Short answer: Both work, but they do different jobs. Cold campaigns get you in front of the right people quickly and can bring in leads fast, but those leads don't know you yet and need nurturing. Warm campaigns take longer because they build trust first, so people arrive at the sales call already half sold. Decide which one you're running before you spend, and for most businesses the best answer is to use both.

I get asked "Ben, why isn't my LinkedIn lead gen working?" all the time. Nine times out of ten the answer has nothing to do with the ads, the budget or the targeting. It's that nobody decided what kind of campaign they were running in the first place.

What's the difference between a cold and a warm LinkedIn campaign?

The easiest way I can explain it is fish.

A referral is cooked fish. Someone has handed you the opportunity warm, seasoned and ready to eat. They already trust the person who referred them, so half the selling is done before you even join the call.

A cold lead is raw fish. They might be the right fit. They might be interested. They might have downloaded your guide, clicked your ad or filled in your form. But they don't know you, they don't trust you yet and you haven't built credibility with them.

Why do cold leads feel disappointing?

Because people treat them like referrals. Someone downloads a PDF, you ring them expecting a warm buyer, and the call feels like starting from zero. Nothing has gone wrong. That's simply what cold means.

With a cold campaign the job is to get the right people into your world through a strong lead magnet or a genuinely compelling offer. Then comes the part many people underestimate: you have to warm them up, follow up properly and give them reasons to know, like and trust you. LinkedIn Ads will get you leads on cold campaigns, but they won't cook the fish for you.

Cold works best when your sales team is good at converting people who've only just met you, and when you have a clear nurture sequence ready before the first lead lands.

How does a warm campaign work?

A warm campaign starts with brand awareness. You put useful content in front of your ideal audience, usually through thought leadership, and build up a group of people who start to recognise you. Then you retarget the people who are actually watching, clicking or engaging.

Over time that builds a bigger pipeline of people who have seen you, heard from you and started to trust you before you ask them to take the next step. By the time someone books a call, they already half know you. That's why warm campaigns shouldn't be treated like a two-month sprint. They compound the longer you run them.

If you want the step-by-step version of building that audience, I've covered it in the warm audience strategy that makes LinkedIn feel easier.

Which one should you choose?

Ask yourself three questions:

• How fast do you need conversations? If you need volume soon, cold gives you speed.

• How strong is your follow-up? If you can't nurture cold leads properly, they'll go quiet and you'll blame LinkedIn.

• How patient can you afford to be? Warm takes longer to show results, but each lead is easier to convert.

The real mess starts when people run a cold campaign and quietly expect it to behave like a warm one. Pick deliberately, set expectations to match, and judge each campaign against its own job.

Why is using both usually the answer?

Cold gives you speed. Warm gives you longevity. We usually test both, then lean towards building a campaign that builds credibility over time, because that's what makes conversion easier year after year. Cold campaigns fill the top of the funnel, and warm campaigns turn more of those people into buyers when they're ready.

What's the takeaway?

Before your next LinkedIn campaign, decide whether you're holding raw fish or cooked fish. Plan the nurture for cold leads, give warm campaigns enough time to work, and run both together if you can.

If you'd like a hand working out where your campaign should start, book a call with me.

Hub guide: LinkedIn Ads strategy guide

FAQs

What is a cold LinkedIn campaign? A cold campaign targets the right people who haven't come across you before, usually with a lead magnet, offer or lead gen form. It produces leads quickly, but they need nurturing before they're ready to buy.

What is a warm LinkedIn campaign? A warm campaign builds familiarity first, usually through thought leadership content, then retargets the people who watch, click or engage. It's slower to start but produces leads who already trust you.

Are cold LinkedIn campaigns worth it? Yes, if you have a nurture plan and a sales team that can convert people who've only just met you. Without follow-up, cold leads tend to go quiet.

How long do warm LinkedIn campaigns take to work? Longer than cold campaigns, because trust takes time. Treat them as an ongoing layer rather than a short sprint, and judge them over months, not weeks.

Sources

• LinkedIn post: "Most businesses say they want leads. What they actually want is cooked fish.", Ben Ivey, Entrepreneur Lifestyle.

• LinkedIn post: "Are you getting leads but they aren't converting on LinkedIn?", Ben Ivey, Entrepreneur Lifestyle.

• LinkedIn post: "How do you generate hot leads, ready to buy on LinkedIn?", Ben Ivey, Entrepreneur Lifestyle.

• LinkedIn post: "Why isn't my LinkedIn lead gen working?", Ben Ivey, Entrepreneur Lifestyle.

• LinkedIn Help: "Get started with LinkedIn website retargeting", https://www.linkedin.com/help/lms/answer/a420433