The 19 channels

Weinberg and Mares’ traction channels, ordered by leverage for a small operator. Each page says what the channel needs from a product and what the report checks.

1. Engineering as marketingBuild a free tool people already search for. The best channel for someone who can code.
2. Search engine optimisationBeing found in search because your site has pages worth finding.
3. Content marketingPublishing things your customers want to read, on a surface you own.
4. Existing platformsBorrow someone else’s audience: app stores, marketplaces, the places customers already gather.
5. Email marketingThe one channel nobody can take away from you.
6. Viral marketingUsers bringing users, because the product makes something worth passing on.
7. Community buildingA place where your users talk to each other, and to you.
8. Business developmentPartnerships and integrations that put you inside someone else’s product.
9. Targeting blogsGetting covered by the blogs and newsletters your customers already read.
10. SalesA human closing deals. Only works when the deal pays for the human.
11. Search engine marketingPaying to appear when someone searches for what you sell.
12. Social & display adsPaying platforms to put you in front of people who were not looking.
13. Affiliate programsPaying other people a commission to send you customers.
14. Publicity / PRPress coverage. An event, not a channel.
15. Offline eventsSmall events you run yourself. Micro, not mega.
16. Speaking engagementsTalks. Does not scale, which is why it is still uncrowded.
17. Unconventional PRStunts and customer-delight moves that earn attention without a press release.
18. Trade showsA stand at an industry event. Bodies and a budget.
19. Offline advertisingPrint, radio, out-of-home, direct mail.