Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 15, 2008

In this post I hope to talk about how to do it well, in terms appropriate for both audiences. If its part of a viral loop, its probably trying to get them to invite more friends (on average). First of all, why split-test? In my experience, the majority of changes we made to products have no effect at all on customer behavior.

San Francisco 166

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Continuous Deployment 166

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2023

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. Here is my summary of the seven most successful lead-generation vehicles he and I still recommend today, despite the popularity of viral marketing: Search-engine marketing. Display advertising.

Lead Generation 285

Lead Generation SEM Viral Marketing 285

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 18, 2008

On Facebook, viral distribution has proved decisive. Those companies who have learned to build apps that optimize the viral loop dominate in every category where they compete. If you sell an online service that solves a defined problem, you can compete in SEO or SEM. There are other models, in other distribution channels.

Distribution 74

Distribution San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 74

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2013

When questioned, founders usually mention word-of-mouth, viral marketing, and a top quality product. Viral marketing costs real money these days, which usually means adding at least an extra zero to budget estimates. Use social media and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) to start. Figure out what is valuable to your audience.

Marketing 265

Marketing Viral SEM Startup 265

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2014

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. For new product startups, search engine marketing (SEM) is still one of the most cost-effective and scalable lead-generation approaches. Social-media advertising. Display advertising. Cold calling.

Lead Generation 248

Lead Generation SEM Social Media Startup 248

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 13, 2009

Thats because a marketing launch is a one-time event, and rarely translates into renewable audiences. If the viral coefficient is 0.9, Start with a five-dollar-a-day SEM campaign. the most sensible SEM advice Ive read - discussed in the context of a real situation. Pay attention to your fundamental driver of growth.

San Francisco 168

San Francisco PR Lean Early Stage 168

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2014

When questioned, founders usually mention word-of-mouth, viral marketing, and a top quality product. Viral marketing costs real money these days, which usually means adding at least an extra zero to budget estimates. Use social media and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) to start. Figure out what is valuable to your audience.

Marketing 257

Marketing SEM Viral Social Media 257

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 6, 2016

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. Here is my summary of the seven most successful lead-generation vehicles he and I still recommend today, despite the popularity of viral marketing: Search-engine marketing. Display advertising.

Viral 120

Viral Lead Generation Customer SEM 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2010

When questioned, founders usually mention word-of-mouth, viral marketing, and a top quality product. Viral marketing costs real money these days, which usually means adding at least an extra zero to budget estimates. Use social media and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) to start. Figure out what is valuable to your audience.

Marketing 235

Marketing SEM Startup Viral 235

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2018

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. Here is my summary of the seven most successful lead-generation vehicles he and I still recommend today, despite the popularity of viral marketing: Search-engine marketing. Display advertising.

Lead Generation 137

Lead Generation SEM Viral Social Media 137

Up and Running

JULY 26, 2016

There are a number of other variables here like virality (the chances of a user referring another user), but I don’t want to overcomplicate things. Our onboarding consists of over 200 different emails based on our audiences, and we continue to improve it every week. Google AdWords or SEM (expensive).

Revenue 60

Revenue Acquisition Channel Campaign 60

Gust

MARCH 9, 2014

When questioned, founders usually mention word-of-mouth, viral marketing, and a top quality product. Viral marketing costs real money these days, which usually means adding at least an extra zero to budget estimates. Use social media and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) to start. Figure out what is valuable to your audience.

Marketing 146

Marketing SEM Viral Social Media 146

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 29, 2008

Revenue is always my preferred measure, but you can use anything that is important to your business: retention, activation, viral invites, or even customer satisfaction in the form of something like net promoter score. If an optimization has an effect at the micro level that doesnt translate into the macro level - who cares?

San Francisco 68

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 68

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

Do you want a target audience to gain greater awareness of your offering as a viable alternative (Brand Awareness)? Do you know your target audience well enough to fully understand the problem, and how your product delivers the right solution? Are you simply looking for more people to buy your product (raw traffic)? Brand Awareness.

Channel 165

Channel PPC Marketing SEO 165

crowdSPRING Blog

NOVEMBER 13, 2011

For instance, if you have a simple goal of driving additional traffic to your site it is easy to measure the results (and cost) of the SEM campaign. This ability to slice and dice by the audience you want, and not just be those searching for specific words or terms can be incredibly powerful. Determine ad type. A/B testing.

Advertising 103

Advertising Lean Marketing Campaign 103

Duct Tape Marketing

MAY 4, 2016

Referral Marketing– This includes intentional word of mouth activities, viral tactics as well as intentional referral generation. Simply Measured Facebook Page Analysis – Analyze your Facebook Fan Page’s audience, volume, content, engagement trends and much more. SEM Rush – Find profitable key words.

Lead Generation 28

Lead Generation Social Media Public Relations Channel 28

Brandanew

JANUARY 8, 2016

In addition, Facebook allows you to look at the demographic of your audience and pinpoint which days/times they are active. Working in a B2B field, LinkedIn’s analytics are sensitive enough to track your audience by industry, seniority, function, and company size. Are you reaching the right audience? Tool 4: Buffer.

Analytics 100

Analytics Social Media Marketing Media 100