Free Calculator — No Email Required

How much pipeline are you
leaving on the table?

See what happens when you shift part of your LinkedIn ad budget to verified customer content. Plug in your numbers, get the math in 5 minutes.

Download the Calculator

Excel spreadsheet · Works in Google Sheets · All formulas editable

📊 4 interactive worksheets

⏱ 5-minute setup

📈 Industry benchmarks included

🎯 Board-ready output slide

The math on LinkedIn ads is getting worse. You already know this.

CPMs keep climbing. Your cost per lead creeps up every quarter. You're spending more to get less — and the leads you do get are cold, skeptical, and take forever to close.

Meanwhile, your happiest customers are posting about your product on LinkedIn for free. Their posts get more engagement than your branded content. Their connections trust them. And you have no system to scale it.

2–3×

Peer-referred traffic converts at 2–3× the rate of cold ad traffic. Your customers are already more credible than your ad account.

This calculator shows you exactly what happens when you redirect a portion of your LinkedIn budget into funding customer advocacy content — with real numbers, honest benchmarks, and a recommendation you can take to your CFO.

Four worksheets. One clear answer.

Not a fluffy guide. A working financial model you fill in with your numbers and get back a decision.

Advocacy vs. Ads Calculator

The core model. Enter your LinkedIn ad spend, CPM, CTR, and conversion rates. Then model an advocacy channel alongside it. See the blended results.

Side-by-side cost per lead comparison

Automatic budget reallocation modeling

Pipeline and revenue impact estimates

Benchmarks & Methodology

Every assumption documented. LinkedIn ad benchmarks, advocacy engagement rates, and warm-traffic conversion data — with sources and context.

LinkedIn CPM, CPC, and CTR benchmarks

Advocacy engagement and conversion ranges

Full model methodology explained

6-Month Scenario Planner

Model the ramp. See what happens at 5 advocates vs. 25 vs. 50 — and how leads compound and CPL drops as your program scales over 12 months.

Month 1 → Month 12 projections

Compounding growth visualization

CPL trajectory modeling

Present This: Board Slide

Your numbers, formatted for internal buy-in. A pre-built business case with before/after comparison and a list of conservative assumptions your CFO will appreciate.

Auto-generated headline from your inputs

Before/after summary table

“What's not in the model” section

Five minutes to your answer

Enter your LinkedIn ad spend 1 min

Monthly budget, CPM, CPC, CTR, conversion rate, deal size. If you don't know exact numbers, the defaults reflect B2B SaaS medians.

Model your advocacy channel 2 min

How many advocates could you activate? How often would they post? What's fair compensation? The ranges are pre-filled — just adjust to your situation.

Set your reallocation percentage 30 sec

Pick how much of your LinkedIn budget to redirect. 15%? 25%? 40%? The calculator shows the blended impact at whatever level you choose.

Read the verdict 30 sec

The model shows your new blended CPL, total leads, pipeline value, and estimated revenue — side by side with your current ads-only numbers.

Take it to your team 1 min

The “Present This” tab gives you a pre-formatted business case with an auto-generated headline, summary table, and list of conservative assumptions. Copy into a slide.

The most valuable marketing asset a company has isn't content — it's the network of customers who would vouch for them if asked. This calculator helps you put a dollar value on that network for the first time.

— The thesis behind Advocacy-Led Growth

Common questions

Do I need to sign up for anything to get the calculator?

No. It's a direct download. No email gate, no 47-field form. We'd rather you use it and tell a colleague about it.

Where do the benchmark numbers come from?

The Benchmarks & Methodology tab documents every assumption. LinkedIn ad benchmarks come from published industry data across B2B SaaS. Advocacy benchmarks are based on practitioner content performance data and peer-referred traffic conversion studies. All ranges, no false precision.

Is this just going to tell me to buy Kindling?

The calculator works regardless of what platform you use — or if you use no platform at all. It models the economics of shifting from paid ads to customer content. If the math works for you and you want software to run the program, Kindling is built for that. But the calculator is genuinely useful on its own.

What if I don't know my exact LinkedIn ad metrics?

Every input has a pre-filled default based on B2B SaaS medians. Start with those, then refine as you pull your actual data from LinkedIn Campaign Manager. The model is useful even with estimates.

Is the model conservative or aggressive?

Conservative. It doesn't account for LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads amplifying advocate content (which typically 2–3× the CTR), organic sharing and virality, sales cycle compression, or the compounding effect of a growing advocate network. Real-world results are likely better than what the model shows.

Can I use this in Google Sheets?

Yes. Upload the .xlsx file to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets. All formulas will carry over.

When you're ready to build the channel

The calculator shows you the math.
Kindling gives you the system.

Recruit customer advocates, publish transparent rates, brief content, track performance, and pay creators automatically — all in one platform purpose-built for B2B SaaS.

Start with Kindling →

Get the calculator.
Do the math.
Make the case.

Four worksheets. Five minutes. One clear answer on whether customer advocacy should be your next channel.

Download the Calculator (.xlsx)

Free · No email · Works in Excel and Google Sheets