- traction = quantitative evidence of demand
- there are 19 channels
most founders only use channels they are familiar with/focus on the same channelsbut hard to predict best channel - can only find via testing
- the channels:
- viral marketing = referrals
PR = traditional media outlets (learn pitching, relationships)
unconventional PR = stunts
SEM
social & display ads (including 100s of niche sites)
offline ads = billboards, tv, radio, infomercials, newspaper, magazine ads, local ads
SEO
content marketing
email marketing
engineering as marketing
targeting blogs
biz dev
sales
aff programs
existing platforms = FB, Twitter, app store
trade shows
offline events
speaking engagements
community building
bullseye framework
- find the channel to get you traction
- brainstorm ways to use each channel
do not dismiss any
ask questions
expected cost of channel user acq?
how many customers before saturation through that channel?
probability of fit?
timeframe for tests through this channel?
rank into 3 categories of channels
promising
possible
long shot
prioritize & test
NOTE: testing means you are gauging the FIT of the channel, not that you’re trying to actually gain a lot of users through that channel just yet
move with speed, gather data, edit out channels
- at any stage of startup’s life, 1 traction channel dominates customer acq
- 50% of time should be on product, 50% on traction
- what change in growth metrics would indicate a channel that is moving the needle for company?
- constantly running small traction tests across channels = the best way to avoid the trap of the Law of Shitty Clickthroughs
- for each channel, ask:
- CAC?
customers?
conversion rate?
time til conversion?
LTV?
- once you have found a traction channel, optimize it via A/B testing
- what are the best tools for ecommerce growth/testing?
- try to always quantify success of each channel
- you should always have a traction goal you are working towards
- **Critical Path = achieving traction goal in fewest number of stepsenumerate the milestones to get to this goal (these are the milestones that are absolutely necessary to get to your goal)**quantify the subgoals
- everything you do should be assessed against your critical path