Oliver Meakings

I'm the founder of Senja.io, a bootstrapped SaaS that helps you collect, manage and share customer testimonials. 

Senja helps you collect testimonials using automations, and share them as images, widgets, popups, Walls of Love, links and videos.

I'd love you to try it: Senja.io

Co-Founder

Co-founder of Senja.io. Collect, manage and share your testimonials.

Olly Meakings

I want to spend $120,000 on marketing

$20,000/month over six months

This will be my biggest ever marketing bet at Senja

But I want to scale from $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 ARR and need to take bigger bets

My brain is telling me to try and scale something measurable - meta ads, Google Ads, cold outbound

But my gut thinks I should focus on the hard work of building relationships with power-users and influencers of our ICP

Less measurable, slower to ramp-up, but a genuine opportunity to find and persuade the right people to use Senja, and get to success

This work would then act as the foundation of future marketing activity

So I'm torn

What would you do #BuildInPublic?

Building a bootstrapped SaaS in public, without the BS

I got roasted by 250 people

I knew my post would be controversial, but I had no idea it would also totally change my thinking

I thought people would focus on the measurable vs unmeasurable marketing question, or discuss head versus heart when making strategic decisions

Instead some very smart people focused on me fixing fundamental issues with the product and our product-led growth (now) before sequencing in paid (later)

Senja is product-led but I've drifted way from this over time because our churn and TOF sign ups have met and I have been looking to throw money at the problem

I'm starting to realise that paid will compound existing issues, whereas (unmeasurable?!) relationship building will not only drive TOF but assist throughout the funnel -> activation -> retention -> referral -> churn

We help our customers collect and share video testimonials and stories, and tell them this is how to grow, so it's critical that this is the foundation of our own marketing

Finally I need to look again at our product growth loops as we're uniquely positioned to grow from them IF enough news customers are getting to success

Our tool creates (awesome) assets for our customers that can drive awareness and TOF but only if they are being shared

Thanks to everyone who commented and especially to Olya Grovel 👩🏼‍🔬 who challenged my key assumptions

This is exactly why I LOVE #buildinpublic

I’m hiring my first marketer for Senja

Where should I look?

I'm hiring at Senja!!

Let's start 2026 getting the world's best creator educators on Senja!

I'm looking for someone to manage concierge migrations.

You will lead our efforts to find the best creator educators, tell them about Senja, migrate them to our platform, and ensure they get to success.

If you’re interested, application in comments below.

Your annual reminder that #buildinpublic is for this:

→ Accountability
→ Reflection
→ Helping others through sharing
→ Building community
→ Hiring

Not this
→ Getting rich quick
→ Doing marketing
→ Getting likes on X

The most rewarding part of sharing my journey has been having a ritual to reflect on my progress.

And then sharing it in a way that can help others.

I know a lot of people see #buildinpublic as a way to market their business, and that's a nice second-order effect.

But fundamentally it's about sharing, helping and democratising information.

I'm particularly inspired by those who continue to do it at scale, like Joel Gascoigne at Buffer ✨

I have $12,000 to spend on Meta ads

I want to run 3 cycles of $4,000 of ad spend

Who should I talk to about Meta ads for SaaS?

Most testimonials are filler

Not because they're bad, but because they're untested and unmeasured

You collect them, edit them, and share them on your sales pages

But you have no idea if they're actually helping buyers to make a decision

What if your leads could tell you which testimonials were most helpful?

And you could use that information to show more of the most helpful proof in your marketing?

Over time, you could discover
→ Which stories resonate
→ Which formats work
→ Which proof belongs above the fold

And which testimonials should be hidden

This is something I've been exploring at Senja in our widget playground

Visitors can actually upvote the proof that was useful to them

What do you think?

Would visitors actually leave feedback on a testimonial? 

#buildinpublic

Kicking off 26 with some great news - another native integration live!!!

You can now find Senja inside Umso

Instantly add your customer testimonial widgets to your Umso landing pages

This type of integration Senja's customers get to success in other tools

And it increases the discoverability of Senja across the web

Plus, it's amazing to see Senja inside tools I love and use

I write about how people make money online and I host events for creatives on growth and monetization.

It started with a podcast called Low Energy Leads, about how to find clients. That turned into Revenue Rulebreaker, where I cover subscriptions, memberships, digital products, sponsorships and more. I don’t care about 7 figure this or that or what Alex Hormozi said to do. I cover the lovable underdog whose triumphs were hard won and whose story offers a repeatable lesson.

I have 13+ years of experience in revenue growth and marketing for tech companies, small businesses, nonprofits and media ventures. I love digging into what makes a revenue stream hard to pull off, experimenting with it myself and explaining it’s pitfalls and opportunities so you can use your time and money more wisely. 

My work is financially backed by my paid subscribers and paid partnerships.

Visit lexroman.com for more on me 
Check out my blog at revenuerulebreaker.com

Lex Roman

My visa was approved. I get to live in Bogotá this year. I am over the moon excited about it, but it is not lost on me what an immense privilege this is.

A huge motivator for this shift is learning Spanish. For real. It was hard to do that in California. Nearly impossible in Georgia. It’s much, much easier here where I speak it and hear it daily. I’ve made substantial progress living in Latam the last nine months and with this year, I’ll be able to work with one language school and keep a consistent accent and vocabulary.

It's really important to be able to speak Spanish now and only becoming more important.

I’m a massive fan of Bogotá. It has quickly become one of my favorite cities, maybe even my favorite. For a cinephile like me, it’s full of indie movie theaters and arts programming. It’s super walkable and bikable and the weather cannot be beat. There’s lots of language meetups and cultural exchanges. Being so close to the mountains is just the best. I’m also planning to travel around Colombia to see more of this beautiful country before my year is up.

I’m aware that our passport privileges are on borrowed time. I’m going to use mine to the fullest extent while I can and when I return home, I will be much better for it.

Writer and publisher of Revenue Rulebreaker and the Paid Newsletter Playbook. Creator and community convener for The Legends Network.

Today, I launched a directory for The Legends Network. We hit 200 Legends and I promised when we got there, we'd unlock this. Why a directory?

We're a network and y'all want to know each other. I am often asked "are there other Legends in Phoenix?" or "which Legends do copywriting?" and this new directory will help us answer those questions faster! I thought I could concierge a lot of this, but truly what a dumb idea to make myself the bottleneck.

My goal is for you to be able to find people by shared audience, industry and location to build real relationships with so you can help each other grow. It's the ONLY way for small businesses to beat big business. Collaboration.

Few are in here yet because even though there's 216 Legends now, I want everyone to opt in to being included. 

Give me your permission to include you and/or fill out your own profile here, Legend: https://lnkd.in/eQjw7gtG

Check out the directory: https://lnkd.in/ek5cK2vF

I don't know that directories are that exciting but I do think the amount of collaboration, hiring, referrals, support and amplification the Legends do for each other is exciting. It's become a high value, high signal place to meet people and I am forever grateful to these 216 people who choose to make that it that way.

You have an opportunity to turn your newsletter, blog or podcast into a media company. It does not have to be a funnel. It can make money on its own. Here's how:

1️⃣ Choose a model: advertising, sponsorships or subscriptions
Advertising = slots you sell usually cheaper than sponsorships, less integrated into your brand and you don't offer creative to produce them. Brand supplies creative.

Sponsorships = creative partnerships where you use your reputation to sell for the brand. Higher paying, longer lasting and more work.

Subscriptions = recurring payments from your audience. You can treat this like a membership or a content subscription. 

2️⃣ Figure out who will buy and start pitching
Send pitches to advertisers or potential sponsors. Set up a sales page with your packages. Create a lifetime or annual subscription and start sending it around. 

You need to set a revenue target. $5k or $10k is good for US-based creators but whatever feels like meaningful momentum to you works. When you hit it, you'll know your project is working.

3️⃣ Systematize or pivot
If your chosen model works, systematize it. Invest in automations and communications that will serve its growth. That's things like Zapier, Outpost, Airtable, etc. If it doesn't work, pivot and test one of the others.

You could also try affiliate or one time contributions BUT I will say I think those are the HARDEST to make money from and generally are better for bonus revenue than a core business model.

So, what do you think? Are you gonna turn your media project into a business?

Writer and publisher of Revenue Rulebreaker and the Paid Newsletter Playbook. Creator and convener for The Legends Network. Paid subscription and memberships expert.

I'm building a community-forward indie media brand. Jessica Lackey helped me name that yesterday. I want to share more about what it means for us.

Revenue Rulebreaker is a publication that surfaces rare and unexpected stories about how solo and micro entrepreneurs do business.

Every month, we publish 4-8 new indie business stories. Featuring 1-3 guest contributors. I produce 12 newsletters every month. And I host 2-4 public events. 

To pull this off, we need community investment. That's where The Legends come in. The paid subscribers of this publication. 

As backers of this work, they are the primary beneficiaries of it. They receive promotion of their business, introductions to relevant contacts, visibility in places like my newsletter and our new directory, invites to collaborations and mixers—and coming this year—our first ever international Legends retreat.

It's not a typical media model. I have a background in starting and growing communities. So I'm centering the community in building this publication.

It would not exist without active interest and investment from the community that surrounds it. It will not continue if that goes away.

It's an exciting time in media, especially for small business owners who want to take advantage of this window to turn their media project into a business. I want to use this opportunity to create a platform for microbusinesses whose stories are not getting told. And I want to do it in a way that grows the businesses of all those who choose to be part of it.

That's what we're doing here.

If you want to be part of this project, become a paid subscriber: https://lnkd.in/ez8hdF4h

Or contribute to my campaign to pay contributors, development costs and ads to get us out there: https://ko-fi.com/lexroman

I don't see social media going anywhere but I think we’re all going to have to choose: is social our job or not?

You used to be able to post mediocre stuff and it would work. Bring in followers, leads, buyers. Those days are gone. 

If you're sticking around the social networks, you're going to be increasingly forced to produce higher caliber content. This will drive you to decide if you want to get paid for that or if you'd rather find other ways to market your core business. 

Some of us will choose to make social media our job. The rest of us will close this chapter and move to alternatives.

Over the last month, I talked to several entrepreneurs who have already left social. Their reasons and warnings made me wonder if I should bail too.

Why they left and where they went in my latest story: https://lnkd.in/eBHHTS5Z

I found this note a Facebook recruiter sent me in 2018. One line stands out: "ready to change the world?"

If you've read Careless People, you know that Facebook did change the world. In many dangerous ways. Every year, it becomes more clear that we drew the short end of this stick. The risks are plain. The rewards are diminishing. Still, the magnetic pull to keep scrolling the feed is strong.

Towards the end of last year, I noticed a batch of entrepreneurs announcing their exit from social in 2026. I wondered if this time it was different. Bigger than "I need a break" and more "we should end this thing for good." So I reached out to several of them to find out. Why leave now? And what's the alternative?
 
What they said made me question if I should stay.

Read my story "Should you quit social?"—out today for Revenue Rulebreaker 
https://lnkd.in/eBHHTS5Z

Last week, we met to talk newsletter channels. How were people growing their list? These were the top channels.

Next week, we're meeting to discuss newsletter landing pages. What sections should you include to get the most conversion on your page?

You can do this work on your own, but you learn A LOT faster if you convene with others. That's why I'm hosting events all winter and spring. Because we move faster together. These are not classes. They're workshops and discussions. Places for you to move forward one piece of your business and hear from others on the same journey.

Come join us for upcoming events: https://lnkd.in/ekb8JEyN

Save 60% when you get a season pass: https://lnkd.in/efBczzcd

What channels work to grow your newsletter

Can you charge for discovery calls? Usually service providers offer for them for free, but what if they could actually be a moneymaker?

Stephanie Benedetto decided to run an experiment. Charge for discovery calls. Announce it as an offer. See if serious people inquire.

Tomorrow, she tells us what she did and what happened next.

Only in Revenue Rulebeaker: https://lnkd.in/eyKpkXNH
(Newsletter readers will get a longer preview than what's on the site so get in there!)

can you charge for discovery calls poster

Everyone loves the idea of collectives. Worker owned cooperatives have popped off in the last couple years. But what happens after you start one?

Branding strategist Jamie Cox formed Strange Salt in 2022 as a way to spin up cross-functional teams for creative projects quickly. 

The premise was sound. Everyone keeps their own business. They work together opportunistically. Clients get only the creative support they need, when they need it.

So, why didn't it work? Jamie unravels it for us in today's featured story only on Revenue Rulebreaker 

https://lnkd.in/eU3eWcf9

I can write the contracts he told me but I don't think this is a good idea

I booked my first sponsor ever in 2020. It was a tech company I had done a ton of free promo for. Learned a lot. Would have done it differently. Now I'm telling you exactly what I *would* do if I was to do it all over again.

Sunday's issue of Revenue Rulebreaker is going to be a *very practical guide* to booking your first sponsorship.

I'm covering WHERE to find sponsors, HOW to think about sponsorships and WHAT to price it at. 

This is a great companion to our event series in February which is all about booking sponsorships, partnerships and collaborations.

Get Sunday's issue: https://lnkd.in/eXNtMUSt
Join our events: https://lnkd.in/eCRskuVz

What are your top THREE wishes for this year? I asked The Legends what they wanted to make happen this year and here's what they said.

🪄Launch parenting podcast
🪄Speak conversational Portuguese by June 2026
🪄Book a $20k+ writing project
🪄Finally start my education business via Teachers Pay Teachers
🪄Talk to 100+ agency owners 
🪄Find voiceover work
🪄Meet other Systems Strategists like myself
🪄Partner with a long-term sponsor who wants to get in front of food/bev CPG brands
🪄A venue partner in Philly that doesn't make my life hard
🪄Get invited to host a live in-person workshop about SEO for business owners, and get paid for it

These are just some of the 100+ wishes Legends have logged in the wishlist. The idea is that if you wish out loud, other people notice and they might help. 

I've had three people reach out to me about one of my wishes already and it's already come true.

Check out the whole wishlist and if you're a Legend, add your wishes!
https://lnkd.in/eura7bXJ

I spent the better part of three years promoting a tech company that did not pay me. I knew I could be getting paid, but I had no idea HOW MUCH I could be getting paid. Now, I see these relationships as partnership opportunities.

Sponsorships get a bad name because they are a version of advertising. What's cool about them is that they are a more trusted way to run ads—especially if you as the creator are discerning about who you work with and what you promote.

It's likely you already have relationships that could turn into sponsorships, but if you're drawing a blank, here's 7 ways to find your first sponsor.

1) Start with your affiliate programs 
You can even test run your affiliate links with your audience as a "campaign" and see how they perform before pitching that sponsor.

2) Consider products and services you're recommending a lot
Especially if you're recommending them to clients, your email list, your followers and they're responding with interest.

3) Reach out to other creators and service providers you know
I do partnerships now with other creators, authors, and service providers. Service providers can often get the fastest ROI because they're selling multi-thousand dollar deals so just one pays back their spend with me.

4) Peek at other creators in your space
See who's booking with them and reach out for a contact if you see a brand you think you'd be well suited for. You can also backchannel what that brand is like to work with.

5) Put it out there on your channels
I booked one sponsorship and got a couple other inquiries just by saying out loud on LinkedIn that I was looking for partners.

6) Dig through your DMs and inboxes for ideas of sponsors
You might already be in conversation with people for collaborations or for other reasons and sometimes, those could become paid partnerships.

7) Ask your audience about their problems, needs and interests rn
Survey, poll or interview your audience for ideas. They hold the keys to sponsorships because it's their interest, engagement and action that makes your partnerships successful.

Think of your sponsorships as relationships. Aim to build them for the longterm, delivering results to your sponsors and working in collaboration with your audience and you will see how rewarding a revenue stream this can become for everyone involved.

Want my whole guide to booking your first sponsorship? I wrote it up for Revenue Rulebreaker this weekend: https://lnkd.in/euSpZ6DW

What's a win I can have TODAY? Not next month. Not next year. Now. 

Antonio Neves lost everything last year in a wildfire that destroyed his family's home and neighborhood. Rebuilding felt enormous so Tony asked: what's a win I can have today?

Out of that question, "The 1-Day Method" was born.

Tony started tracking his one day plan on scraps of paper. Figure out what success looks like TODAY. And then, at the end of that day, capturing what the wins were.

It worked. So Tony turned it into a book and a planner. It's a system you can use whenever you feel overwhelmed by five year, one year, even one month plans. Just make today a success. Build the momentum. One day at a time.

This Thursday, I'm hosting Tony for a Meet the Author on how you can use "The 1-Day Method" to change your life right now. If you've never been in the same room with Tony, YOU'RE IN FOR A TREAT. There's a reason he's an international keynote speaker with over 400 keynotes under his belt. 

Our live event will *not* be recorded so you have to be there to experience the magic.

Register for Thursday's event: https://luma.com/bf1bb4x4
Get your free 1-Day Method starter kit: https://lnkd.in/eU_74rHY

(This event is held in partnership with Antonio Neves and The 1-Day Method)

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The Battle

Olly Meakings

Lex Roman

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taplio

The Battle

Olly Meakings

Lex Roman

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Olly Meakings's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreLex Roman's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreOlly Meakings's LinkedIn Performance