9 Content Marketing Lessons for VCs
January 8, 2024 by Ajdin Perco
Helping VCs create content, grow newsletters, and build a social media presence have been some of the most exciting projects I have ever had the pleasure of working on.
And I’ve learned a thing or two about growing VC content engines along the way.
Some of these lessons are related to content creation. Many are related to strategy and distribution. Some may apply to individual investors, while others are more relevant for institutional and corporate VCs.
These lessons below are listed in no particular order. I hope you enjoy reading them!
1. Readers are drawn to personal opinions
Readers rarely care about faceless institutions and their bland, risk-averse approach to content.
Instead, people want to know what individual investors or partners think. They want to hear their unfiltered opinions, passions, or even regrets.
Now, a growing number of VCs have realized this.
Francesco Perticarari, a general partner at Silicon Roundabout Ventures, is one such case. Perticarari built a sizable audience on LinkedIn by sharing his personal opinions on a range of relevant topics, from startups to EU regulations and beyond. I enjoy reading his posts, like this one on the two types of European investors:
His content efforts are also helping the VC firm he works for gain considerable exposure.
To stand out, VCs need to step into the content arena as individuals, and only then as organizations.
This also means that VC firms should always publish content with a byline, and the author better promote their opinion on social media, too.
2. Clear thinking, clear writing
Writing is but a medium to express thoughts and arguments. And regardless of whether VCs write content themselves or use a ghostwriter, the quality of that content is directly shaped by the clarity of their thoughts.
Paul Graham is my personal favorite when it comes to investors with clear, succinct writing. Read any of his numerous essays (some of which I listed below) and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a single example of convoluted thinking or complicated writing.
Write and rewrite content until you (and your editor) are satisfied with it.
Writing can even serve as a tool to refine your arguments. Too often do we only see fallacies in our thinking when we put pen to paper.
Here’s how Graham explains the relation between writing and thinking in his essay “The Need to Read”:
“A good writer doesn't just think, and then write down what he thought, as a sort of transcript. A good writer will almost always discover new things in the process of writing. And there is, as far as I know, no substitute for this kind of discovery. Talking about your ideas with other people is a good way to develop them. But even after doing this, you'll find you still discover new things when you sit down to write. There is a kind of thinking that can only be done by writing.”
3. Passion will get you started, but habit will see you through
It’s easy to get excited by the idea of creating a content brand, of creating an audience that can help you source deals and connect with founders almost on autopilot.
This excitement prompts investors to launch content programs, whether as a blog, newsletter, YouTube channel, or something else. It’s passion that gets them started.
But creating content is hard, even with skilled ghostwriters. Because writing is thinking fuelled by your opinions on lots of different things.
To persist, you need to consume good content, observe events and people, and document your reflections. These should become joyful habits.
Take, for instance, the newsletter published by the VC firm Angular Ventures. The firm’s founder, Gil Dibner, launched the newsletter in 2018 and has been writing it by himself every week for over five years. Later on, he got help from other team members as his firm expanded.
Gil is a passionate investor and an avid reader. He has a habit of reading a lot and observing events, then documenting his thoughts every week.
Gil’s example shows that when it comes to writing thought leadership content, one needs to be able to think and generate insights independently. That part can never be outsourced.
But developing reading and journaling habits make it much easier to always have thoughts worth sharing.
4. ROI-wise, content marketing is similar to an index fund
Content marketing is a long-term investment in building your brand and audience. Its ROI dynamics mimic those of an index fund.
You’re unlikely to reap great rewards fast. But stick with it long enough and you’re all but guaranteed to benefit from it.
Internalizing this mindset is important. It enables you to play the long game instead of chasing quick hacks.
5. Growing a mailing list is the ultimate goal
Promoting content without capturing emails is a waste of your efforts. Because growing a mailing list is what VC content marketing is all about.
Your newsletter subscribers remain unaffected no matter what new social media or search algorithms are introduced.
Take, for instance, CB Insights. This platform for tracking startups, tech markets, and trends runs a newsletter with over 567,000 subscribers.
CB Insights’ SEO traffic levels may ebb and flow. But its content is all but guaranteed to be served to hundreds of thousands of newsletter readers every week.
6. Social media is the key engagement channel
Promoting content is as important as creating it.
The best way to promote VC content is through social media. Since interesting and controversial takes are likely to prompt engagement on social platforms, use that to your advantage.
Test different types of social content: with images, without images; text only, video only; portfolio news, personal reflections.
First Round Capital’s LinkedIn profile is a case in point. Sometimes it shares posts with videos and portfolio updates.
At other times, it shares article recommendations and portfolio company CEO's quotes.
Monitor the performance of different types of social media content and double down on what works.
7. There’s never enough newsletter signup CTAs
Make it easy for people to sign up for a newsletter.
Always add a newsletter signup link, no matter which platform you use to promote content.
Adding signup links everywhere and all the time might seem excessive to some, but many social media users are seeing your posts for the first time. Make it easy for them to connect with you.
Here’s how Gil Dibner does it:
8. Newsletter growth ideas come in all shapes and sizes
There are lots of ways to grow a newsletter beyond social media.
Some VCs might write a guest post for other newsletters or industry sites. They might write and promote an ebook or a report through paid ads. They could also sponsor mentions in newsletters that target a similar audience.
Whatever their method is, VCs should continuously think about ideas to grow their newsletters beyond traditional social channels.
9. A content creation workflow brings order
Content creation and publishing can get messy.
Who’s writing content this week? Who’s repurposing it for social media? Who’s distributing it? Who’s doing reporting and analytics? Who’s tasked with new content creation and distribution ideas?
These and other questions will inevitably come up.
To help tackle these questions, it is good to have a workflow with clear duties for each member of your team. And then all you have to do is trust the process and remain consistent in your efforts.