Case Study 10 / LinkedIn Content
Turning two founders' expertise into a LinkedIn audience and a direct line to buyers
One marketer set the strategy for, wrote and edited the LinkedIn presence of two founders: profiles of about 13,000 and 5,000+ followers and a LinkedIn newsletter of 3,400+ subscribers, with each issue emailed to between 2,303 and 2,533 people. The same voice ran a founder-led DM campaign: 104 prospects contacted, 43 messages seen and 7 replies, a 16.3% reply rate among people who opened the message.
Founder track record: this work was led by Clarafold's founder before founding Clarafold, while working as marketing manager at a maritime compliance software company. The client's name is withheld until it approves publication; every figure comes from its own systems. Clarafold client engagements are added as they complete.
- LinkedIn newsletter subscribers
- 3,400+
- combined founder followers
- ~18K
- email sends per newsletter issue
- 2,303–2,533
- DM reply rate among messages seen
- 16.3%
01 · Client
Maritime compliance software company
Maritime compliance software and services company led by two former senior seafarers. Name withheld until the client approves publication.
The challenge
In maritime compliance, buyers trust people who have stood on a bridge more than they trust brands. The company's strongest asset was its two founders' credibility as former senior seafarers, but founders running a company rarely have time to turn that credibility into a steady public presence and a stream of conversations.
02 · System
What existed before.
- Founder expertise expressed in conversations, not in anything publishable
- No single strategy connecting the two founders' profiles, a newsletter and outreach
03 · Intervention
What was built and run.
Set one strategy for two voices
Defined the content strategy for both founders' profiles: the compliance themes each would carry and how posts, the newsletter and outreach would reinforce one another.
Wrote and edited in the founders' voices
Posts and newsletter issues were written and edited for the founders, built on their experience at sea and in fleet management.
Used the newsletter as the anchor
A LinkedIn newsletter on one founder's profile became the regular publication, emailing every subscriber directly each issue.
Opened conversations in the same voice
A DM campaign to a defined prospect list carried the founders' perspective into one-to-one conversations. Alongside it, 3,092 email records from LinkedIn and Lusha were consolidated into one ICP-tagged prospect list.
04 · Outcome
What changed.
Two founder profiles of about 13,000 and 5,000+ followers publishing in a consistent voice, and a LinkedIn newsletter with 3,400+ subscribers, each issue reaching 2,303–2,533 inboxes.
104 prospects contacted by DM: 43 seen (41.3%) and 7 replies, which is 6.7% of everyone contacted and 16.3% of those who saw the message.
The founder voice built here was carried into the owned email newsletter in case study 03.
05 · Lessons
What we would tell you.
- In expert markets, the founder is the channel. People follow seafarers they trust, not logos.
- One strategy, several voices. Two founders publishing on aligned themes compound; publishing independently, they dilute each other.
- Measure DMs on seen messages, not sends. More than half the messages had not been seen, so the reply rate among people who saw them is the honest read on the message.
Put It To Work