In this episode of Challenge Jamie, Ryan gives Jamie Skeels, Head of Demand Gen at Rocket SaaS, a tough brief: a B2B SaaS company with a decent budget, a competitive market, and a stalled growth curve. What would Jamie do? He outlines a bold but structured plan to reallocate budget, build a demand creation engine, and generate leads by reaching the 95% of the market that isn’t ready to buy yet. From choosing the right content topics to leveraging subject matter experts and putting proper paid distribution in place, this episode is a crash course in getting growth back on track.

Takeaways:

• If growth has plateaued, you’ve probably maxed out the 5% of in-market buyers.
• Use the 60/40 rule: 60% of your budget on demand creation, 40% on capture.
• Start with one key topic tied to the problem your product solves — and own it.
• Extract insights from subject matter experts to create content that cuts through.
• Build a content engine with multiple channels: podcasts, blogs, LinkedIn, email, YouTube.
• Organic reach on company pages is weak — amplify your content with paid ads.
• Guarantee distribution by putting paid budget behind your highest-value content.
• Ads aren’t just for lead gen — they’re crucial for getting your brand seen at scale.
• Focus on being remembered, not just clicked — demand creation is a long game.
• Test, prove value, and then scale — get early wins to bring leadership on board.

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Check out Ryan’s agency, Rocket SaaS, here: https://rocket-saas.io/

Send podcast guest pitches to: info@rocket-saas.io

Ryan is joined by Jamie Skeels, Head of Demand Gen at Rocket SaaS, to unpack the art of demand creation — how to reach and influence the 95% of your market who aren’t actively looking for your solution. They explain the difference between demand capture and demand creation, the types of content that work best for long-term growth, and how to build an always-on engine using subject matter experts, newsletters, ungated content, and smart repurposing. Jamie also shares behind-the-scenes examples from Cognism’s rise and Rocket SaaS’ own playbook.

Takeaways:

• Only 5% of your market is in buying mode — demand creation targets the other 95%.
• Long-term content builds trust, affinity, and brand recall for when prospects are ready to buy.
• Start with content that solves your audience’s problems without pushing your product.
• Use subject matter experts to create insightful, original content — and repurpose it everywhere.
• Don’t force founders on camera too soon — start with written interviews and scale up.
• Ungated content performs better in demand creation — the goal is consumption, not contact forms.
• Anchor your brand to a topic your product naturally supports — like Cognism did with cold calling.
• Track and optimise for reach, relevance, and recall — not just short-term conversions.
• Demand creation makes sales calls easier and drastically improves close rates.
• Without it, you’re stuck competing on price and timing instead of trust and expertise.

Join the SaaS Marketing Weekly Newsletter here: https://saasmarketingweekly.com/

Check out Ryan’s agency, Rocket SaaS, here: https://rocket-saas.io/

Send podcast guest pitches to: info@rocket-saas.io

Ryan puts Jess Chillman to the test with a real-world SaaS marketing challenge: How do you create demand and generate leads on a modest £10k monthly budget for a new SaaS company in an undefined niche with low search volume and minimal existing customers? Jess shares a step-by-step approach covering messaging, founder-led content, targeted paid ads, leveraging early customers, and building trust through storytelling. This short but insightful episode is packed with practical strategies for early-stage SaaS startups facing tough lead generation hurdles.

Takeaways:

• Nail your messaging first by speaking to prospects and shaping a clear narrative around the problem you solve.
• Use your founder’s personal brand to create authentic, low-budget content like podcasts, case studies, and LinkedIn posts.
• Tap your network and customers for introductions to expand your prospect list and build credibility.
• Test one or two paid channels (LinkedIn and Meta ads) with a small portion of your budget to identify early intent signals.
• Invest in a professional, clear website that explains your product with strong messaging, design, and social proof.
• Use customer stories and case studies to build trust and demonstrate value in a niche market.
• Start a founder-led newsletter to share your product journey, educate the market, and nurture early adopters.
• Mix organic educational content with paid demand generation for a balanced growth approach in low-search markets.

Join the SaaS Marketing Weekly Newsletter here: https://saasmarketingweekly.com/

Check out Ryan’s agency, Rocket SaaS, here: https://rocket-saas.io/

Send podcast guest pitches to: info@rocket-saas.io