Distribution First, Ideas Second

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This week’s set up:

?? Problem: We over-glorify our “amazing ideas” and under-prioritize how people are going to hear about them

?? Solution: Build a distribution channel and a community around your niche before you launch your big ideas

?? Next play: Start building an audience around the industry you care about so that when you announce new ideas, people care enough to listen and take action

Million Dollar Ideas:

I believe there’s 2 ways people usually think about big ideas. They either: 

1. Think their big idea is worth a million dollars, will never share with a soul, and believe the strength of the idea accounts for 95% of its likelihood of success. ??

OR

1. Think their big idea isn’t worth the paper it’s written on, will socialize the idea with their community, and believe that the hard work of executing on the idea and identifying distribution outlets account for 95% of its likelihood of success. ??

I don’t know about you, but I sit in bucket # 2.

After participating in too many brainstorm sessions, I believe that building a team that can execute and finding a distribution strategy that clicks is what holds back most ideas from shaping into reality.

And for those of you that sit in bucket #1, take a chance on me and read till the end. Because if good ideas only do account for ~5% of a successful idea getting off the ground, you’re probably wondering what you can do to lock down the other 95 % in the equation.

My Advice? 

Build a distribution strategy before you share your BIG idea. 

If you can get a head start on building your strategy, your audience, and your method for distribution, you’re building equity into that 95% so that when a good idea sparks, you’re ready to sound the alarms. ??

With a distribution channel, you already have your validation: early adopters, early users, and early investors. They’ve been following your writing, ideas, and thoughts for years, so they trust you and the industry following you’ve developed.

Furthermore, early champions of your idea are that much more likely to connect for chats about joining the team or taking a full time role to build out the concept. 

And more importantly, both of these groups, trust you.

You weren’t some random Instagram ad that jumped onto their iPhone. You were someone constantly learning, sharing ideas, and developing relationships in your niche until the right opportunity came in your crosshairs. 

Do you see where the importance of building a personal brand online can come into this? 

Paid Facebook ads and sponsored podcasts can’t provide the same kind of buy-in that a grassroots community following has.

Whether you’re a young start-up enthusiast or an experienced professional looking to leave the 9-5 job, I believe people need to:

shift their focus of generating million dollar ideas to building rock solid distribution channels that will spark traction.

Good startup ideas will come and go, but the distribution outlet of how people will hear about your idea is critical to getting that napkin idea from the restaurant table to the cap table.

Tangible Steps

What tangible things can you do to start building a distribution channel? 

• Start building a social community around ideas you care about, 
• Kickoff a monthly newsletter on problems you’re solving
• Launch a private FB group to facilitate great dialogue 
• Or an online forum with interviews with top experts 

It’s really anything that lets people unite around a niche.??

One of my favourite parts about building distribution outlets is the relationships that follow from being active in those communities. When you show up consistently, people begin to pick up who you are, what you stand for, and the topics you care about.

It’s almost like you’re having conversations with people on a regular basis. Without needing to “go for coffee,” you’re essentially getting to know the industry you two care about without needing to sit down for a 1-1 at Starbucks. ??

Community Shoutout:

Sam Parr, founder of The Hustle, does a great job of this. His company developed a private Facebook group called Trends that’s grown to 10,000+ entrepreneurs, creatives and business operators around the world.

In the private FB group, people ask business questions and share concepts they’re working on. Sam and his team then help with introductions or provide support if they know of resources that can help the member reach out. It also provides them with great data for questions that their community are needing help with, which in turn, gives them a great look into what their ideal customer might pay for.

It’s win-win for both Sam’s company, as well as the private members of the group. I’ve loved being part of the community they offer and have learned so much from the way that they operate their business. If you wanna check out Trends, click here.

If you’re someone chewing on a great startup idea or side project, start brainstorming what a community distribution strategy could look like to help take some next steps on building out your concept...

ACTION BYTES ??

• Choose a platform where you can develop a community around your niche. LinkedIn is a great place to start.
• Create a content plan to inform, engage, and encourage.
• Commit to posting X times per week. Make it worth their time.

Riff of the Day

Wondering how many people you need in your community to get traction? Check out this answer by Kevin Kelly and how he distills the "1,000 true fan rule".

Thanks for sticking with me until the end. If you have any ideas that sparked or questions about building an online community or distribution channels, drop me a note here! 

Stay outta’ trouble and catch you next week.

??? Joel

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