Channel Discovery

Given a target market, research where that audience actually spends time, what channels can reach them, and which to prioritize first. Produces a ranked channel recommendation with reasoning, estimated effort, and cost signals.

Key distinction: A channel is the WHERE — any place you can reliably get eyeballs or ears on something (search engines, social media, online forums, podcasts, trade shows). A tactic is the HOW — the method used to leverage that channel (paid ads, SEO, DMs, posting content, cold outreach). Don't conflate them. LinkedIn is a channel. Running paid ads on LinkedIn is a tactic. DMing people on LinkedIn is a different tactic on the same channel. Get the WHERE right before spending time on the HOW.

Usage

Use when deciding where to spend marketing dollars and time. Ideal after defining your target market but before committing to specific tactics. Also useful when a current channel is underperforming and you need alternatives.

Process

Step 1: Gather Inputs

Ask the user for:

1. Target market definition — who they're targeting ({Identity} + {Industry} + {Business type & stage}). Example: "B2B SaaS CTOs at seed-stage startups"
2. Product context — what they sell, pricing, current stage
3. Constraints — budget (monthly), team size, timeline, skills available
4. Current channels — what they've already tried and results

Step 2: Understand the Target Market

Parse the target market definition. Identify:

• Who they are: Role, seniority, industry
• How they buy: Self-serve vs. sales-led, individual vs. committee, impulse vs. considered
• Deal size signal: Low-touch (< $50/mo) vs. mid-touch ($50-500/mo) vs. high-touch ($500+/mo)
• Digital behaviour: Where do professionals in this role/industry spend time online?

Step 2b: Run the 12 Customer Channel Questions

Before mapping channels, get inside the customer's head. Run through these 12 questions for the target market. Answer them based on research and web searches — not assumptions.

1. Search — Do they use search engines? What are they searching for? What keywords or phrases?
2. Websites — What websites and blogs do they visit?
3. Communities — Which communities and groups do they hang out in (Reddit, Slack, Discord, industry forums)?
4. Video — What videos do they watch? Who do they subscribe to on YouTube?
5. Social — What social media platforms do they use? Which influencers do they follow?
6. Email — What email newsletters do they subscribe to?
7. Podcasts — What podcasts do they listen to?
8. Professional network — Do they have a work email address? Are they active on LinkedIn?
9. Credentials — Do they have specific job qualifications, certifications, or training? Are they part of professional membership bodies or associations?
10. Events — Do they attend trade shows, conferences, or industry meetups?
11. Publications — Do they read trade publications or industry news sites?
12. Books and thought leaders — What books do they read? Who are the thought leaders they follow?

Diagnostic: If the answers to these questions don't come easily, flag it — the market is probably too broad or too poorly understood. "Small businesses" can't answer these. "B2B SaaS CTOs at seed-stage startups" can. Narrow the segment before proceeding.

Channels that appear across multiple answers (e.g., LinkedIn surfaces in questions 4, 5, 8, and 9) are the strongest candidates.

Step 3: Map Candidate Channels

Evaluate the target market against each channel category. For each, assess fit (High / Medium / Low / Skip) based on the market profile.

Paid Channels

Channel	Best for	Typical B2B SaaS cost	Fit criteria
Reddit Ads	Community-based targeting, niche B2B audiences, validation	$0.20-1.50 CPC	Audience congregates in identifiable subreddits; product benefits from cold-traffic testing
Google Search Ads	High-intent buyers actively searching for solutions	$2-15 CPC	Problem has clear search intent; people Google this problem or solution category
LinkedIn Ads	Job-title/company targeting, high-ACV B2B	$5-15 CPC	Need precise firmographic targeting; ACV justifies higher CPC; decision-makers are senior
Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram)	Broad reach, retargeting, SMB/prosumer audiences	$0.50-3 CPC	Audience uses Facebook/Instagram personally; visual product or strong creative angle
YouTube Ads	Explainer/demo-heavy products, awareness	$0.05-0.30 CPV	Product benefits from video demonstration; audience watches industry content on YouTube
X/Twitter Ads	Tech/startup audiences, thought leadership amplification	$0.50-3 CPC	Audience is active on X; product is in tech/startup/creator space
Sponsorships (newsletters, podcasts, communities)	Niche audiences with trusted curators	$500-5000 per placement	Niche has established newsletters/podcasts; audience trusts curator recommendations

Organic / Content Channels

Channel	Best for	Time to results	Fit criteria
SEO / Blog content	Search-intent capture, long-term compounding	3-6 months	Target market Googles their problems; you can produce expert content; willing to wait
Reddit organic (community engagement)	Trust-building, validation, direct feedback	2-4 weeks	Active subreddits exist; you can genuinely help without self-promoting
LinkedIn organic	B2B thought leadership, founder-led growth	1-3 months	Audience is on LinkedIn; founder/team can post consistently; B2B with senior buyers
X/Twitter organic	Tech/startup community, developer audiences	1-3 months	Audience is on X; founder has or can build a following; product is in tech space
YouTube content	Product demos, tutorials, comparison content	3-6 months	Product benefits from visual explanation; audience searches YouTube for solutions
Community building (own community)	Retention, feedback loops, user-generated content	3-6 months	Product has network effects or high engagement; users want to connect with each other

Outbound Channels

Channel	Best for	Time to results	Fit criteria
Cold email	High-ACV, targeted accounts, ABM	2-4 weeks	Can identify and reach specific companies; ACV justifies the effort; message is relevant
Cold LinkedIn outreach	Relationship-driven B2B, senior buyers	2-4 weeks	Decision-makers are reachable on LinkedIn; product requires trust/relationship to sell
Partnerships / integrations	Complementary products, shared audiences	1-3 months	Clear partner ecosystem exists; mutual benefit is obvious; product integrates well

Step 3b: Funnel Prioritisation Check

Before investing in channels, verify the funnel can support traffic. Start from the bottom and work up:

Funnel Stage	Health Check	Minimum Threshold
Retention/Referral	Do customers stay and refer?	Cohort curves must flatten (even below 10%)
Activation	Do signups experience value?	Define activation KPI (e.g., 3 actions in 5 days)
Conversion (free)	Do visitors sign up?	≥ 10% for free tier, ≥ 4% for paid
Conversion (paid)	Do trials become customers?	≥ 5% trial-to-paid
Traffic/CPA	Can you acquire visitors profitably?	Only focus here when above stages are healthy

If retention is broken: No channel investment will help. Fix retention first. If conversion is below threshold: Don't pay for traffic yet — fix the landing page, messaging, or offer. If activation is weak: Fix onboarding before spending on acquisition.

Step 3c: Extended Channel Map (19 Traction Channels)

Beyond the paid/organic/outbound categories, consider these additional traction channels:

#	Channel	Notes
1	Viral marketing	Built-in sharing mechanics, referral programs
2	PR / Media	Press coverage, journalist relationships
3	Unconventional PR	Stunts, contests, viral campaigns
4	SEM (Google Ads)	Already covered in paid channels above
5	Social & display ads	Already covered above
6	Offline ads	Billboards, transit, print — niche B2B events
7	SEO	Already covered in organic channels above
8	Content marketing	Already covered above
9	Email marketing	Newsletters, sequences, lifecycle emails
10	Engineering as marketing	Free tools, calculators, browser extensions
11	Targeting blogs	Guest posts, blogger outreach
12	Business development	Strategic partnerships, integrations
13	Sales	Direct sales, inside sales
14	Affiliate programs	Commission-based referrals
15	Existing platforms	App stores, marketplaces, directories
16	Trade shows	Industry events, conferences, booths
17	Offline events	Meetups, workshops, dinners
18	Speaking engagements	Conference talks, podcasts, webinars
19	Community building	Already covered above

Peter Thiel's rule: "If you can get just one distribution channel to work, you have a great business." Don't try all 19 — find the 1-2 that work and nail them first.

Step 4: Research Channel Viability

For the top 3-5 candidate channels (rated High fit), do targeted research:

For paid channels:

• Use web search to check if competitors or similar products advertise there
• Check ad libraries (Reddit Ad Library, Meta Ad Library, LinkedIn Ad Library) for competitor presence
• Estimate budget requirements based on typical CPC and required volume

For paid social specifically — score each platform on Concentration / Targetability / Noise:

Platform	Concentration	Targetability	Noise	Notes
LinkedIn	?	Excellent	High	Job title, company, seniority, skills, industry — best B2B targeting available. CPCs are 3-5x more expensive.
Reddit	?	Good	Low–Medium	Subreddit-based targeting. Cheap CPCs. Unforgiving — bad ads get roasted.
YouTube	?	Good	Medium	Interest, topic, influencer targeting. Good for demo-heavy products.
X/Twitter	?	Medium	Medium	Follower targeting, keywords, interests. Strong for tech/startup audiences.
Facebook	?	Good	Medium–High	Interests, behaviours, lookalikes. Best for SMB/prosumer audiences.
Instagram	?	Good	Medium–High	Visual-first. Better for B2C adjacent products.
TikTok	?	Limited	Medium	Age and interest targeting. Weak for most B2B.

Fill in Concentration based on the target market. The ideal platform scores High + Excellent + Low.

For organic channels:

• Check if competitors have active presence (blog, social accounts, YouTube channel)
• Assess content gap opportunities
• Estimate content velocity needed

For outbound:

• Check if target buyers are reachable (LinkedIn presence, email findability)
• Assess message-market fit potential

Step 5: Score and Rank Channels

Score each viable channel on 5 criteria (1-5 each):

Criteria	What to evaluate
Audience fit	How well does this channel reach your specific target market?
Speed to results	How quickly can you get meaningful data or customers?
Cost efficiency	What's the expected cost per lead/customer relative to your budget and ACV?
Effort to execute	How much time, skill, and ongoing maintenance is required?
Learning value	Will this channel teach you things that transfer to other channels?

Rank by total score. For ties, break with:

1. Speed to results (early-stage needs fast feedback loops)
2. Learning value (insights compound across channels)
3. Cost efficiency (preserve runway)

Fast-feedback principle for early-stage founders: Prioritize channels that return meaningful signal within 48 hours. Three channels qualify: paid ads, community participation (Reddit, Slack, forums), and direct outreach (cold email, DMs). SEO, content marketing, video, and podcasting all take months to spin up. Prove the fast-feedback channels work first.

Step 6: Build Channel Recommendations

For the top 3 recommended channels, produce a recommendation with:

• Why this channel fits the target market
• What to do first (concrete next step)
• Expected timeline to meaningful results
• Budget estimate (if paid)
• What success looks like

Output Format

# Channel Discovery Report

**Date:** [current date]
**Target Market:** [Identity + Industry + Business type & stage]
**Constraints:** [budget, team, timeline]

---

## Channel Fit Matrix

| Channel | Audience | Speed | Cost | Effort | Learning | Total | Verdict |
|---------|----------|-------|------|--------|----------|-------|---------|
| Reddit Ads | X/5 | X/5 | X/5 | X/5 | X/5 | XX/25 | Recommended / Consider / Skip |
| Google Search | X/5 | X/5 | X/5 | X/5 | X/5 | XX/25 | |
| LinkedIn Ads | X/5 | X/5 | X/5 | X/5 | X/5 | XX/25 | |
| ... | | | | | | | |

---

## Recommended Channel 1: [Channel Name]

**Why it fits:** [2-3 sentences on why this channel suits the target market]

**What to do first:**
1. [Concrete step 1]
2. [Concrete step 2]
3. [Concrete step 3]

**Timeline:** [Expected time to first meaningful results]
**Budget:** [Estimated monthly spend or time investment]
**Success looks like:** [Specific metrics and targets]

---

## Recommended Channel 2: [Channel Name]
[Same structure]

---

## Recommended Channel 3: [Channel Name]
[Same structure]

---

## Channels to Revisit Later

| Channel | Why not now | When to reconsider |
|---------|------------|-------------------|
| [Channel] | [Reason] | [Trigger or timeline] |

---

## Next Steps

1. [Most important next action]
2. [Second action]
3. [Third action]

Rules

• Recommend 1-2 channels to nail first, with a 3rd as a backup. "Try everything" is bad advice for early-stage.
• Paid channels are faster for validation but burn cash. Organic channels compound but take months. Match the recommendation to the founder's stage and constraints.
• Don't recommend channels just because they're popular. A plumber doesn't need TikTok. A dev tools founder doesn't need Facebook Ads. Match the channel to the market.
• If the founder has already tried channels, ask what happened. Failed channels often failed due to execution, not fit.
• If Step 2b is hard to answer, either you don't know enough about the customer yet, or the segment is too broad. Push for specificity first.