, but the mix has changed. Awareness is now fueled by social, PR, podcasts, events (virtual and live), advertising, and paid search. Long-tail SEO still plays a role, but it no longer drives demand on its own. 2️⃣ Bottom-of-funnel is where the battle is won. Your website has to function like your best salesperson. If it doesn’t clearly answer comparisons and proof questions, you won’t make the shortlist. 3️⃣ AI discoverability is the new SEO. Structured FAQs, schema markup, transparent product pages, and comparison content make it easier for AI search engines to surface your brand. 4️⃣ Citations build credibility. External validation from analysts, media coverage, awards, and customer proof increases trust with buyers and AI. 5️⃣ Cross-linking strengthens authority. Internal links and topic clusters connect your expertise and make content easier to surface. 6️⃣ Freshness signals relevance. Updated content is rewarded. Outdated content gets ignored. 7️⃣ Authority matters. Named experts and practitioner voices increase visibility and trust. 8️⃣ Multi-format extends reach. Blogs, webinars, videos, and transcripts all expand the ways AI and buyers find you. 9️⃣ First-party data differentiates. Proprietary insights and benchmarks set your content apart and make it citation-worthy. Where to double down right now: ✅ Customer stories with measurable results ✅ Industry and use-case pages showing how problems get solved ✅ Sales content repurposed for the site ✅ Robust FAQs and competitor comparisons ✅ Social proof that sounds like your buyers ✅ Event insights repurposed into ongoing content ✅ Citations from analysts, media, and customers ✅ Strong internal linking to build topic clusters ✅ Regular updates to keep decision-stage content fresh ✅ Expert voices with real names and credentials ✅ Multi-format content that feeds both buyers and AI ✅ First-party data that makes your content unique Inbound isn’t over, it is being redefined. The companies that adapt will build programs that convert faster and position their brand to be the one AI tools recommend when buyers ask, “Who should I choose?”

You can’t fix a leaky sales funnel by throwing more traffic at it. Yet I see it everywhere. Businesses pour money into ads, content, and campaigns… while leads quietly disappear. Clicks happen. Opens happen. But conversions? Often nowhere to be found. Here’s what I’ve learned actually works: 1. Awareness – Reach the Right People Don’t target everyone. Define your ideal customer. Make sure your message lands with the right audience. 2. Interest – Lead Magnets That Engage Generic freebies won’t cut it. Offer something valuable that sparks curiosity. Give them a reason to take the next step. 3. Consideration – Clear Landing Pages Overloaded pages confuse leads. Keep pages focused and easy to navigate. Make the next action obvious. 4. Conversion – Nurture Your Leads No follow-ups? Leads get cold. Guide them with emails, retargeting, and personalized messaging. Show them why you matter. 5. Retention – Track, Learn, Improve Don’t ignore analytics or feedback. Identify leaks. Fix them. Refine continuously for better performance. Despite all the campaigns, traffic, and content, Leads rarely convert because of one big reason: They fall through the cracks. Funnel optimization isn’t about luck. It’s about noticing the leaks. Fixing them before they cost you. If this resonates, repost for your network. Follow me for more actionable sales and marketing insights.