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OK ... so Growth Hacking. What's the Big Deal?

by sbucciarel Banned
74 replies
Very recently (and never prior to this), I've seen the term growth hacking thrown around this forum, first by Alaister, indicating he'd seen interest in a growth hacking section. Until then, I haven't heard that term and had to Google it to see what it's all about. In the OT forum, someone gave this link as a growth hacking resource

The Definitive Guide to Growth Hacking

... and I read the whole thing. I'm still somewhat confused about how growth hacking is any different than the Internet Marketing techniques that we discuss here every day. If you read the whole document, which is pretty interesting and well written, I didn't come across anything that was new or groundbreaking. All the techniques are the techniques that we use daily.

One differentiation in the article was supposedly that growth hackers are focused on growth. To me, that's like duh ... who isn't?

It appears that it refers mostly to startups, but the techniques in that article apply to much of the business we do here on WF. So what am I missing? Anyone else here familiar with Growth Hacking?
#big #deal #growth #hacking
  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    Growth hacking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    I was under impressed - it's laser focus on business growth using minimal paid resources. Not a bad idea - not earth shattering. More a catchy phrase than a new concept in my view.
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      Growth hacking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

      I was under impressed - it's laser focus on business growth using minimal paid resources. Not a bad idea - not earth shattering. More a catchy phrase than a new concept in my view.
      I had already read the Wikipedia entry and thought ... there's got to be more to it than this, so I read the whole article that I linked to and now have a better idea ... but you're absolutely right. Just seems to me to be a new buzz word, rather than some really unique and innovative methods for conducting business.
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      • Profile picture of the author cayne
        Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

        Just seems to me to be a new buzz word
        It is. They're just re-packaging marketing tools using different words.
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  • Profile picture of the author RobinInTexas
    Kinda sorta like Guerilla Marketing?
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    ...Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just set there.
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  • Profile picture of the author lotsofsnow
    Growth Hacking is just a fancy term.

    Bootstrapping, Guerilla Marketing, Starting on a Shoestring would be similar terms.

    People that are not important need to use fancy terms so that they look very learned. The term was something that a blogger made up one day.

    One day a photographer will come along and call himself Light Hacker and
    somebody who buys a business that has hidden monetization resources that can beused to quickly increase the cash flow can be called a Business Hacker. LOL
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    • Profile picture of the author wordwizard
      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      Very recently (and never prior to this), I've seen the term growth hacking thrown around this forum, first by Alaister, indicating he'd seen interest in a growth hacking section. Until then, I haven't heard that term and had to Google it to see what it's all about. In the OT forum, someone gave this link as a growth hacking resource

      The Definitive Guide to Growth Hacking

      ... and I read the whole thing. I'm still somewhat confused about how growth hacking is any different than the Internet Marketing techniques that we discuss here every day. If you read the whole document, which is pretty interesting and well written, I didn't come across anything that was new or groundbreaking. All the techniques are the techniques that we use daily.

      One differentiation in the article was supposedly that growth hackers are focused on growth. To me, that's like duh ... who isn't?

      It appears that it refers mostly to startups, but the techniques in that article apply to much of the business we do here on WF. So what am I missing? Anyone else here familiar with Growth Hacking?
      Never heard the term before, but considering that it's much like what we all have been doing for years, the article you list above is kind of funny - since the author represents the term as a revolutionary concept we're all badly in need of learning about.

      Still, if I find any new aspects to it in there (haven't read the whole thing), I'll take it.

      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      Growth hacking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

      I was under impressed - it's laser focus on business growth using minimal paid resources. Not a bad idea - not earth shattering. More a catchy phrase than a new concept in my view.
      Looks like it indeed.

      Originally Posted by hpgoodboy View Post

      Growth Hacking is just a fancy term.

      Bootstrapping, Guerilla Marketing, Starting on a Shoestring would be similar terms.

      People that are not important need to use fancy terms so that they look very learned. The term was something that a blogger made up one day.

      One day a photographer will come along and call himself Light Hacker and
      somebody who buys a business that has hidden monetization resources that can beused to quickly increase the cash flow can be called a Business Hacker. LOL
      And I'm a word hacker (among other things)
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      • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
        Banned
        Originally Posted by RobinInTexas View Post

        Kinda sorta like Guerilla Marketing?
        Originally Posted by hpgoodboy View Post

        Growth Hacking is just a fancy term.

        Bootstrapping, Guerilla Marketing, Starting on a Shoestring would be similar terms.

        People that are not important need to use fancy terms so that they look very learned. The term was something that a blogger made up one day.

        One day a photographer will come along and call himself Light Hacker and
        somebody who buys a business that has hidden monetization resources that can beused to quickly increase the cash flow can be called a Business Hacker. LOL
        Exactly, bootstrapping, Guerilla Marketing .... all terms that have been around for ages.

        Like I said, the author says that a growth hacker is totally focused on growth, but isn't just about everything we do, done for growth of the business in one way or another?

        Originally Posted by wordwizard View Post

        Never heard the term before, but considering that it's much like what we all have been doing for years, the article you list above is kind of funny - since the author represents the term as a revolutionary concept we're all badly in need of learning about.

        Still, if I find any new aspects to it in there (haven't read the whole thing), I'll take it.

        And I'm a word hacker (among other things)
        True ... you would be a word hacker. lol. Watch ... if this catches on fire here, all the growth hacking WSOs there will be. Me just mentioning it will probably make some wheels start spinning here.

        As for the link I posted, if you're a newbie and want some really good, basic, sound advice on launching and growing your own business, read it. It's core stuff and gives you the basics of how to get started and how to get traffic, etc.
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    • Profile picture of the author Katie Rich
      Originally Posted by hpgoodboy View Post

      Growth Hacking is just a fancy term.
      It beats 'secret sauce' which seems to be the in sales term right now.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tsnyder
    I must be getting old... I don't even find the phrase to be all that catchy.

    Truth be told... Im trying to discern why anyone would even want to
    have their name and reputation associated with any phrase containing
    the word hacking or any of its forms.

    Seems like a pretty negative thing to me.... or is it now acceptable
    to be known as a hacker?
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Tsnyder View Post

      I must be getting old... I don't even find the phrase to be all that catchy.

      Truth be told... Im trying to discern why anyone would even want to
      have their name and reputation associated with any phrase containing
      the word hacking or any of its forms.

      Seems like a pretty negative thing to me.... or is it now acceptable
      to be known as a hacker?
      I think it was made trendy by the online mag lifehacker. Until then, I'd only heard hacker used in a negative, destructive way. Appears now that it's cool.
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Originally Posted by Tsnyder View Post

        I must be getting old... I don't even find the phrase to be all that catchy.

        Truth be told... Im trying to discern why anyone would even want to
        have their name and reputation associated with any phrase containing
        the word hacking or any of its forms.

        Seems like a pretty negative thing to me.... or is it now acceptable
        to be known as a hacker?
        Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

        I think it was made trendy by the online mag lifehacker. Until then, I'd only heard hacker used in a negative, destructive way. Appears now that it's cool.
        You have to go back to when the Apple II was considered bleeding edge technology. Back then, "hackers" were people (mostly guys aka nerds, geeks, etc.) who "hacked" the programming and pushed the envelope of what one could make these little wonders do on limited resources.

        It wasn't until what we now refer to as "black hat" type hackers started making news for breaking into systems, etc., that "hacker" and "hacking" became pejoratives...
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        • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
          Banned
          Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

          You have to go back to when the Apple II was considered bleeding edge technology. Back then, "hackers" were people (mostly guys aka nerds, geeks, etc.) who "hacked" the programming and pushed the envelope of what one could make these little wonders do on limited resources.

          It wasn't until what we now refer to as "black hat" type hackers started making news for breaking into systems, etc., that "hacker" and "hacking" became pejoratives...
          Makes sense. I did see a reference to software hacking, meant in a good way in the article I read as the beginning of the popularity of the term hacking.
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          • Profile picture of the author SunnyDelight
            Ehhh, this is new to me. Going to research it more and see if it's worth my time checking out.

            Thank you OP for the link.
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          • Profile picture of the author meta-blogger
            Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

            Makes sense. I did see a reference to software hacking, meant in a good way in the article I read as the beginning of the popularity of the term hacking.
            hacking is actually a good term and they learn reams of computer stuff and code, not really much difference betweena a hacker and a sysadmin knowledge wise except one has a certificate. the evil guys are called 'crackers' cause they crack logins and crack software and crack through security, etc. hollywood popularized the hacker term but as with everything else made it negative jsut liekthe newspapers scream about everyhing negative cause people jsut don't seem to *buy* positive news, lol.

            ...and yeah growth hacking is really nothing more than a crazy level of optimization (a/b tests etc) search youtube for a few videos, and also bootstrapping by avoiding as much costs as possible something that i've seen referred to as 'ramen profitable'(eating ramen noodles but got a positive cash flow-make it tha far and you can usually find investors to scale it up).

            the term is not much use to us marketers, optimization and profitability is in our blood. smiles.
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  • Profile picture of the author George Wright
    I saw that post to and researched "Growth Hacking"

    To me it was about Making or Forcing something to go Viral. Every Marketers dream is to go Viral.

    I remember way back when, Jokes would be emailed out to a few people and the jokes would be forwarded over and over going viral. So Marketers started sending out jokes in hopes of getting their ads seen along with the joke.

    Then it became all the rage to send out links to Power Point, touchy feely slide shows with babies and angels and kittens etc. Again to "Force" it to go viral.

    There is probably a lot more to it than that, but that's what I got out of it.

    Anyway to me they just put a Name to this type of thing, I.E. "Growth Hacking."

    Wish I had thought to buy growthhacking.com way back.

    George Wright
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  • Profile picture of the author Joan Altz
    The article made me take a Tylenol.

    Focus on growth only. Ok.
    Focus on growth - study analytics. Ok.
    Focus on growth - make things go viral. Ok.
    Focus on growth - learn some API stuff. Ok.
    Focus on growth - improve your copywriting. Ok.
    Focus on growth - you'll get taller, sprout new hair, have a bigger.....yeah. Ok
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  • Profile picture of the author Stuart Walker
    QuickSprout did a 'definitive guide' on the subject recently...

    The Definitive Guide to Growth Hacking
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by George Wright View Post

      I saw that post to and researched "Growth Hacking"

      To me it was about Making or Forcing something to go Viral. Every Marketers dream is to go Viral.

      George Wright
      You're right about that. Much of the Guide focused on making things go viral or distribution and traffic.

      Originally Posted by George Wright View Post

      Wish I had thought to buy growthhacking.com way back.

      lol. That's the first thing I thought of too.

      Originally Posted by Stuart Walker View Post

      QuickSprout did a 'definitive guide' on the subject recently...

      The Definitive Guide to Growth Hacking
      Yeah, that's the Guide I linked to in the first post.
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      • Profile picture of the author Kay King
        There are times when IM reminds me of little boys putting on play capes and having 'wars' with plastic swords.

        So many IM products are titled to appeal to the "wanna sound tough" group of marketers. Guerrilla, sniper, hacker - words meant to make nerds staring at a computer screen feel like the lead in an action flick....
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    I despise this fancy buzzword (buzzphrase?).

    My opinion is that it's a term composed by "experts" to differentiate themselves and create interest in their services.

    I interviewed Neil Patel and we did not talk about it.

    Everything has to have a 'hack' (just like the "one weird trick") now because people want the fast and easy way to do something. Putting a drink can or glass in your shoe is a Russian 'hack' for being able to stand it up on the carpet without the risk of it falling over. I saw this in a youtube vid. Wow, what a contribution to society.

    Buzzwords to sound like you're 'in the know', and ways to do stuff without effort. That's what society wants. Well, let's remember the majority is poor and doing it wrong.
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Jason Kanigan View Post

      I despise this fancy buzzword (buzzphrase?).

      My opinion is that it's a term composed by experts to differentiate themselves and create interest in their services.

      I interviewed Neil Patel and we did not talk about it.

      Everything has to have a 'hack' (just like the "one weird trick") now because people want the fast and easy way to do something. Putting a drink can or glass in your shoe is a Russian 'hack' for being able to stand it up on the carpet without the risk of it falling over. I saw this in a youtube vid. Wow, what a contribution to society.

      Buzzwords to sound like you're 'in the know', and ways to do stuff without effort. That's what society wants. Well, let's remember the majority is poor and doing it wrong.

      Yeah. I get the impression that it's a new word to repackage the same stuff promoted under last years' word. lol. After hacking runs its course, it'll re-emerge as yet another buzz word.
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  • Profile picture of the author Brent Stangel
    When I read this thread title I thought I would find something about giant babies.

    It's like the big pharm. companies having focus groups to come up with new syndrome names they can claim their chemicals will cure.

    Something for the sheep to oh and aw and baaa over.
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    It's nothing new other than the very popular buzzword, hacking, which implies, shortcut, ease, 'no sweat baby' kinda action. I think it's designed to make arduous stuff look easy or easier. Kinda like dirty little Ninja secrets, etc.
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  • Profile picture of the author waterotter
    Truth be told... Im trying to discern why anyone would even want to
    have their name and reputation associated with any phrase containing
    the word hacking or any of its forms.

    Seems like a pretty negative thing to me.... or is it now acceptable
    to be known as a hacker?
    I agree!

    I just hope we don't see an influx of black hatters here as "Hacking" will surely show in the search engines.
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  • Profile picture of the author DubDubDubDot
    The term comes out of Silicon Valley, not "internet marketing" as many here define it. It's just a simple two word phrase that eliminates the need to write an entire paragraph about low cost brand building strategies for broke startups.

    There's also some vanity at play here. It's kind of like how some people don't buy a used car, they buy a pre-owned car. "We'll be utilizing growth hacking." sounds better than "That MFer wouldn't give us our VC, so now we have to do all this social media BS by hand ourselves!"


    Patel is from the latest generation of "make money online" info product sellers. Buyers are looking closer at these guys as they realize the $2,000 course sellers of days past were nothing more than get rich quick scammers. We are starting to see a more professional tone, but whether or not that equates to good results for newbies this time around remains to be seen.
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    • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
      Originally Posted by DubDubDubDot View Post

      The term comes out of Silicon Valley, not "internet marketing" as many here define it. It's just a simple two word phrase that eliminates the need to write an entire paragraph about low cost brand building strategies for broke startups.

      There's also some vanity at play here. It's kind of like how some people don't buy a used car, they buy a pre-owned car. "We'll be utilizing growth hacking." sounds better than "That MFer wouldn't give us our VC, so now we have to do all this social media BS by hand ourselves!"


      Patel is from the latest generation of "make money online" info product sellers. Buyers are looking closer at these guys as they realize the $2,000 course sellers of days past were nothing more than get rich quick scammers. We are starting to see a more professional tone, but whether or not that equates to good results for newbies this time around remains to be seen.
      Agreed, 100%
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  • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
    A lot of start-up consultants are "growth hackers" that get paid big money by VC firms to work with the companies they invest in. Just a way to scale and really be able to make money back on the next round of investing.

    Keep in mind, growth does not necessarily mean profits or revenue.

    We're becoming hyper-defined in everything we do... marketing used to be just marketing. Now it's content marketing, search marketing, social media marketing, direct mail marketing, telemarketing, etc.

    Just another thing that's always existed but someone with a big following coins the term to establish even more "authority".
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

      A lot of start-up consultants are "growth hackers" that get paid big money by VC firms to work with the companies they invest in. Just a way to scale and really be able to make money back on the next round of investing.

      Keep in mind, growth does not necessarily mean profits or revenue.

      We're becoming hyper-defined in everything we do... marketing used to be just marketing. Now it's content marketing, search marketing, social media marketing, direct mail marketing, telemarketing, etc.

      Just another thing that's always existed but someone with a big following coins the term to establish even more "authority".
      Yeah ... I noticed that some people are calling themselves "Growth Hackers" or "Chief of Growth" and other similar things. It appears that they concentrate on gaining membership or eyeballs on a site or company and then increasing the engagement with those visitors, resulting then in converting, so ultimately, revenue and profits are still at play, and they're still using some pretty conventional methods of doing that from reading Patels' guide.
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Speaking of "viral", did anyone else ever get their $1,000 and trip to Disneyland for helping Bill Gates test that email tracking system? :confused:
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  • Profile picture of the author Rod Cortez
    ....and I thought this was going to be an ad for Viagra.

    RoD
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

      Speaking of "viral", did anyone else ever get their $1,000 and trip to Disneyland for helping Bill Gates test that email tracking system? :confused:
      What! Nobody ever tells me anything

      Originally Posted by Rod Cortez View Post

      ....and I thought this was going to be an ad for Viagra.

      RoD
      I think all of the enhancement products are growth hacking products.
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  • Profile picture of the author Greg guitar
    I'm kind of in agreement with everyone, but kind of wondering why it's getting such a negative response. It's true that "hacks" for everything is just a buzzword. Any bright idea can be packaged as a "hack", and I've seen it used for healthy eating; starting the day with a piece of raw fruit, followed by oatmeal, can be called a "health hack".

    Sure it's a gimmick, but isn't about 95% of marketing a gimmick? If we didn't use gimmicky, trendy, brightly colored packaging for whatever we sell, I suspect it wouldn't sell very well. Kind of like rock stars have to dress the part; it doesn't make the music sound better. It's all about packaging and perception.
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Greg guitar View Post

      I'm kind of in agreement with everyone, but kind of wondering why it's getting such a negative response. It's true that "hacks" for everything is just a buzzword. Any bright idea can be packaged as a "hack", and I've seen it used for healthy eating; starting the day with a piece of raw fruit, followed by oatmeal, can be called a "health hack".

      Sure it's a gimmick, but isn't about 95% of marketing a gimmick? If we didn't use gimmicky, trendy, brightly colored packaging for whatever we sell, I suspect it wouldn't sell very well. Kind of like rock stars have to dress the part; it doesn't make the music sound better. It's all about packaging and perception.
      That's the danger with re-packaging. People are expecting something different. In the context that I heard the term used, I expected something different. After reading the whole article from Patel, I didn't get anything unique, innovative or different. I just got the same stuff that we talk about with a different name.
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  • Profile picture of the author thatjc
    The term "hacker" has had a long and tortuous history. When I first heard it, like 3 decades ago, it was a very positive term meaning someone who made innovative hardware out of old junk or surplus gear in their workshop, garage, etc. A bit like the old term "hot-rodder", but maybe more creative and future oriented.

    Then the term "cracker" (for one who illegally accesses information - I suppose derived from "safe cracker") got somehow replaced by "hacker", as someone who illegally accesses information - it moved from the hardware domain to that of software.

    I was considered a hacker (and attended a like minded "Hackers Conference" at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Auditorium) because I made my first personal computer out of several kits (with a soldering iron yet) and a surplus ASR-33 teletype. I even bought Bill Gate's very first product (a BASIC interpreter in 48K of memory on a huge roll of punched paper tape).

    Now we have "LifeHacker" and such going back to a positive spin.

    Everything changes and stays the same...
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  • Profile picture of the author tyronne78
    Justin Brooke aka "The Traffic Strategist" has some really good videos on the subject of growth hacking. The video below is his take on growth hacking:

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    • Profile picture of the author Alaister
      Growth hacking is a powerful mix of marketing skills and data science. It is the act of analysing data, trends and movements to make scientific marketing decisions with growth as a focus.

      At Freelancer.com growth hackers make up a department of their own. They consists of data scientists who are always looking at data and tracking the movements in realtime. They try to understand what has caused the movements, whether it is up or down and then use their marketing expertise to come up with solutions and tests. Freelancer.com runs hundreds of different A/B tests on a daily basis to tweak different things for improvement and growth.

      A Stanford case study for Harrah's casino is very interesting. They basically took growth hacking principles to an offline business. I'll try and dig up this case study for you guys.

      Basically they saw that they were losing massive market share to the newer and flasher casinos. They hired a mathematician who basically created a mathematical formula for revenue. It took everything into consideration including, how long people stayed in the casino, the amount of money they brought to the casino, the number of people they brought, the order of their casino visits.

      He created this formula that equaled revenue and basically created targeted campaigns for each element of the formula.



      Here is an article from our Freelancer.com CEO, Matt Barrie about growth hacking:

      How to hack a billion dollars of revenue in 3 years | LinkedIn

      Here is a video about startup business metrics (AARRR):

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      • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Alaister View Post

        Here is an article from our Freelancer.com CEO, Matt Barrie about growth hacking:

        How to hack a billion dollars of revenue in 3 years | LinkedIn

        Here is a video about startup business metrics (AARRR):

        4.1.7 Dave McClure - Startup Metrics for Pirates: AARRR! - I - YouTube
        Thanks for the clarification and the article by Barrie. The article was a great deal more concise than the resource I had come across, which is basically fluff. This definitely sets it apart from mainstream marketing.

        The bleeding edge today is Growth Hacking and Data Science, and it's where analytics, statistics, computer science and marketing meet. Growth hacking quintessentially looks for platforms that provide one to many relationships (read: one to millions), and develops smart ways to harness them quickly.

        Tech companies are literally hiring rocket scientists to exploit these channels and acquire customers quickly before they get crowded and the advantage fades as they get costly or restricted. My Growth team at Freelancer.com includes a PhD in Quantum Physics, a valedictorian in Mechatronics, computer scientists, statisticians and machine learning experts. The Harvard Business Review calls Data Science "The Sexiest Job of the 21st Century".
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      • Profile picture of the author Kurt
        Originally Posted by Alaister View Post


        A Stanford case study for Harrah's casino is very interesting. They basically took growth hacking principles to an offline business. I'll try and dig up this case study for you guys.

        Basically they saw that they were losing massive market share to the newer and flasher casinos. They hired a mathematician who basically created a mathematical formula for revenue. It took everything into consideration including, how long people stayed in the casino, the amount of money they brought to the casino, the number of people they brought, the order of their casino visits.

        He created this formula that equaled revenue and basically created targeted campaigns for each element of the formula.
        When I lived in Las Vegas, I took a class in casino marketing. It was taught by a professor with a PHD in marketing and worked for a time at R and R Marketing and was at the time the head marketer for a Detroit casino.

        R and R was founded by Sig Rogich, who later became the "spin doctor" for both Ronald Regan and George Bush I. R and R is also the firm that has won the marketing contract for the city of Las Vegas every year. They are the ones that came up with "what happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas", which is repeated everywhere.

        My point is, my teacher was highly qualified in the subject. IMO, Las Vegas casinos may be the best of any industry at studying marketing and creating marketing plans and ideas.

        I haven't read the specific report mentioned above, but Las Vegas has done similar studies and research for a very long time. They've even tested things like if pleasant scents will keep people gambling longer(it does) and even what note is the most popular to use when coins drop into the bin. The note of "C" was found to be the most popular, so slot machines were "tuned" to C.

        If you notice, the carpets in casinos are very "busy". This is because it keeps the human eye from looking down and instead at the machines and other games.

        Very little in a casino design is left to chance, which is a little ironic when you think about it.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alaister
      I'm glad that made a bit more sense to you guys.

      Do you guys do a lot of A/B testing and conversion rate optimization?
      That is a huge topic on it's on and I don't really see a lot of discussion and conversation going on about this.

      It can be very powerful and generate great results if done properly.

      Some of our A/B tests have increased results by over 100%, literally doubling our conversions. These are things like changing CTAs, removing distractions, simplifying forms and staying laser focused on getting people to do what we want them to do without compromising user experience.
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      • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Alaister View Post

        I'm glad that made a bit more sense to you guys.

        Do you guys do a lot of A/B testing and conversion rate optimization?
        That is a huge topic on it's on and I don't really see a lot of discussion and conversation going on about this.

        It can be very powerful and generate great results if done properly.

        Some of our A/B tests have increased results by over 100%, literally doubling our conversions. These are things like changing CTAs, removing distractions, simplifying forms and staying laser focused on getting people to do what we want them to do without compromising user experience.
        Very much so on AB testing. Haven't heard much about conversion rate optimization.
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  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    It is basically content marketing which is a stripped and down and 'pure' version of spammy guest posts. Also, there is an added focus on RELATIONSHIP BUILDING.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alaister
      Originally Posted by writeaway View Post

      It is basically content marketing which is a stripped and down and 'pure' version of spammy guest posts. Also, there is an added focus on RELATIONSHIP BUILDING.
      How so? What you're referring to, isn't growth hacking. Am I missing something here?
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  • Profile picture of the author Tim3
    I get the whiff of a WSO coming on... another made-up-name to regurgitate what has already been gurgitated.

    Siloing, must have died a death :p
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Tim3 View Post

      I get the whiff of a WSO coming on... another made-up-name to regurgitate what has already been gurgitated.

      Siloing, must have died a death :p
      Not really regurgitated information if you read the article that Alaister posted. It's a level of marketing that few here would be able to implement though.

      Tech companies are literally hiring rocket scientists to exploit these channels and acquire customers quickly before they get crowded and the advantage fades as they get costly or restricted. My Growth team at Freelancer.com includes a PhD in Quantum Physics, a valedictorian in Mechatronics, computer scientists, statisticians and machine learning experts. The Harvard Business Review calls Data Science “The Sexiest Job of the 21st Century”.
      Most of us are solopreneurs and while these viral campaigns should be cost effective or free to launch, hiring a PhD in Quantum Physics or any of those positions above is not. That's the kind of staffing a well funded start-up might consider.

      Many here use analytics and AB split testing and are masters of the sales funnel already but that's about as far as they get with being a data scientist.
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      • Profile picture of the author Alaister
        Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

        Not really regurgitated information if you read the article that Alaister posted. It's a level of marketing that few here would be able to implement though.
        I'd love to help you guys better understand growth hacking and see if there are elements that you guys can use in your businesses.

        Many here use analytics and AB split testing and are masters of the sales funnel already but that's about as far as they get with being a data scientist.
        This is a good start. Make sure you guys understand exactly where your traffic, users, subscribers and revenue is coming from on a granular level. You can create segmentations and goals in analytics. Monitor each source and when it goes up and down investigate exactly why these movements have happened.

        Every business, whether you are a well funded tech company or a solopreneur should have a clear business dashboard with real metrics and not vanity metrics (metrics that sound good but are meaningless to bottom line and revenue e.g. # of total users)

        Here are some dashboard tools that may help:
        http://www.geckoboard.com/
        https://www.leftronic.com/
        https://ducksboard.com/
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        • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
          Originally Posted by Alaister View Post

          Every business, whether you are a well funded tech company or a solopreneur should have a clear business dashboard with real metrics and not vanity metrics (metrics that sound good but are meaningless to bottom line and revenue e.g. # of total users)
          One thing you'll tend to notice is a huge emphasis on maximization as opposed to optimization. Tie that with looking at what you dubbed "vanity metrics" (I am so stealing that...), and you have a lot of frustrated marketers. Once that frustration sets in, it becomes much easier to simply post "what's the best_____" or "what does {insert guru's name} use for _____".

          They model what they perceive as success (if Joe Gooroo does it, it must work), never realizing that they may looking at the failed option on a test.

          My education is in engineering, so I tend approach my metrics from a SPC vantage point. I'd love to learn how to look at things more effectively.
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          • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
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            Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

            One thing you'll tend to notice is a huge emphasis on maximization as opposed to optimization. Tie that with looking at what you dubbed "vanity metrics" (I am so stealing that...), and you have a lot of frustrated marketers. Once that frustration sets in, it becomes much easier to simply post "what's the best_____" or "what does {insert guru's name} use for _____".

            They model what they perceive as success (if Joe Gooroo does it, it must work), never realizing that they may looking at the failed option on a test.

            My education is in engineering, so I tend approach my metrics from a SPC vantage point. I'd love to learn how to look at things more effectively.
            Alaister started a new thread on Conversion Rate Optimization and AB Testing here http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...b-testing.html

            I'll quote it here as it hasn't caught too many people's attention yet and it could be a useful and interesting conversation.

            I wanted to create this new thread and open up the discussion and see where you guys are at with A/B testing and CRO. Do you guys work on conversion rate optimization and perform constant A/B testing?

            At Freelancer.com we are constantly analysing different pages and coming up with hypotheses/ideas on how to increase conversion rates. Some ideas include showing social proof like testimonials/case studies, having different CTA on buttons, using video on sales pages, emphasizing different elements in forms like our post project form and much more.

            With each of these ideas we run A/B tests and compare data to see what impact it has on users, their behaviour and our conversion rates.

            As I mentioned previously in the other thread we are running hundreds of tests daily on different pages and for different goals.

            This is a topic that I love and am pretty passionate about. I'd love to hear about what you guys are doing and am happy to answer questions to help you guys use a/b testing and CRO to grow your businesses.
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            • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
              I have been researching growth hacking quite a bit lately, and I can agree it might seem like pretty much data-driven, optimized internet marketing.

              In my opinion, the difference is that it has more to do with the product itself.

              1. Product Market Fit
              Whereas traditional IM is all about selling your product, growth hacking is more about adapting your product, using solid data. An example is Instagram. They started out more as a kind of social network, with an image function with filters as a side dish. Data showed that the mages with filters was something that attracted new users, and the main function people used. After finding this out, they scrapped a majority of their other functions to emphasize this function, and become what it is today.

              2. Building for virality
              Again, when growth hacking a product, much is done within the product itself. By incorporating viral elements, while at the same time having a great product. This is more similar to IM and marketing, though in some cases it must be a core for the product. I don't rememeber any good examples for this atm. :rolleyes:
              Techniques for building virality can be: Making it exclusive. - Gmail did this, having an "Invite only" beta.
              Making the product more attractive if you have your friends there as well. (Facebook, Instagram etc.)
              Making your content attractive enough to force people to sign up to see it. - Quora. I have heard they convert at 10% because of a simple sign-up process, combined with interesting questions, forcing you to sign up to see them. Quora is also great at activating users, which brings me to the next point:

              3. Onboarding
              Focusing on activating users, rather than only getting new ones.
              Where IM traditionally segments email lists int buyers, and those who haven't bought yet, GH is about tailoring the messages even further.

              Many big services, like Quora and Digg, sends out highlight emails with interesting stuff. This drives a lot of traffic and engagement.

              For other products, this can be custom messages for where the user is in the cycle.
              Signed up, but haven't logged in? -> Custom email to help them get started.
              Signed up, logged in, but left and didn't come back? -> Follow-up email focusing on why they signed up in the first place (selling points), combined with next steps and tips.
              Signed up, filled out their profile, and started using the service? -> Welcome email with a thanks, and instructions to get the most out of the service. Etc.

              This is also a very analytical, data-driven approach to growth. If you split up your traffic into conversions in more levels than just sales, and sign-ups.

              What is the point of focusing on driving traffic, if 10% convert, but only 2% of the latter actually starts using the service? -> Growth hackers would in this case focus on onboarding to activate the registered users. Because if 30% of the active users turns into buyers, you need to convert inactive users.

              Those are the major differences that comes to mind. Growth hacking is very similar to IM in a lot of ways, but there are slight differences
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              • Profile picture of the author savidge4
                Growth Hacking vs IM not even close to the same thing. As much as the end goal may be much the same of sorts the methods getting there are hugely different.

                In a nutshell IMer's do everything they can to build a list and sell to the same closed group of people over and over. Growth hackers go further and use that same group to grow the product awareness.

                A personal example. I am trying a new strategy that gets rid of the mailing list. To get my report all you need to do is submit your twitter account. Once they do this a Tweet appears on their account that states they just got product A ask them about it. Another shows on my account that insert username just got the product.

                It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the "Growth" potential in this. I can tell that in the short term I have been "Testing" this, its crazy!

                I have been IMing for a longtime. I am a tracking nut. What trends, when it trends, how long it trends, when and if it main streams. I look at traffic shifts. Really really watched when Facebook did the updates - It was looking as if there was going to be a huge shift, and all bets where on G+.

                Growth Hacking as I see it actually takes some of the guess work out of where to position yourself, and creates an almost automatic ability to put you and your product in front of the right eyeballs- if that makes sense.

                Hope that helps!
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  • Profile picture of the author bluebrain
    It's a really catchy name. These days it's hard to come up with something completely unique, so mostly it's about coming up with a new angle.
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  • Profile picture of the author DaniMc
    You guys shouldn't poo poo on something until you know more about it. Saying in one paragraph "what is it" and "it is stupid" doesn't make much sense to me.

    It isn't "guerilla" or IM...it is different and it is a valid area of expertise.

    An easy explanation is wrapped up in the world "leverage."

    There are many types of marketing, all of which have different levels of leverage. As long as you see a positive ROI, most marketers will keep pursuing a given strategy.

    But, in the startup world, especially in cash intensive business models, having a positive ROI is not a good enough reason to pursue a given form of marketing.

    Growth hacking is the art of finding only the longest levers to move the world with. When your burn rate is huge and you have a short runway, you simply must focus on the endeavors which give a HUGE result and accomplish SEVERAL objectives all at once.

    Companies who typically need growth hacking will not survive on a positive ROI. They only need GROWTH.

    They don't need an extra 5 customers per week. They need to get a MILLION customers/users in the next 3 months or they will lose it all and close down.

    ROI comes later. These companies are looking to eventually go public or be acquired. Growth hacking is most applicable to a "high growth" business model.

    Growth. Speed. 3 months to a million customers or lose it all.

    It isn't even remotely like standard marketing. It's about analyzing markets, finding weaknesses and loopholes and manipulating them.

    It's like comparing a pole vaulter to a marathon runner. Sure, they both have to run and be fit, but if the pole vaulter trains for endurance, they lose. They don't care about the marathon. They just need to run for a little while to make over that bar.

    Most importantly, marathoners and pole vaulters are in two different types of races.

    A lot of these novel tactics can have great applications for small businesses too, but they got started in the tech startup arena.
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    • Profile picture of the author Joan Altz
      Originally Posted by Dan McCoy View Post

      It's about analyzing markets, finding weaknesses and loopholes and manipulating them.
      That should probably be part of any official definition of the term right there, based on everything I've read about it from you guys and articles on different blogs.

      Perhaps extend it to include:

      It's about analyzing markets, finding weaknesses and loopholes and manipulating them to achieve a high level of growth in the shortest time possible with minimal funding.

      Something like that, eh?
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Ayton
    Thank you Dan!

    This is a beautiful thread, finally someone who knows what they are talking about when it comes to growth hacking - we use a lot of 'growth hacks' at our company.. im tired of people accusing it of being unethical.

    If you are intrested in learning a lot more about what Growth Hacking is, this is the best guide I have found for it online.

    QuickSprout | GrowthHackingGuide

    I hope this help someone learn something new!

    - Michael
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    • Profile picture of the author Alaister
      Originally Posted by Michael Ayton View Post

      Thank you Dan!

      This is a beautiful thread, finally someone who knows what they are talking about when it comes to growth hacking - we use a lot of 'growth hacks' at our company.. im tired of people accusing it of being unethical.

      If you are intrested in learning a lot more about what Growth Hacking is, this is the best guide I have found for it online.

      QuickSprout | GrowthHackingGuide

      I hope this help someone learn something new!

      - Michael
      Hey Michael!

      What company do you run? I'd love to hear more about some of the growth hacking strategies that you use.
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      • Profile picture of the author Michael Ayton
        I run a startup called Wildfiree, we are still in the development phase but have been using a lot of 'growth hacks' to build a beta user base.

        Here is an awesome list of actionable hacks that we use.

        Growth Hack To a Million Users

        I just had to have a giggle at myself then, didnt realise that the person who started this thread linked the same blog post!
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        • Profile picture of the author Alaister
          Originally Posted by Michael Ayton View Post

          I run a startup called Wildfiree, we are still in the development phase but have been using a lot of 'growth hacks' to build a beta user base.
          Awesome. Anything you found that has worked really well?

          Great share! That is a really comprehensive initial growth hacking checklist
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          • Profile picture of the author Michael Ayton
            Originally Posted by Alaister View Post

            Awesome. Anything you found that has worked really well?

            Great share! That is a really comprehensive initial growth hacking checklist
            No worries Alaister!

            Honestly what works for us won't necessarily work for others, we have had a lot of success with reddit and hacker news
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            • Profile picture of the author Alaister
              Yeh they're great distribution channels and firehoses.
              I actually got one of my articles to the top of hackernews for about 24 hours and it drove about 100,000 visits in the space of a couple of days.
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              • Profile picture of the author Michael Ayton
                Originally Posted by Alaister View Post

                Yeh they're great distribution channels and firehoses.
                I actually got one of my articles to the top of hackernews for about 24 hours and it drove about 100,000 visits in the space of a couple of days.

                That is really impressive! What are some of the methods you used to reach the top? Catchy headline? Id love to hear more about your projects - PM if your free
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  • Profile picture of the author goindeep
    Some people don't want to growth hack.

    Some are happy with their small business and don't need 100 million customers.

    A better term other than growth hacking would be > instead of building a business you built a really good pitch sold it to investors for hundreds of millions and now that they all want you dead unless you pay up you need to find ways to 'grow' without asking them for more money.

    And that folks, is simply not for everyone.
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  • Profile picture of the author Charles Harper
    Great discussion.

    I first heard of growth hacking from Ryan Holiday who wrote "Trust Me I'm Lying" and has a couple other books that haven't (yet) read.

    He had Tim Ferriss as a client and apparently, as he tells the story he was barred by bookstores because of the way he published his book. So here is Tim Ferriss trying to follow up the Four Hour Work Week, but none of the big bookstores would carry him.

    So Holiday revealed that part of the plan was to "hack" the publishing process. He leaked onto the torrent sites part of the book as well as different parts of the research. Now if you've read "Trust Me, I'm Lying" you know that Holiday knows how to use the media and blogosphere like a toy for his amusement.

    To make a long story short, Ferriss leap-frogged the bookstores to quickly sell a boatload of books with massive PR to boot. This wasn't a Kindle strategy play, it was a PR play that intersected the publishing world.

    I'm looking for a link, but I watched this interview on Mixergy by Andrew Warner which is paid. If I can find a decent YouTube link, I'll add it.

    I'll say this...perhaps "Growth Hacking" isn't a revolutionary concept in our community; but it's pretty real with people who deal in lots of zeros behind the first number. I will be interested to see how this thread develops.

    To Alister, thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author searchnology
    I see your "Growth Hacking" and raise you a "Growth Ninja"

    Seriously, the more things change the more they stay the same. How about the "Content Marketing" craze? Isn't that the original "Content is King"?
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    • Profile picture of the author goindeep
      Originally Posted by searchnology View Post

      I see your "Growth Hacking" and raise you a "Growth Ninja"

      Seriously, the more things change the more they stay the same. How about the "Content Marketing" craze? Isn't that the original "Content is King"?
      Ha ha that is perfect!
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  • Profile picture of the author valarmorghulis
    Yep, it's pretty much just a "buzzphrase" as so many others pointed out. Just like "life hacking" "diet hacking" "dream hacking" and all the other "hacking" phrases out there. leSIGH.
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  • Profile picture of the author asiriusthoth
    Sounds like web hosting services that sell "Geographic IP accounts for Internet Marketing" and up-charge the crap out of it. I've been in the game approaching 20 years. There is always a new and catchy term that comes up every year that basically means the same exact thing.

    Business Development, Business Growth, Start-up Marketing Extreme, Guerrilla Marketing, Visitor IM Hack, Growth Hacking. Just more ways to throw the same material at the wall to see if the customers will stick. *shrugs*, whatever floats your boat.
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  • Profile picture of the author PeckhamPirate
    I'm so out of the loop...
    Seems to me like GH is simply a name for the combined results of all the traffic strategies we've picked up over the years.

    Promoting your company in signatures - clearly been around since the mid-90s.
    Split testing - been around since the mid-noughties.
    Social sharing as a serious traffic generatoir - Been around for ooh, at least 8 or 9 years.

    So from what I'm reading this Growth Hacking thing just seems to be or newbies, who haven't already absorbed these tactics into their bigger marketing plan, weeded out the bits that work for them, and drilled in a little deeper.

    Am I wrong in thinking that if we've done all that, and we stay abreast of current winners - like say cheap FB advertising and Pinterest for business, we can simply carry on as normal.

    And if we haven't done any of the above, we can simply pick up one of the new Growth Hack WSOs that are about to spring up here on the forum.
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    • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
      Originally Posted by PeckhamPirate View Post

      I'm so out of the loop...
      Seems to me like GH is simply a name for the combined results of all the traffic strategies we've picked up over the years.

      Promoting your company in signatures - clearly been around since the mid-90s.
      Split testing - been around since the mid-noughties.
      Social sharing as a serious traffic generatoir - Been around for ooh, at least 8 or 9 years.

      So from what I'm reading this Growth Hacking thing just seems to be or newbies, who haven't already absorbed these tactics into their bigger marketing plan, weeded out the bits that work for them, and drilled in a little deeper.

      Am I wrong in thinking that if we've done all that, and we stay abreast of current winners - like say cheap FB advertising and Pinterest for business, we can simply carry on as normal.

      And if we haven't done any of the above, we can simply pick up one of the new Growth Hack WSOs that are about to spring up here on the forum.
      It's not just about techniques. It has the mindset aspects as well.

      Let's say "normal" IM is about how to reach your goal of $100,000, and it's quite realistic if you break it down.
      Then growth hacking is more about how you would proceed if your goal is $1,000,000,000. - And you can't do that by making review sites as an affiliate and promoting them with article marketing (Or by SEO alone)
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  • Profile picture of the author Silvestru
    I'm no expert, but one analogy that is close to me is that growth hacking is to marketing what life-coaching is to psychology.

    In essence, yes, they're probably the same thing. But their goals differ. And since growth-hacking, or growth, is the blood of a start-up in the Valley, they're not looking at revenue as the first item on the order of business. That comes later, but for now, "being cool" as Zuckerberg said is what's more important.
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    • Profile picture of the author savidge4
      The BIGGEST difference of what has been done in the past, and "Growth Hacking" lays in the foundation of traffic. If you are the type of marketer that has some squeeze pages up and gets the e-mail and offers product over and over, I bet it all sounds the same.

      Your average IM'er is A / B testing for conversion. GH'ers are A / B testing for page views. An IM'er is looking for consistent targeted traffic. A GH'er is looking for ridiculous traffic - at the expense of consistency. An IM'er is looking to keeping their list fresh. A GH'er is looking at retention, that converts to referral.

      If you REALLY start looking at this you will see they are opposite ends of the spectrum. It is not so much the methods that are used, it is how they are focused.

      Standard IM flow is Aquire - Activate - Revenue

      Standard GH flow is Aquire - Activate - Retain - Refer - Revenue
      If you can get to retaining your visitors... you can get them to refer. Once you have done that? Revenue is a given!

      Think of it this way. say you have a mailing list of 5000 people (nice sized list ) or you have 20,000 uniques a month. 3% of which one is going to produce more money? - The MONEY is in GROWTH!
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      • Profile picture of the author Joan Altz
        Originally Posted by savidge4 View Post

        Think of it this way. say you have a mailing list of 5000 people (nice sized list ) or you have 20,000 uniques a month. 3% of which one is going to produce more money? - The MONEY is in GROWTH!
        Not necessarily. Price of offer, quality of offer, credibility, respect and offer frequency come into play for the email marketer that can earn more - much more in fact - than 20k fresh uniques for a startup.

        This may seem a ridiculous comparison due to scale, but a minority of website sellers on Flippa have been doing what you are describing for several years now.

        I'm not talking about the new sites with no rev. and no traffic, and not the fake bot traffic bunch, but the sites that are relatively new where the site owner focused on fast growth (traffic and sales) so the site could be sold at a higher price and fast.

        In fact, several Internet Marketers on this forum did product launches for that purpose: They generated referrals by both affiliates and other traffic (some of that being viral traffic), ended the launch after a grand or two in sales, and then dumped it on some poor sap on Flippa for a premium.

        On the other side of that coin, some small time marketers became reputable, sustainable, referable companies almost overnight from that growth hack thingy called "The Product Launch".

        Is growth hacking really so "opposite" and "unique" or do some of you simply want it to be?

        Is it really something so complex that you can't clearly define the gist of it using a couple of sentences?

        Will you always need to point people to a long-winded, meandering article by Neil Patel when they ask you "What is Growth Hacking?"
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        • Profile picture of the author savidge4
          I believe the term "Growth Hacking" has issues to many because it is in all of its known text written for "UpStarts". That is the crowd that has flocked to its ideals and practices for obvious reasons.

          To begin, Site flipping is a very good crossover topic. How to get as many people onto that site as possible, move product, create value for the site, and pitch it out the door to the highest bidder. That would be the down and dirty of "Growth Hacking" - No where near the whole picture... but a good place to start.

          What I pull most is the sustainable aspects of "Growth Hacking" The Acquisition, the Retention, and the Referral. ( the 2 steps I care little about is Activation, and Revenue - I will get to those )

          So with any online business getting traffic to your site is an obvious priority. This and this alone is probably the #1 breaking point for most if not every failing marketer.

          Brand new website spend months making it just the way YOU want, you start posting articles and Google or anyone else is giving you no love. The site obviously is a PR-0 and has no pull what so ever. So you come here on the Forum, and every one says Long tail is the way to go. You still are listed on page 4. So at some point in desperation you roll out PPC and fail miserable. #1 the site is built for YOU, #2 there is a learning curve in that. #3 the product you are offering sucks ( or is it the squeeze page sucks? hmm )

          So to give you an idea where I am at. I on occasion use PPC to test a close page ( squeeze ) I will also on occasion in the very beginning throw traffic at the site to ensure there is some of amount of conversion. I then shut off the valve.

          If you are sending 10,000 PPC leads to your site every month, 120,000 a year. that's great. but in the realm of Search engines, you have had 0 visitors, and you could at the end of the year STILL have a PR-0 ranking. Sure its an investment. But if you are not hedging your bets at the same time, it no longer is an investment as it is an expense.

          So now lets look at "Growth Hacking". Sure you see mention of PPC. However the focus is on "Low Cost high converting Traffic". So what exactly is "converting"? is the very onset of site / product launch Conversion could simply be "Acquisition" getting those eyes to your site. and not just a set here and there, as many as you can.

          I personally Use Social, forum posting ( Not here I might add, I don't do anything in the MMO world ) and write crap loads of content. I Aquire users to my site. I look to Retain them, and get them to refer. I have a site that last month had 20,000 uniques. Sounds like a decent number. the site is only 105 days old as of today. The interesting number is my total number of users last month. that was 40,000. That means 20,000 returns.

          I am now going to reveal a bit more. This site is a sports site. 1 sport specifically. My product? Affiliate - gear and such and Tickets. Basically a step up from an Amazon affiliate site. The key is in the CONTENT.

          Now that I have gone through all of that. I would like to point out something. I have told you WHAT I do, and not mentioned one word of HOW I do. This is exactly what 99% of the "Growth Hacker" articles I have read have done. They are real big on saying well AirBnB did this and Hotmail did that. But what is it that brought them to that point?

          Lets look at A / B testing. I would like to think most of use do it. You read here on the forum that testing a squeeze page is important. ( and it is ) But that is were most of the testing stops for many if not most. - ok maybe the wording and imagery of the ads to get them there.

          But what about the use of sliders, and images, and element placement, and colors and size of fonts and onload vs exit popups etc etc etc ( exit submission forms btw are the way to go )

          So here is the answer you were asking about "Growth Hacking" in a nutshell. The SCIENCE of knowing when and were your target is, how to communicate to them, how to bring them in and keep them there while bringing their friends with them.

          And will we always need to point to meandering post to tell what Growth Hacking is? well apparently so! ha ha

          The point is that there is no simple answer. A / B testing your ads and squeeze page is NOT GH. A / B testing your entire site constantly is GH Targeting only long tail keywords is not GH. bringing Category class traffic to a niche, is GH



          Originally Posted by Joan Altz View Post

          Not necessarily. Price of offer, quality of offer, credibility, respect and offer frequency come into play for the email marketer that can earn more - much more in fact - than 20k fresh uniques for a startup.

          This may seem a ridiculous comparison due to scale, but a minority of website sellers on Flippa have been doing what you are describing for several years now.

          I'm not talking about the new sites with no rev. and no traffic, and not the fake bot traffic bunch, but the sites that are relatively new where the site owner focused on fast growth (traffic and sales) so the site could be sold at a higher price and fast.

          In fact, several Internet Marketers on this forum did product launches for that purpose: They generated referrals by both affiliates and other traffic (some of that being viral traffic), ended the launch after a grand or two in sales, and then dumped it on some poor sap on Flippa (via Brad Gosse usually. lol) for a premium.

          On the other side of that coin, some small time marketers became reputable, sustainable, referable companies almost overnight from that growth hack thingy called "The Product Launch".

          Is growth hacking really so "opposite" and "unique" or do some of you simply want it to be?

          Is it really something so complex that you can't clearly define the gist of it using a couple of sentences?

          Will you always need to point people to a long-winded, meandering article by Neil Patel when they ask you "What is Growth Hacking?"
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          Success is an ACT not an idea
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          • Profile picture of the author marciayudkin
            I haven't seen very many people on Warrior Forum who are seriously aiming at a million customers. Even Dan Kennedy probably does not have a million current customers.

            A lot of these novel tactics can have great applications for small businesses too
            Therefore I would love to hear about those applications.

            Marcia Yudkin
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            Check out Marcia Yudkin's No-Hype Marketing Academy for courses on copywriting, publicity, infomarketing, marketing plans, naming, and branding - not to mention the popular "Marketing for Introverts" course.
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  • Profile picture of the author RossK
    Some interesting comments and thoughts in this thread.

    Check out Andrew Chen's article - Growth Hacker is the new VP Marketing he kinda kicked off the Growth Hacker concept.

    Or Ryan Holiday's "Growth Hacker Marketing"

    Unfortunately, there are a lot of people jumping on the bandwagon and *******ising the term by simply pasting it on top of what they already do and hoping people wont notice.

    Ryan used this strategy for launching Tim Ferriss' 4 Hour Body, Robert Greene's book Mastery and most recently James Altucher

    It hasn't got anything to do with building lists or funnels etc. Instead it is focused on starting with an iterative product development stage then launching the product not in a Hollywood blockbuster hype but with a propensity to go viral.

    Think more Blair Witch Project than Transformers.
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