12 Growth hacks for startups

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By Erica Ofure

What exactly does it mean to “hack growth”? Growth hacks for startups has now become a catchphrase in marketing communities, but many people still don’t understand what it is or why it works. Let’s take a quick dive into growth hacking and see how you can make it work for you.

Growth Hacking – What Is It?

Growth hacking is an experimental methodology for determining the most successful methods of corporate growth. The process combines marketing, development, layout, engineering, data science, and statistics.

The term “growth hacking” refers to the process by which a hacker discovers a rapid, cost-effective, but inventive way to achieve growth rather than following standard techniques.

What does it mean to be a growth hacker?

A growth hacker is as astute, unique, and innovative as possible. Their primary objective is to develop innovative, cost-effective techniques that enable organizations to recruit and retain clients for an extended period.


To reach his or her goals, a growth hacker may use a range of tactics, including digital marketing, content sharing, email campaigns, SEO, A/B testing, and reverse engineering. However, it’s important to understand that while growth hackers can be growth marketers, they can never be classified just like marketers.


To connect with a large audience, businesses must adopt unique development hacking processes. While some of these techniques have only been around for a few years, they have already been demonstrated to play a critical role in the success of cutting-edge businesses. Numerous company visionaries have embraced them as a crucial component of developing their businesses after witnessing positive results, and it’s past time you did the same.

How to successfully market a startup

Emails
Email marketing is a critical approach for generating revenue for your startup at a low or no cost. Once you’ve obtained a prospect’s or customer’s email address, you may use it to advertise your firm.

To utilize this marketing method, you must first obtain the email addresses of consumers. Consider including a newsletter signup form on your startup’s site.

Alternatively, you might solicit email addresses directly from customers. The critical factor to note is that your emails must include non-commercial material such as tutorials, how-to articles, videos, and infographics. If you send just promotional emails, readers will almost certainly unsubscribe from your newsletter.

Utilize Paid Search Ads
Paid search has grown in popularity as a way of promotion for startups. It enables business owners to purchase laser-targeted traffic from Google and Bing. Google AdWords and Bing Ads are two of the most popular paid search networks, both of which use a cost-per-click (CPC) pricing model and offer keyword targeting. You may develop personalized advertising for your company on either of these networks that appear in search engine results whenever anyone searches for a term related to your firm.

Create A Blog
Blogging is an effective approach for generating the visibility your firm requires. According to one study, businesses that have blogs generate 126 percent more leads than those that do not. With a blog, you can establish your startup as an authority while simultaneously increasing organic search traffic to your website.

Create A Social Media Post
With over 2.4 billion users, it’s critical to incorporate social media into your startup’s marketing plan. As your business’s social media presence expands, more people will become aware of and identify it. Additionally, the majority of social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, allow company owners to purchase traffic and exposure. For example, you may use Facebook Ads to generate advertisements that appear in users’ RSS feeds or in the right column of the Website.

12 Growth Hacks for Startups

Entrepreneurs are constantly on the lookout for new growth hacks and need to raise their revenue quickly by acquiring as many clients as possible. Growth Hacking has been demonstrated to be a viable and reliable method for ensuring the success of emerging enterprises.

However, only a few organizations are capable of successfully implementing these growth techniques. This post will discuss the 12 finest growth hacks for startups that have been proven effective for a variety of companies. Consider the following:

1. A/B Testing

Anywhere there is traffic, A/B Testing finds its way. Whatever it is; a blog topic, an email headline, a popup CTA, or any number of other things. There is an A/B test that can help you streamline your campaign. Whether you’re A/B testing the content of your landing page or determining which email topics resonate with users, experimentation can offer useful solutions that result in incredible results.

2. Identify social media platforms that your competitors do not utilize.

If your business is competitive, you may find it difficult to control Twitter or Facebook. Explore smaller social networks for specific purposes, such as Profit.ly for stockbrokers or The Dots for creative types.

When you achieve dominance over your competition on a social media network, you gain unrestricted access to your viewers. Moreover, you can direct traffic from your site to the social network and vice versa, establishing a conducive climate for maximizing your audience’s potential.


There are numerous approaches to this growth hack. Perhaps you overheard your audience members discussing a website and decided to investigate. After that, you begin posting. Without you knowing it, you’ve amassed a cult-like following.

3. Maximize the effectiveness of referral marketing

Referrals from friends, family, and industry influencers convert leads significantly more quickly than other methods. Referral clients have a lower cost per acquisition, which allows you to reduce your costs as well.


These consumers have greater retention rates, resulting in a 16 percent increase in LTV. Additionally, sales professionals who participate in referral programs earn 4 – 6 times as much.


Uber began as a ride-sharing service. They increased brand recognition and user reach through referral marketing. The concept was straightforward: users received $5 credit for each time another user used their referral code. The concept was so effective that it has since been adopted by every ride-sharing service.

4. Organize giveaways

Free offers can be an effective method of promoting your brand. By demonstrating your goods to customers, you may quickly and efficiently establish familiarity with your brand, which may encourage buyers to return for more. The next time a client appears, their purchase will not be complimentary. A giveaway is very similar to other forms of advertising in that it is a strategy to increase visibility for your products and enterprises. Whether you want it to or not, all advertising is costly.


Whether it’s a billboard on the highway or a banner advertisement on a website, you should be prepared to invest on the off chance that you will need to bring attention to your business. In light of this, a giveaway can be a more affordable method of promotion than other marketing tactics.

5. Collaborate with another business to share audiences

In terms of consumers, partnerships are the unsung growth hacking heroes. If you have a 50,000-member audience and then another business in a related sector has a 50,000-member audience, you can collaborate to reach 100,000 individuals.


You are not on the lookout for an immediate competition. Rather than that, concentrate on locating a business that compliments your own. Perhaps you sell handmade pet food. You may collaborate with a company that provides pet toys or custom collars.


Contact prospective partners by email or phone. Prepare ideas for organic methods to connect your audiences, such as mentioning one another on social media, creating product packages that mix your products, or something as easy as cross-posting on one another’s websites.

6. Consider Freemium

If you own a software or application organization, you should carefully consider developing a freemium strategy. This is useful for a variety of applications. Provide something in exchange for nothing. It’s unlikely to accomplish anything; nonetheless, it will give customers a taste of your goods. When people see how your product might benefit them, they will require a higher quantity of it. A few individuals will never convert to paid clients.


However, you must prioritize the onboarding process. It’s much easier to retain clients than it is to obtain new ones. That is why the freemium model is so successful. You currently have leads. You only need to convince them that they require your product’s paid adaption.

7. Contributor Posting

Guest Posting administrations assist in the development of fresh links. On the web, there are numerous guest posting services. Almost every single one of them has its webpage. These specialized organizations make it easier to generate an abundance of natural leads through content by providing a link to your site, which ultimately aids in improving your SERP results. Visitor/Guest blogging is an awesome growth hack that bloggers can utilize to boost organic site traffic and interact with a variety of audiences by enhancing their SEO rankings.

8. Participate in and host community conferences and exhibitions

The reality is that 30% of new firms fail within the first 24 months. These are significant statistics that should cause businesses to pause for thought. However, by attending the finest startup events, you may acquire the information and insight necessary to ensure your venture succeeds.


Proceed to learn from the best, establish relationships, get knowledge about your field, and gain inspiration. You stand to gain nothing. Exposure to vital business events and conferences enables you to taste success with no effort.

9. Utilize Adjacent Markets

Adjacent markets are a wonderful way to increase revenue. This term is frequently used interchangeably with ‘white space opportunity.’ However, adjacent markets imply those that are in direct range to what you do.


The key to expanding into adjacent markets is to export your strengths and expertise, not your goods/services. It is the process of using your core capabilities to create new value for new clients.
Before analyzing any new market, examine a few aspects, such as the level of competition. How large an opportunity is it in terms of volume and profit? Are there any legal obstacles you’ll need to overcome? Consider your capabilities and existing outlets. Discover new ways to apply those skills and you’ll be well on your way to expanding your sales.

10. Assert your personality

Utilize your powerful personality to your favor. Assume the role of your brand’s spokesperson and inspire and assist others. Growth hacking frequently entails determining what you can do for people before requesting a conversion or sale.

11. Send Customers Gifts and Impress

Branded gifts, which can range from pens to office products and are embossed with your company’s logo and name, bring significant value to the user.

It will increase brand awareness and help you retain consumer loyalty. Additionally, it aids in the transmission of favorable word of mouth. Additionally, it enhances customer perceptions of your brand. A satisfied consumer becomes a brand advocate and provides you with additional referrals and leads.

12. Engage the services of a growth hacker

This is by far the best and most simple growth hacking technique. A growth hacker is well-versed in the tactics necessary to propel your business to the top. By hiring a professional, you’ll have someone skilled in promoting your business as well as interpreting the data that results from those efforts. Irrespective of whether you have a marketing strategy in place, you may benefit from hiring a growth hacker.

FAQ

  1. How can I accelerate the growth of my business?
  • Create a product or series of products that directly meet the customer’s requirements.
  • Establish defined objectives.
  • Establish methods for tracking outcomes.
  • Conduct a market test of your product and track the results.

2. How do I increase startup traction?

  • Begin With An Outstanding Product.
  • Create a Personal Brand.
  • Develop Relationships With Influencers.
  • Carry Out Activities That Are Not Scalable.
  • Make the Most of Your Email List.
  • Collaborate.
  • Everything should be tested.
  • Produce Unique Content.

Conclusion


Growth hacking is frequently mistaken with conversion marketing and lead generation, although they are quite distinct. A growth hacker isn’t concerned with technicalities; instead, he or she is focused on causing rapid expansion in the quickest amount of time possible.


Occasionally, this entails throwing money at clients through advertising, prizes, sweepstakes, and complimentary goods. Sometimes, grassroots incentives are more effective, and only you know what is best for your firm. At the very least, give at least three of these growth hacking tactics a shot and see how they work for you.

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