I just got off a webinar that was put on by Neil Patel, Co-founder of KissMetrics and it was a great overview of what other companies are doing beyond paid advertising. I took a few notes here; let me know if you have any comments!   Dropbox – Tried Google ads but it was a fail. It costed $380 CPA for a 99/yr product! Then they used -Tweet to get more space 5 strategies for distribution Integrations Shopify 30k on their platform, Yammer 200k, Mailchimp 2m people etc. Dropbox 50MM Leverage their platforms through integrations Have to make your product better e.g. KissM with Shopify (analytics for shopping etc); Mailchimp integration – analytics on email Measure your conversions and revenue- Salesforce has less customers but they spend a lot of money Discover valuable integrations – customers will pay Ask users about integrations Make partner pages awesome – eg Zapier Work emails Optimize Onboarding experience – Box.net: Invite others to get more space Show people who they should follow – Utilize invitiations during on-boarding- Measure # of people in every company Discover engaging interactions Embeds You tube does it; slideshare; drives traffic back to their sites Why should people embed? There has to be a good reason for them to do it. Make it as easy as possible to embed Track how well they convert- for optimizations Test relevant call to action – after watching, viewing, getting people back to your site Optimize for search but don’t obsess – links help with SEO Powered by Qualaroo (formerly KissInsights), Buffer etc; you see badges everywhere. Powered by has to be beneficial to users What are you powering? Test copy of CTA Test and optimize landing pages Track views, clicks, conversion and LTV Measure individual effectiveness Free Stuff HubSpot’s marketing grader; can then pitch products; Inbound Marketing Kit- take their best content and bundle it to get an opt in Map to customer decision making – must help them solve a problem (that also your main product solves) Think about what you can repurpose – don’t reinvent the wheel. Create a kit Educate your prospects Test your ideas minimally (ghetto) – Don’t be afraid if its not perfect Measure and optimize revenue – Find out what’s best for your product QA Best way to market with little $ is inbound marketing. Offer to guest post on other blogs (that’s educational) Do integrations through API or contact the company? KissMetrics contacts the company first to find out the best integration to benefit both customers. How many clients to interview to find pain? At least 30, but ideally 100 (doesn’t have to be just on the phone, but can be survey etc.) How to improve retention? Track what causes people to be happy and what causes them to churn. Grow conversions from free to paid. What causes them to pay? Consider blocking most valuable feature in the product. See what your competitors block and what they charge for. Consider a free version of product? Can create an MVP, but doesn’t mean they will pay. First understand the pain and size of market. How important is branding and how does it relate to growth hacking? Well known brand gives relationship opportunities What’s best way to prioritize ideas on growth hacking? First column – impact (H-L); Second column – easy to do? Then optimize list for biggest impact for easiest Are there channels that are unsaturated? Twitter ads – have good tracking and patience and can make money. Have about 12 months left before it becomes saturated.