Empowering Women in Performance Marketing | Ep 20

by | Jan 22, 2025 | Podcast

Empowering Women in Performance Marketing | Ep 20

LinkUnite founders Amanda Farris and Sara Malo join hosts Carson Poppenger and Nate Clay to unpack how a bar conversation at a lead-gen conference turned into the performance marketing industry's fastest-growing community for women — and what every marketer needs to know about compliance, vertical diversification, and the death of the middleman.

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Key takeaways

  • LinkUnite began as a handwritten list of women in performance marketing at a LeadsCon event and has grown into a multi-chapter community with in-person retreats, a private Discord, and trade-show activations at every major industry conference.
  • Monthly virtual meetups are driven by member-requested topics — from media buying workshops to compliance briefings — making the content immediately actionable rather than generic.
  • One-to-one consent regulation is the industry's biggest near-term inflection point; advertisers who build O&O media, tighten vendor contracts, and adopt fraud-filtering tech now will have a structural compliance advantage.
  • Moving from high-volume, low-quality lead flows to smaller, higher-intent audiences improves margins, reduces support costs, and limits litigation exposure.
  • Vertical diversification is no longer optional — operators locked into a single category (e.g., auto, ACA) have repeatedly been caught off-guard by cyclical downturns and new compliance layers.
  • A cultural shift is underway in lead gen: after years of transactional 'do business with anyone' norms, practitioners increasingly prefer working exclusively with people they trust and respect.
  • CEOs with women on their teams are specifically encouraged to explore LinkUnite membership; Amanda Farris and Sara Malo offer direct onboarding calls for corporate partners.

From a Bar Napkin to a Movement

LinkUnite didn’t start with a pitch deck. Amanda Farris (CEO & Founder) and Sara Malo (President & COO) were sitting in a bar at a LeadsCon event, writing down the names of every woman they knew in performance marketing. That spreadsheet — what Amanda calls “the Excel apocalypse” — became the foundation of a community that now hosts in-person retreats, monthly member meetups, trade-show roundtables, and a private Discord where introductions happen in real time.

The origin resonates because the problem it solved was real: women at director level and above were scarce at industry events, and the few who were there had no dedicated forum to share knowledge, advance careers, or simply feel seen.

How LinkUnite Actually Works

  • Private Discord: Members introduce themselves, post connection requests (“Does anyone know someone at Squeeze?”), and continue conversations started at events.
  • Monthly virtual meetups: Each session is built around a topic requested by the group — January’s, for example, featured a guest instructor on media buying.
  • In-person retreats: LinkUnite deliberately avoids the usual Vegas/Miami/NYC circuit, choosing destinations like Nashville and Park City for its annual flagship event. LinkUnite 5 is in planning.
  • Trade-show activations: Members can count on a LinkUnite dinner, meetup, or roundtable at every major industry event — a built-in anchor for anyone attending alone.

The community has also grown into something more personal than professional development: members lean on each other for parenting advice, career pivots, and the unspoken logistics of traveling while raising kids.

The State of Lead Generation in 2025

Both guests agree the industry is in the middle of a necessary reset, driven by one-to-one consent requirements and broader regulatory pressure. Their shared read on where it’s heading:

  • Quality over volume: Blasting a million contacts to find one buyer hurts the 999 consumers who didn’t want to be contacted. Higher-intent, lower-volume lead flows produce better margins and fewer compliance liabilities.
  • Own-and-operated media: Advertisers who build their own O&O properties and shift toward direct relationships will be better insulated than those relying on third-party affiliate networks.
  • Tech stack audits: Tools that flag fraud, filter bots, and document consent at the point of capture (heat signatures, keyword monitoring, checkbox compliance) are moving from nice-to-have to table stakes.
  • Contract rewrites: Existing vendor and publisher agreements need to be revisited to reflect new consent standards — a step Amanda notes is “left out of the conversation” far too often.
  • Vertical diversification: Auto is resurging; legal is a crowded new entrant; ACA/Medicare face their own CMS-driven reconstruction. Operators anchored to a single vertical remain exposed.

The broader cultural shift Sara highlights may be the most durable: after years of “do business with anyone,” the industry is visibly moving toward a preference for working with people who are simply good — transparent, accountable, and relationship-first.

Parting Advice

Amanda’s message to anyone on the fence about LinkUnite: “Don’t ever hesitate to reach out.” Sara’s call to action goes directly to CEOs: if you have women on your team, the value of membership is “endless” — and she and Amanda will personally jump on a call to explain why.

It literally grew from there — we just started circling up people we knew, sharing our experiences, and it naturally evolved into the group.

— Amanda Farris

10 years ago everybody was willing to just do business with anybody. I've seen a shift now where people just want to work with good people.

— Sara Malo

You don't need to blast a million people to get a lead. Bring in that funnel, get a more qualified lead, sell it for a higher price — your margins are better and you're avoiding litigation.

— Amanda Farris

To any CEOs listening that have females on their team — you got to join LinkUnite. The value is endless.

— Sara Malo

Episode chapters

Frequently asked questions

What is LinkUnite and who is it for?

LinkUnite is a professional community dedicated to women in performance marketing and lead generation. It offers a private Discord, monthly virtual meetups with guest speakers, in-person annual retreats, and organized gatherings at major industry trade shows.

How did LinkUnite get started?

Co-founders Amanda Farris and Sara Malo started LinkUnite by writing down the names of women they knew in the industry during a LeadsCon event. That list became a spreadsheet, then a formal outreach effort, and eventually the branded community it is today.

What is one-to-one consent and why does it matter for lead generation?

One-to-one consent is a regulatory standard requiring that a consumer explicitly consent to be contacted by a specific advertiser, rather than through a shared or co-registration form. It directly impacts how leads can be generated, sold, and contacted, and non-compliance carries significant legal and financial risk.

How can lead generation companies prepare for new compliance requirements?

Key steps include building or acquiring owned-and-operated media properties, auditing and rewriting vendor contracts, implementing fraud-detection and consent-documentation tools, and reducing reliance on third-party affiliate networks in favor of direct publisher relationships.

How can companies join or partner with LinkUnite?

Companies can reach out directly to Amanda Farris or Sara Malo, who offer personal onboarding calls for prospective corporate partners. Squeeze is cited as an example of a corporate sponsor supporting the initiative.

What industry events is LinkUnite present at?

LinkUnite hosts meetups, roundtables, or dinners at major performance marketing conferences including Affiliate Summit West (ASW), LeadsCon, Contact.io, and Lead Gen World, among others.