The goal is simple: consistent revenue.
But every founder hits this wall - where they’re confident in the product or service, maybe they’ve already had a few happy customers, and they can’t figure out why they’re not getting more.
The answer is much simpler than you might think, and I’m going to break down exactly what the problem is and exactly what you need to do to fix it with this analogy.
Same Effort - Different Results
There are a couple of different ways to catch fish:
You can use a fishing pole to go after a specific type of fish and catch one at a time, or you can cast a wide net and pull in whatever gets caught.
Sometimes, it’s better to use a fishing pole.
Like when you’re only going after a certain type of fish, and they like to swim in the deep part of the pond.
Sometimes, it’s better to use a net.
Like when you need a bunch of fish to make it worth the effort, and those types of fish like to swim in groups.
Most people who are new to fishing go to any random part of the pond, cast their fishing pole or net a couple times, and then call it a day - maybe they catch a fish, maybe they don’t.
But more experienced anglers will set up a fishing pole on each corner of the pond, and walk up and down the sides with a net - casting it every few minutes and pulling it back in.
By the end of the day, the experienced angler has caught a bounty of fish and goes home with more than enough to make it worth it.
The Difference
So why was the experienced angler successful in the same pond where the beginner angler wasn’t?
He made more attempts.
He tried different parts of the pond.
He built systems to make it efficient.
Instead of holding one fishing pole all day, he built a system to have four poles running at once.
While he was waiting for the fishing poles to catch a bite, he didn’t just sit around - he walked around the pond and casted the net.
When the fish weren’t biting in one corner, they were biting in the other.
When the poles weren’t working, the net was.
Think of the pond as the entire internet, with each corner being a different platform like Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, X, etc.
Think of the fishing poles as direct strategies like email outreach or DMs for example, and the net as indirect strategies like social media content or SEO articles.
Putting all your effort into one strategy and one platform may lead to a catch now and then.
But being consistent with multiple strategies, on multiple platforms, will lead to consistent results - even when one slows down or takes longer to start producing.
When one side of the pond is slow, the other side is busy.
When one strategy is taking a while to see results, the other is making up for it.
The Lesson
The takeaway here is that marketing your startup, like fishing, is a numbers game.
The more you engage with potential customers, the more they see you across different platforms, the more familiar and trustworthy you become in their eyes.
If you’re converting 1% of everyone you reach into a customer, then reaching 100 people every month isn’t going to cut it.
Reaching thousands of people on different platforms, and eventually much more than that is what’s going to enable you to reach full-time revenue with your business and beyond.
Happy hunting,
Avery
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