Inbound vs outbound
Inbound and outbound are not opposing philosophies — they’re different ways of paying for attention. Inbound trades time and consistency for compounding. Outbound trades effort and discomfort for speed and learning. This page makes the tradeoffs explicit so you can choose a path that fits your constraints.
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What inbound optimizes for
Inbound compounds. It builds assets.
It tends to be slower to start, but more durable over time.
What outbound optimizes for
Outbound produces learning faster.
It tends to be faster to first conversation, but less compounding unless systematized.
How to choose
Choose inbound if:
- you can wait for compounding
- your market searches or consumes content
- you want leverage
Choose outbound if:
- you need signal now
- your market is identifiable
- you can write clearly and handle rejection cleanly
Next step:
Outbound and inbound both fail without conversion clarity.
Explore next: Conversion