The 4 things that need to be true before any growth channel works

There's this thing founders do where they think the next channel will fix growth. Ads didn't work so maybe cold email. Cold email's hard so maybe content. Content's slow so maybe ads again. I've seen this loop too many times now.

The channel is almost never the problem. What's actually broken is underneath, and until you fix that, every channel will feel like it's not working.

After working with 20+ SaaS companies, I believe these four things need to be true before any channel works.

Not clever, clear. My most successful clients have the easiest-to-understand product and service. My most successful copy is the one my little brother can understand.

Most founders overcomplicate it. They add jargon, list features, and try to sound smart. But here's the test: someone checks your site on their phone, on their way to work, in ten seconds. Do they know what you do?

For example, on our website copy we made sure you understand what we do in one glance.

We do the same when writing cold emails for our clients. This campaign we ran for SaasRise makes it clear in the first line - you're joining a community of SaaS founders in your industry who can actually help you.

If someone can't explain your product back to you after ten seconds, the channel isn't the problem.

This one kills more deals than people realize. A prospect sees your ad, gets curious, and Googles you. They find nothing. Or a LinkedIn with 200 followers and no posts. You just went from interesting to untrustworthy in ten seconds.

Our clients who get the best results have personal brands, content on major platforms, articles, newsletters, a CEO who actually posts. Not because any single piece closes deals, but because when someone searches, they find proof you're real.

Cold email is low-trust. Ads are low-trust. Most channels are low-trust until the prospect does their own research. You need to pass that test.

This is different from just existing when they Google you. This is about showing up everywhere before they even think to search. Omnipresence means your prospect can't escape you.

They see you in their inbox, then on LinkedIn, then on Facebook and Instagram, then in a newsletter. By the time they're ready to buy, you're already familiar. You're not a stranger asking for their time, you're someone they feel like they already know.

It takes 20-30 touch points before most prospects convert. One channel won't get you there. One of our clients, Ryan Allis from SaasRise, scaled from $1.5M to $4M ARR in 12 months and a big part of that was adopting this omnipresence strategy.

He exports engaged prospects from cold email, newsletters, and lead magnets, then runs ads to them as matched audiences on Meta and LinkedIn. So a prospect receives his email, then sees his ad on Meta, then sees another ad on LinkedIn. "I saw you everywhere" is what prospects usually say when they join SaasRise.

Every brand should be doing this if they want channels to actually work. But I'll be honest, it's not cheap. If your ad budget isn't at least $2k a month, omnipresence is hard to pull off. You need enough spend to stay visible across platforms without burning out your audience.

Every SaaS tool sells you tactics. New subject lines, AI personalization, better deliverability, fancy CRM stuff. Tactics are small and they might help 10-20%. But if your strategy is broken, no tactic will fix it.

Most founders don't have a strategy, or it's just in their head and never written down or pressure-tested. So they buy tactics hoping it'll work, and it won't.

Channels are not a strategy. They're additions to a strategy. Who are you targeting? Why would they care? What's the journey from stranger to customer? How does it all connect? If you can't answer that, adding another channel just adds noise.

The founders who grow fast aren't channel hopping. They have a clear offer, they pass the Google test, they're omnipresent, and they have a real strategy connecting it all. Then they pick a channel and it works because the foundation was already there.

The ones stuck are trying to use channels to fix what's broken upstream, and it doesn't work. I've seen it too many times.

Before you switch channels again, ask yourself: Can a stranger understand my offer in ten seconds? What happens when they Google me? Am I showing up before they search? Do I have a strategy or just tactics?

If you can't say yes to all four, the channel isn't your problem. Fix the foundation first.