Introduction

Apollo.io grew from 15K to 7M impressions a month without big ads. They did it by turning happy users into loyal promoters.

What's the problem it solves?

Most B2B companies waste money on ads instead of building trust. They miss out on the power of real customer relationships and communities that grow on their own.

Quick Summary

Dan Cmejla helped Apollo.io grow massively by focusing on building a strong, real community-not just followers, but people who genuinely liked the brand and talked about it. Community was not just about making a Slack group. It meant getting people who already loved the product to spread the word, support one another, and create buzz without being paid to do so.

The strategy was simple: respond to every shoutout, build close bonds with top customers, and place those customers in places where others would hear them. Instead of paying for loud ads, Dan helped loyal users shine inside groups, on LinkedIn, and at events. This way, more people heard about Apollo from trusted voices. As the brand kept showing up in the right places, others started noticing and joining in. Once everything else was in place, Apollo finally built its own spaces for fans to gather-like customer or peer communities. But that came last, not first.

Key Takeaways from the article

• Community means people sharing and helping each other without being paid
• Ask your ideal users where they hang out online to know where to show up
• Use an "influence map" to plan how to spread your message through fans
• Always respond when someone talks about your brand-it's the start of advocacy
• Build real relationships with your top users and celebrate them publicly
• On LinkedIn, post smart content that speaks to each of your target groups weekly
• Divide your outreach into three teams: customer voices, partner voices, and employee voices
• Get leaders involved first so others in your company will follow
• Your own community (like a Slack or forum) should come after you've built trust elsewhere
• Community growth can drive results ads can’t match-more trust, more love, more impact

‍