The fourth eBook in the Foundations category. It takes the one-page plan from eBook 3 and turns the marketing half into a 90-day go-to-market plan a small business owner can actually run - with a small set of priorities, a clear channel set and milestones that mean something.
Members ebook·5 chapters· 20 minute read
Chapter 3
Choosing the Right Channels
Pick the two or three channels that actually fit your customer and offer, and leave the rest alone with confidence.
Channel choice is where most small businesses leak time. The temptation is to be on every platform a little. Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, a podcast, a blog, an email list, Google Ads, Facebook Ads. Each one is plausible. Each one promises a slice of attention. Owned together at low intensity, they produce mediocre results everywhere and burn the time that two well-run channels would have made into real revenue.
The channel choice should fall out of the customer and offer, not the other way around. A workplace-stress therapy practice doesn't need TikTok. A handmade homeware shop doesn't need LinkedIn. A B2B consultancy doesn't need Instagram. Picking the wrong two or three channels is more expensive than picking the right one and ignoring the rest.
This chapter is a practical channel-selection guide. By the end you'll have written down two or three channels for the quarter, with a clear reason for each, and an explicit list of channels you're choosing not to run.
The full chapter has the channel-choice criteria, three customer-channel maps and the rules for adding or removing a channel mid-quarter.
The four channel-choice criteria
Customer presence. Is your chosen customer actually using the channel? Owners often choose channels they personally enjoy rather than channels their customers use. The plumber who loves Instagram and whose landlord customers do not is wasting hours every week.
Offer fit. Does the offer translate to the channel's format? A six-session therapy package needs trust and quiet - search ranking and a calm website fit. A handmade homeware piece needs visual discovery - Instagram and Pinterest fit. A 12,000-pound consultancy engagement needs depth - LinkedIn posts and a referral arrangement fit. Mismatched offers and channels usually fail loudly.
Owner sustainability. Can you run this channel well for at least 90 days? A weekly LinkedIn post for 12 weeks is a real channel. A weekly LinkedIn post for three weeks before stopping is not. Pick channels you'll keep up after week four.
Compounding behaviour. Does this channel get cheaper or more powerful over time? Search ranking compounds. Reviews compound. Email lists compound. Most paid ads do not - they reset every month. A small business should weight compounding channels heavily because they pay for themselves over years.
Three customer-channel maps
The plumbing firm targeting landlords
Two channels run hard: Google Business Profile and letting-agent partnerships. One channel running quietly: Google reviews. Channels deliberately not run: Instagram, Facebook ads, paid Google ads (the partnerships and the profile do the same job for less). The whole channel set fits on a sticky note and earns the firm a steady pipeline.
The therapy practice targeting working professionals
Two channels run hard: search ranking through a content-rich website and a small but consistent Instagram presence. One channel running quietly: GP referral arrangements. Channels deliberately not run: paid ads (trust-fragile), TikTok (wrong audience), LinkedIn (wrong setting for personal mental health work).
The homeware shop targeting style-conscious women
Two channels run hard: Instagram and Pinterest. One channel running quietly: the email list. Channels deliberately not run: paid Google ads, Facebook ads (low ROI for handmade homeware in this price range), pop-ups outside the spring and Christmas windows.
The 'not running' list matters
Naming the channels you've chosen not to run is half the discipline. It frees the owner from guilt every time a podcast guest mentions a viral TikTok. It gives a freelancer or virtual assistant a clear answer when they suggest opening a new account. The list isn't permanent - next quarter's plan can revisit it - but for these 90 days, those channels are off.
Adding or removing channels mid-quarter
The mid-quarter channel rule
Don't add a new channel mid-quarter. Add it to next quarter's plan instead.
Don't drop a chosen channel before week six. Three weeks isn't enough data.
If a channel is clearly leaking time at week six, drop it - and write down what replaced it.
Never run more than three channels at once.
What to do this week
On the GTM plan page, write your two or three channels with a one-sentence reason for each. Underneath, write a short list of channels you're choosing not to run, with a one-sentence reason for each. Both lists should fit on the same page.
The recurring principle this chapter sits on is use low-cost channels intelligently. Two well-run channels beat eight half-run channels in every small business situation we've ever seen. The next chapter, Setting Goals and Milestones, takes the channels you've chosen and gives you the small set of measurable targets that turn the plan into something you can run against.
The rest of this chapter walks through the practical steps, the templates and the checklists you need to put it into action. It includes worked examples, copy frameworks and the small decisions that make the difference between a plan that sits in a drive and one that gets used.
Inside you'll find a step-by-step playbook, a downloadable template, a checklist you can run this week and a short list of common mistakes to avoid before you start.
The full action plan, broken into weekly steps.
Ready-to-use scripts, templates and checklists.
Worked examples for different sized businesses.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them.
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