# Quora Post Templates

**YOUR TOPIC:**
Marketing strategy for startups

**YOUR CREDENTIAL:**
Former CMO | Built marketing teams at 2 acquired startups | $50M+ in spend managed

**YOUR GOAL:**
Establish thought leadership, drive newsletter subscribers

---

## WHAT ARE QUORA POSTS?

Quora Posts are standalone articles you publish without answering a question.

| Feature | Answers | Posts |
|---------|---------|-------|
| Requires question | Yes | No |
| You control topic | No | Yes |
| Appears in follower feeds | Yes | Yes |
| Can share to Spaces | Limited | Yes |
| Google indexed | Yes | Yes |
| Format | Response format | Article format |
| Competition | Many answerers | Only your post |

**Why Use Posts:**
- Share insights proactively
- Control your narrative
- No competition on same page
- Direct to followers
- Repurpose content from elsewhere

---

## POST TYPE 1: INSIGHT/OBSERVATION

Share a key insight from your experience.

### Example Post:

**Title:**
```
The most expensive marketing mistake I see startups make (and how to avoid it)
```

**Body:**
```
After 12 years in startup marketing, I have seen one mistake destroy more marketing budgets than any other:

**Scaling before finding what works.**

Here is what it looks like:

A startup raises funding. They hire a marketing team. They launch campaigns on 5 channels simultaneously. They spend $50K/month "testing." Six months later, they have burned through $300K and cannot tell you which channel actually drove results.

I have seen this pattern at least 20 times. I have made this mistake myself.

**The fix is boring but effective:**

1. **Start with ONE channel.** Pick the one where your customers already spend time.

2. **Spend enough to learn, not enough to scale.** $5K is usually plenty to know if something is working.

3. **Define success before spending.** What does "working" actually mean? Cost per lead? Conversion rate? Define it upfront.

4. **Only scale what is proven.** Channel #1 works? Great. Now add channel #2. Never go from 1 to 5.

This approach feels slow. Investors might push you to "move faster." But I have never seen a startup fail because they validated channels before scaling. I have seen many fail because they did not.

---

*I write about marketing strategy for startups at The Strategy Snack. If this was helpful, follow me for more.*
```

**Word Count:** 237

**Why This Post Works:**
- **Hook headline** (most expensive mistake)
- **Specific experience** (12 years, 20 times)
- **Clear problem** identified
- **Actionable framework** (4 steps)
- **Credibility through vulnerability** (made this mistake myself)
- **Soft CTA** at end

---

## POST TYPE 2: LESSONS LEARNED

Share lessons from a specific experience.

### Example Post:

**Title:**
```
5 things I learned building marketing teams from scratch at two startups
```

**Body:**
```
I have built marketing teams from zero at two startups. Both were eventually acquired. Here is what I learned:

**1. Hire generalists first, specialists later.**

Your first marketing hire should be able to do a bit of everything. Specialists are great when you know what works—but early on, you do not know yet. A generalist can test channels, write copy, analyze data, and figure out what deserves a specialist.

**2. Your first hire sets the culture.**

This person will help hire everyone else. They will establish how marketing works at your company. Get this hire right, even if it takes longer. A bad first hire cascades into bad second and third hires.

**3. Do not hire for where you are. Hire for where you will be in 18 months.**

If you are at $1M ARR aiming for $5M, hire someone who has done $1M to $10M before. They will grow with you. Someone who has only done $0 to $1M might plateau.

**4. Process matters more than talent.**

I have seen talented marketers fail in chaotic environments. I have seen average marketers thrive in well-structured ones. Build repeatable processes before worrying about hiring rock stars.

**5. Invest in your team's growth, or lose them.**

Good marketers want to learn. Budget for courses, conferences, and experiments. The ROI is not just retention—it is having a team that keeps getting better.

---

These lessons cost me several years and many mistakes to learn. Hope they save you some of both.

*Building a marketing team? Feel free to ask me anything in the comments.*
```

**Word Count:** 284

**Why This Post Works:**
- **Number in title** (5 things) = scannable
- **Credibility upfront** (two startups, both acquired)
- **Each lesson is standalone** valuable
- **Specific guidance** (hire for 18 months out)
- **Generous closing** (ask me anything)

---

## POST TYPE 3: HOW-TO/TACTICAL

Share a specific process or framework.

### Example Post:

**Title:**
```
The 30-minute weekly marketing review that keeps startups on track
```

**Body:**
```
Most startup marketing teams are so busy executing that they never stop to ask: "Is this actually working?"

Here is a simple weekly review I implemented at both startups I led marketing for. It takes 30 minutes and prevents months of wasted effort.

**The 30-Minute Weekly Marketing Review**

**Minutes 1-10: Numbers check**

Pull these metrics for the week:
- Leads generated (by channel)
- Cost per lead (by channel)
- Conversion rates (lead → opportunity)
- Pipeline generated
- Traffic (if content-focused)

No analysis yet. Just get the numbers in one place.

**Minutes 11-20: What is working vs. not working**

Look at the numbers and answer:
- Which channel performed best this week?
- Which performed worst?
- Any surprises (good or bad)?
- Anything we should stop doing immediately?

Be honest. If something is not working, say it.

**Minutes 21-25: Next week priorities**

Based on what you learned:
- What should we do more of?
- What should we do less of?
- What is the ONE most important thing to accomplish next week?

One priority. Not five.

**Minutes 26-30: Blockers and needs**

- What is stopping us from moving faster?
- What do we need from other teams?
- Any budget or resource issues?

**The output:**

A simple document (I use a Google Doc) with:
- This week's numbers
- What worked / what did not
- Next week's one priority
- Blockers

Stack these weekly, and you have a record of your marketing evolution.

---

I have used this exact framework for 6+ years. It has saved me from continuing campaigns that were not working and helped me double down on ones that were.

*Questions about implementing this? Drop them below.*
```

**Word Count:** 298

**Why This Post Works:**
- **Specific time** (30 minutes) = manageable
- **Step-by-step structure** = actionable
- **Exact questions** to answer
- **Output defined** (what you create)
- **Personal use proof** (6+ years)

---

## POST TYPE 4: STORY/PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Share a story that teaches a lesson.

### Example Post:

**Title:**
```
The $200K marketing campaign that flopped (and the $2K one that worked)
```

**Body:**
```
In 2019, I convinced my CEO to approve a $200K brand campaign.

We hired an agency. Shot beautiful video. Ran it on LinkedIn, YouTube, and programmatic display. It was the most "professional" marketing we had ever done.

The result? Almost nothing. Leads went up maybe 5%. We could not attribute a single closed deal to the campaign. The sales team forgot it existed within a month.

**$200K. Gone.**

Three months later, our content manager had an idea. She wanted to create a simple calculator tool for our target audience. It would help them estimate their ROI on our type of product.

Total cost: About $2K (her time plus a developer for a few days).

We launched it with a single LinkedIn post and some emails to our list.

**The result:**
- 4,000+ uses in the first month
- Generated 340 leads
- 12 became customers (worth ~$180K in ARR)

The calculator is still running. Still generating leads. Three years later.

**What I learned:**

1. Expensive does not mean effective. Some of the best marketing is cheap.

2. Utility beats awareness. Something useful spreads itself.

3. Test small before going big. What if we had tested the brand campaign with $10K first?

4. Listen to your team. The best idea came from someone who was not me.

I still think about that $200K. It taught me more than my MBA.

---

*What is your most expensive marketing lesson? Share in comments.*
```

**Word Count:** 268

**Why This Post Works:**
- **Contrast hook** ($200K vs $2K)
- **Specific story** with real numbers
- **Vulnerability** (I made this mistake)
- **Clear lessons** extracted
- **Invites engagement** (share yours)

---

## POST TYPE 5: OPINION/HOT TAKE

Share a perspective that challenges conventional thinking.

### Example Post:

**Title:**
```
Unpopular opinion: Most startup marketing advice is designed to make you fail
```

**Body:**
```
I have been in startup marketing for 12 years. Here is something I have come to believe:

**Most marketing advice is written by people who have never actually built a startup.**

They work at big companies with big budgets. Or they are consultants who give advice but do not execute it. Or they are content creators who need hot takes for engagement.

Their advice sounds smart:
- "Be on every channel"
- "Build a brand from day one"
- "Content is king"
- "You need to be on TikTok"

None of it is wrong exactly. But it is advice for companies with resources. When you have $10K/month and no team, trying to "be everywhere" means being mediocre everywhere.

**What actually works at startups:**

1. **Pick ONE channel and dominate it.** You can expand later.

2. **Forget brand. Drive conversions.** Brand comes after you have customers.

3. **Only create content you can promote.** Content nobody sees is content that does not exist.

4. **Ignore trends. Follow your customers.** If your customers are not on TikTok, neither should you be.

5. **Measure everything. Trust nothing else.** Your CEO's opinion is not data. Neither is yours.

I know this is not as exciting as the latest growth hack. But I have seen it work. Repeatedly.

The boring basics, executed consistently, beat clever tactics every time.

---

*Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments.*
```

**Word Count:** 250

**Why This Post Works:**
- **Provocative title** (designed to make you fail)
- **Challenges common advice** (contrarian)
- **Explains WHY** advice is wrong
- **Specific alternatives** offered
- **Confident but not arrogant** tone
- **Invites debate**

---

## POST TYPE 6: CURATED/RESOURCE

Share valuable resources or a curated list.

### Example Post:

**Title:**
```
7 free resources that taught me more about marketing than my $100K MBA
```

**Body:**
```
I spent $100K on an MBA. I learned some useful things. But honestly? These free resources taught me more about actual marketing:

**1. Reforge Blog (reforge.com/blog)**
Written by people who ran growth at companies like HubSpot, Airbnb, and Eventbrite. Dense, practical, no fluff.

**2. Lenny's Newsletter (lennysnewsletter.com)**
Product and growth advice from a former Airbnb PM. The benchmark studies are gold.

**3. Demand Curve (demandcurve.com/blog)**
Startup marketing tactics that actually work. Their growth guides are comprehensive.

**4. HubSpot Academy (academy.hubspot.com)**
Free certifications in inbound marketing, content marketing, email marketing. Legitimate credentials.

**5. Google Analytics Academy (analytics.google.com/analytics/academy)**
If you work in digital marketing and do not understand analytics deeply, you are flying blind.

**6. Stratechery (stratechery.com)**
Ben Thompson on business strategy. Not tactics—thinking. Changes how you see markets.

**7. First Round Review (firstround.com/review)**
Startup advice from founders and executives. Search their archives by topic.

**Bonus: Podcasts**
- How I Built This (founder stories)
- Marketing Over Coffee (quick tactics)
- The GaryVee Audio Experience (motivation, hustle)

---

You do not need expensive courses or degrees to learn marketing. You need curiosity and time.

Start with one resource. Actually read/watch it. Apply something. Then move to the next.

*What resources would you add? Drop them in comments—I am always looking for new ones.*
```

**Word Count:** 252

**Why This Post Works:**
- **Specific number** (7 resources)
- **High value** (free resources)
- **Hook** (better than $100K MBA)
- **Brief description** for each
- **Organized structure**
- **Invites additions** (engagement)

---

## POST FORMATTING BEST PRACTICES

### Do:
```
- Use short paragraphs (2-4 sentences max)
- Use **bold** for key points
- Use bullet points and numbered lists
- Use line breaks liberally
- Include a clear title
- End with soft CTA or question
- Keep under 500 words (optimal: 200-350)
```

### Do Not:
```
- Write walls of text
- Skip the title
- Be overly promotional
- Include too many links (looks spammy)
- Forget mobile readers
- End without engagement hook
```

---

## POST TITLE FORMULAS

### Formula 1: Number + Topic + Hook
```
[Number] [things/lessons/tips] about [topic] that [outcome/surprise]
```
*Example: 5 things about startup marketing that nobody talks about*

### Formula 2: Story Hook
```
The [dramatic element] that [outcome]
```
*Example: The $200K mistake that changed how I think about marketing*

### Formula 3: Opinion/Take
```
Unpopular opinion: [Contrarian statement]
```
*Example: Unpopular opinion: Most marketing advice is wrong*

### Formula 4: How-To
```
How to [achieve outcome] in [timeframe/constraint]
```
*Example: How to build a marketing strategy in one afternoon*

### Formula 5: Why/What
```
Why [common thing] is [unexpected truth]
```
*Example: Why your marketing is not working (and how to fix it)*

---

## QUORA POST VS ANSWER: WHEN TO USE EACH

| Use Posts When | Use Answers When |
|----------------|------------------|
| You have a topic with no good question | Perfect question already exists |
| You want to control the narrative | You want to rank for that question |
| You are repurposing content | You are building credibility on specific topics |
| You want direct feed presence | You want SEO traffic |
| No competition wanted | Competition is weak |

**Strategy:** Do both. Answer questions for SEO and discoverability. Post for thought leadership and direct reach.

---

## POSTING FREQUENCY

| Frequency | Good For |
|-----------|----------|
| Daily | Aggressive growth, full-time creators |
| 2-3x/week | Active thought leadership |
| Weekly | Sustainable long-term presence |
| 2-4x/month | Minimum for staying visible |

**Recommendation:** Start with 1 post per week + 3-5 answers. Adjust based on results.

---

## DRIVING TRAFFIC FROM POSTS

### Acceptable:
```
- Link in bio (mention it naturally)
- One relevant link within post (if genuinely helpful)
- CTA to follow you for more
```

### Avoid:
```
- Multiple links in one post
- Links that do not add value
- Hard-sell CTAs
- Clickbait to external sites
```

### Example Soft CTAs:
```
"I write more about this at [newsletter]—link in my bio."
"Follow me for more marketing insights."
"Questions? Ask in comments, I respond to everything."
```

---

## QUORA SPACES STRATEGY

### What Are Spaces:
- Topic-based communities on Quora
- You can share posts to relevant Spaces
- Reaches audience beyond your followers

### Strategy:
```
1. Join 5-10 Spaces in your expertise area
2. Engage genuinely (answer, comment, upvote)
3. Share your posts when relevant
4. Do not spam—add value first
5. Consider creating your own Space long-term
```

---

## COMMON POST MISTAKES

| Mistake | Impact | Fix |
|---------|--------|-----|
| No title | Lower engagement | Always add compelling title |
| Too long | People stop reading | Keep under 400 words |
| Too promotional | Gets flagged, unfollowed | Lead with value, soft CTA only |
| Walls of text | Unreadable on mobile | Short paragraphs, formatting |
| No engagement hook | No comments | End with question or invitation |
| Posting without answering | Looks self-promotional | Balance posts with answers |
| Irrelevant to expertise | Confuses followers | Stay in your lane |

---

## POST CHECKLIST

### Before Publishing:

- [ ] Compelling title with hook?
- [ ] Opening line grabs attention?
- [ ] Short paragraphs throughout?
- [ ] Key points in bold?
- [ ] Under 400 words?
- [ ] Provides genuine value?
- [ ] Ends with engagement hook?
- [ ] No excessive links?
- [ ] Proofread for typos?
- [ ] Relevant to your expertise?
- [ ] Would you upvote this if someone else wrote it?