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your linkedin strategy how-to + following: mallory contois

where VCs go to market

Author

Rachel Mackey
October 10, 2024

VC Marketing: The Hot Take This Week

I’m back from a little (unexpected) hiatus! I was recently in San Diego for the Let’s Talk Ops Summit, where I had the opportunity to speak on leveraging Linkedin for your personal brand alongside Nina Willdorf.

Prior to my break, I promised that we’d dive into actionable marketing basics. When you’re thinking about marketing as a VC, your strategy will vary depending on:

  • the stage you invest at

  • whether you’re emerging, established emerging, or established

  • what verticals you invest in

  • and ultimately, what’s important to your GPs

When you’re thinking about developing a strategy, there are three key areas you should hit: Linkedin, Blogs, and Email Marketing.

Since I’m coming off my recent talk on leveraging Linkedin, let’s hit that point first.

Company Pages

  • They’re important to maintain, but not where you should be expending most of your energy.

  • I recommend posting once a week, or even only once every two weeks.

  • What kind of content should you be sharing there? Portfolio news + highlights, investor spotlights, upcoming events, and reposts (without comment!) from your broader team and portfolio.

Personal Pages

Creating a persona and content strategy for yourself and/or key team members is where you should be spending your time. It has the highest ROI and gives you the greatest ability to speak directly to your target audience- which is probably current LPs, potential LPs, and qualified founders. When people feel they’re connecting to a person rather than a company, it sets a much stronger foundation for building relationships that will last. Some things to consider when building a strategy:

  • Have an audience in mind. Don’t be afraid to tweak your content as you learn more about your audience.

  • Write like you talk. If you read something you wrote and it sounds weird, don’t be afraid to use the edit button… but do wait at least one hour or the Linkedin algorithm will work against you.

  • Keep a note/google doc/voice recorder/old timey feather quill and scroll handy so you can remember ideas to write about as they pop up- inspiration strikes in the most unexpected moments, in my experience.

  • Scared to write your own content? Don't be, but also, that’s fine. Start by engaging with other people’s content by leaving thoughtful comments.

  • Get out of your head. My best performing posts are the ones that I didn't have time to overthink.

Follow for Hot Tips 💅🏽

This week, I’m following Mallory Contois. Mallory is the founder and moderator of the old girls club, a virtual gathering space for women and non-binary people working in male-dominated industries, with a specific focus on members with 5+ years of experience. Her Linkedin content is A+.

Tell Me What’s Going On 👩🏽‍💻

Outside the AI boom, it’s a buyer’s market for cash-strapped startups. The hook: Increasingly, discount M&A deals are disclosed without revealing the price tag, saving face for founders and their backers.

Young men and women are moving in opposite directions. The hook: Even after all the votes are tallied and we’ve moved on from the 2024 election, we’re not going to have resolved any of the cultural and relational tension between young men and young women.

What should follow California’s vetoed AI safety bill? The hook: The move is being celebrated by big tech companies, startups and much of the VC establishment, who feared the bill would stifle innovation.

VC titan Ben Horowitz plans "significant" donation to Kamala Harris. The hook: Horowitz and business partner Marc Andreessen stunned Silicon Valley in July by endorsing and donating to Donald Trump, saying he was the best candidate for technology startups.

Tell Me Where To Be 🤝

Denver

LA

LA Tech Week starts October 14th! I’ve picked a few events that are interesting to me- full calendar here.

Austin

Chicago

That’s all for now. See you next week!

Have a recommended follow or event? Want to sponsor this newsletter? DM me.