Growth & Strategy
Personas
SaaS & Startup
Time to ROI
Medium-term (3-6 months)
OK, so I used to believe the biggest startup myth out there: build a great product and customers will find you. You know that feeling when you launch something amazing and... crickets? Yeah, I've been there multiple times with different client projects.
Here's the uncomfortable truth I learned after working with dozens of SaaS and e-commerce businesses: distribution beats product quality every single time. The best product in the world sitting in isolation will lose to a mediocre product with great distribution channels.
I discovered this the hard way when I started treating websites like beautiful stores in empty malls. Doesn't matter how gorgeous your store is if nobody walks by, right? That's when I shifted my entire approach from product-first to distribution-first thinking.
In this playbook, you'll learn how to:
Identify and validate the right distribution channels for your specific business
Build a systematic approach to testing multiple channels simultaneously
Scale successful channels while cutting unsuccessful ones quickly
Create compound growth through multi-channel distribution systems
Avoid the common pitfalls that kill most distribution strategies
This isn't about following someone else's playbook - it's about building your own distribution engine that actually works for your business. Let's dive into what I've learned from multiple client experiments and why most distribution advice misses the mark.
Strategy Reality
What most businesses get wrong about distribution
Most businesses approach distribution like they're following a recipe from a cookbook. They hear "content marketing works" or "paid ads are the future" and immediately jump into tactical execution without understanding the fundamental principles.
The traditional approach looks something like this:
Pick a single channel - Usually whatever's trending or what competitors are doing
Go all-in on execution - Throw time and money at making it work
Expect immediate results - Get frustrated when things don't work in 30 days
Pivot completely - Abandon the channel and try something else
Repeat the cycle - Keep jumping from one shiny object to the next
The problem with this approach? It treats distribution like a magic bullet instead of a systematic process. Every "guru" will tell you their channel is the holy grail - whether it's SEO, paid ads, content marketing, or whatever's hot this quarter.
But here's what they don't tell you: distribution is about building systems, not finding silver bullets. The most successful businesses I've worked with don't rely on one perfect channel - they build multiple distribution engines that work together.
The conventional wisdom also ignores a crucial reality: what works for a B2B SaaS selling to enterprise clients won't work for a D2C e-commerce brand selling to millennials. Yet most advice treats all businesses like they're identical.
This generic approach is why so many businesses struggle with the "dark funnel" - they can't track which touchpoints actually drive conversions because they're not thinking about distribution as an interconnected system.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
When I started working with my first e-commerce client who was heavily dependent on Facebook Ads, everything looked good on paper. They had a 2.5 ROAS, consistent revenue, and seemed to have "figured out" their distribution strategy.
But there was a hidden vulnerability I discovered: their entire growth engine depended on Meta's algorithm and ad costs. One algorithm change or competitor bidding war could kill their business overnight.
The client had fallen into what I now call the "single-channel trap." They'd found something that worked and doubled down on it instead of building a diversified distribution portfolio. When I audited their actual customer journey, I realized they were missing massive opportunities.
My first instinct was to optimize their existing Facebook campaigns - better creative, audience testing, conversion optimization. You know, the typical performance marketing playbook. But after digging deeper into their analytics, I noticed something interesting: their "direct" traffic was unusually high, but completely unattributed.
Here's where it gets interesting - I discovered that many of their customers were actually discovering them through multiple touchpoints before converting. Someone might see a Facebook ad, Google the brand later, read some reviews, check their Instagram, and then visit the site directly to purchase. But Facebook was claiming credit for the entire conversion.
This revealed the real problem: they weren't just dependent on Facebook Ads - they had no idea how their actual distribution was working. Their attribution model was lying to them, and they were making business decisions based on incomplete data.
That's when I realized we needed to completely rebuild their distribution strategy from the ground up, focusing on visibility across all possible touchpoints rather than optimizing a single channel.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
Instead of trying to fix their Facebook attribution or optimize their existing campaigns, I took a completely different approach. I spent three months building what I call a "distribution ecosystem" - multiple channels working together rather than competing for credit.
Here's exactly what we implemented:
Phase 1: SEO Foundation (Month 1)
First, we rebuilt their website architecture for search visibility. This wasn't about adding a blog and hoping for traffic - we created search-optimized category pages, product pages, and educational content that actually answered customer questions.
The key insight: instead of thinking "how do we get more Facebook traffic," we asked "how do we make sure people can find us when they're actively looking for solutions?"
Phase 2: Content Distribution Network (Month 2)
We created content specifically designed to be discovered across multiple platforms. One piece of content would become a blog post, Instagram carousel, YouTube video, and email newsletter. This wasn't repurposing - it was multi-platform storytelling.
The magic happened when someone might see our Instagram post, later find our blog through Google, and then see our Facebook retargeting ad. Instead of three separate touchpoints, it became a reinforcing narrative.
Phase 3: Platform Diversification (Month 3)
Rather than abandoning Facebook, we reduced dependency by building presence on Google Ads, Pinterest, email marketing, and influencer partnerships. Each channel had a specific role in the customer journey.
The breakthrough came when we stopped trying to track linear attribution and started tracking business outcomes. Within a month of implementing the SEO strategy, Facebook's reported ROAS jumped from 2.5 to 8-9. Why? Because SEO was driving significant traffic and conversions, but Facebook's attribution model was claiming credit for organic wins.
The Real Strategy: Embrace the Dark Funnel
Instead of fighting attribution complexity, we embraced it. We measured overall business growth rather than channel-specific metrics. This let us optimize for real business outcomes rather than platform-reported numbers.
We implemented tracking at the business level: total revenue, customer acquisition cost across all channels combined, and lifetime value improvements. This gave us the real picture of what was working.
Distribution Audit
Start by mapping every way customers currently find you, not just the ones you can track perfectly
Channel Portfolio
Build 3-5 channels simultaneously rather than perfecting one at a time
Attribution Reality
Accept that modern customer journeys are messy and optimize for business outcomes, not platform metrics
Testing Framework
Use rapid experiments to validate channels before scaling, focusing on sustainable unit economics
The results were dramatic and eye-opening. Within 90 days of implementing the full distribution ecosystem:
Business Metrics:
Overall revenue increased by 40% while maintaining similar total ad spend. More importantly, the business became much more resilient - when Facebook had delivery issues or cost increases, other channels compensated.
Customer acquisition cost across all channels dropped by 25% because we were capturing customers at different intent levels rather than competing only in high-competition paid auctions.
The Attribution Reality Check:
We discovered that Facebook was over-reporting its impact by about 60%. When we measured incrementality through holdout tests, we found that organic channels were driving much more value than the attribution tools showed.
This taught me that distribution success isn't about finding the perfect channel - it's about building an ecosystem where channels reinforce each other. The customer journey became: discover through content, research through organic search, convert through remarketing, and recommend through email nurturing.
The most unexpected outcome? Customer lifetime value increased by 35% because multi-touchpoint customers had higher engagement and retention rates. They felt more connected to the brand because they'd encountered it multiple times in different contexts.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
Here are the key lessons I learned from this distribution experiment:
Attribution is broken, business outcomes aren't - Focus on total revenue and customer acquisition cost rather than channel-specific metrics that lie to you.
The customer journey is messy by design - Modern buyers research across multiple touchpoints. Fighting this reality is futile; embracing it is profitable.
Distribution compounds when channels work together - A customer who sees your content, finds you in search, and gets retargeted converts at much higher rates than single-touchpoint traffic.
Diversification reduces risk and increases opportunity - Relying on one channel is like putting all your money in one stock. Eventually, it will hurt you.
Start with distribution, not product perfection - A good product with great distribution beats a perfect product with poor distribution every time.
Test systematically, not randomly - Have a framework for evaluating channels rather than jumping to whatever's trending on Twitter.
Platform physics matter more than tactics - Each channel has rules you can't change. Work with these constraints rather than against them.
The biggest mistake I made early on was trying to optimize channels in isolation. The breakthrough came when I started thinking about distribution as a system where each channel plays a specific role in the overall customer journey.
This approach works best for businesses with proven product-market fit who need to scale acquisition. It doesn't work if you're still figuring out your core value proposition or target customer.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS startups implementing this distribution strategy:
Start with content that educates your target users about the problem you solve
Build SEO around high-intent keywords related to your solution category
Use LinkedIn and industry communities as your primary social channels
Implement free trial attribution tracking across all touchpoints
For your Ecommerce store
For e-commerce stores building multi-channel distribution:
Focus on visual platforms like Instagram and Pinterest alongside Google Shopping
Create product-focused content that answers buyer questions and concerns
Build email lists through value-driven lead magnets, not just discount offers
Test influencer partnerships and user-generated content as distribution channels