How I Generate Inbound Leads Through Organic Content on Linkedin
Last year, I talked to 50+ CEOs and Founders of early-stage startups. They are hungry, passionate, brilliant, and committed to improving the world. In general, they all have great products or services.
But they all miss something.
Leads, inbound leads mainly.
The fact you have little or no inbound when you build your company is a problem. Why?
Because building an outbound funnel is more complicated and more expensive sometimes.
It requires hours and hours of work, usually from a person (mostly the founders).
Early-stage products could have a way easier life if they could build an initial inbound motion.
However, the reality is different, and 9/10 startups I talk to have little or zero inbounds.
They are seeking help to build their initial customer base from outbound.
This can be done, of course, but there is another way. There might be another way.
Take me, for example.
I built my own business from 2 primary sources of revenue:
Inbound
Referral
Inbound from my daily post on LinkedIn and my newsletter.
Referral from the people I have worked with.
And the flow is going on now for over a year. I get 2-3 leads every week, consistently.
Outbound is only 20% of my total revenue generated in 2023.
Posting on LinkedIn daily and writing my newsletter every week have been the main drivers for my business.
Then, why are so few founders willing to do it?
There are multiple reasons.
Consistency is one.
But also the fact that not everyone is confidently showing their true self on a platform like LinkedIn. And I respect that. LinkedIn can be intimidating sometimes.
I was lucky enough to work at LinkedIn for four years, and I have seen from the inside how powerful it can be to post consistently on the platform.
I am not posting for the sake of posting but to give value and for free, asking nothing in return.
However, on the other side, it's not that hard.
Everybody can start generating inbound leads through content creation.
But you need a system.
I have bought multiple courses (the best is the one from Justin Welsh and his Content Operating System), and I found this to be a great system to start posting consistently:
1. Idea Capture
You need to find a system to capture ideas from podcasts, google searches, YouTube, articles and books. Just ensure you capture things you find interesting about your field or work. Write them down and leave them there.
2. Idea Generation
The topic of your posts should be something you are passionate about. For example, if you have built a SAAS product to help lawyers or accountants simplify some repetitive tasks, talk to them about the industry, the trends, what you have seen working and what's not. Make sure the ideas you generate add significant value to your ICP.
3. Template
It would help if you used templates: story, listicles, contrarian view, videos, carousel. Build templates for your post, see what works, and replicate them. The worst thing you can do is stare at a blank page. For example, if you want to write a personal story, use this format:
Pain/Attention — Use a personal story or start with a problem
Agitate — Share how things got worse and what happened to you/someone.
Intrigue — Show them a new perspective to think about that's intriguing
Positive Future — Show the future benefits associated with the conspiracy.
Solution — bring clarity to how they can achieve a positive future with a solution
Or this:
Observation Template from Justin Welsh Content Operating System Course
4. Editing
Using Grammarly, ChatGPT, Hemingway, or any other tool can help you refine your raw writing. After the text is ready, find the best hook for your post.
5. Publishing
You can use multiple tools. I have used Taplio for LinkedIn, and now I'm using Publer to post on multiple accounts and scheduling. Use what works for you, but if you have a platform where you can write and schedule better. Scheduling is critical because it allows you to block your time and schedule 2-3-5 posts simultaneously.
6. Systemize
The best way to be consistent is by building a system. Post every day at 9 am, every evening at 5 pm, or every Friday at noon. Stay consistent with the day and the hours you are showing up. Your followers will show up, too.
Summary
Generating inbound leads through content creation and organic growth is the best thing you can do for yourself and your startup.
You are the front person of your company; before buying your products, people want to learn and know you. There is time to detach yourself from your startup when scaling up.
But at the beginning, indeed at the beginning, you can't hide and hope somebody else will build this for you.
You have to show up, and doing it consistently on LinkedIn will fast-track this process.
Thanks for reading this far. I'll see you next Saturday, same place, same time.
