Think Like a Startup to Grow Like a Startup
Build Your Business Fast with Growth Hacking
We’ll Answer
What’s growth hacking?
How is it different from traditional marketing?
How can I find my growth hack?
Even if you’re new to growth hacking, you probably already have a hunch about what it is. Or more specifically, what it does.
Growth hacking is all about – you guessed it – growth. It’s a marketing style where every tactic is geared toward rapidly building a business.
You’ve probably seen a growth hack (or even been influenced by one) without knowing it.
In fact, you may have used a growth hack in your own marketing without realizing you were doing it.
Let’s try and find one
Growth hacking started as the love child between developers and marketers.
These were people who wanted to promote their startups quickly but didn’t have a large advertising budget or any traditional training.
Today, it’s something that can be used by anyone. Though it helps for you (or someone on your team) to have technical expertise, growth hacking is really about having the right mindset.
This isn’t about a structured set of rules and steps. Instead, you need to think about growth all the time... preferably as soon as your business idea comes down from Idea Heaven.
That way, you can find low-cost loopholes that can help you get more customers – fast.
Let’s check out which tactics growth hackers use and which ones traditional marketers rely on.
I’m ready
A lot of well-known companies used growth hacking back in their not-so-well-known days, and not all of them relied on heavy technical expertise.
For example, the creators of email organizer Mailbox App made a public waiting list for their product, which soon had over 1 million people on it.
And in 2012, online marketplace Etsy added “Pin It” buttons to its site so people could easily share Etsy items on Pinterest. This helped Etsy sellers promote their shops and Pinterest users realize each item was for sale.
The Etsy story shows how growth hacking isn’t passive: You need to find and join the communities your customers are in. Let’s take a closer look at how Etsy did this.
Etsy noticed that many of their members were active Pinterest users, and would pin items they found on Etsy to their Pinterest boards.
This inspired them to add the “Pin It” button, helping people share items on Pinterest with just one click. It also helped Etsy’s sellers, as each pin or post would include the seller’s name and a link to purchase the item on Etsy.
As more shoppers and sellers pinned items found on Etsy, the marketplace became a top source of pins on Pinterest – which introduced new people to Etsy every day.
Etsy encouraged the Pinterest cross-pollination further by giving their sellers tips and tricks on how they could use the social network to promote their shops and showcase their items for sale.
They also started a curated “Guest Pinner” series on their own Pinterest page, featuring sellers, influencers, and brands. This kept Etsy’s audience engaged and raised interest in the platform.
DO THIS NOW
Like Etsy, you can prepare for growth hacking by finding out where your customers are. For now, let’s say they’re checking social media, reading email, and attending live events.
Let’s brainstorm some ideas
