How to Build a Revenue-First B2B Content Engine
TL;DR: Devin Reed explains how to transition from volume-based marketing to a revenue-focused content system by leveraging the 95:5 rule, aligning with executive goals, and prioritizing personal profiles over company pages.
In B2B marketing, there is a desolate outpost you want to avoid at all costs. Devin Reed calls it ‘Content Island’.
It's a siloed department where marketers churn out blog posts, decks, and case studies, reacting to sales requests without a strategy, isolated from the revenue engine of the company.
Luckily, Devin, the former Head of Content at Gong and Clari and now founder of The Reeder, knows how to build a bridge off that island.
In a recent conversation for the Attributed podcast on the state of B2B growth, he laid out a blueprint for dismantling the "more is better" content factory and replacing it with a system that generates demand, influence, and revenue.
Keep reading for all the details, or listen to the entire conversation.
Why You Should Pivot to "Pull" Marketing for the Majority
The most common mistake companies make is treating content marketing like a cold call by attempting to force a demo request on a user who discovered the brand thirty seconds ago.
Devin advocates for the 95:5 Rule (popularized by Professor John Dawes), which dictates a hard reality for eager sales teams:
5% of your total addressable market is in-market, or ready to buy right now.
95% are not looking to buy, but they are looking to learn.
If your content strategy only pushes for booking that demo, you are fighting over the 5% scraps with every competitor you have. The real growth lies in the 95%.
I’m tired of chasing people. That was my thing in sales. In marketing, I was like, how can we use persuasive marketing tactics to get people to be attracted to us?
To fix this, you must create a ‘pull’ dynamic. This could look like building a programmatic series (podcasts, newsletters) that adds value to the 95% so that when they eventually enter the 5% window, your brand is already leading their consideration list.
Aligning Content with Board-Level Priorities With the "CEO Slide" Strategy
How do content marketers secure budget and creative freedom? They stop pitching content ideas and start pitching business solutions.
Devin’s method for alignment is simple: Find the CEO Slide.
Every year or quarter, the CEO presents a slide to the company or the board outlining the top 3-5 critical initiatives (e.g., "Win the Enterprise," "Launch in EMEA," "Dominate the Category").
Use this slide to inform your content decisions.
For example, don’t pitch a podcast because podcasts are popular. Pitch a podcast because the CEO’s slide says “Win the C-Suite", and data shows executives listen to podcasts, not read whitepapers.
By tethering your content initiatives directly to the board-level goals, you move from being a cost center to a strategic partner.
Distinguishing Between Leading Indicators and Revenue Pipeline
One of the reasons content is undervalued is the lack of linear measurement. Unlike paid ads, where $1 in often equals $2 out immediately, organic content plays a longer game. This creates a black box, especially regarding organic social activity, that leaves B2B marketers guessing.
Devin suggests splitting your dashboard into two distinct categories:
Leading Indicators (Visibility & Health)
These measure the daily pulse of your strategy. Look for LinkedIn views, follower growth, and organic engagement.
Lagging Indicators (Business Impact)
These measure the bottom line. Track pipeline sourced, pipeline influenced, and revenue closed to prove that the organic LinkedIn post from Q1 actually influenced the closed-won deal in Q3.
Don't optimize high-traffic pages for low-funnel conversions. If a blog post is educational, the CTA shouldn't be a high-friction demo request. It should be a soft conversion, like subscribe to the newsletter or follow on LinkedIn.
Why Personal Profiles Outperform Company Pages 5x
The algorithm has spoken, and it prefers humans. Personal profiles on LinkedIn often see 5x the reach of company pages.
Reed suggests a “Left Door vs. Right Door" analogy. The Right Door (aka your company page) is a more uphill terrain with bumpy roads, where it’s 5x harder to get seen. The Left Door (your personal profile) is a paved road with easier access and higher trust.
Why take the hard road?
Let your team and executives be the broadcasters. Authenticity wins. People trust people, not logos.
But don’t ignore your company pages entirely. It can act as a landing strip. When a buyer sees a post from an employee, they click the company page to verify legitimacy, what you do, where you are based, and what you are providing.
Remember to keep it real, don't force employees to be corporate drones. Let the zany characters be zany, and the corporate folks be corporate. A mandate for 100% compliance on profile banners usually results in 100% resistance.
Leveraging Vulnerability and Milestones to Build in Public
For companies in the Series A to C range trying to punch above their weight, silence is the enemy. Devin points out that many companies want to be perceived as market leaders but insist on winning in private.
The key to getting loud is a blend of transparency and strategic showing-off. Share your revenue milestones, pull back the curtain on internal processes (even revealing minor screw-ups, like forgetting chairs at an executive dinner), and embrace vulnerability.
Perfection is suspicious; sharing failures makes a brand feel human and makes wins feel earned.
Also, leverage well-designed physical assets that transcend digital channels, ensuring your brand gets on people's desks and then into their feeds, building thought leadership that resonates both online and off.
For example…
Conclusion
Devin’s philosophy ultimately comes down to a sales rep’s intuition: differentiation wins deals.
Stop trying to outdo the competition's volume and start trying to outmaneuver their narrative. Find a point of view that doesn't exist. Identify what your audience is craving but not getting.
To escape Content Island, you need to speak the language of the business, align with the CEO’s vision, and build a bridge directly to the revenue line.
About the Speaker
Devin Reed is the founder of The Reeder, an advisory firm helping B2B SaaS companies build content systems that drive pipeline and brand growth. Devin transitioned into marketing to lead content strategy at Gong (helping scale from $20M to $200M ARR) and Clari. He specializes in applying a sales mindset to content marketing, ensuring that creative efforts are always tied to revenue outcomes.
