Growth & Strategy
Personas
SaaS & Startup
Time to ROI
Medium-term (3-6 months)
OK, so here's something that's going to make some people uncomfortable: your amazing product doesn't matter if nobody can find it. I've watched too many brilliant founders pour everything into building the "perfect" solution while completely ignoring how they're going to get it into people's hands.
When I was working with a B2C e-commerce client who had over 1,000 SKUs, they had this beautiful catalog of quality products. But here's the thing - they were completely dependent on Facebook Ads for traffic. One algorithm change, one policy update, and their entire revenue stream could disappear overnight. That's when I realized we had a distribution problem, not a product problem.
Most businesses think about distribution as an afterthought. They build first, then figure out how to sell. But here's what I've learned after working across multiple industries: distribution strategy should come before product development. It's not just about having multiple channels - it's about understanding that your distribution method fundamentally shapes your entire business.
In this playbook, you'll learn:
Why the "build it and they will come" mentality is killing your business
How I helped clients reduce their dependency on single traffic sources
The systematic approach to building omnichannel distribution
Real examples of distribution strategies that actually work
How to identify the right distribution channels for your specific business
If you're tired of having an amazing product that nobody knows about, this is for you. Let's talk about how to fix your distribution problem before it kills your business.
Industry Reality
What most businesses get wrong about distribution
Most business advice about distribution sounds like this: "You need to be everywhere your customers are." Sounds logical, right? The problem is, this advice is completely useless because it doesn't tell you HOW to actually build that presence or which channels to prioritize first.
Here's what the traditional business wisdom tells you about distribution:
Build your product first, worry about distribution later - This is backwards thinking that leads to beautiful solutions nobody knows about
Focus on as many channels as possible - This spreads you thin and makes you mediocre everywhere instead of excellent somewhere
Digital marketing is enough for modern businesses - Ignoring that different products need different distribution physics
Once you find a channel that works, double down on it - Creating dangerous single points of failure
Distribution is just about getting traffic - Missing that it's actually about building sustainable customer acquisition systems
The reason this conventional wisdom exists is because it's easier to give generic advice than to actually understand the specific distribution physics of different business models. A SaaS product with 1,000+ SKUs can't use the same distribution strategy as a simple B2B software tool.
Where this falls short is obvious once you think about it: every distribution channel has its own rules, its own physics, and its own optimal product types. Facebook Ads work great for products that can make quick decisions, but terrible for complex B2B solutions that need time to evaluate. SEO works brilliantly for discovery-based shopping but poorly for products people don't know they need yet.
Most businesses fail at distribution because they're trying to force their product into channels that don't match their product's natural buying behavior. It's like trying to sell encyclopedias on Instagram - technically possible, but fighting against the platform's physics.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
Let me tell you about a project that completely changed how I think about distribution strategy. I was working with a B2C e-commerce client who had built an incredible business around a diverse product catalog - we're talking over 1,000 different SKUs across multiple categories.
When I started working with them, they had what looked like a successful business on paper. They were generating consistent revenue through Facebook Ads with a respectable 2.5 ROAS. Most people would look at that and think "this is working fine." But I could see the hidden vulnerability that was going to kill them.
The problem wasn't their products - they were quality items that customers genuinely loved. The problem wasn't their website - it converted well when people actually found what they were looking for. The problem was that their entire growth engine depended on Meta's algorithm and ad costs.
Here's what made this situation particularly challenging: their strength was actually working against them in the paid ads environment. While most successful Facebook Ads campaigns thrive on 1-3 flagship products that can drive quick purchase decisions, my client's competitive advantage was their variety. Customers needed time to browse, compare, and discover the right product for their specific needs.
Facebook Ads demand instant decisions. You've got maybe 3 seconds to capture attention and maybe 30 seconds to convince someone to buy. But this client's customers wanted to explore, read reviews, compare options, and make thoughtful purchases. The platform physics were fundamentally incompatible with their product's natural buying behavior.
I tried optimizing the ads first - better targeting, improved creative, different campaign structures. We saw marginal improvements, but the fundamental problem remained: we were trying to force a square peg into a round hole. That's when I realized we needed a completely different approach to distribution.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
Instead of continuing to fight against Facebook's physics, I led a complete overhaul of their distribution strategy. The goal wasn't to abandon paid ads entirely - it was to reduce their dangerous dependency and build multiple pathways for customers to discover their products.
Step 1: Complete Website Restructuring for Discoverability
The first thing I did was rebuild their website architecture from the ground up, but not for design reasons - for SEO reasons. Most e-commerce sites are built like traditional stores with a front door (homepage) that leads to different sections. But in an SEO-driven approach, every page needs to be a potential entry point.
I restructured their site so that each product category could rank independently for relevant search terms. Instead of thinking "how do we get people to our homepage," I started thinking "how do we get people to exactly the product they're searching for." This meant creating dedicated landing pages for specific use cases, detailed category pages that could rank for broader terms, and product pages optimized for long-tail search queries.
Step 2: Content Strategy Focused on Search Intent
Rather than creating generic brand content, I developed a content strategy that matched how their customers actually searched for products. We created buying guides, comparison articles, and educational content that solved real problems their target customers faced.
For example, instead of a generic blog post about "summer fashion trends," we created specific guides like "How to Choose Breathable Fabrics for Hot Weather" that naturally led to their relevant products. Each piece of content was designed to capture people at different stages of the buying journey.
Step 3: SEO Infrastructure That Actually Scales
I implemented proper technical SEO foundations: optimized site speed, clean URL structures, comprehensive internal linking, and schema markup for product pages. But more importantly, I created systems that would scale with their catalog growth. Every new product automatically got optimized meta descriptions, proper categorization, and internal linking.
Step 4: Systematic Attribution Tracking
Here's where it gets interesting. Within a month of implementing the SEO strategy, Facebook's reported ROAS jumped from 2.5 to 8-9. Most marketers would celebrate this "improvement," but I knew better. The reality was that SEO was driving significant traffic and conversions, but Facebook's attribution model was claiming credit for organic wins.
This taught me something crucial about distribution: you have to embrace the dark funnel. Real customer journeys are messy. A typical journey actually looks like: Google search for the problem → social media browsing → retargeting ad exposure → review site research → email nurture sequence → multiple touchpoints across channels before purchase.
Attribution Reality
Don't trust single-touch attribution. Modern customer journeys involve 7+ touchpoints across multiple channels before purchase.
Organic Foundation
SEO isn't just traffic - it's building owned media that compounds over time while paid ads stop working the moment you stop paying.
Platform Physics
Each channel has rules. Facebook demands quick decisions. SEO rewards patient discovery. Match your product to the right physics.
Dark Funnel Strategy
Stop trying to track everything. Focus on expanding visibility across all touchpoints where customers might discover your brand.
The results were dramatic, but they unfolded over time rather than overnight. Within three months, organic traffic had become a significant revenue driver, generating substantial purchases from customers who had the time and intent to explore their full product range.
More importantly, they were no longer at the mercy of Facebook's algorithm changes or ad cost increases. When iOS 14.5 hit and devastated many e-commerce businesses dependent on Facebook attribution, my client barely felt it because they had built a diversified distribution strategy.
The Facebook ROAS "improvement" from 2.5 to 8-9 was actually revealing something crucial: SEO was doing the heavy lifting of customer education and building trust, while Facebook was getting credit for the final conversion. This is exactly how omnichannel distribution should work - each channel playing its natural role in the customer journey.
Perhaps most surprisingly, their customer lifetime value increased significantly. Customers who discovered them through organic search typically made larger initial purchases and returned more frequently than those who came through paid ads. This makes sense when you think about it - they had more time to understand the full product range and make thoughtful purchasing decisions.
The timeline taught me that distribution strategy is a medium-term investment. You need to think in quarters, not weeks. But once the flywheel starts spinning, the compound effects are powerful and sustainable.
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 completely overhauling a business's distribution strategy:
Product-channel fit is everything - You can't change the rules of a marketing channel. You can only control how your product plays within those rules.
Attribution is a lie, distribution isn't - Stop trying to track every interaction. Focus on building multiple pathways for discovery.
Each channel has its own physics - Facebook demands instant decisions. SEO rewards patient discovery. LinkedIn favors B2B thought leadership. Work with the physics, not against them.
Diversification is risk management - Single-channel dependency is a business risk, not a business strategy.
Timing matters more than tactics - Distribution strategy is a medium-term investment. Don't expect overnight results, but do expect compound effects.
Customer journey complexity is increasing - Modern buyers research across multiple channels before making decisions. Your distribution strategy needs to account for this reality.
Owned media beats rented media - SEO and email lists are assets you own. Paid ads are expenses that stop working when you stop paying.
What I'd do differently: I would have started with distribution strategy before product expansion. Instead of trying to fix distribution after building a complex catalog, I would have tested different distribution channels with a smaller product range first.
Common pitfalls to avoid: Don't spread yourself too thin across channels. Master one channel before adding another. And never completely abandon a working channel - diversify, don't replace.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS startups specifically:
Start with content marketing and SEO before paid acquisition
Build email lists and owned audiences early
Test product-channel fit with small experiments
Focus on channels that allow for education and trust-building
For your Ecommerce store
For e-commerce stores specifically:
Audit your current traffic sources and identify dangerous dependencies
Invest in SEO infrastructure that scales with your catalog
Create content that matches customer search intent
Build multiple discovery pathways for different product categories