Why this matters
Every channel demands its own format, cadence, and learning curve. A solo founder spread across five channels does all of them badly and learns from none. Two channels fed consistently for a quarter beat six fed sporadically — and you can only judge a channel you've actually fed.
What "done" looks like
- Two channels chosen in writing, tied to where your named customer spends time
- Everything else explicitly parked, not guiltily half-done
- A sustainable cadence defined for each (e.g., three posts a week)
- A 90-day checkpoint on the calendar to judge results
How to do it
- List where your one customer already looks for what you sell: search, Instagram, a local paper, trade groups, their inbox.
- Shortlist channels you can feed weekly with your real skills and hours — a video channel is wrong if you'll never film.
- Pick one discovery channel (search, social, local events) and one owned channel (email — the next steps build it).
- Define minimum viable consistency for each and put it on your calendar.
- Commit for 90 days before judging; algorithms and habits both need runway.
- At the checkpoint, double down or swap — one change at a time.
Common mistakes
- Picking the channel you personally enjoy instead of the one your customer uses
- Quitting after three weeks because results are quiet — every channel starts quiet
- Staying on six platforms as an excuse to be accountable on none
Real-world examples
- Traction by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares catalogs 19 acquisition channels; its Bullseye framework has companies test a few, then concentrate on what works — not cover all of them.
- A well-documented small-business pattern: service businesses tend to win on local search and referrals, visual products on Instagram or Pinterest.
From a founder's point of view
Channel FOMO is a tax on focus. The platforms you ignore aren't missed opportunities; they're the price of doing two things well enough to matter. Depth compounds, breadth evaporates.
Rule of thumb
If you can't sustain a channel for 90 days at a steady cadence, you didn't pick a channel — you picked a distraction.