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Tried a branded content partnership with a tech publisher and it flopped hard
We spent $15k on a sponsored article series with a major B2B tech site last quarter. Thought the audience overlap was perfect since they cover enterprise software. Six weeks in we got 200 clicks and exactly zero leads from it. Turns out their readers skim branded content the same way everyone skips ads. Has anyone else had better luck with native advertising in this space or should I just stick to thought leadership?
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danielr941mo ago
... and I've got a feeling you got sold on "audience overlap" without checking how that audience actually behaves. The thing with B2B tech readers is they have ad blockers and trained eyes - they skim past anything that looks like a sales pitch, even if it's wrapped in a "sponsored by" label. Next time, try doing the opposite of what feels safe: put your budget into a single high-quality piece of thought leadership from someone your buyers already respect, not a publisher's editorial team. Run that through your own channels or a niche newsletter where the readers actually trust the person recommending it. That's how you get real conversations, not vanity clicks.
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anthonymurray1mo ago
Does it ever actually work or does it just look good on a report?
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