Account-based microsites
An account-based microsite works when the research on it is true, specific and something the buyer would recognise. Everything else on the page is supporting material.
Michael Sparks · Published 2026-08-18 · Last reviewed 2026-08-18
Direct answer
Select accounts that share a trigger
A good account list is not a list of companies you would like as customers. It is a list of companies where something recently changed that makes your offer timely.
- A public commitment with a deadline, such as a market entry or a compliance date.
- A structural change, such as a new executive owning the function you sell into.
- A visible capability gap, such as hiring for a role your product removes the need for.
- A stated strategic priority in an annual report, keynote or investor update.
Gather research the buyer would recognise
Two or three strong signals beat ten weak ones. The test for each signal is simple: would someone inside the account read it and think yes, that is accurate and that is something we care about right now.
Avoid inferences dressed as facts. A hiring post is evidence of hiring, not evidence of a failing process. State what you observed, then state your hypothesis separately so the buyer can disagree with the hypothesis without dismissing the page.
Structure the page around the hypothesis
- Headline: the account and the situation, in one line.
- Hypothesis: one paragraph saying what you think this means and why you are reaching out now.
- Evidence: the two or three signals, each attributed to a public source.
- Mapping: which part of your offer addresses that situation, using approved messaging.
- Proof: the closest customer story by industry, size and problem, with real numbers or none at all.
- Next step: one action, sized to the trust you have actually earned.
Review before publishing
Generated drafts are fast and occasionally wrong. A short review checklist prevents the failure that damages trust most: telling a company something inaccurate about itself.
- Is every factual claim about the account traceable to a public source?
- Is every claim about your product one marketing has approved?
- Would this page embarrass anyone if the buyer forwarded it internally?
- Is there exactly one call to action?
Measure against a control
Run the campaign as an experiment. Split matched accounts into a cohort that receives the microsite link and a cohort that receives the same message without one. Report deliverability, positive replies, meetings and opportunities for both.
Do not claim causation the design does not support. A single campaign with 40 accounts can tell you whether the approach is worth continuing. It cannot tell you the effect size.
What this means in practice
Start with 20 to 50 accounts, one trigger, one persona and one offer. Build the page system once so the second campaign costs a fraction of the first, and keep the research bar high enough that a buyer would recognise themselves on the page.
| Signal | Strength | Effort | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public commitment with a date | High | Low | May already be handled internally |
| New executive in the function | High | Low | Too early in their tenure to act |
| Hiring pattern | Medium | Low | Easy to over-interpret |
| Technology footprint | Medium | Medium | Detection tools are often wrong |
| Inferred internal problem | Low | High | Reads as presumptuous when wrong |
Common questions
- How do I run account-based outbound with microsites?
- Pick a small list of accounts sharing a real trigger, gather two or three verifiable public signals per account, and publish one page per account that states the situation, the hypothesis, the mapping to your offer, the closest proof and a single next step. Review every page before sending and measure against a control cohort.
- How many accounts should a first campaign include?
- Between 20 and 50. That is large enough to see a pattern in engagement and small enough that every page can be reviewed properly.
- What research should never go on the page?
- Anything you cannot attribute to a public source, anything inferred about internal problems that would sound presumptuous if wrong, and any internal commercial notes such as estimated budget or deal scoring.