Chapter 6: Owning Your Distribution
Where you publish matters as much as what you publish. Owning your distribution is a key decision that shapes how clients find you.
What You'll Learn
- Why your own website beats third-party platforms
- Conversion rate comparison across platforms
- Content automation and scaling strategies
- Managing inbound with friction
Why Own Your Distribution
Many consultants make the mistake of building their audience on platforms they don't control.
"I believe it's important to own your distribution and build your personal brand. When publishing on platforms like Medium or Towards Data Science, your brand as the author can be diminished."
When engineers share an article from Medium, they often reference the platform rather than you: "Oh, I saw something on Medium." This dilutes your personal brand equity.
Key Benefits of Your Own Website
| Benefit | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Complete reader journey | Create a path from blog → email capture → services page |
| Brand control | Your name and expertise stay front and center |
| Data ownership | Track which content drives conversions |
| Flexibility | Add conversion elements exactly where you want |
| Longevity | Platform algorithms and policies can't hurt you |
Conversion Rate Comparison
The numbers are stark:
| Platform | Views | Conversion Rate | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium/Substack | 10-100x more | ~0.02% | Near-zero leads |
| Your own website | Fewer | Much higher | Consistent leads |
"When someone visits my website, they can see both my blog content and my services page. If they were just reading on Medium, they might never click through to learn I'm a consultant."
Why This Happens
On third-party platforms: - Readers see you as a "Medium writer," not a consultant - No natural path to your services - Platform recommends other content, pulling attention away - Your CTA competes with platform CTAs
On your website: - Clear navigation to services - You control the next action - No competing recommendations - Every element reinforces your brand
Platform Strategy
Use Social Media for Testing
Social media is an invaluable "sensor" for content ideas:
- Write 3-5 different versions of an idea
- Post them over several days with different hooks
- Track engagement metrics
- Use the highest-performing framing for long-form content
"I'm essentially using Twitter engagement to help vote on what content resonates best with people."
Publish Long-Form on Your Site
Once you've validated an idea:
- Write the full blog post on your domain
- Share links back to your site from social
- Build email capture into every post
- Create a clear path to services
Implementation Recommendation
Use simple static site generators like MkDocs Material rather than complex CMS systems. This keeps maintenance minimal while maintaining professional appearance.
Local Meetup ROI Warning
Not all distribution channels deliver equal returns. Before investing significant time or money in speaking opportunities, evaluate whether your target buyers will actually be in the room.
"I spent around $10,000 traveling to give technical talks at various events, but this generated very few leads because the attendees were primarily other technical folks rather than potential clients."
Technical conferences and meetups feel productive—you're sharing expertise, building reputation, getting applause. But applause doesn't pay invoices.
"I went to San Francisco to give a technical workshop. I gave a talk at some online Denver conference, and those generated zero leads because it was just other data scientists."
The Audience Problem
| Event Type | Typical Audience | Lead Quality |
|---|---|---|
| Technical meetups | Peers, other practitioners | Very low |
| Industry conferences | Mixed, mostly technical | Low to medium |
| Business/executive events | Decision-makers | Higher |
| Private workshops for companies | Buyers with budget | Highest |
The issue isn't the quality of your talk—it's the composition of the audience. Other data scientists, developers, or consultants aren't going to hire you. They might admire your work, but admiration doesn't convert to revenue.
Before You Invest
Before investing time in meetups or conferences, carefully consider whether decision-makers in your target market will be present. Focus on events where the audience includes people who can actually hire you rather than just peers in your field.
Better Alternatives
Instead of broad technical conferences, consider:
- Private workshops for companies in your target market
- Executive-focused events where budget holders attend
- Webinars you host directly (you control the invite list)
- Guest appearances on podcasts/shows your buyers consume
Video vs Blog for Enterprise
When choosing content formats, consider how your actual buyers consume information—not what generates the most views.
"The people who are watching videos... it's like, why is my customer watching a YouTube video? It turns out most of my customers will like read a tweet and maybe see the first two paragraphs of a headline."
Enterprise buyers are busy. They're not watching 20-minute YouTube tutorials. They scan tweets, skim blog post headlines, and occasionally read the first few paragraphs if the topic is directly relevant to their pain.
Views vs Conversions
High view counts can be misleading:
"My most... the stuff that is the highest converting does not have that many views. 'How to start coding with AI' is a huge viral video, but 'how you do database migrations in Cursor' is a very small video. But that video probably has customers that are in more pain."
| Content Type | Views | Conversion Rate | Buyer Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broad beginner content | High | Very low | Hobbyists, learners |
| Specific painful problem | Low | High | Motivated buyers |
| Niche technical solution | Very low | Very high | Enterprise with budget |
The database migrations video gets fewer views because fewer people have that exact problem. But the people who do have that problem are actively seeking solutions and willing to pay.
Production Time Reality
Format choice also affects your output velocity:
"I can write a blog post in 2 hours... Video, depending on the format, is definitely much more challenging."
| Format | Production Time | Iteration Speed | SEO Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blog post | 2-4 hours | Fast, easy to update | High |
| Short video | 4-8 hours | Medium | Lower |
| Produced video | 8-20 hours | Slow | Lower |
Blog posts also compound better—they're searchable, skimmable, and easy to update when information changes.
Recommendation
For enterprise consulting, prioritize:
- Blog posts for searchable, evergreen content
- Twitter/LinkedIn for testing and distribution
- Video only for topics that genuinely require demonstration
Don't chase views. Chase the specific problems your best clients experience.
Content Automation and Scaling
As your consulting practice grows, you'll need to automate content creation.
The Circle Back/Granola System
- Record all client calls using transcription tools
- Extract insights automatically. Set up a prompt that extracts 2 blog post ideas from every call
- Friday review process. Evaluate 15-20 blog post ideas from the week's conversations
- Test before investing. When ideas show promise, test on social media first
- Scale with writers. Once validated, hire writers to transform notes into polished posts
"During client calls, I'll verbalize blog ideas knowing my extraction system will capture them. This helps maintain a consistent flow of relevant content ideas."
Sample Extraction Prompt
Review this call transcript and extract:
1. What problems did the client mention?
2. What questions did they ask?
3. What insights or frameworks did I share?
4. What could become a blog post?
For each potential blog post, suggest:
- A headline using the value equation
- 3 key points to cover
- The target audience
Managing Inbound with Friction
Control your availability with progressive friction:
When You're Free
- Calendly link right on the website
- Easy to book
- Minimal qualifying questions
When You're Busy
- Survey form before booking
- Questions filter for serious inquiries
- Minimum engagement displayed
When You're Very Busy
- Price displayed prominently
- High minimum engagement visible
- Explicit qualification: "If you see this price and you're shocked, don't email me"
Friction Is a Feature
Friction ensures the people who do get through are qualified and serious. Don't feel bad about adding barriers—they protect your time and attract better clients.
Friction Implementation Examples
| Friction Level | What to Add |
|---|---|
| Low | Calendly link with one qualifying question |
| Medium | Intake form with budget question, timeline, problem description |
| High | Application process, price displayed, minimum engagement stated |
Building Your Email List
Own your audience through email, not just social media:
Why Email Matters
- Algorithms can't hide your content
- Direct relationship with audience
- Higher engagement than social
- Asset you own completely
Email Capture Strategy
| Location | CTA Type |
|---|---|
| Blog posts | End-of-post opt-in with content upgrade |
| Homepage | Newsletter signup in header |
| Resources page | Email gate for templates/guides |
| After engagement | Post-call follow-up sequence |
Content Upgrade Examples
| Blog Post Topic | Content Upgrade |
|---|---|
| "How to price consulting" | Pricing calculator spreadsheet |
| "Discovery call questions" | Question checklist PDF |
| "Proposal templates" | Example proposal template |
| "Client qualification" | Qualification scorecard |
Scaling Content with Writers
Once you have validated content topics, consider hiring writers:
When to Hire Writers
- You've proven demand through social engagement
- You have a backlog of ideas from client conversations
- Writing is bottlenecking your content output
- You have a clear voice/style they can match
How to Work with Writers
- Provide raw material. Meeting notes, Loom videos, bullet points
- Share your voice. Examples of posts you like, style guide
- Review and refine. Edit their drafts to match your tone
- Build templates. Create structures they can follow
Cost-Benefit Analysis
| Approach | Time Cost | Money Cost | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Write everything yourself | High | $0 | 1-2 posts/week |
| Hire writers with guidance | Low | $200-500/post | 4-6 posts/week |
| Outsource completely | Very low | Higher | Variable quality |
The middle approach often works best: You provide insights and direction, writers create drafts, you edit and publish.
Action Items
-
Audit your current distribution. Where is your content published? Calculate what percentage is on owned vs. rented platforms.
-
Set up your own site. If you don't have one, use a simple framework (MkDocs, Jekyll, etc.) to get a blog live this week.
-
Implement email capture. Add at least one email capture point to your website.
-
Create your friction levels. Define what barriers you'll use at each busyness level.
-
Set up content extraction. Create a prompt that extracts blog post ideas from call transcripts.
Key Takeaways
- Own your distribution—third-party platforms dilute your brand and hurt conversion
- Your website converts dramatically better than Medium/Substack despite lower traffic
- Use social media for testing ideas, your site for publishing long-form content
- Automate content extraction from client calls to maintain consistent output
- Manage inbound with progressive friction—it's a feature, not a bug
- Build your email list as an owned audience asset
- Scale with writers once you've validated topics and established your voice