Can the IH Community Please Help Me? I Can't Crack Distribution.
I'll be direct. I think I've built the right thing. I think I have the right argument. I think I have the right launch strategy.
But I can't crack distribution.
Here's what I've built:
Pr3ss3D is a re-imagined social media on the premise that the business model of the platform is aligned with general public interests by making the users customers instead of products. That single foundational choice has led to a platform and app that is quite different, and we believe, much more useful, than any other in existence today.
Here's what I've tried:
Posting, posting and more posting. Lots of messages. Lots of varying content. Every platform out there.
I’ve tried reaching out to journalists and podcasters.
I’ve tried reaching out to organizations that focus on social media harms.
Here's where I'm stuck: reach is captured and I can't borrow enough of someone else's public trust to test whether any of this actually works.
I'm not looking for validation. I'm looking for someone who's solved this problem without venture money or an existing audience.
Has anyone here actually cracked organic distribution from zero? What actually worked?
distribution is the hardest part and most builders avoid it because it feels uncomfortable. what worked for me: cold email. not sexy, not scalable at first, but 500 personalized emails later i have 3 real conversations. the trick was leading with value — i scan their website first and show them real problems before asking for anything. what have you tried so far? happy to share what channels are working for B2B outreach specifically.
Yeah, I wish that could work for what I am doing. Mine is B2C, so scale is everything.
i'm in a similar spot. built an outreach automation service, pitched 150+ agencies across 25 countries, posted 16 articles here on IH. revenue: $0.
but here's what i've learned about distribution from zero:
cold outreach works if your offer solves an obvious pain. "more leads for your clients" gets replies. "reimagined social media" is a harder sell because the pain isn't as immediate.
posting on IH consistently has been my best channel. not for direct sales, but for conversations. every comment thread is a potential connection.
give away something useful for free. i built a free SEO scanner and put it on gumroad. it's gotten more conversations started than any pitch.
for your specific case — have you tried reaching out to communities that are actively complaining about existing social media? reddit threads about instagram algorithm changes, twitter exodus groups, etc. those people have the pain you're solving. go where the anger is.
the hardest part about distribution from zero is that nobody cares about your product. they care about their problem. frame everything around their problem, not your solution.
I actually have a video script I just created and a CTA that might work. I will be testing it this week and I'll let you know what comes of it.