Adam Robinson (Retention.com & RB2B): The LinkedIn Growth Playbook for SaaS Founders

Building a SaaS business from the ground up requires more than just a brilliant product or a killer pitch.

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The real secret to success?
It’s building a massive audience long before you even launch.
Adam Robinson, founder of Retention.com and RB2B, cracked the code on LinkedIn growth, and his playbook is one every SaaS founder needs to follow.

Here’s the breakdown of how Adam built his audience, connected with potential customers, and created the viral growth engine that powered Retention.com to a $22M ARR.

1. Build Your Audience Before Your Product

Adam didn’t have a product when he started on LinkedIn.
Instead, he shared his journey, talked about the problems he was solving, and built an audience of engaged followers before he launched his company.

Story Time:
When Adam first started posting on LinkedIn, he shared his real, unfiltered process of building Retention.com.
He didn’t wait for everything to be perfect.
Instead, he showed the messy, behind-the-scenes work.
This built trust and created a loyal audience ready to buy into his vision, even though he didn’t have a product yet.

Takeaways:

• Start with your story: Share the real journey, the wins, the losses, and the hurdles.
• Engage early: Build a community of people who care about your mission before you ask for anything.
• Trust takes time: The more you share, the more your audience trusts you.

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2. Content is Your Funnel, Not Your Feed

Think of LinkedIn as a place to build relationships, not just broadcast messages.
Adam's content wasn’t just about selling—it was about providing value and making people feel heard.

Story Time:
In his early days, Adam posted content that didn’t directly sell his product. Instead, he gave insights into his industry, shared lessons from his failures, and made his audience feel like they were part of his journey.
One of his most viral posts? A thread about the brutal realities of SaaS pricing and how he learned the hard way. People loved it.

Takeaways:

• Be helpful: Post educational, valuable content instead of just selling your product.
• Create engagement: Ask questions, share personal experiences, and get your audience involved.
• Leverage storytelling: Real-world stories create stronger connections than sales pitches.

Check out these tips for creating a compelling pitch deck

3. Consistency is Everything

Consistency is the cornerstone of Adam’s LinkedIn success. He posted daily without fail, even on days when he felt like he didn’t have anything important to say.

Story Time:
There were days Adam didn’t feel like posting. But he stuck with it.
Even when the posts weren’t generating the desired engagement, he kept showing up. Slowly, his audience grew, and so did the impact of his posts.

Takeaways:

• Post daily: Stay on top of your audience’s mind.
• Quality over quantity: Even short, insightful posts can have a huge impact.
• Never skip: Consistency builds momentum over time.

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4. Humanize Your Journey

Founder-led marketing works because people connect with people.
Adam made his journey relatable by being open about the challenges he faced, and in doing so, humanized the process of building a SaaS company.

Story Time:
Instead of pretending everything was perfect, Adam openly shared the real struggles—hiring the first employees, dealing with failures, and the lessons learned along the way.
This transparency made his audience feel like they were part of the process.

Takeaways:

• Share your setbacks: Don’t just talk about your wins—talk about the failures too.
• Be authentic: People connect with realness, not perfection.
• Relatability builds trust: When people see you struggle and succeed, they believe in you more.

Learn more about how transparency helps build trust with investors

5. Engage Your Community Like a Pro

Adam didn’t just post content and walk away. He engaged with his community—he responded to comments, asked follow-up questions, and genuinely interacted with his audience.
Engagement is a two-way street.

Story Time:
Every time someone commented on Adam’s posts, he made sure to respond thoughtfully.
This wasn’t just about increasing engagement; it was about building real relationships with potential customers, partners, and even investors.

Takeaways:

• Engage actively: Respond to comments and DMs.
• Ask follow-up questions: Keep the conversation going.
• Build relationships: Engage with your audience beyond just posting.

Discover how engaging with your community can boost your SaaS sales

6. Shoutouts Lead to Viral Growth

One of Adam’s secrets to LinkedIn growth? Shouting out others in his space.
This created a ripple effect where others started shouting him out in return, expanding his reach exponentially.

Story Time:
Adam often recognized other founders or influencers in the SaaS and B2B spaces, giving them credit for their achievements. This not only built relationships but also encouraged others to shout him out, creating a cycle of mutual promotion.

Takeaways:

• Give before you ask: Recognize others and show appreciation.
• Build reciprocal relationships: Giving shoutouts leads to more visibility.
• Mutual promotion is powerful: People love being recognized, and it strengthens bonds.

Check out how to use shoutouts for B2B SaaS customer acquisition

7. Make Your Posts Actionable

Every post Adam made had a clear call-to-action. Whether it was asking his followers to comment, sign up for a webinar, or check out his latest blog post, he made it easy for people to take the next step.

Story Time:
One of Adam’s posts linked directly to a new blog post he had written. He didn’t just say “check it out”—he told his audience exactly what they would gain by clicking on the link and reading it.

Takeaways:

• Every post should lead somewhere: Whether it's a blog, a sign-up page, or a free resource.
• Clear CTAs: Make it easy for your audience to take action.
• Guide them to the next step: Don’t leave people guessing about what to do after reading your post.

Master your call-to-action with these proven strategies

8. Learn from Your Mistakes

Adam is the first to admit that not everything went smoothly. But he learned from each mistake and used it as a growth opportunity.

Story Time:
In the early days of Retention.com, Adam misjudged a couple of key hires. Instead of hiding his mistakes, he shared the lessons learned, which made his audience even more invested in his journey.

Takeaways:

• Fail fast, fail forward: Mistakes are part of the process.
• Share what you’ve learned: Your audience will respect you more for it.
• Turn setbacks into growth: Every mistake is a stepping stone.

Learn how to use setbacks to attract investors

Conclusion

Adam Robinson’s success didn’t come from a secret formula or magic tricks.
It came from relentless consistency, transparency, and a genuine commitment to building an engaged LinkedIn community.
The SaaS founders who take this playbook and make it their own are the ones who will see explosive growth, both in followers and in revenue.

Start building your LinkedIn empire today, and the results will follow.

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