I was having coffee with a friend recently — someone whose opinion I trust, someone who's been in business long enough to see trends come and go. We were talking about marketing, about visibility, about how to get a message out there in a world that's louder than ever.
He works in trophy sales. His company has a website that does okay, but they're not seeing the growth they want. He was asking me how to reach more people.
I found myself reaching for an analogy. Something that would make sense to someone who thinks in physical terms — in tools, in materials, in results.
I said: "Think of it like fishing with a net."
He immediately responded "Aah yes with the weights"
The Fisherman's Net
When a fisherman throws a net, it doesn't just drop straight down. The net is weighted on the outside edges. Those weights leverage inertia — the momentum of the throw — to expand the net as it flies through the air. The net opens wide before it hits the water.
The wider the net opens, the more water it covers. The more water it covers, the more likely it is to catch something.
In our example, those weights are your social media platforms. The more platforms you leverage — Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, even email newsletters — the wider your net spreads. The wider your net, the more likely you are to catch the attention of the right people.
But here's the part that most makers miss:
Your website isn't the net. Your website is the boat.
The Boat vs. The Net
A net is essential. Without it, you can't catch anything. But a net is also temporary. It goes out, it comes back. It catches what it catches, and then you pull it in. The catch is real, but the net itself is just a tool.
The boat is different. The boat is your home on the water. It's where you store your gear. It's where you process your catch. It's where you return after a long day. The boat doesn't go out and come back in a few hours — the boat stays. The boat is yours.
Social media is the net. It goes out, it brings people back, but it doesn't last. Your website is the boat. It's permanent. It's yours. And everything you catch eventually comes back to it.
Here's how the analogy breaks down:
| Element | What It Represents | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| The Boat | Your website | It's yours. You own it. No one can take it away. |
| The Net | Social media platforms | They cast wide, they bring people in, but you don't own them. |
| The Weights | Each social platform you use | The more platforms, the wider the net, the more chance of a catch. |
| The Catch | Followers, customers, collectors | People who discover you and eventually land on your boat. |
| The Harbour | Your email list, your community | The safe space where people stay connected to you. |
| The Fisherman | You | The maker. The creator. The one who shows up and does the work. |
The Mistake Most Makers Make
Most makers treat their website like it's the net. They build it, they throw it out there, and they hope it catches something on its own.
But a net doesn't catch anything if you don't throw it. And a net with no weights doesn't open wide enough to catch much at all.
The same goes for your website. If you just build it and leave it, it won't catch anything. You need the weights — the social platforms — to spread it wide, to bring people in, to get them to your boat.
The mistake is thinking the website is the thing that does the work. It's not. The website is where the work lands. The social platforms are how the work gets found.
Why Publishing on Your Website First Matters
Here's where this gets important.
If you publish on Instagram first, you're throwing your net out and hoping the catch comes back to you. But the net is rented. You don't own it. Instagram decides who sees your content, when they see it, and whether they see it at all.
When you publish on your website first, you're building a permanent record. That post lives forever on your boat. It's searchable. It's findable. It's yours.
Then you throw that content out to your social platforms — your net. But the content is anchored back to your boat. Every link, every mention, every post points people back to where the content lives permanently.
This is the key difference.
What Happens Over Time
Here's the magic of this approach.
When you publish on your website first, you're building something that compounds. Each article, each product, each story adds to the body of work that lives on your boat. Over months and years, this body of work becomes valuable.
Search engines notice. They see fresh content, regular updates, and a consistent signal that you're active and relevant. They start to trust you. They start to rank you higher. They start to send people to your boat directly, without needing the net at all.
This is the long game. It's not about a single post going viral. It's about building authority over time.
And when you've built enough authority, something interesting happens. You can start to leverage it.
Brand deals. Collaborations. Opportunities that come to you, not the other way around. People start to notice that you're not just a maker — you're a brand with a presence, a track record, a body of work that proves your value.
Your boat becomes a destination, not just a place where you store your gear.
The Long-Term View
Social media platforms will change. Instagram will become something different. TikTok will be replaced by the next thing. Algorithms will shift.
But your boat — your website — stays the same. It's yours. It grows with you. It holds everything you've built over the years.
When you publish on your website first, you're not just creating content. You're building an asset. An archive of your work. A permanent record that no algorithm can take away.
And when you throw your net out to social media, you're not just hoping for a catch. You're bringing people back to your boat, where they can see everything you've built, become part of your community, and join you for the journey ahead.
The boat is yours. The net is a tool. Use both wisely.
Ready to build your boat?