growth-hacking-tactics

Files (4)

• SKILL.md
• framework-notes.md · references/
• check-output.py · scripts/
• output-template.md · templates/

SKILL.md (first lines)

# Growth Hacking Tactics

## Overview

Growth hacking isn't "one weird trick to 10x your users." It's a systematic
approach to finding and scaling the highest-leverage growth levers through
rapid experimentation. The mistake: copying tactics without understanding
the underlying growth model. A tactic that works for a consumer social app
(viral invite loop) will fail for enterprise SaaS (sales motion). This skill
covers growth loops, viral mechanics, referral flywheels, PLG hacks, and the
experimentation framework to find what works for YOUR product.

## When to Use

Trigger phrases: "growth hacking", "growth loops", "viral growth", "growth
experiment", "referral flywheel", "growth tactics", "low-cost acquisition",
"PLG growth hack", "how to grow faster", "growth model"

## Authoritative Foundations

### Brian Balfour — Growth Loops vs Funnels
Funnels are linear: acquire → activate → retain → revenue → refer. Loops
are circular: the OUTPUT of one cycle becomes the INPUT of the next. Growth
loops compound. Funnels don't. Every great growth company has a dominant
growth loop.

### Sean Ellis — Hacking Growth Process
1. **Analyze:** Data. Find the biggest opportunity.
2. **Ideate:** Brainstorm experiments. Score with ICE (Impact, Confidence, Ease).
3. **Prioritize:** Run highest-ICE experiments first.
4. **Test:** Run the experiment. Measure result.
5. **Scale:** Kill what failed. Double down on what worked.

### Andrew Chen — The Cold Start Problem
Networked products have a "cold start" problem: they're worthless until enough
users join. The solution: build an "atomic network" — the smallest possible
network where the product provides value. Tinder: one college campus. Slack:
one team. Uber: one city.

## Growth Models (Pick Your Dominant Loop)

| Model | How It Works | Best For | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Content Loop** | Content → traffic → signups → more content | Content-driven SaaS, SEO-heavy | HubSpot, Ahrefs |
| **Viral Loop** | User invites → new user → more invites | Consumer, social, collaboration tools | Slack, Notion, Loom |
| **Sales Loop** | Outbound → demos → customers → revenue → more SDRs | B2B SaaS, enterprise | Salesforce, Gong |
| **Product-Led Loop** | Free product → usage → upgrade → more usage | Developer tools, freemium | Miro, Figma, Notion |
| **Paid Loop** | Ads → signups → revenue → reinvest in ads | High-margin, high-LTV | Any profitable paid channel |
| **Partner Loop** | Partner → referral → customer → better partner program | Marketplace, integration-heavy | Shopify, Stripe |
| **Community Loop** | Community → engagement → product adoption → community growth | Developer tools, creator economy | Figma, Webflow, Notion |

## 25 Growth Hacking Tactics

### Content & SEO Tactics

1. **Programmatic SEO:** Generate 1,000+ landing pages targeting long-tail
   keywords. Pattern: "[City] [Service]" or "[Integration] + [Use Case]."
   Tool: AI content + Webflow/Next.js template.

2. **Competitor comparison pages:** "X vs Y" pages for every competitor.
   These rank quickly (buyers search for them) and convert at 5-10%.

3. **Template galleries:** Free templates (Notion, Figma, Google Sheets)
   that include your branding and product links. Notion's template gallery
   drives 5M+ monthly visits.

4. **"Best X tools" listicles:** Get listed on every "best [category] tools"
   roundup. Reach out to authors. Offer unique data or quotes.

5. **Free tools directory listings:** Get listed on Product Hunt, G2,
   Capterra, GetApp, AlternativeTo, SaaSWorthy, and niche directories.

### Product-Led Growth Tactics

6. **Sidecar free tool:** Build a free micro-tool that solves one small
   problem for your ICP — and naturally leads to your paid product.
   Example: HubSpot's Website Grader → CRM. Ahrefs' free backlink checker
   → paid suite.

7. **Collaboration as acquisition:** When a user shares a file/link/page
   with a non-user, that non-user sees your product. Loom, Notion, Figma,
   and Miro all grew this way.

8. **Watermark / "Powered by" link:** Free plan includes your branding.
   Typeform, Hotjar, and Calendly all used this to drive B2B growth.

9. **Invite-to-unlock:** "Invite 3 teammates to unlock [feature/premium
   trial]." Dropbox's famous referral program gave 500MB per invite.

10. **Public-by-default:** User-generated content is public and indexed.
    Canva designs, Notion pages, Substack posts — all discoverable.

### Viral & Referral Tactics

11. **Double-sided referral rewards:** "You get $10, they get $10."
    PayPal, Dropbox, and Uber all used this. Works best when the reward
    is core product value, not cash.

12. **Referral leaderboard:** Public leaderboard of top referrers with
    prizes. Harry's razors got 100K emails pre-launch via referral contest.

13. **Waitlist referral priority:** "Jump the line by referring friends."
    Robinhood's waitlist hit 1M users before launch. Position in line
    improved with each referral.

14. **Milestone unlocks:** "Unlock [premium template/tool] when 3 friends
    sign up." Lower friction than "refer for cash."

15. **Social share for bonus:** "Share on LinkedIn for [bonus features/
    extended trial]." Low-cost, high-reach.

### Community & Distribution Tactics

16. **Community as moat:** Build a community (Slack, Discord, WhatsApp)
    where your ICP hangs out. Figma's community, Notion's ambassador
    program, Webflow's forum — all drive product adoption.

17. **Integration marketplaces:** List in your partners' marketplaces.
    Every Slack app, every Notion integration, every HubSpot integration

From LeadMagic/gtm-skills, MIT.

More from LeadMagic/gtm-skills