Different times call for optimizing different things.Learning - You might be trying to learn something specific about engagement, interest among a certain target audience, monetization, etc. Learning is typically the priority when your startup is a pre-product-market fit or when you are expanding to a new target audience. Volume - There will be a time in your business when you will want to prove that you can go from a certain base amount of customers to moving the needle in a meaningful way. Cost - Optimizing your CPA to get more out of your budget.

Step 1:   What Are You Optimizing For?

The next step is to research each channel so you can fill in each cell with “low”, “med”, or “high” values. You aren’t trying to predict exact values.  Get enough information to make educated comparisons of each channel relative to each other.   The matrix looks very different for different companies. For example, “Low” will mean different things to different companies (i.e. A enterprise SaaS company with a high LTV vs a consumer mobile app monetizing with ads).

Step 4:  Fill In Values Of Channel Matrix With Low, Med, High 

In the header row fill in the attributes of each channel that you are comparing. At a minimum, there are 6 attributes you should have: <ol><li>Targeting - The depth of ability to target different audiences. </li><li>Cost - The upfront and ongoing cost to acquire users in this channel. </li><li>Input Time - The upfront time required to start running experiments with this channel.</li><li>Output Time  - The time it takes to start getting data around your experiments. </li><li>Control - The control you have over turning the channel on/off at will.</li><li>Scale - The size/reach of the channel.  </li></ol>

3.3  List Out Channel Defining Attributes In The Header Row

In a perfect world you want channels with the following values:Targeting - High, Cost - Low, Input Time - Low, Output Time - Low, Control - High, Scale - HighYou will rarely get a channel that fits those values perfectly so the question is how do you prioritize? This is where the work you put into Step 1 and Step 2 come in. Sort your channels using your constraints as a guide. If your biggest constraint is money, then look at channels that have a low cost as the first priority and come closest to the ideal values for the other attributes.

Step 5:  Choose 1 - 2 Channels As Hypotheses

Building a channel matrix helps give you three things:1. A methodical process to evaluate each channel2. A way to compare each channel on the same attributes3. A visual organization of the information for each channelStep 3.1 - Open your favourite spreadsheet tool (google docs, excel, numbers)Step 3.2 - List Out All Potential Channels In The Header ColumnCertain channels can be broken down into more detailed tactics. For example, content marketing could be broken down into blogging, guest blogging, infographics, webinars, ebook, etc

Step 3: Setup Your Channel Matrix

Targeting: Does the channel have the type of targeting you need? How close to your exact target audience can you get with this channel?Cost: Are there upfront costs? Minimum spends? Input Time: How much time is required to get to the first experiment? How much time to run each additional experiment? Output Time: How much time will it take to start getting results? How many experiments do we have to run to get meaningful data?  Control: Can you turn the channel on and off at will? Is there a middleman between you and the knobs you turn?Scale: How large is the channel in overall volume?

Explore the value for each channel

Your constraints will differ depending on the product, stage, funding, industry, etc. The most common constraints will be:<ul><li>Time - Do you have a specific optimal window to reach your audience? Do you only have 3 months of cash left? </li><li>Money - Are you well funded, or bootstrapping? Do you need to extend your runway?</li><li>Target Audience - Do you need to reach someone really specific? </li><li>Legal - Are you taking on an old industry with litigious stalwarts? </li></ul>

Step 2: What are your constraints?

SEO, SEM, Facebook Ads, content marketing, affiliates, partnerships, email 
marketing, app stores…the list goes on. With so many marketing channels to 
choose from, a common question is “where do I start?” or “what channel 
should we use next?”  I get it.  The information is overwhelming but there 
is a better way than picking pieces of paper out of a hat.  Here is a step 
by step guide that should help you go through the exercise of comparing, 
contrasting, and choosing the right marketing channel for your company. 