The 4 growth channels SaaS companies must dominate to scale

B2B Marketing is often overwhelming. There are so many channels, asset types, and AI tools that it’s often challenging even to know where to start.

Taking a step back and breaking marketing down into four key channels, then working through each channel one by one, is a great way to bring structure and clarity to your marketing strategy.

The four channels I am referring to are:

• Owned
• Paid
• Earned
• Partnerships

Let’s explore what they are, why they matter, and how to start using them strategically.

1. Owned: The foundation you can’t skip

Owned content is everything you create and control. That means your website, blog, email newsletter, videos, eBooks, webinars, checklists, templates, diagnostic tools, any asset that lives in your own ecosystem.

The beauty of owned content is that it compounds over time. Yes, it’s slow to build. But every piece you create adds to your credibility, brand equity and discoverability.

Think of it like this: Paid gets you reach. Owned gets you trust.

What to focus on:

• LinkedIn personal posts (especially from the founder or leadership team)
• Weekly newsletters (tip: brand your newsletter separately)
• Long-form blogs that address key problems in your ICP’s daily workflow
• Video snippets and tutorials to boost engagement and time-on-site
• Downloadable tools like templates, checklists or calculators

💡 Example to emulate: Check out Gong’s LinkedIn. Their sales insights on LinkedIn (especially from their senior team) have helped them dominate the conversation in the revenue intelligence space.

2. Paid: The accelerator

Most SaaS companies rely too heavily on paid (without enough content in the other channels) or don’t use it at all. Both are a mistake.

Paid marketing is your fuel. It gives you reach, speed and laser-focused targeting, especially if your organic channels are still ramping up.

But it only works if you’re promoting the right kind of content.

If your paid strategy is just “book a demo” ads or driving cold traffic to a landing page, you’ll likely end up burning budget and blaming the channel. Instead, use paid to amplify your owned content.

What to focus on:

• LinkedIn ads to promote founder-led content or helpful resources
• Thought-leader ads that boost your leadership’s organic posts
• Google Ads for high-intent, BOFU search terms
• Meta ads for retargeting and top-of-funnel lead magnets (lower CPC)

🎯 Pro tip: If you’re already creating blogs, videos or eBooks, don’t just post them once. Put a budget behind them. You’ll not only get better reach but also build your retargeting audience for bottom-funnel conversion campaigns.

3. Earned: The trust multiplier

Earned content is what others say about you. You can’t fake it. You can’t buy it. But you can influence it.

This includes customer reviews, media mentions, word of mouth, referrals and even influencer shoutouts. In short, it’s credibility you can’t manufacture.

Core assets in this category:

• G2, Capterra and Trustpilot reviews
• Video testimonials and client interviews
• Referral programmes
• User-generated content and shoutouts on social

👀 Common mistake: Too many SaaS companies underinvest in case studies and review generation. In my experience, around 90% of the SaaS businesses I’ve worked with said they didn’t have “enough” case studies when I first started working with him.

💡 Actionable step: Book time with your customer success team, shortlist your happiest clients and prioritise getting 3–5 quality case studies live. Bonus points if they’re video-based and used in retargeting ads.

4. Partnerships: The growth channel no one talks about

Partnerships are often the most overlooked growth lever in SaaS, and arguably the most powerful.

These can take the form of co-marketing initiatives, referral arrangements, affiliate schemes or strategic integrations. The key is this: find businesses that serve your ICP but don’t compete with you.

You get reach. You get trust. You get warm leads. And best of all, you don’t need to spend anything on ads to make it happen.

Easy partnership wins to explore:

• Co-hosted webinars with a non-competing brand
• Guest spots on newsletters or podcasts
• Affiliate or revenue-share deals
• Cross-promoting each other’s tools or content
• Partner landing pages and lead sharing

🚀 One of the best in the game? Shopify. Their entire partner ecosystem (from agencies to app developers) drives traffic, sales and credibility on their behalf, often better than their own internal channels.

💡 Quick win: Identify 3 complementary businesses that also serve your ICP. Reach out with a co-branded webinar idea or cross-promotion campaign. You’d be surprised how often they say yes.

Final thought: Score yourself

Here’s a simple exercise you can do right now. For each of the four channels below, give yourself a score out of 10:

• Owned: Are you consistently creating your own valuable content?
• Paid: Are you using budget to amplify the best of your owned and earned?
• Earned: Do you have fresh case studies, reviews and referrals in play?
• Partnerships: Do you have active alliances generating pipeline?

If you’re below a 6 in any of these areas, that’s your immediate opportunity.

You don’t need to be perfect. But you do need to be present across all four. The SaaS brands that scale are the ones that show up everywhere their audience looks. Start there.

Want help creating campaigns across all four growth channels? Book a free marketing strategy call with Rocket SaaS and find out how we become your full-service B2B SaaS marketing team.

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By Ryan James

Founder of Rocket SaaS