How to Choose Your First Marketing Channel, by Product Type

The first rule of channel selection: don't pick the hottest one — pick the one your target users are already on. The second rule: at most 2–3 channels in your first month.

Match channels to your product type

**Tools for consumers**: story-driven posts on visual platforms plus a direct-message funnel. The 'why I built this' side-project story is a natural fit.

**Tools for developers (global)**: build in public on Twitter/X plus a concentrated Product Hunt launch. Accumulate two weeks of content before PH — a cold-start PH launch usually sinks.

**Courses and consulting**: personal network plus long-form newsletters. These products convert on trust; a short conversion path beats broad reach.

**Open source**: README optimization plus a technical community launch. Your README is your landing page — polish it until it's understandable in 3 seconds before promoting anywhere.

Signals that a channel is working

Within two weeks, look for three things: engagement on content (likes and comments), inbound DMs or link clicks, and at least one real usage or inquiry. All three missing? Consider switching. Any one present? Worth two more weeks.

The most common mistake

Opening every channel at once. Each channel has its own format and cadence — running five at once means doing all five badly. Subtraction is the most important strategy of a first launch.