Hello!

I’ve been talking in broad strokes lately, at least, it feels that way to me.

It’s funny how easy it is to geek out on something and not realize you're in the weeds.

So this week, I’m zooming in.

I’m breaking down the first layer of what I see as the demand foundation: building awareness. I call it the Demand Starter, and it’s where real momentum begins.

Hope you find a few nuggets you can use. And if you’re ready to kickstart your own demand engine, there’s a subscriber-only offer waiting at the end 🔥

Most marketing teams jump into tactics: Ads, SEO, LinkedIn, outbound, nurture sequences.

But they skip the first (and most important) layer in a modern GTM system:
The Demand Starter

In my Lean GTM framework, the Demand Starter is Layer 1: Awareness that you own or earn. It’s how you build trust, test your point of view, and attract future buyers before they’re in-market.

If your GTM strategy isn’t converting, it might be missing a Demand Starter.
This is the awareness layer, where you use owned and earned content to attract buyers before they hit the funnel. It could be:

The format doesn’t matter. What matters is that it creates signal, scales attention, and gives you a way to publish and learn without gatekeeping or depending on paid spend.

Wondering if a newsletter is still worth it in B2B?
It’s one of the most efficient ways to build awareness, test your POV, and feed every other part of your demand system.

They are one of the most underrated Demand Starters in B2B, yet:

✅ They’re easy to start
✅ They can be repurposed everywhere (LinkedIn, video, email)
✅ They have built-in distribution to warm, opted-in leads
✅ They play nicely with AI (discovery, summarization, repackaging)

And unlike nurture sequences, they don’t expire.

Nurture has a finish line.
Once it's done, you need to re-engage. Resend. Retarget.

Newsletters don’t end.
They build a relationship. They create consistency. They make your ideas, and your voice stick.

That’s why newsletters are one of the best starting points for demand. Not the only one. But a smart one.

✅ More signal from your content
✅ More ideas that scale into other channels
✅ A flywheel for POV, product, and pipeline
✅ A warm audience for launches, sales, and advocacy
✅ Less pressure to “go viral” or chase attribution ghosts

But here’s what you also get:

A repeatable system.
Something you can point to when the CEO asks, “How are we showing up in search or AI results?” You’re not scrambling.

It’s your entry point into AI discovery, your repurposing flywheel, and the place your POV gets sharpened week after week.

It’s not just content. It’s how you build visibility, authority, and a feedback loop that feeds everything else.

And the best B2B companies are starting to realize this. They’re acting more like content creators than corporate marketing teams:

→ Notion’s newsletter is a masterclass in education + product POV
→ Lenny’s newsletter didn’t just grow a list, it built a media empire and multi-product business
→ Even Gong turned their insights into a content loop that sells

This is where B2B is headed. The companies that learn to show up with signal, not noise, will win more mindshare, and more deals.

In the next issue, I’ll break down exactly how to structure a newsletter that fuels your demand engine, without burning you (or your team) out.

But for now: Do you have a Demand Starter? Or are you still guessing what to post next?

P.S. I’m running a live cohort to help marketers build (or fix) their newsletter and turn it into a demand-driving content loop. It’s called:

Newsletter, But Make It Pipeline

Reply “newsletter” for details, subscriber pricing is still live. Or DM @ [email protected].