Already know the 19 traction channels, but don't know which one to test first or how to fit the channel to your unique skills and assets? Do you feel you have an unfair advantage but don't know how to exploit it? Read on, because we have the solution for you.
But there's one more thing to get you on the right track – an unfair advantage. Something non-copyable that your competitors don't have. If you are wondering what could be such an advantage for you, use the framework MILES, developed by Ash Ali and Hasan Kubba.
In addition to it, when determining your unfair advantage, you can use our list of hints – factors that could become an advantage and your 6th traction channel.
The list of hints will help you identify your „superpower”, enable you to choose the right traction channel, and effectively accelerate the growth of your business.
Active member – if you are an active member of some community consisting of your potential customers you can use this fact to spread the news about your product. This is a place to get first customers, a ton of feedback and word of mouth. Recommended traction channel: Community.
Back door access – if you have a way to promote yourself cheaply in a particular traditional medium (TV, radio, local newspaper), you may want to try Offline Ads.
Celebrity / hot story – the media loves to write about you or you have a hot story to tell? Your traction channel could be Publicity (online and offline media) and Blogs.
Coding / web dev skills – if you can easily build and publish a website / web app, your channels can be Existing Platforms and Engineering as Marketing.
Event skills – if you can organize and run events (online or offline), stick with it! Recommended traction channel: Events.
Hacking skills – you can use any website to your advantage (and against the owner's intentions) by using web scraping, automations etc. In this case, the traction channel worth testing is Existing Platforms.
Happy customers – happy customers do whisper marketing for you, so your channel will also be Viral Marketing.
Influencer – if you own a popular blog / video channel / podcast, your traction channel is Content Marketing.
Knowledge base – if you own a large number of articles related to your product / market / customers, try using them to drive traffic from search, social, email, blogs or media. Recommended channels: SEO, Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Publicity (Media), Blogs.
Mailing list – do you have a mailing list of engaged subscribers? Try Email Marketing.
Non-profit – is your business a non-profit and sometimes you get special offers from media, event organizers or service providers? Your traction channel may be SEM (perhaps you should try to get a Google Grant), Publicity (Media) or Speaking Engagements.
Office dog – people love pictures of your dog on social media? Your traction channel may be Unconventional PR. Don't worry if you don't have a dog – you can choose any other pet :-)
Owned community – if you own a community built around a specific topic (e.g. a topic group, blog, etc.), you may consider Community and hosting Events as your traction channels.
Owned website – if you have a website / web app used by your target audience, your traction channels are Existing Platforms or Engineering as Marketing.
Partnerships – do you have the network, authority and experience for strategic partnerships? Your traction channel may be Business Development.
PPC master – if you have a lot of experience in PPC and know how to do it well, you should certainly try SEM, Social Ads and Display Ads.
Public speaking – can you prepare a speech and deliver it? Great! Your traction channel could be Content, or engaging in Speaking Engagements.
Sales skills – if you can sell, try Sales as a traction channel.
A shareable product – if you have a great product that people share with their friends, you can catch traction through Viral Marketing.
Strong brand – do you have a recognisable brand that others want to be associated with? Your traction channels are Publicity (Media), Blogs and Business Development.
Warm introduction – if your network can introduce you to potential clients, your traction channel may be Sales.
Writing skills – can you write text quickly on a given topic, or perhaps you write engaging articles with ease? Your traction channel could be SEO or Content Marketing.
Knowing the 19 traction channels is a good thing, but knowing which one to test first or how to fit the channel to your unique skills and assets is much better.
This one little thing, an unfair advantage, will get you on the right track. But mind that, whether in your personal life or in business – you can't use your unfair advantage until you name it yourself. So try our hints, name your superpower and… grow!
