LinkedIn Ads Aren’t Broken. You Just Haven’t Tested This Yet.

A client asked us recently: “Should we just pause LinkedIn for a bit and double down on Google Ads?”

It wasn’t a flippant question. It was five months into a $10K+/month effort that was driving a handful of leads and a lot of frustration.

So we didn’t say “no.” We said:

“Let’s run a holdout test. Pause it — and track how it affects the rest of your pipeline.”

Because unlike other paid channels, LinkedIn sits in a weird liminal space in most B2B orgs.

It’s not quite brand.
Not quite demand.
Not quite direct response.
And most teams don’t take the time to measure it properly.

But done right? LinkedIn can be one of your most valuable full-funnel channels. You just have to run it differently.

1. Don’t just turn it off. Run a holdout test.

If you’re considering shutting down LinkedIn ads, don’t just flip the switch. Treat it like a real experiment:

• Run a holdout test for 2–3 months. Pause spend on LinkedIn while keeping other channels steady.

• Monitor net-new opportunities, site traffic, and direct traffic. Do they dip without LinkedIn running?

• Check engagement & recall. Have your sales team ask if prospects have “seen your stuff on LinkedIn” during discovery.

This is how you figure out if LinkedIn is actually influencing pipeline — or just eating budget.

2. Treat LinkedIn like a full-funnel channel.

Too many B2B marketers use LinkedIn like a billboard: awareness only.

But that’s not how buyers behave. You need:

• Top-of-funnel reach campaigns to get in front of the right people.

• Mid-funnel engagement with doc ads, testimonials, founder content.

• Bottom-funnel conversion plays like in-feed demo CTAs or InMails.

👉 We recommend allocating budgets across the funnel, not just TOFU:

• 20% for awareness

• 40% for mid-funnel education

• 40% for direct conversion

We've seen this approach work especially well in enterprise and healthcare segments, where buying cycles are long and multiple stakeholders are involved. For one healthcare client, we generate 1 opp/month directly from LinkedIn. In another case, the client over-indexed on TOFU and wasn’t seeing any sourced revenue — we’re now rebuilding their full-funnel structure.

3. Make sure your audience is actually on LinkedIn

Channel fit matters.

One client we worked with sells to IC engineers — they weren’t very active on LinkedIn. But when the company moved upmarket to target engineering leaders, LinkedIn became viable. (Although Twitter, Reddit, and newsletters also played a role.)

Your audience needs to be active and reachable on LinkedIn. If they’re not, no targeting trick will save you.

4. Measure influence the right way

Direct attribution doesn’t tell the full story. But that doesn’t mean you’re flying blind.

Here’s what to do instead:

1. Track account-level engagement — impressions, video views, and clicks from key accounts over time.

2. Correlate ad exposure with CRM activity. Did a deal come in after an account had 20+ impressions in a week? Note the timing and pattern.

3. Use AI to extract qualitative data from discovery calls. Have your reps ask: “Have you come across us before?” or “Did you ever see our stuff on LinkedIn?” Use tools like Grain or Gong to tag those mentions and sync them into the CRM.

4. Run brand recall studies every 3–6 months to check if your audience remembers you and your message.

All of these signals together will tell you if LinkedIn is moving the needle.

5. You don’t need gift cards to generate demos (but they work)

We’ve seen success running in-feed and InMail campaigns without offering a $100 incentive. They can help — especially in crowded categories — but they’re not required.

The key is creative sequencing:

• Video or reach ads to build familiarity

• Doc or carousel ads to educate

• Clear demo CTAs once trust is built

You don’t need to bribe people to book a demo — just build a message they recognize and trust.

6. Community POV

Prompted by Ivars Krutainis 🦦:

“A real world pickle.

Here’s a situation. I have a client that we’ve been running LinkedIn ads for four, almost five months. It’s a technical product and ACV will range depending on the scope of deployment. It could be anywhere from $10k to $250k projects.

We started with target account lists. Adding job titles and member skills on top. It brought in some leads, but it soon dried out.

Then we went with native targeting. Focusing on specific industry verticals. Overlaying with job titles, member skills and company sizes. But we did not see significant uplift, so went back to account based targeting and contact lists (Clay).

We’re running image ads and conversation ads for lead gen. Founder promoted posts and document ads for engagement layer. We’ve tested driving traffic to website vs native lead gen. We’re working on video assets now.

The ad engagement is actually not bad. Image ads get 0.7-8% CTR cold and 1% CTR retargeting layer. Promoted posts get 8-10% and document ads get 3%.

But.

It’s only driving a few direct attribution leads per month. We do see some more influenced deals coming through. It’s always debatable, if the 57 paid impressions on account was the deciding factor for the client to sign up. Or was it all the other interactions they’ve had with the brand.

A lot of effort has gone into running various plays, and monthly budget is around $10-12k for LinkedIn. We’ve been at it for a while, and most brands by this point see more consistent lead flow.

What would you do?

A. Double down on account/contact lists and increase the budget to $20k.

B. Switch to engagement play with focus on founder content and video. Not expecting many direct leads, but building brand mental availability.

C. Pause LinkedIn ads and focus on other channels (paid search).

Practitioners weighed in:

💬 Kamil Newczyński commented:

“You might still get leads even after pausing the ads … In those cases, attribution methods break down … I’d continue with a hybrid approach A + B. Def. not C.”

→ Many warn against completely pulling the plug—LinkedIn may not show up in attribution, but its real value hides in influence and brand presence.

💬 Mo Fawzy suggested:

“Switch to a reach play … focus on founder content, video, social proof … Add a step for SDRs to validate … That’s how I’d do it 👍🏼”

→ Reinforces the idea of running a full‑funnel, keeping budget in awareness but with clear pathways to conversion and sales validation.

💬 Justin Hannemann chimed in:

“Wonder if there’s an option where you split ‘B’ into B1 and B2 where B1 runs 30% of the budget focussed on Brand (founder led/ emotional content) and B2 is offer based … switching offers …”

→ You don’t need to choose between brand or demand—design your funnel to serve both in parallel.

💬 Gabriel Ehrlich emphasized creative/offer fit:

“Good CTR, no conversions = offer or landing page issue. … Use Wynter to test messaging.”

→ If clicks aren’t leading to demos, the bottleneck is messaging or the value prop—not necessarily LinkedIn.

LinkedIn isn’t dead. But lazy LinkedIn is.

If you’re not seeing results, don’t assume the platform doesn’t work—assume your setup might need work.

Run a holdout test. Rebalance the funnel. Check your offer. Ask your sales team what buyers are saying.

And remember: the goal isn’t just impressions—it’s impact.

You don’t need to blow all your budget on reach ads or bribe your way to demos. You need message–market–channel fit. That’s where LinkedIn starts to pay off.

The Mistake That Can Nuke Your Domain

A few weeks ago, a marketing director reached out to ask if they could use HubSpot Sequences to run a cold ABM campaign targeting banking executives. It’s a question we hear often. HubSpot is already the CRM. The interface is smooth. It integrates directly with Gmail or Outlook. It even lets reps send personalized messages at scale. What’s not to love?

The problem is, on the surface, everything looks like it’s working. Emails are being sent. No bouncebacks. Reps are logging activities. Everyone assumes deliverability is fine.

Until it isn’t.

Until a key account never replies.

Until demo requests mysteriously drop.

Until support emails start hitting spam.

That’s when you realize: the infrastructure beneath your email strategy isn’t just fragile — it’s invisible.

What’s Happening When You Send an Email

Behind every “send” button, there’s a delicate negotiation taking place between your server and the recipient’s inbox provider. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Gmail, Outlook, or something else — they all have one goal: to protect their users from spam.

To make that decision, they look for signals.

Is this email authenticated? (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)

Is this sender reputable? (Domain & IP reputation)

Does this message look like spam? (Volume, content, links, formatting)

Each one is a vote either for or against you.

The scary part? If you’re using a shared IP or your core domain for cold outreach, even one campaign gone wrong can tank your entire reputation.

The HubSpot Assumption

Most teams using HubSpot Sequences for outbound are doing so in good faith. The logic makes sense:

• “It sends from my Gmail, so it’s fine.”

• “We’re personalizing everything.”

• “It’s just a small list.”

But here’s the catch: HubSpot Sequences feel like they were built for outbound, but they weren’t.

Sequences were designed for warm sales engagement — people who have filled out a form, booked a call, or interacted in some meaningful way. Not net-new cold outreach.

When you use Sequences to blast a cold list, you’re not just breaking best practices. You’re skating right past the edge of HubSpot’s Terms of Service, and into territory where your emails can:

• Get marked as spam

• Trigger internal compliance reviews

• Harm your entire org’s deliverability

But Doesn’t HubSpot Use My Gmail?

Yes — and that’s part of the illusion. It sends through your connected Gmail or Outlook account, but:

• Tracking links (opens, clicks) can raise spam flags

• The volume and similarity of messages can trigger filters

• HubSpot’s backend routing still touches shared infrastructure

And here’s the kicker: paying for a dedicated IP in HubSpot? That only applies to Marketing Emails, not Sequences.

So no, you’re not shielded. You’re exposed.

The Ripple Effect of a Burned Domain

When your sender reputation takes a hit, it doesn’t just impact one rep. It impacts everything tied to your domain:

• Sales emails stop getting replies

• Support emails get caught in spam

• Billing emails bounce

• Your hiring team gets ghosted

You’ll never see an alert. No dashboard warning. Just silence.

Why Tools Like SmartLead and Instantly Exist

Cold outreach isn’t inherently bad. It’s how most B2B businesses grow. But it requires infrastructure that protects your core brand.

That’s why tools like Instantly, SmartLead, and Lemlist exist. They weren’t built just for automation. They were built for insulation:

• You send from secondary domains

• You rotate across inboxes

• You warm everything up slowly

• You monitor deliverability in real-time

They treat outbound not as a sprint, but a system.

What To Do If You’re Stuck With HubSpot

Sometimes you can’t get new tools approved. Security, procurement, timing. We get it.

Here’s how to run a low-risk, semi-scalable outbound program within your constraints:

1. Buy a secondary domain. Think hello.yourcompany.com or yourcompanyhq.com.

2. Create inboxes for reps (e.g., sarah@hello.yourcompany.com).

3. Configure SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and MX records. You need that technical trust.

4. Connect those inboxes to HubSpot.

5. Warm up slowly. Start with manual sends. Monitor replies.

6. Use Sequences sparingly. Avoid tracking clicks. Keep volume low. Make it human.

This isn’t perfect. But it’s better than risking your core brand.

When Sequences Actually Shine

HubSpot Sequences aren’t the villain here. They’re great at what they’re meant for:

• Following up with inbound leads

• Nudging people after a call

• Staying top-of-mind post-demo

• Managing warm relationships at scale

When the contact already knows who you are, Sequences are magic. Just don’t ask them to do a job they weren’t designed for.

Final Thought

Email is still the backbone of most B2B sales motions. But it’s not just copy and timing that matters — it’s infrastructure. The silent systems under the hood determine whether you ever get seen.

Your domain is a long-term asset. Protect it.

If you’re doing cold outbound, either use the right tools — or isolate the risk.

Don’t let convenience today nuke your entire GTM motion tomorrow.

Ever wondered what other SaaS companies are doing in LinkedIn and Facebook Ads? We put together an Ad list of over 450 SaaS companies so you stop guessing. Check it out for free on the button below.

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Data reflects your efforts. The more you understand it accurately, the better you can improve your processes. That is, of course, when you genuinely care about understanding what’s going on without pushing a particular agenda.

Here, you will find an example of some ideas and methods we use when analyzing data to inform performance marketing strategies. As you will see, beyond shaping data to fit a narrative, we do our best to be impartial and help organizations improve their decision-making capabilities.

Let us know if you find them valuable in the comments.

Data sample

We took a data set of around 500 records that had:

• Original Source: How did the prospect first land on the website

• Latest Source: What was the source before they converted (i.e., filled out some form to become a known contact)

• How Did You Hear About Us (HDY): volunteered data that the prospect provides when they fill out a form (like requesting a demo)

The analysis below covers some high-level insights we found in the data.

Note: This is not an extensive data set (one company) and it must not be extrapolated as a playbook.

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Data Distribution

First, here’s the distribution of the data:

The first observation is that Google Search is the biggest driver in both cases. For prospects who said, ‘We heard about you via Google Search (42%) - Hubspot matches by saying that most people came in via Organic Search ( 35% to be exact). The HDY field doesn’t differentiate b/w Paid Search & Organic Search, so we can assume that 15% of Paid Search traffic is included in the Search HDY bucket.

Around 20% of folks mentioned website/ blog - this is a bit misleading since it doesn't answer the Q ‘How did you land on our website blog?’ but we can assume a high % of these might be from Search (paid or organic) because of the high % in Organic / Paid Search Original Source data.

What is interesting is the high % of direct traffic. At the surface, it does not correlate with any other channel. What we would expect is a high % of users mentioning Podcast or Social as under HD which would then correlate with a high % of direct traffic. But only 4% of HD mentions LinkedIn that correlates to Direct Traffic under Original Source. Surprisingly only 0.9% of Podcast mentions correlate - our initial working assumption was that Podcast might be leading to Direct Traffic (heard a podcast - went to the website) but that is not the case according to the data. Its likely Direct Traffic is a mix of search + social + paid + long tail of other sources where the referral data was not retained or sessions expired.

For everyone who mentioned trade show as the HD source, the Offline Sources lines up. So in this case Hubspot (in some cases more) was able to track Trade Shows properly under Offline Sources. Curious how to properly attribute / assign source to Offline Sources? Check out our Hubspot Weekly series for more on that.

There’s a lot of noise in B2B Marketing about podcasts but only 3% of folks came in via “podcast’ as a HDY source which seems low for what might be a high cost / effort channel to produce. We definitely don’t recommend NOT doing podcasts but it might not be as effective as we’re led to believe.

As we already mentioned, this is a single company limited data set, so it’s critical you analyze your particular GTM source data to reach such conclusions (feel free to reply to this email if you need a hand).

What is missing from Original Source is Paid Social - on HDY source it shows as FB / LinkedIn - but its unclear if its Paid or Organic. We will make a reasonable assumption that it is in fact Paid Social & the ad platforms show it as View Through Conversion vs a Click Through one (i.e. the user saw the ad & converted within a 30 day window).

To visualize the relationship b/w Original Source & HD Source we plotted this correlation visual:

The darker the shade of the box - the higher the #s

When comparing Original Source to Latest Source:

• Almost 40% of prospects converted via direct traffic. This might imply they auto complete the website on the browser or return to after the session / cookie expires.

• Email Marketing & Organic are close seconds. For Organic search we can reasonably assume its branded organic search (Google company name) and email might be because they converted via an email marketing campaign.

What does this all mean?

While its hard to draw absolute conclusions from a small data set there’s some learnings here:

• HDY Source can help but you probably are already capturing the data via Referral sources.

• In this case because Search (Paid & Organic) contributes to the majority of conversions - having HDY Source on form might actually be just an extra step to complete - at worse it doesn’t add anything new.

• Podcasts only drove 1% of conversions & our initial assumption that podcast might drive a lot of direct traffic did not hold true.

• Capturing First Touch (Original Source) & Last Touch (Latest Source) is probably sufficient for B2B businesses. The long tail of Reddit / Podcasts, etc., likely does not drive meaningful volume to warrant a deeper analysis. One caveat here - as you scale and go into OOH & Linear TV or other non digital channels - its best to employ lift tests, geo tests and other measurement models to determine their success.

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SaaStr is fun, but your pitch is such a drag. 

When attending events of this magnitude, you are inclined to tell others that your product is the perfect solution for their problems. It's an expensive ticket, and as marketers obsessed with metrics, there has to be some ROI from the experience. You pitch your product as much as you can, hoping someone pays attention (maybe a couple of polite people do). Quite possibly, however, few people care about your product because they, just like you, are also in pitching mode. 

It’s tiring.

We tried to have honest and curious conversations with the people attending the event on multiple occasions. We wanted to discuss growth, attribution, experimentation, etc., only to arrive at another pitch at around minute 4. 

What would happen if you stopped pitching and listened? Are events a place where you go to sell? Or a moment to connect, interact, learn, and maybe sell?

Kudos to those who understand events are part of their marketing exercise, not just an opportunity to sell but a time to learn, listen, and build genuine connections. Thank you to those who took the time and effort to listen to us and share their learnings. That is 10x better than closing one client. 

You don't need a booth to grab attention.

Events are fun, but standing out with much competition and stimulation is challenging. Once the event ends, you may remember some people and one or two outstanding products. But, most of the pitches and efforts brands make to stand out in their booths will be forgotten. 

Grabbing attention matters. It's a fact. But it is also true that the art of having the perfect "elevator pitch" or "booth" is useless if everyone is doing the same (as we already mentioned). 

Early on, we knew a booth was out of the question for us. Instead, we went all in to find a moment in the daily routine of the attendees where they would be less stimulated and more willing to have a real conversation. The idea came naturally: a limo ride-sharing experience. 

It worked. 

We met great folks, and someone called the limo a "moving booth."

Best of all, we added genuine value to their day. They got to SaaStr safely, at no cost, and in a pitch-free environment. 

Twice the impact at a 10th of the price. 

Marketing is not just doing what everyone does but doing what no one has thought of yet to build a lasting impression. If you're on a budget, dare a little, think outside the box, and even if you have a lot of cash, dream bigger and try an airplane banner. Don’t follow playbooks, but rather push your marketing teams to go beyond the norm.

The first ten ideas might be trash, but eventually, something great will come to mind. 

Being in marketing means being of the business of attention. Act accordingly.

Pitch when useful, listen and learn permanently.

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It's a difficult time for marketers; showing up and demonstrating your dept is a revenue machine matters. We get it. However, giving more importance to fast revenue solutions has a limit. At some point, all companies in all categories will face an inevitable truth: 80% or more of your potential customers are not ready to buy today. 

Strategic efforts that help your brand develop resonance and add value to these future buyers matter just as much. It may differ from what your department needs to show in the present, but would there even be a future without it?

2. Reusing playbooks over doing research

We evolved to find the most effortless ways to accomplish everything we need to do in life. We change and adapt fast, but just as in biology, once we find a way forward, we stop being curious and go all in to evolve. 

It works. 

When it comes to marketing, the process is similar. We prefer doing what we think will help us move the needle. Instead of starting from scratch, we prefer deploying “proven tactics”, except they don't always work.

Research is hard. It requires understanding internal information and reviewing countless interactions between users, sales, marketing CX, etc. It's also the only way to unlock growth opportunities you will miss if you copy-paste whatever you think worked in another context.

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to anything.

3. Overestimating "doing more" over "doing better"

It's a time of anxiety. I have only checked Slack 14 times, read and replied to 4 emails, and scrolled at least 10 minutes on LinkedIn before returning to finish this paragraph. 

Focusing is hard. And in marketing with endless channels, tactics, and formats, escaping this anxiety is almost impossible. Instead of moving slowly and truly identifying what works with limited activities, we want to do it all. It's easy to feel like you "should launch another campaign," implement a calculator, or doubling down on video. 

One of the most underrated yet powerful marketing principles is the importance of being persistent. Instead of trying to do more all the time, try doing better in a limited and premeditated set of channels. The more you focus on being strategic, learning to say no to 90% of distractions, and just doing the work, the better results you may have. Plus, even algorithms need time to learn. 

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Subscribing to a newsletter has lost some of its meaning. You may have noticed, as we have, tons of publications suddenly start looking more and more like each other. Visually they use the same type of patterns and structures, click-bait titles are rampant, and the twenty psychological "tricks" are getting old. 

Who wouldn't get bored reading more and more of the same? 

That's where thought leadership comes in through the main gates as the "new" "hot" thing that will lead your battleship to the promised land. Except, there is nothing new about writing thought leadership content nor any certainty associated with it. 

There are, however, a couple of things you can do right away to improve the quality of your content. Hopefully, reaching higher cultural resonance and being considered as "thought leadership" content.

Rule #1 - Fight Club was right.

We're in the Barbie era, but even in this unique and different moment, the idea of "not talking about fight club" is just as crucial for thought leadership content. You CAN'T approach the thought leadership challenge as an intentional thought leadership exercise. Instead, focusing on providing new angles, context, stories, frameworks, perspectives, etc., to a niche that consumes more and more of the same works better. 

Beware of positioning your content as "thought leadership" content. Others can talk about you that way, but not you. Your job is to hunt for better ideas to paint fresh pictures for your readers. 

You do not talk about your content as "thought leadership content". You merely try to write great things consistently; that's it. Simple yet extremely hard.

Rule #2 - Robots are cool; humans are better.

The internet changed how we write, how we read, and how we think. We want effortless scrolling, simple words, immediate gratification, and dopamine-driven sentences one after the next. Except, it's not just us that want that; robots also do. 

The easier your content is to track by a blind robot, the higher you can rank (we all know how this works by now). Thankfully, humans also enjoy reading just for the sake of reading and imagining, not just because hunting for H2s kickstart your brain. 

Looking for novel ideas we have not considered is one of our main traits as a species. We change, we adapt. Remember that before you even start writing anything.

Write for humans. Optimize for machines. 

Rule #3 - AI is helpful, but not a writer.

AI this, AI that... just like every company when they discovered "tech," every company now is an "AI" company. 

Brilliant.

AI is like a tireless robot that can help you come up with thoughts but it’s not an intelligent entity (not yet, at least). The whole point of writing for the internet, pushing past basic SEO, is to be useful, entertaining, and provide new perspectives. AI can help you, from brainstorming to writing. It’s great. But, outsourcing the quality and essence of your thoughts and words and expecting novelty is risky. 

Push yourself to do non-marketing and read non-marketing content (books, movies, youtube, whatever you enjoy). Dare a little. Discuss cultural pulse, insights, style, technical and tactical depth, etc. Connect your subject to the wider world and avoid persuading your audience to buy from you through boredom. And no, joining another marketing community might not be what you’re missing.

Leverage AI to help you, whether as a mirror or centaur but never as a replacement for a brain.

The quality of your content is up to you. Own it.

Rule #4 - Escape the rush.

The mythology of the startup, of the capital+runway limits, pushes us to think of time as an enemy. We must move faster, go faster, do more, work harder, etc.  Coming up with thoughts that are slightly different or that push beyond tradition it hard. Aiming for originality is a non-linear process that can take seconds or months. Plan accordingly.

You can't fail-fast-move-fast if you're genuinely interested in building new ways to understand any particular field. Good things take time (true for wine, true for thoughts). 

There are ways, however, to play around with new ideas and optimize them for growth. You can try more manageable formats, try out ideas using Tweets or LI posts, and develop them if they resonate in the wider world. You can launch shorter newsletters like this one or longer essays like the one we sent out last week. The more you listen to whatever people care about, the easier you can go for it fiercely (and get internal buy-in to try to do something unique).

Avoid sacrificing quality for speed, or depth for clicks. Some of your best ideas may take weeks to cook. Some are so raw they will take years, experiences, walks in the park, pandemics, recessions, etc. to emerge. 

Listen. Pay attention to your surroundings. Improve the quality of your thoughts and stop consuming mental junk food and lookalikes. If you're lucky, and persistent, you might strike greatness. 

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In B2B SaaS, however, with multiple ways to track behavior online, chatting with your actual users is often perceived as a burden and last resource (rather than an opportunity to gain clarity and improve). The decision-making process and the digital product essence allows teams to gain insight from data without conversations.

It makes sense. We assume people want to avoid interviews and wasting time discussing a particular product, especially when we can find the answers via digital tracking. It would be redundant to have a call to discuss how you use the product when you can see it in heatmaps. But that's different from what research is about. It's more than understanding what people do, but also why they do it.

Multiple team members at 42 come from a B2C background, and Betti, our Research Lead, comes from a place where research was robust and permanent. To her, researching is crucial to understand what consumers think today to help brands stand out in a noisy time. It's not something you do after you notice quick experimentation and iteration isn't doing the trick, nor when you run out of options. Instead, you do it before your competitors do so you can understand consumers and win. 

Knowing what people do might not be enough. Grasping why they do things a certain way or even care about your digital product/category can be why your product stands out and connects with their problems.

Everyone claims to be customer-centric, but are we? Really? Are we reducing people to datasets? Is data enough? 

This is for all of you, our readers, to answer. And while data is crucial to understand patterns at scale, stories, rituals, and context are essential to see what is happening behind those patterns. B2C could leverage data at scale better, and B2B could invest more in human-centric research. 

Perhaps it is time to revisit the role of the planner, a common B2C role in agencies and companies. A person who knows the product, the category, the user, and the bridges between them. A person who orchestrates teams under a unified voice of the consumer so all campaigns have impact. 

Do you have a person in your B2B SaaS who owns the consumer's voice? Do you know what the consumer's voice sounds like? 

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Last week I was doom-scrolling and found an Instagram story that instructed me to turn my phone around before watching. It was weird. Who uses their phone horizontally? I didn’t think much of it, but while “watching” the video I realized it had been a while since I used my phone like this.

When was the last time you turned your phone horizontally to watch a video?

It may not be so odd for you if you use Youtube regularly. But if you consume social media content beyond YT (TikTok, Reels, etc.), it’s likely vertical videos are your main video format.

So what? Why should you care as a marketer?

Because vertical ads work.

Refer a friend

Vertical is the new black. 

When it comes to performance marketing, this habit of consuming vertical videos is not just another format. It is THE format that has the best results across all clients and all platforms. 

While doing comparative analysis of our vertical vs square creatives on LinkedIn for some of our clients we found some insightful results:

On average, CTR went up by 47.83% with vertical Ads 🡇

On average, CPC decreased by 23.16% 🡇

And, on average, CPL dropped 21.19% ⬇️

In other words, the vertical format is great because:

• It grabs attention more effectively.

• People are more willing to explore products and click to find more information.

• It's less expensive than square.

For one of our clients, it was actually 46% less expensive to acquire a lead via vertical than with square formats. 

Is this an absolute new rule for marketing? No. But, if you're doing ads in B2B SaaS and not trying vertical formats, you might be missing a great opportunity. 

Your audience might not be sitting on their work computer trying to find the next SaaS to solve their pain points. They might be just waking up, walking their dog, waiting for the waiter to bring their food, or even sitting in the toilet. The only thing these scenarios have in common is the blackmirror in their pocket. You might as well use that to your advantage. 

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Would you like to learn more about what we do to leverage vertical formats? Please sign up for our office hours. Our CEO, Kamil Rextin, will share some of our frameworks in the following weeks. 

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Sometimes growth is:

• Connecting tech infrastructure and tracking: It isn't easy to build the proper data infrastructure that would allow your product to grow without breaking. Eventually, something in the backend will fail, and no matter how many leads you can capture, if there isn't a proper data infrastructure to understand where they are in the funnel, your demand generation won't work correctly. Sometimes, going back to basics to establish common definitions of the different lead stages between teams (usually sales and marketing), and connecting all of the marketing operations infrastructure is the first thing to do to help a client grow.

• Helping clients figure out their PLG model: The beauty of most PLG models is that people get to try the product before they commit. One of the product team's primary jobs is determining which features should be free-to-try and which ones are exclusively available after the paywall. Sometimes, growth means helping product teams create a better user experience (overlapping in dimensions such as UX, UI, Product, and Dev).

• Building an SEO content library that converts: Educating audiences on what a new brand, product, or category does is always challenging, even more so if you try to grow via ads. Sometimes, we go back to basics to grow and help our clients create foundational SEO content that solves current problems and searches, driving traffic and contributing to their growth.

• Analyzing sales calls. Most companies have a record of their sales calls full of untapped potential and raw customer information. Listening and analyzing these calls can dramatically inform and improve ad efficiency. From them, we learn some common objections, the primary triggers for purchase, the right words that would resonate the most, etc. This informs our copy, creatives, and overall processes that help our clients build a predictable pipeline. Understanding the human behind the data allows us to differentiate what our clients do for their customers. This is a quick win every brand should pay attention to.

• Running interviews to find insights. Some teams think they know their audience better than they do. Their interviews may be too old, they only rely on data, or they have yet to talk to their customers. These conversations help us improve processes and growth by finding the insights to strengthen copy across multiple touch points (ads, landing pages, product, etc.), ultimately helping them grow. Occasionally, these conversations also shed light and valuable information for other areas, such as sales, CX, product, etc. Qual research is, in fact, a massive differential in performance marketing.

• Doing brand lifting and performance creatives that convert. Marketing requires a balance between art and science, and ensuring people see the right thing multiple times does not guarantee good results. Brands need fresh air regarding their ad design, trying a couple of different colors, a new format, or better alignment between their copy and creatives is the way to build high-converting performance creatives. 

• Being upfront and telling prospects they are not ready for an agency. We believe in being caring, committed and curious, and we approach every sales call with this mindset. That means letting early-stage B2B SaaS companies know they may be better off building the right foundational marketing team in-house. Without an internal stakeholder that understands marketing and has a clear overall vision of the company's objectives, it makes no sense to hire an agency. Sometimes, companies may be too early to consider bringing outside partners to help them build demand-generation functions. We help these prospects by pointing them to consultants on our network that could help at a more affordable price point, or we recommend talented marketers we trust would be a good fit for the role.

What does growth mean for your product?

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Would you like to learn more about what we do to help our clients grow? Please sign up for our office hours. Our CEO, Kamil Rextin, will share some of our frameworks in the following weeks. 

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Working at 42 Agency is beautiful because you can find yourself with a team of people from all backgrounds. We are illustrators, designers, researchers, scientists, anthropologists, psychologists... you name it. But, when it comes to performance marketing and the digital advertising industry, processes and disciplines are often mistakenly reduced to fit a one-size-fits-all role.

• Are you good at numbers - Analytics specialist

• Are you good at design - Creatives specialist

• Are you good at writing - Copywriter

• Are you good at analyzing - Strategist

The example above is oversimplified, but you get the point.

We tend to underestimate the potential and advantages that each discipline brings to the table. Following established patterns and doing things as they've always been is easier. But what if we're limiting ourselves by sticking to these predefined structures? What if we could utilize our skills beyond their apparent scope?

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Improve your thinking using design.

Not too long ago, we faced a time when our director took a step back for the rest of us to grow (and for him to take a well-deserved vacation). Our brilliant art director, with a background in illustration, took this opportunity to reassess our internal and external processes and interactions.

When the rest of us saw the results, something clicked. Alejandra developed the first model for genuine collaboration between SEO, MOPs, Development, Operations, Demand management, Account Management, Design, and Copywriting. 

In this case, design was not merely about creating eye-catching visuals for advertisements (the so-called "creatives"). It was a way for us to align internally. We learned how our actions impact other teams, mapped out internal and external touchpoints we sometimes overlooked, and finally understood and visualized how much work it takes to do what we do. 

Design, in this particular scenario, compelled us to rethink our approach:

• It fundamentally shaped our current growth strategy.

• It enhanced internal collaboration.

• It boosted our confidence by visualizing the value we bring to our clients.

• It improved our ability to think, act, and grow.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, this is the definition of design. To create, fashion, execute, or construct according to plan.

We used design in its essence, going beyond its superficial portrayal as mere "creatives." Our perception changes when we look at things (rather than talk about them), allowing us to think of problems differently.

Marketing is a dynamic discipline that thrives on diverse talent. It is time we start using each domain to capture and add as much value to our marketing efforts.

Would you like to learn more about using Design Strategically? Please be sure to sign up for our office hours. Alejandra Céspedes, our Art Director, will share in the following weeks how we leverage design internally and with our clients. 

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Our peers and clients have frequently questioned whether Facebook is the right channel for the B2B market, specifically for SaaS enterprises. My answer to them has always been, 'There are a billion people on Facebook, and most likely, your audience will be among them.' For a more in-depth dive, check out our full essay here, discussing our tried and tested FB strategies and marketing tactics for B2B.

We all know that Meta's LookALike (LAL) engine is by far the most superior out of all platforms, and with better economies of scale and more placement options, the fundamental question that needs to be answered is - how can you build an effective custom audience on Facebook?

Here is what you can do:

You can build custom audiences based on Website, Customer List, Videos, Lead Forms & 3rd Party Sources (there are different sources, but for B2B, we'll focus on a handful of these below)

1. For Website: install FB pixel on your site, then match your Fb profile information with cookies logged in and logged out and the relevant hashes. Once you are in your profile, the platform can do cross-device targeting (targeting desktop viewers on their mobile devices)

2. Customer list: here is where B2B can do specific targeting by uploading lists of their customers/prospects/qualified leads/expired trials/paid users etc., and tell FB to prepare customer lists to target your audience on:

✔️Facebook networks, and 

✔️build a look-alike audience from said list.

Sidebar: add email IDs even if they are business domains (usually the case for B2B), as it would mean more data points for the platform machine to match against.

Pro tip: Use HubSpot Ads Connector to build and manage custom audiences in Meta Ads Manager using lists and statuses.

3. Videos: with an average cost-per-view (CPV) <$1, running a video ad can be more cost-effective than an average CPC, around $3-6. Just remember to target your audience based on the percentage of the video viewed. The underlying rationale is that the higher percentage of video views equals a better-fit audience, which means they are higher on brand awareness.

4. Lead Forms: generating lead-off lead forms is one of the more cost-effective ways. You can retarget those who have completed the lead form and re-market to those who still need to. For a more in-depth tactical approach to optimizing lead form, hit reply or find me on socials.

5. 3rd Party sources: At 42 Agency - we also partner with 3rd party data providers to match work emails to hashed Facebook & mobile IDs to increase match rates & improve targeting effectiveness.

Would you like to learn more about avoiding LAL Audiences? Please be sure to sign up for our office hours. Our CEO, Kamil Rextin, will share in the following weeks how we do this for our clients. 

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The ad frequency was under 3 for the last 30 days, not a great indicator, and if we filtered by the previous couple of weeks, it was under 2. It is easy to correlate these results to the usual ad fatigue scenario. The ads had been running long (seven months); they had a single creative across placements, and engagement could have been better. Yet, after digging a bit deeper, we found the problem was that there needed to be more resonance with the ads' target audience. 

Frequency became the signal that helped us identify the FB algorithm was deprioritizing this advertisement because of one or several of the following reasons:

1. There is a general lack of interest in the product. 

2. We are targeting the wrong audience.

3. We need to communicate the value of the product better.

Even though we usually think of ad fatigue as a visual problem, this was not the case in this particular scenario. 

Ad fatigue has multiple components: the creative, message, and overall topic. Using the metrics at your disposal to connect the dots and determine what to do is the challenge to get over fatigue and remain relevant.

Wrong solutions for ad Fatigue you should avoid

As performance marketers, keeping an eye on ad fatigue (audiences getting tired of seeing the same ad multiple times) is essential to maintain a healthy pipeline. If your target audience is tired of seeing the same ad, or the same message, or topic, it will negatively impact your brand, burn through your budget, and hurt conversions. 

Mistakenly, some marketers may do the following to solve ad fatigue:

• Update the way it looks, hoping the ad's new angle and feel genuinely refreshes the perception of the product (usually a flawed process). 

• Decrease the budget on the low-performance campaign, and build another set of campaigns targeting the same audience (hurting your efforts by cannibalizing the audience via multiple ads). 

In our experience, these simple solutions often need to be revised. Instead, exploring other ways to connect the product's value with the values and problems of your target audience has a more significant impact. 

Would you like to learn more about avoiding Ad Fatigue? Please be sure to sign up for our office hours. Our Sr. Demand Generation Strategist, Carlos Muñoa, will share in the following weeks how we solve this problem for our clients. 

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Creatives aren't creative... but they should.

In marketing, creatives usually refer to adding an image to a previously prebuilt copy. This text bridges the gap between the value of a product and the values of a group of people, but before ads can go live, they need "creatives." 

Overworked designers receive a couple of sentences and 14 placements with an often impossible deadline. With such a rush, instead of using creative muscles, mechanical and standardized shortcuts gain relevance. The process repeats itself for the brand and other brands until we reach a visual spirit where everything looks more or less the same. Ads keep rolling, pipelines keep growing, and creativity and "creatives" become an afterthought. 

Ads become a copy of a copy, and the only natural response is for us to ignore them (or block them). 

The problem... Generic no longer works.

Using Brand as Place

There are ways to escape repetitive visual representations in B2B SaaS. Among them, we invite our internal team and customers to think of "Brand as Place," the results help us lift brands by pushing conventional imagery out of the equation. 

Architect Peter Zumthor uses this framework to understand atmospheres and design his projects. Architecture, like design, is not just a way to organize materials but an opportunity to build memorable and enjoyable experiences. 

Zumthor divides his study into five sections:

• The Body of Architecture: The materials and their ratio compared to others.

• The Sound of Space. Echos, Acoustics, noises.

• The Temperature of Space: The sensation of temperature.

• Surrounding Objects: The things that people keep around them.

• The Movement within the Place: Your movement in that space.

If we rethink brands as a place and embrace these five elements, we can break the remix culture that has taken over our niche. Instead of using "creatives" as the last step in the ad-creation process, we can empower campaigns by using design as a domain (not an afterthought). 

Plus, if you manage to go through this exercise together with your copywriting team, the alignment between words + images is unstoppable.

Brand as Place in 5 mins

As a quick exercise, we invite you to revisit your brand visuals from a place of curiosity and openness. Write down your brand's materials (assets), sounds (details), temperature (tone), objects (typography, photos, graphic language), and movements (navigation). Do a quick brainstorm and come up with a new “creative” based on this reflection. Now compare that with the "creatives" you are showing your prospects.

Are they any different? We sure hope so. 

Would you like to learn more about using Brand as Place for your company? Please be sure to sign up for our office hours. Our creative director, Alejandra Céspedes, will soon share how we use this approach to connect brands with their ICP, purpose, and opportunities. 

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ABM is simply 'selling to your top 10-50 dream accounts', and the irony is that marketing *is not* in the driver's seat. Sales is. 

Fluffy theory aside, if you are asked to *put together* an ABM campaign or plan by your CXO tomorrow. What do you even do? Where do you even start? 

We hope this helps:

• Don't panic. Keep Calm: ABM can sound complicated and scary, but it can be more straightforward. Sit down with your sales team, and understand who they're trying to sell to.

• Start small: Run a pilot with 1 BDR & 1 Marketer & 5 accounts.

• Build a list of accounts: ABM is only good as your target account list. Ensure you don't include folks who will never buy or are not a fit for what you sell. For example, if you are selling sales software and the company doesn't have a sales team.

• Do account research: Create an Account Planning Template that outlines who they are, key stakeholders, backgrounds, and potential warm intros + company priorities.

• Align your systems & measurement to the account-based model. You can absolutely still generate *leads* but from the target accounts.

• Don't worry about intent data, ABM platforms, or IP-based Ads. Upload your account list to Zoominfo to target specific accounts & drive engagement, lead & web visits—Re-market on Search / Display and Social.

• Leverage events to get F2F time with prospects (both new & existing pipeline)

• Design thumb-stopping creatives customized for each account.

ABM is a sales activity. Marketing needs to surround its market with its messaging and appear like *you are everywhere* - the above is an oversimplified ABM list of tactics. You can go deeper into custom content, OOH direct mail, field marketing, outbound, and social selling (the list goes on and on). 

You can deploy tech and resources as you scale and prove your success, but never start with *I can't do ABM because I need X tool*. Measurement can be based on net new leads from target accounts, connect rates with BDR outbound, and "engaged accounts" + pipeline velocity.

If you want to chat more about this - hit reply or find me on socials. We might host office hours with the 42 team about this at some point - if you are interested - drop your name here so we don't show up to an empty house. 

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Last week we discussed what demand generation was. This week, we decided to take it further and share with you all some of the most common mistakes we have seen B2B SaaS companies make regarding their performance marketing campaigns.

1. Not setting up online and offline conversions. Traditionally performance was measured on a browser action - for example, someone filled out a form or signed up for the trial. These events can be tracked in the browser (page load) and can be pinged back to the ad platform to say, 'Hey, something good happened.' But signing up for a product doesn't mean they are activated. Likewise, when someone schedules a time for a demo doesn't mean they turned into a qualified opp. This is where offline events come into play. Offline here means an 'event' that does not happen on the client (browser) side. With Offline Events - you can optimize (and train) the ad platforms not on form fills or trial signups but on deeper level events like Qualified Opp, Subscriptions, or Activations. Hubspot / Zapier & Segment can take your server / CRM side data and sync it with ad platforms to create offline events, so you are optimizing against outcomes closer to revenue outcomes.

2. Under investing in landing pages and creative teams: How do you know a B2B Ad when you see it? Stock photos. Too many B2B Brands stick to what is safe (and boring). As Alejandra (Creative Director @42, whose work you've seen in the illustrations for the essays) has said - you aren't just competing for attention from other B2B brands on the newsfeed. But you are also competing against Netflix and its shiny new show. Because of this competition in terms of attention, it is crucial to invest in Ad creatives that stand out in the feed. But, once they click on the ad - don't just take them to the home page. Instead, build a relevant experience with an optimized landing page that connects with the ad and helps them overcome objections they might have. Sam Grover said it best - on the demo page, don't sell the product; sell the demo.

3. Over-investing in branded search: We worked with a customer who transitioned off to a bigger agency (and we left on excellent terms) - catching up with the CMO, he mentioned how the new agency just keeps investing in branded search to make performance look good. Branded search has a place, but we believe it doesn't bring incremental customers. 20-30% of your budget should be on branded search (if you are in a highly competitive category), and you want to 'defend your turf.' As an experiment - turn off your branded search for three weeks. Does organic make up for the difference? Do you notice a difference in performance? 

4. Lack of critical thinking on bid strategies: Bid Strategies are how you tell an ad platform what you care about and how much you are willing to spend to get a result. By default, most ad platforms will default to the lowest-cost strategy. For example, on Facebook - the algorithm will try to spend the 'least' amount of money to get you the desired result. But if you sell a 50K ACV product - you can pay significantly more to acquire a qualified lead. In this case, we can use Cost Cap (a bid strategy in Facebook) to tell it, 'I am willing to pay upto 500 for a conversion,' and that gives Facebook's algorithm the ability to go beyond trying to find the 'cheapest' audiences to finding higher quality audiences. On LinkedIn, we often use manual bids to force LinkedIn to show our ads (and bid higher in the auction over competitors), so our ads take precedence over others in the newsfeed. On Adwords, we use manual CPC (sometimes) instead of fully automated. The machine (that is Google Adwords of FB) does know better, but in some cases, it helps to have more control and set broader parameters for the algorithm to work within. We are definitely not suggesting using manual bids all the time but understanding when to use specific bidding strategies to get the results. 

5. Product channel fit: What's the best channel for SMB Paid Media? Facebook. The chances of finding an economically viable way with an SMB product on LinkedIn are low. Should you write entirely off Linkedin if you're selling SMB products? Absolutely not. Should you invest more heavily in Facebook? Absolutely. If you are selling an enterprise product that doesn't have ANY search volume - it does not make sense to invest in SEO. Product - Channel fit is all about understanding how your customers buy & aligning your GTM strategy with it (outbound or SEO or Paid Media or OOH etc.) 

6. Treating paid media in isolation: Paid media is not a magical insert one-dollar get-two machine. It works in tandem with other channels & X channel alone won't be the magic bullet. For example, when we build marketing mix models for our customers or do statistical analysis- we see a big lift in direct & organic when paid media campaigns are running & a significant drop when we turn off all paid media campaigns. Too many times - paid media or marketing channels are treated as silos. The truth is - being *everywhere*creates a halo effect that helps build brand affinity & lowers customer acquisition costs.

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Wishful thinking.

Demand Generation (DG) is an umbrella that includes customer acquisition (channels, content, and strategies) and infrastructure (how do the systems and technologies support the revenue teams - for example, what happens once you implement a tool to help Sales & Marketing to be more efficient at generating revenue).

DG, in our experience, is about understanding the job is done when an opportunity is created or when the gong is rung (because a deal closed).

Marketing Pillars

Should content' report' into Demand Generation in our definition? Sure. The marketing org in a B2B Company should have three giant pillars (oversimplified) 

- Demand Generation (or Revenue Marketing or Performance or Growth): The function of this team is to work with Sales (or Product in case of a freemium GTM) to generate customers & get "in front" of prospects that are in-market. In our view, SEO or direct response content sits *under* DG.

- Brand: Not tied to near-term goals. Brand teams should build longer-term programs that help associate your product/company with X problem or JTBD. Investing in a brand is investing in future demand. The function of a brand team is not to hit short-term revenue targets but make sure the out-of-market folks have a positive brand association with your brand/product. Doing so well is crucial given that your product becomes the preferred choice when they become in-market. Opinionated original content (like this essay and our newsletter) is more of a brand function.

- Product Marketing: This is a tricky one and a function that most people get wrong. We recommend Emily Kramer's essay for an in-depth view of the PMM function. Product marketing really is a foundational function of marketing. While it is not accountable for revenue (directly), it indirectly impacts every single function in the company (from Sales to Product to Marketing to Customer Service). PMMs build the market positioning and messaging and help translate, communicate, and connect product functions to problems/solutions & market needs.

In our next mini, we will discuss the top 6 demand generation and advertising mistakes in B2B SaaS companies. Don't miss it by subscribing (no spam, we promise).

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1. I had a problem with this marketing process.

2. I used this formula I developed or copied from top influencers to solve it.

3. I found success.

4. You can do it too. If you want to learn more, leave a comment (and chances are it becomes an endless spam sequence in your inbox).

Or alternatively, you may also find the vulnerability pattern:

1. I thought I knew this, but I was secretly suffering from carrying the heavy weight of this problem.

2. I decided to stop pretending I was okay and publicly embrace my vulnerability and fear.

3. I found success by being open about it and asking for help (sometimes it goes personal and vocal about valuing spending more time with the family or exercising, among many other things).

4. You can do it also; it's okay not to be okay.

The issue with constantly "Problem Solving" is that it skews our perception. If all we see and consume on social media validates the idea that continually solving problems is essential, by default, we will follow this behavioral model also. 

But that's not the only way to succeed in your marketing efforts. In fact, there might be better ways to do it. 

Being Practical and Thinking in Systems.

Don't take us wrong. We love problems and solve problems every day. But, instead of focusing on what might go wrong or is going wrong, focusing on the practical and real domino effects of your actions serves the marketing team better. 

We can summon problems out of thin air if we are constantly looking for problems. If, on the other hand, we are paying attention to how our actions affect the system, we can both solve problems and remove the need to find them in the first place. 

It seems counterintuitive, but many issues solve or simplify themselves without having to do anything at all. And even if they don't, a mindset of process-driven actions beats problem-solving scenarios because:

1. It removes the anxiety of having to solve the problem but instead builds a system to improve your chances of winning. 

2. It forces you to think beyond causality (action-effect, problem-result) and instead think systemically (nodes and their effects in accomplishing something).

3. It removes the pressure of constantly innovating or embracing the next big trend and leads you to improve your systems. 

4. It removes the need to constantly have to debate if this course of action is better than this other one (different ways to solve the same problem). 

5. It pushes you to act in connection to a purpose and a system built around that purpose, not in a reactive problem-solution framework.

Problems are great because they are at the core of our storytelling-wired brain. When it comes to marketing, though, thinking in systems and making the right bets beats stories any day. 

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― Gene Wolfe, Shadow & Claw

Recently, we began running qualitative research to understand what our previous clients thought of our work. To no one's surprise, most clients tell us that working with performance agencies usually is a "waste of time and money" and that, in a way, their expectations are hardly ever met.  

Truthfully, the agency model's success depends on the client's success. So... why are performance agencies perceived as institutions that intentionally waste resources? Isn't that the opposite of what they should do?

A nuanced answer

As with most things in life, the answer is relative. Agencies have clients with a limited lifetime value, so most believe being constantly on the lookout for clients is adamant. The problem with this superficial take is that you may be willing to overlook that some clients aren't ready to work with a performance agency (they may need to work on more structural issues of their product).

To clarify this issue and answer this common scenario, we developed some ideas to help decision-makers determine if and when they are ready to hire a performance agency.

When to hire a performance agency

The best moment to hire a performance agency is once you are ready to cross the technology adoption chasm and want to enter the early majority section of the curve. If your SaaS is there, you should:

• Have a crystal clear picture of your users/JTBD/problems.

• Know precisely the critical features of your product that your customers love.

• Have precise positioning, messaging, and overarching communication guidelines that resonate with your customers.

• Understand your category and how you play in it.

• Have an orchestrated in-house team (sales + marketing) that can move fast without attribution dilemmas/issues. 

• Be sure the agency helps you build a data-capturing machine to log all your marketing and sales operations activities (Marketing Ops). Performance without this is useless.

• Have built some performance marketing campaigns and figured out what works and what doesn't (or you have some hypothesis).

• Have the budget and growth needs that a freelancer will never be able to achieve (agencies move and help you grow faster, but they are usually more expensive).

When not to hire a performance agency

Generally, you should avoid performance agencies if you believe their role is to help you solve fundamental business problems. Performance agencies help companies build upon what already works; they are not specialized in figuring out what is not working and how to iterate and improve the product. Instead, they help you perform at the highest level possible.

If your SaaS is struggling with structural business issues, you should prioritize the following instead of hiring a performance marketing agency:

• Fine-tuning your product and channel market fit. Figure out exactly why your product is helpful for your customers and the places where they live online so you can get in front of them.

• Understanding who your customers are (and aren't). Understand who are the people that value your product and why, as well as the segments that may benefit from other types of solutions. 

• Nailing your messaging, positioning, and brand. Know what you are saying about your product, how it compares with your category, and the benefits customers receive by trusting your brand beyond features.

• Work with consultants that can help you figure out problems. You might not be ready for an agency, but a consultant or freelancer with a deep understanding of performance marketing can help you figure out some wins/add clarity to your strategy.

Are performance agencies terrible?

Sure, if they sign the wrong customers at the wrong time. Performance marketing is not a magical lead generation machine; it is an orchestrated effort that helps companies expand their reach and solve evident problems potential users are experiencing.

As a performance agency, we take these insights and understanding to heart. We hope to be more equipped to provide strategic guidance rather than falling into the trap of closing the wrong clients (wasting everyone’s time and money).

There is no magic. To perform in any domain, you must be ready for it.

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