I Spent $1,500 on LinkedIn Influencers - Here's What Actually Worked

After getting burned by fake engagement pods in my first round of influencer marketing, I decided to try again with a smarter approach. Here's the complete breakdown.

The Setup

I invested $1,500 total - three influencers at $500 per post. All three were in the French-speaking B2B space, which I chose after seeing strong results there previously for my Saas.

Why LinkedIn influencers are undervalued:

• Competition is incredibly low compared to Instagram or TikTok
• B2B audiences have actual purchasing power and budget authority
• Influencer rates are surprisingly affordable given audience quality
• $500 can be just a few months of revenue for B2B SaaS

Finding the Right Influencers

My method was simple but effective:

I analyzed my best-performing previous campaign and looked at who engaged with that content. Then I identified accounts with their own substantial following among those engagers.

My outreach was direct: "We ran this campaign with [influencer name], interested in similar collaboration?" Shared the previous results, negotiated pricing, done.

The Campaign Structure

This is critical - most brands get this completely wrong.

The format I use:

1. Create a viral-worthy post with a call-to-action to comment a specific keyword
2. Influencer replies to every comment with a link to a Notion resource
3. The Notion doc provides a blueprint/guide related to the post topic
4. My SaaS is positioned as the tool needed to implement the blueprint
5. Free trial signup happens naturally through the resource

Why not mention the product directly in the post?

Maximum reach. The goal is impressions, comments, and click-throughs - not immediate sales pitches. When you optimize for engagement first, the algorithm rewards you with more visibility.

I see major brands like Canva and others making this mistake constantly - they don't put links in comments. People won't manually search for your brand. Make it one click or lose the conversion.

Managing the Campaign

I don't leave anything to chance:

• I write the posts myself and get them approved
• I create custom Notion resources with unique tracking links for each influencer
• I monitor comments constantly and push influencers to reply immediately
• Each influencer gets different tracking so I know exactly who drives what

Posts went live Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday for staggered exposure.

Pro negotiation tip: If pricing is too high, don't just walk away. Ask for multiple posts at the same rate, or bundle in their newsletter/YouTube/other channels. Influencers care more about hitting their price point than the exact deliverables.

The Results

58 free trials generated across all three campaigns.

Based on typical 30% trial-to-paid conversion rates, that's approximately 16-17 paying customers.

At an average of $100/month, that's $1,600-1,700 in monthly recurring revenue from a $1,500 investment. Breakeven in under 30 days.

Interesting twist: The influencer who performed best last time had the worst-performing post this time. Still profitable, just less spectacular. Shows the importance of testing multiple creators.

Additional value beyond direct conversions:

• Thousands of visitors to the Notion resources
• Hundreds of website visits with high intent
• Brand awareness - future customers who "recognize" the tool later
• Posts continue generating trials long after publication
• Warmed-up audience for retargeting

Key Takeaways

LinkedIn influencer marketing is one of the most underpriced acquisition channels right now. The economics work if you:

1. Choose B2B-focused creators with engaged audiences
2. Optimize for reach first, conversion second
3. Make clicking through as frictionless as possible
4. Control the creative and follow-up process
5. Track everything with unique links
6. Push influencers to engage with comments immediately

For high-ticket SaaS products, you only need to close one or two deals to be profitable. The barrier to ROI is incredibly low.

Author: Unhappy_Emu_8572