The Big Idea: concentrate your efforts on the core traction channel that really matters; learn how to quickly identify your core traction channel because it will change as your startup grows
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM TRACTION
- One traction channel will always dominate.
- Predicting which traction channel will work for you is nearly impossible, so always test and let the data tell you.
- Spend 50% of your time building the product/service and 50% building a traction channel
- Early on, do things that don’t scale
- Testing channels your competitors are ignoring is a great way to acquire customers cheaply.
- Define your traction goals clearly and ignore marketing efforts not on the critical path to achieving those traction goals.
- The Nineteen Traction Channels
- Targeting blogs
- try small blogs first
- see Noah Kagan and Mint
- Publicity
- Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
- target smaller outlets first
- craft a good narrative
- Unconventional PR
- PR stunts require creativity and willingness to keep trying
- Customer appreciation (handwritten notes) is more sustainable and systematic
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
- use ads to test changes to your product or service
- Social and Display Ads (Facebook, Youtube, Twitter)
- social ads are more focused on brand awareness than conversions
- Offline Ads
- radio ads, magazine ads, and local tv ads can be cheap
- remnant advertising can be an amazing bargain
- use coupon codes or landing pages to track effectiveness
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- fat-head vs long-tail
- SEO = getting lots of links
- infographics, slideshows, images, and original content drive link-building
- Content Marketing
- hard to build but can a huge payoff (size and speed of customer growth)
- in-depth posts and infographics work the best
- Email Marketing
- one of the most effective channels of all
- make emails as personalized as possible (name, interests, content)
- retarget leads through email
- use email for friend referrals
- A/B test everything in your email campaigns
- Viral Marketing
- K = i x conversion (i = invites per user)
- Any K > 1 will result in exponential growth; Any K > 0.5 will help you grow considerably.
- A/B test everything
- Sign up for the most viral services and understand their strategies
- Think deeply about building virality into the product instead of just adding a FB like button
- Engineering as Marketing
- build tools, widgets, and microsites that your customers find valuable
- Business Development
- build partnerships with complementary companies to expand your market, acquire/license IP, jointly develop a product, or secure key inputs
- understand your partner’s needs
- get a warm introduction
- Sales
- best for entreprise and expensive products
- Affiliate Programs
- best for low-price, e-commerce, digital information
- existing affiliate platforms are expensive but have large audiences
- building your own affiliate network is a possibility if you have a large customer base
- Existing Platforms
- Includes app stores, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Snapchat
- Find out where your customers are and how they use the platform
- Get to the platform as early as possible
- Trade Shows
- great for meetings, landing big sales, building partnerships, or making announcements
- clear goals and preparations are key
- Offline Events
- organize conferences, parties, and meetups to attract and retain customers
- Speaking Engagements
- start small
- remember that event organizers are looking for speakers
- Community Building
- you need to have a mission that customers want to buy into if you want to build an awesome community
- pay attention to keeping quality high as you scale
- Targeting blogs