An Introduction to Growth Hacking

Growth hacking is primarily practiced in start ups, especially those in the technology industry. It’s perceptibly future oriented, in that it taps the resources of various skill sets to transcend the traditional stepping stones most entrepreneurs and marketers might believe are still necessary. However, it’s relatively simple and common sense.

In essence, growth hacking is the practice of taking a non-traditional approach to increasing the growth rate and/or adoption of a product. It’s focused on increasing users, which eventually translates into increased conversions. Going viral is probably the most obvious example, next to automation and Grey Hat SEO.

A growth hacker is more focused on the objective than the process – or in other words, doesn’t care about the journey so long as he gets to his intended destination. In marketing, being a growth hacker means you focus your efforts solely on growth and related activities, such as A/B testing and funnel analysis. In fact, growth hacking is very much rooted in traditional online marketing analytics.

Growth hacking is also deeply rooted in the concept of “trial and error”. Before you try hacking your growth, you need to have your goals clearly defined and some type of tracking system associated with your site. Then comes the fun part – experimentation. Constantly try new things until you learn what needs to be optimized and how to optimize it for maximum growth.

For an in-depth explanation of growth hacking, check out Quick Sprout’s Definitive Guide to Growth Hacking. Also, check out my post on content hacking.