If you have a product or service to sell but you don't know how to get people to notice (and buy) your stuff...

What I'm about to say might save you a few years and a few thousand dollars.

I wish someone had shared this with me earlier in my journey.

This concept is so powerful I'm surprised very few people talk about it.

But anyways.

Without further ado, let's begin.

My name is Nick Tribe and I’m a DJ, marketer, and entrepreneur.

I’ve spent the last few years studying from the most successful marketers & entrepreneurs worldwide.

I’ve read countless books, attended countless courses, and devoured countless pieces of information on marketing and entrepreneurship.

I’m now building a marketing company that starts, grows, and monetize brands leveraging AI, direct response marketing, and sales funnels.

Join me and follow along as I learn, apply, and share marketing insights to build my million-dollar business.

Much of the content and information about marketing today is product-centric.

"How to Create and Sell Websites"

"How to Sell Digital Products"

"How to Price Your SMMA Services"

And so on.

There is nothing wrong with this kind of advice.

Except for the fact that it might mislead you to focus on the wrong things.

Here's what I mean.

A product is about you. It's what you, as a business owner, create.

Notice the pieces of the equation:

You + Your Product

What's missing?

The most important piece is the CUSTOMER.

Unfortunately, business is not built on products. Business is built on customers.

You can obsess over products, services, and your offers as much as you want.

But if no one buys your stuff, it’s all for nothing.

People who open up their wallets and buy things are the key ingredient.

This means that the customer matters much more than the product.

This should make sense.

Now, pay attention because this is where things get tricky.

The way to focus on the customer and not on the product is by taking care of a term that is often forgotten today.

Distribution.

What is distribution?

Distribution is the process of making a product or service available to consumers.

Distribution is the answer to the question:"How do we get our product to the consumer?"

It includes all the activities to get the product from the maker to the user.

Take a look at this pic.

You have your product on one side.

You have consumers on the other side.

Distribution is what allows one to connect with the other.

That's why is so crucial.

Without it, you can't reach consumers - and you don't make money as a result.

So here's the take-home principle.

🔺 Build Distribution First 🔺

Before you go crazy building the next big product, focus on getting your stuff out and in front of people.

It's a game-changer.

Now, I know.

You get caught up in the thrill of creating the “perfect” product or service.

You want to do the best you can.

So you obsess over every little detail. The font, the color, the touch&feel, etc.

You pour your heart and soul into making it just right.

But here's the harsh reality: even the greatest product in the world won't get far if nobody knows about it.

That's where distribution comes into play.

In many cases, when there is a marketing problem, it often isn't the product itself—it's the lack of distribution.

If you build distribution first, you give yourself more chances to pitch your stuff later on.

You increase your odds of success because you're not putting all your eggs in one basket.

Let's make a practical example to illustrate this point.

Imagine you've spent months perfecting a new type of artisanal jam.

It's made from the best organic fruits. They are infused with exotic spices and put in lovely jars.

You're convinced it's the best darn jam anyone has ever tasted, and you can't wait to share it with the world.

Here's the problem.

You've only made a small batch of jars.

And you have no idea how to actually sell a bunch of those.

You are subconsciously (dreaming?) relying solely on word of mouth to sell them.

You set up a quaint little stand at the farmer's market, hoping that customers will flock to try your jam.

Then one thing leads to another…and boom, you’re in business.

Now, don't get me wrong.

Your jam may be absolutely delicious and this may very well be a solid plan.

But the truth is that very few people will try your jam with this strategy.

And if nobody knows about it, how can they buy it?

You're essentially putting all your eggs in one basket. You rely on a single distribution channel, the farmers' market, to reach customers.

Now, let's rewind and try a different approach.

This time, before you even start making your jam, you focus on building distribution first.

Here’s your new plan.

You set up meetings with local grocery store managers. You pitch your product to them and get it on their shelves. You also contact online retailers and food bloggers. You offer them free samples for reviews and mentions.

Fast forward a few months, and your jam is flying off the shelves of supermarkets across the country. Customers rave about it online. Your social media channels buzz with excitement. You've built a solid distribution network. It reaches far beyond the farmers' market.

See the difference?

By building distribution first, you've increased your chances of success exponentially.

You're not relying on a single channel to sell your product.

You have diversified your reach and tapped into many avenues for distribution.

You've set yourself up for success by focusing on distribution.

Now the question becomes:

How do you build distribution?

You’re likely reading this post not thinking about selling jam.

And you might that the supermarket example doesn’t apply to you.

The good news is, today building distribution is easier than you think.

In the age of social media, you do it by creating media platforms that talk about your stuff.

In other words…

You create something that attracts your ideal customer without talking about your product or service.

Read the last sentence again.

This is CRUCIAL.

Create something that ATTRACTS your ideal customer…

WITHOUT

…talking about your product or service.

Let me share a couple of examples from my own journey to illustrate this point:

First up, businessbookstribe.com. It's a free newsletter that shares business book recommendations with people. I am currently running Facebook ads to get subscribers. We're doing fine getting a few hundreds of leads per month. We're going to mess with Tik Tok Ads and Twitter / X ads soon too. The plan is to get tens of thousands of people with more budget and creatives.

Aside from the fact that it could make 6 or 7 figures on its own (affiliate marketing, products, sponsorships), it's also a killer way to gain a distribution network.

Think about it.

I'm getting the attention of people who want to buy business books.

So what happens when I want to release my own books in a few years? You guessed it. I have a ready-made platform. It has thousands of eager readers waiting to hear from me. That’s the power of distribution.

Second, my latest venture, clubberz.tribe.

It's a media platform dedicated to all things clubbing. The slogan is "the place for clubbers." It attracts people passionate about nightlife and partying.

We are gaining lots of attention and followers on TikTok (here's the case study of how we went viral). The media channel might be different, but the playbook is the same. I'm setting myself up for success down the line. When I want to launch my own events, promote my music, or anything else related to the clubbing scene, I've already got a built-in audience ready to listen.

It's all about that distribution.

So there you have it.

The secret sauce to business success: build distribution first.

Don't get me wrong, having a killer product or service is important (especially in the medium to long term time frame).

But if you want to give yourself the best shot at success, focus on getting your stuff out there and in front of as many people as possible.

Build those distribution channels.

Then sell pretty much whatever you want.

The rest will follow.

Hope this brought value to you.

Talk soon,

Nick