If you're just starting out with outbound, the best place to begin is to target companies that look just like your current best customers, or those you imagine would be your ideal partners. For NewsBreak, this means reaching out first to local publishers, advertisers, and regional newsrooms where you've already had success, or those matching your high-fit ICP. Leadsforge makes this easy — once you define your best customer profile, Leadsforge will find similar prospects for you. Here is why: Going after lookalikes ensures higher engagement because these prospects are most likely to resonate with your value proposition and can convert faster.

To find new leads, consider mapping out the followers of your competitors’ company pages on LinkedIn. Just provide the company name and website, and Leadsforge will take care of the rest by finding those followers for you, offering fresh potential targets in your exact niche. To get started: Share your competitor’s LinkedIn company page link in Leadsforge and it will identify relevant followers for your outreach.

Segment your target audience using industry, company size, location, and ICP fit. For NewsBreak, you might segment by: 1) Publishers/newsrooms (regional & hyperlocal) 2) Local businesses & SMB advertisers (by vertical: restaurants, auto, home) 3) Agencies/programmatic buyers 4) Creators/content partners Here is why: This approach ensures every outreach is relevant and tailored, improving your conversion rates and helping you learn quickly which segments respond best.

For vertical targeting, prioritize by those most likely to benefit: local publishers for distribution, local SMBs for targeted advertising, and agencies for programmatic buys. You can also slice deeper to specific industries within SMBs (like home services or automotive) to tailor your message. Here is why: Targeting by vertical lets you personalize value propositions for each segment, making outreach more effective and relevant.