What is Distribution?
The paths through which relevant people discover, understand, access, and return to a product or body of work.
More than promotion
Distribution is the system that moves a product or idea from its maker to the people it can help.
It includes discovery channels such as search, communities, social feeds, recommendations, marketplaces, partnerships, and direct outreach. It also includes the path after discovery: the explanation, demo, setup, delivery, and reason to return.
Channel and destination
A channel carries attention. A destination preserves context and enables action.
For example, a short post may help someone discover a project. The README explains it. The working URL lets them try it. A changelog or email helps them return.
Build distribution into the work
Useful documentation, public examples, searchable explanations, shareable outputs, and visible decisions can all create durable discovery. They continue working after a launch-day post disappears from a feed.
A distribution question
Trace one intended person's journey:
Where do they first encounter the problem?
What might help them discover this work?
What must they understand before trying it?
What action creates value?
Why would they return or tell someone else?Improve the weakest transition before adding another channel.