If number one is high and number two is zero, congratulations, you've built an audience of fans who will never buy from you.

I spent my first eight months on LinkedIn absolutely obsessed with engagement metrics. I had a spreadsheet. (Of course, I had a spreadsheet. I'm the kind of person who colour-codes her anxiety.) Every post was tracked for impressions, likes, comments, shares, and saves. I knew my average engagement rate to two decimal places.

And I was broke.

Not "a bit quiet" broke. Not "pipeline's a little light this month" broke. Properly, staring at my bank balance in the Morrisons car park broke.

My posts were getting likes. People were commenting "this is so true 🔥" and "needed to hear this today." I was being told I was "crushing it." I was being asked to speak on podcasts about "building an audience."

I didn't have an audience. I had spectators.

The day everything shifted was the day I stopped asking "how do I get more engagement?" and started asking "why are the wrong people engaging?"

They are not the same system. Most people are running one system and hoping it produces the other. It won't.

Engagement content attracts peers. Pipeline content attracts buyers. That motivational story about overcoming adversity? Other creators love it. Your ideal client scrolls past it because it doesn't signal that you can solve their specific problem. The tactical post about a niche challenge in their industry? Fewer likes. Five DMs from people with budget.

Broad content builds audience. Narrow content builds pipeline. Every time you broaden your topic to increase reach, you dilute your signal. The founder who needs a B2B SaaS ghostwriter doesn't care about your "7 universal writing tips." They care about B2B SaaS content strategy. Narrow is scary because the numbers look smaller. Narrow is profitable because the people who do engage are the ones holding chequebooks.

Content that asks questions gets comments. Content that demonstrates expertise gets calls. The question "What's your biggest LinkedIn challenge?" will get 84 comments from people seeking free advice. "Here's exactly how I restructured a founder's content strategy and it generated 14 inbound leads in 30 days" will get 12 likes and three DMs saying "can we talk?"

Twelve likes and three DMs beat 200 likes and zero DMs. Every single time.

Your CTA is wrong. "Like if you agree" is an engagement CTA. "DM me 'audit' if you want me to look at your profile" is a pipeline CTA. "Comment your thoughts" is a vanity play. "I'm opening two spots next month. Here's what I'm looking for in a client" is a revenue play. The words at the bottom of your post are programming your audience's behaviour. Programme them to buy, not to clap.

You're writing for the algorithm instead of for the three people who matter. The algorithm rewards engagement. Your business rewards conversion. These are different games with different rules. Every hour you spend chasing the algorithm is an hour you're not spending on the content that actually generates revenue.

Look at every post on your content calendar. For each one, ask: "Is this designed to get a reaction or designed to get a conversation?"

If every post is a reaction post, you're running a media company, not a business.

Delete the engagement bait. Write one post this week that speaks directly to your most expensive buyer. Name their problem. Show them you understand it better than they do. End with a CTA that moves them one step closer to working with you.

It'll get fewer likes. It'll feel uncomfortable. You'll think it's not working because the numbers are small.

Then your DMs will ping. And you'll understand the difference between content that performs and content that converts.

Written by Sarra Richmond, The Ghost.

I write the posts your favourite founders get credit for. Find me → linkedin.com/in/meetsarra