LinkedIn Ads too expensive? Compare what the reach really costs.
A high CPM is only a problem if the people seeing the ad are the wrong people or do nothing afterwards. Before moving budget, compare ads and creators on the same numbers.
Updated 3 November 2026 · Written by Tom Hunt, Founder, Fame
The short answer
Work out your blended CPM and the share of engagement from your ideal customer profile, then test another route on the same numbers. First tighten what you already run. If ads still don't pay, a sponsored post on a creator's profile is a sensible test, because the message comes from someone your buyer follows. Fame's subscription is $7,000 a month for 10 placements a quarter.
Sound familiar?
- CPMs keep rising and pipeline doesn't
- Your audience is narrow, so you keep paying to reach the same people
- Ads get impressions but few comments from real buyers
- Finance is asking what the spend produced
- You can't say which target accounts paid attention
Why it happens
The real causes
- 01
A narrow audience gets expensive
The tighter the targeting, the fewer people you can reach. That's often right for B2B, but it makes the CPM look high.
- 02
The ad reads like an ad
Buyers scroll past company-page promotion. A weak message costs the same to show as a strong one.
- 03
Clicks are the only measure
When a campaign is judged on clicks alone, attention from target accounts goes uncounted, and the spend looks worse or better than it was.
- 04
Everything runs from the company page
Buyers tend to follow people more readily than brands, so every message arrives in the brand's voice.
The playbook
How to decide where the budget goes
You can do all of this without hiring anyone.
- 1
Calculate blended CPM
Divide total spend by total impressions and multiply by 1,000, across the whole campaign.
- 2
Check who engaged
Take the people who reacted or commented and mark who matches your ideal customer profile.
- 3
Fix the obvious first
Refresh the creative and check that your audience matches the buyer before you judge the channel.
- 4
Test one alternative
Try a small set of creator posts or a Thought Leader Ad, and measure with the same two numbers.
- 5
Compare and move budget
Keep whichever gives you more of the right people at a cost you can defend.
Pricing
What it costs
$7,000 a month for 10 placements a quarter, with a three-month minimum.
See current pricingCheck yourself today
Check this today
- I know my blended CPM
- I know what share of engagers match my ICP
- My creative changed in the last quarter
- I can name target accounts that engaged
- I have one alternative to test
Or have it done for you
How Fame does it
Vetted creators
Practitioners from the 300+ B2B shows Fame has produced, checked for engagement pods and comment farms.
Brief and approval
Every placement includes the brief and your approval before it goes live.
Named-engager reports
Each report names who engaged by company and role, with ICP-engagement % and blended CPM against LinkedIn Ads benchmarks.
Published prices
The subscription is $7,000 a month for 10 placements a quarter, with a three-month minimum.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the creator and the post, so compare your own numbers. Fame reports blended CPM against LinkedIn Ads benchmarks every month so you can see it directly.
Not necessarily. Ads and creators do different jobs. Test first and move budget based on who engaged.
About the author
Tom Hunt · Founder, Fame
Tom founded Fame and has run sponsored LinkedIn posts for brands including HP, monday.com and Airwallex.