User Case Study: C.J. Austin
Table of Contents:
- Before using Backlink Brain, how were you managing backlink research and outreach?
- What was your team’s first reaction when they started using Backlink Brain?
- How is Backlink Brain used in your workflow?
- Have you seen time savings or better workflow outcomes?
- What’s the biggest win you’ve had so far using Backlink Brain?
- Do you feel it lowered the barrier for your team to build backlinks? Why?
- If Backlink Brain disappeared tomorrow, what would you miss most?
C.J. Austin is the founder of Blume, an accounts receivable automation tool designed to help businesses streamline collections and reduce manual receivables work. As backlink building became a bigger part of growing visibility in a competitive SaaS market, finding relevant opportunities efficiently mattered. Below is an interview conducted between Aaron Uscilla of Backlink Brain and C.J. Austin.
1. Before using Backlink Brain, how were you handling backlink research and outreach?
“Before Backlink Brain, it was the same story a lot of founders deal with. We knew backlinks mattered, but the process to actually find relevant opportunities was fragmented and time-consuming. You’d bounce between Google searches, SEO tools, spreadsheets, and email lookup tools just trying to build a decent list. For a growing software company, that kind of manual work is hard to justify when your attention really needs to stay on product, customers, and growth.”
2. What was your first reaction when you started using Backlink Brain?
“My first reaction was that it made link prospecting feel way more practical. Most backlink workflows feel like work before the work even starts. Backlink Brain cut through that by making it easy to review opportunities quickly, understand what was relevant, and keep moving. It felt a lot more aligned with how busy teams actually operate.”
3. How is Backlink Brain used in your workflow?
“My SEO team uses BB as a filtering and discovery layer. Instead of spending a ton of time building lists from scratch or buying risky lists from Fiverr, we can review opportunities, spot the ones that make sense for our market, and hand the strongest ones off for outreach or content placement. That matters for us because Blume serves a pretty specific business need, so relevance is everything. We are not looking for random placements. We want finance, operations, SaaS, and small business publications where the audience actually overlaps with what we do.”
4. Have you seen time savings or better workflow outcomes?
“Definitely. The biggest improvement is not just time saved, it is wasted motion removed. We are no longer wondering where our next link opportunity is coming from. That makes the whole process lighter and more consistent. It lets our team stay focused on higher-value decisions instead of admin-heavy prospecting.”
5. What’s the biggest win you’ve had so far using Backlink Brain?
“One of the biggest wins has been landing a link in Techloy. It was a full article about AR automation for small teams, where Blume is linked directly in the discussion around reducing operational drag and replacing manual receivables work. We can now showcase that content on our site and social media, building social proof.”
6. Do you feel it lowered the barrier for your team to build backlinks? Why?
“Yes, a lot. That is probably the biggest value. For many companies, backlink building feels like something you either outsource at a high price or avoid because it is too manual. Backlink Brain makes it feel much more accessible. It lowers the coordination cost, lowers the research burden, and gives a lean team a way to build momentum without needing a giant agency retainer behind it.”
7. If Backlink Brain disappeared tomorrow, what would you miss?
“I’d miss the little brain mascot! He always makes me laugh.”
