Growth & Strategy
Personas
SaaS & Startup
Time to ROI
Medium-term (3-6 months)
I used to believe the biggest marketing lie ever told: "Build it and they will come." For months, I watched clients pour thousands into beautiful websites and polished products, only to see them sit there like expensive digital tombstones. Zero visitors, zero leads, zero growth.
That all changed when I started working with an e-commerce client who had a solid product catalog but was completely dependent on Facebook Ads. Their 2.5 ROAS looked decent on paper, but one algorithm change could kill their entire business. That's when I realized the harsh truth: single-channel dependency isn't a strategy, it's a recipe for disaster.
What I discovered over the next three months fundamentally changed how I approach marketing for every client. Instead of chasing the latest growth hack or doubling down on one "proven" channel, I built something more valuable: a systematic distribution network that doesn't rely on any single platform or tactic.
Here's what you'll learn from my real-world experiment:
Why the "build it and they will come" mentality is costing you customers
The 3-layer distribution system that took my client from 300 to 5,000+ monthly visitors
How to identify and validate new distribution channels without burning budget
The counterintuitive approach that makes organic traffic outperform paid ads
Why attribution lies to you (and how to build despite the "dark funnel")
This isn't another theoretical framework. This is the exact playbook I used to help multiple clients escape single-channel dependency and build sustainable growth engines. Some of the results might surprise you - they certainly surprised me.
Industry Reality
What every business owner believes about distribution
Walk into any marketing meeting and you'll hear the same tired advice: "Focus on your best-performing channel and double down." The industry has convinced everyone that success comes from finding that one golden channel and pouring all your resources into it.
Here's what conventional marketing wisdom tells you to do:
Pick your best channel - Whether it's Facebook Ads, Google Ads, or organic social
Optimize relentlessly - Squeeze every drop of performance from that channel
Scale vertically - Increase budget and double down on what's working
Master attribution - Track every click and conversion to "optimize" performance
Find your "winning formula" - Once you crack the code, rinse and repeat
This advice exists because it's easy to measure and report. CFOs love seeing clear ROI numbers. Marketing agencies can show impressive dashboard reports. Everyone feels good about the "data-driven" approach.
But here's where conventional wisdom falls apart: It completely ignores the reality of how customers actually discover and choose businesses in 2025. The customer journey isn't linear anymore. People don't see one ad and buy. They research across multiple touchpoints, compare options, read reviews, and often purchase weeks or months after their first interaction.
The single-channel approach also creates three major blindspots. First, you become vulnerable to platform changes - algorithm updates, policy changes, or increased competition can kill your primary channel overnight. Second, you miss the compounding effect of multiple touchpoints working together. And third, you're essentially training customers to expect you only in one place, limiting your brand's reach and authority.
Most businesses don't realize they're playing a dangerous game until it's too late. When their "proven" channel stops working, they panic and try to rebuild from scratch. By then, competitors who built diversified distribution networks have already captured their market share.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
My perspective on distribution completely shifted when I started working with an e-commerce client who was living this nightmare in real-time. They had built their entire business around Facebook Ads, generating consistent revenue with a 2.5 ROAS across their 1,000+ product catalog.
On the surface, everything looked fine. Monthly revenue was predictable, the ads were converting, and the dashboard showed steady growth. But I could see the vulnerability immediately: their entire growth engine depended on Meta's algorithm and ad costs.
The wake-up call came during our first strategy session. The founder mentioned they'd tried Google Ads before but "couldn't make it work" with their complex catalog. Their organic traffic was basically non-existent. They had no email list worth mentioning. No SEO strategy. No partnerships. No content marketing. Facebook Ads wasn't just their best channel - it was their only channel.
Here's what really caught my attention: this wasn't a product problem. They had quality items, good reviews, and a loyal customer base. The problem was product-channel fit. Facebook Ads demands quick decisions, but their customers needed time to browse, compare, and discover the right product from their extensive inventory.
That's when I realized we weren't dealing with an optimization problem - we were dealing with a distribution problem. They had built a beautiful store in the middle of nowhere and wondered why foot traffic was so dependent on expensive advertising.
This client became my testing ground for a completely different approach. Instead of optimizing their existing Facebook strategy, I convinced them to invest three months in building what I called a "distribution network" - multiple channels working together to create sustainable, algorithm-independent growth.
The experiment would prove that distribution beats optimization every single time. But first, we had to completely rethink how we approached customer acquisition.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
Instead of trying to fix their Facebook Ads performance, I implemented what I call the "Distribution Triangle" - three interconnected layers that work together to create sustainable growth without platform dependency.
Layer 1: SEO Foundation (Months 1-2)
We started with a complete website restructure focused on discoverability rather than just conversion. I implemented a comprehensive SEO strategy that treated every page as a potential entry point, not just the homepage.
For their 1,000+ product catalog, this meant creating optimized product pages, collection pages, and supporting content that would capture long-tail search traffic. The key insight: customers searching for specific products were already showing purchase intent, unlike cold Facebook traffic.
We also built content around their product categories - buying guides, comparison posts, and educational content that positioned them as experts in their niche. This wasn't just SEO content; it was customer education that naturally led to product discovery.
Layer 2: Email List Building (Month 2-3)
While SEO was building momentum, we implemented systematic email capture across the site. But instead of generic "10% off" popups, we created value-driven lead magnets specific to different product categories.
The magic happened when we connected SEO traffic to email capture. Organic visitors converted to subscribers at nearly double the rate of paid traffic because they were already engaged and seeking information.
Layer 3: Cross-Channel Amplification (Month 3+)
Once we had organic traffic and email subscribers, we used these assets to amplify all other marketing efforts. Email subscribers became our retargeting audience for improved Facebook performance. SEO content became our social media content. Product pages became landing pages for any future paid campaigns.
The breakthrough moment came when Facebook's attribution started reporting 8-9 ROAS instead of 2.5. Nothing had changed with the Facebook campaigns themselves - but now SEO traffic was driving conversions that Facebook was claiming credit for through its attribution model.
The Dark Funnel Strategy
This is where most businesses get confused. Instead of trying to track every touchpoint (impossible in today's privacy-first world), we embraced what I call "dark funnel" marketing. We focused on expanding visibility across all possible customer touchpoints, knowing that attribution would be messy but results would be clear.
The real measurement became total business growth, not individual channel attribution. And the results spoke for themselves.
Organic Foundation
SEO became our primary traffic driver within 60 days by focusing on product discoverability rather than brand awareness.
Email Asset
Built email list to 3000+ subscribers using content-driven lead magnets that converted 3x better than discount offers.
Attribution Reality
Embraced ""dark funnel"" marketing where multiple touchpoints work together rather than competing for attribution credit.
Platform Independence
Created sustainable growth that didn't depend on any single platform's algorithm or policy changes.
The results were impossible to ignore. Within three months, we had fundamentally transformed their business model from paid-traffic-dependent to omnichannel distribution.
Traffic Growth: Monthly visitors increased from 300 to over 5,000, with 70% coming from organic search instead of paid ads. More importantly, this traffic converted better because visitors were actively searching for solutions rather than being interrupted by ads.
Email List Asset: We built an email list of 3,000+ engaged subscribers. These weren't discount-seekers but genuine prospects interested in their product categories. Email now drives 25% of monthly revenue through automated sequences and broadcast campaigns.
Facebook Performance: Here's the counterintuitive part - their Facebook Ads actually performed better after we diversified. The improved attribution showed 8-9 ROAS instead of 2.5, and they could reduce ad spend while maintaining revenue because organic traffic was filling the gap.
Revenue Stability: Most importantly, they're no longer vulnerable to platform changes. When iOS 14.5 hit and many e-commerce businesses saw Facebook performance drop, their revenue remained stable because they had multiple traffic sources and a owned audience through email.
The client now operates with confidence, knowing that no single platform change can destroy their business overnight. They've gone from being algorithm-dependent to algorithm-resistant.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
After implementing this approach with multiple clients, here are the most important lessons I've learned about building sustainable distribution:
Attribution is mostly fiction - In today's privacy-first world, trying to track every touchpoint is impossible. Focus on total business growth rather than individual channel credit.
Organic compounds, paid doesn't - SEO and email assets get more valuable over time. Paid traffic stops the moment you stop paying.
Product-channel fit matters more than optimization - Some products naturally work better on certain channels. Don't force a square peg into a round hole.
Multiple touchpoints create trust - Customers who encounter your brand across multiple channels convert better and have higher lifetime value.
Start with one, expand systematically - Don't try to build all channels at once. Master one, then add the next while maintaining what's working.
Owned media beats rented media - Email lists, SEO rankings, and direct traffic can't be taken away by platform policy changes.
Distribution is the new moat - In a world where anyone can build a similar product, sustainable distribution channels become your competitive advantage.
The biggest mindset shift is moving from "optimization" thinking to "diversification" thinking. Stop trying to squeeze more from your current channels and start building new ones that work together.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS startups specifically:
Focus on content SEO around use cases and integrations
Build email lists through valuable templates and resources
Leverage founder personal branding on LinkedIn
Create product-led growth loops within your platform
For your Ecommerce store
For E-commerce stores specifically:
Optimize product pages for long-tail search traffic
Build category-specific email lists with buying guides
Use review platforms as additional distribution channels
Implement referral programs to leverage satisfied customers