Growth & Strategy
Personas
SaaS & Startup
Time to ROI
Short-term (< 3 months)
I used to be that marketer who spent weeks crafting the "perfect" marketing strategy. You know the type - reading every growth hacking blog, following every "proven" framework, trying to implement 15 different channels at once because "that's what successful companies do."
Then I watched one of my B2B SaaS clients burn through $50k in six months with this scattered approach. They were doing content marketing, paid ads, influencer outreach, cold email, partnerships, events, and social media - all simultaneously. The result? Mediocre performance across everything and no clear winners.
That's when I discovered the Bullseye Method from Gabriel Weinberg's "Traction" book. It's not sexy, it's not complicated, and it definitely goes against the "do everything" advice you see everywhere. But here's the thing - it actually works.
After implementing this method across multiple client projects, I've learned that focused testing beats scattered effort every single time. Instead of playing marketing roulette, you systematically find your one winning channel before expanding.
Here's what you'll learn from my experience:
Why the "test everything" approach kills startups
The exact 3-step Bullseye framework I use with clients
How we found LinkedIn organic content as the winner for a SaaS client
Real results from focusing on one channel vs. spreading thin
When to move from testing to scaling (and when to pivot)
Industry Reality
What every startup founder has been told about growth
If you've spent any time in startup circles, you've heard the standard growth advice. It goes something like this:
"You need to be everywhere your customers are." Build a content strategy, run paid ads, do influencer marketing, attend conferences, start a podcast, be active on all social platforms, implement email sequences, try partnership marketing, and don't forget about SEO.
The logic seems sound - more channels mean more opportunities, right? Popular growth frameworks encourage this:
The "Omnichannel" Approach: Be present across all possible touchpoints
The "Growth Hacking" Mindset: Try 100 experiments and see what sticks
The "Best Practices" Trap: Copy what worked for other successful companies
The "More is More" Philosophy: If some marketing is good, more marketing is better
The "Diversification" Theory: Don't put all your eggs in one basket
This advice exists because it's what worked for companies that already found their winning channels. When you read about a successful startup's "comprehensive marketing strategy," you're seeing the end result, not the journey.
Here's the problem: this approach assumes you have unlimited resources and time. Most startups have neither. When you spread your limited budget, time, and attention across 10 different channels, you end up doing everything poorly instead of one thing exceptionally well.
The conventional wisdom fails because it treats marketing like throwing spaghetti at the wall instead of systematic experimentation. You end up with a little bit of mediocre performance everywhere, but no clear winners to double down on.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
The wake-up call came during a strategy session with a B2B SaaS client in the project management space. They'd been "following best practices" for eight months and had results to show for every channel - just not good ones.
Their situation was textbook startup marketing chaos:
Content marketing: Publishing 2 blog posts per week, getting 500 monthly visitors
LinkedIn ads: $3k monthly spend, 8% CTR, but $400 cost per qualified lead
Cold email: 2% response rate with minimal meeting bookings
Twitter presence: 1,200 followers, minimal engagement
Podcast appearances: 6 episodes, hard to track results
Partnership outreach: 3 partnerships signed, waiting for results
The founder was frustrated. "We're doing everything the growth experts recommend, but we're burning cash without clear winners." Sound familiar?
That's when I introduced them to the Bullseye Method. Instead of continuing this scattered approach, we paused everything except their most promising channel and systematically tested three potential winners.
The founder initially resisted: "But what if we miss opportunities in other channels?" This is the exact mindset that keeps startups stuck in mediocrity. The fear of missing out prevents you from maximizing what's working.
I've seen this pattern across multiple client projects - companies getting seduced by the "comprehensive strategy" approach when what they really need is focused execution on their highest-potential channel.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
Here's the exact Bullseye Method framework I use with clients, adapted from Gabriel Weinberg's original approach:
Step 1: Brainstorm All Possible Channels (The Outer Ring)
First, we list every possible traction channel for their business. For the SaaS client, this included 19 channels: content marketing, search engine marketing, social and display ads, offline ads, search engine optimization, content marketing, viral marketing, engineering as marketing, targeting blogs, business development, sales, affiliate programs, existing platforms, trade shows, offline events, speaking engagements, community building, email marketing, and unconventional PR.
The key here is being comprehensive without judgment. Every channel gets listed, even the ones that seem unlikely.
Step 2: Prioritize to Three Channels (The Middle Ring)
Now comes the critical filtering. We evaluate each channel based on three criteria:
Cost: Can we afford to test this properly?
Targeting: Can we reach our exact customer through this channel?
Control: How much control do we have over the results?
For our SaaS client, the three finalists were: LinkedIn organic content, targeted cold email, and partnership marketing. Everything else got parked.
Step 3: Focus on One Channel (The Inner Ring)
Here's where most people get it wrong - they try to test all three channels simultaneously. Don't. Pick the most promising channel and give it 100% focus for 6-8 weeks.
We chose LinkedIn organic content because:
The founder had industry expertise worth sharing
Decision-makers in their target market were active on LinkedIn
Content could be repurposed across other channels later
Low cost, high control, precise targeting
The execution was systematic: The founder committed to posting one valuable insight daily, engaging authentically with comments, and sharing behind-the-scenes building stories. No promotional content, just valuable insights about project management challenges.
After six weeks, we had our answer: LinkedIn was generating 40% of their qualified leads with zero ad spend. That's when we doubled down.
Focus First
Instead of spreading across 19 channels, we focused 100% on LinkedIn organic content for 6 weeks. The clarity this brought to content creation and community building was game-changing.
Systematic Testing
Each channel got properly tested with clear success metrics before moving to the next. No more guessing or "trying everything" - just methodical validation.
Resource Allocation
By concentrating budget and time on one channel, we could invest properly in content quality, engagement, and community building rather than doing everything poorly.
Clear Metrics
LinkedIn generated 40% of qualified leads within 6 weeks. Having one clear winning channel made scaling decisions obvious and resource allocation straightforward.
The results from this focused approach were dramatic:
Before Bullseye Method (8 months of scattered effort):
Total monthly qualified leads: 12-15
Cost per lead: $400+ (across all channels)
Time investment: 40+ hours weekly across multiple channels
Team confusion: Everyone working on different priorities
After Bullseye Method (6 weeks of focused testing):
LinkedIn organic: 25-30 qualified leads monthly
Cost per lead: $0 (organic content)
Time investment: 8 hours weekly on LinkedIn content
Team alignment: Everyone supporting the founder's content strategy
But here's the unexpected part: once we had a winning channel, other channels became more effective too. The LinkedIn content became material for email sequences, the founder's increased visibility opened partnership opportunities, and the consistent messaging improved their cold email response rates.
The compound effect of focused success beats scattered mediocrity every time.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
After implementing the Bullseye Method across multiple client projects, here are the key lessons learned:
One great channel beats ten mediocre ones. The math is simple: 100% effort on your best channel will always outperform 10% effort across ten channels.
Most channels will fail for your specific business. This isn't a bug, it's a feature. Failing fast and cheap is better than failing slowly and expensively.
Success in one channel creates momentum for others. Winning builds confidence, attracts talent, and provides content for other channels.
The "best" channel is the one that works for YOUR business. Industry benchmarks are interesting but irrelevant if the channel doesn't work for your specific situation.
Focus is a competitive advantage. While competitors spread thin, you become the expert in your winning channel.
Timing matters more than perfection. A good channel executed consistently beats a perfect channel executed sporadically.
The method works for any stage. Whether you're pre-revenue or scaling, focused channel testing beats scattered experiments.
The biggest mistake I see? Moving to the next channel too quickly when the first one shows promise. Stick with your winner longer than feels comfortable. Most startups under-invest in their winning channels by getting distracted by new opportunities.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS startups, the Bullseye Method is particularly powerful because:
Focus resources on high-intent acquisition channels
Build repeatable systems before expanding
Test channels that align with your product-market fit stage
For your Ecommerce store
For ecommerce stores, this method helps you:
Identify the most profitable customer acquisition channel first
Optimize conversion rates within your winning channel
Scale advertising spend efficiently once you find what works