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💡 Growth Hacking

Marketing on a $0 budget

Seven tactics you can run this week without paying for ads. Most of them come down to showing up where your buyers already are and being useful before you pitch.

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Hack Hacker News comments!
Giphy for free traffic!
Uncover leads on Kickstarter!
🚀 Growth Ideas 💰 Zero Cost

Seven tactics, no ad spend

Each one has a short set of steps. Start with whichever fits what you're selling.

👁️

1. Hacker News Comment Section

Hacker News lets you post links in comments. Answer questions well in threads about your space, link your site when it actually helps, and a popular thread can send you thousands of visitors.

Here's how:

  • Go to news.ycombinator.com
  • Find posts relevant to your product
  • Offer thoughtful advice and add a link to your website
  • Unlike posts, Hacker News' comments allow links
  • Potentially get thousands of visitors to your landing page
💰

2. Find Customers on Kickstarter

Kickstarter is a list of companies that just raised money and are about to spend it. Find the recently funded ones in your niche, check whether they're already running ads, and pitch them.

Here's how:

  • Go to kickstarter.com
  • Find recently funded startups
  • Check on builtwith.com if they are running ads
  • Find emails of decision makers using Reply.io
  • Instead of a cover letter, pitch your offer directly
🤝

3. Join Slack and Discord communities

Your buyers already hang out in niche Slack and Discord groups. Join a few, be useful for a while before you pitch anything, and you'll meet people who are easy to talk to.

Slack Communities:

  • crohacks.slack.com
  • productled.com/community
  • OnlineGeniuses.com
  • Marketers.Chat
  • audienti.com/join-growmance
  • revgenius.com
  • demandcurve.com/community
  • superpath.co/community
  • email.geeks.chat/#apply
  • peakfreelance.com/slack/

Discord Communities:

  • Hack2skill
  • GCES
  • Tech Startup Community
  • Everything Startup
  • Startup Growth Hub
  • Furlough Startups and Entrepreneurship
  • Start Hub Art Code
  • Million Dollar Weekend
🖼️

4. Get Free Traffic with Giphy

Make a few GIFs your audience would search for, put your logo or URL on them, and register a Giphy brand channel. Your GIFs then show up in the pickers inside Instagram, X, and Facebook.

Here's how:

  • Go to Giphy.com
  • Create GIFs that your audience might search for
  • Make 5 original files and add your logo or URL
  • Apply for a free brand channel and tag with relevant keywords
  • Your GIFs can appear on Instagram, X, Facebook, etc.
💼

5. Get listed on Clutch.co

People go to Clutch.co when they're ready to hire an agency or service provider. Add your company, then get a few reviews and case studies so you show up when they filter.

Here's how:

  • Go to Clutch.co (it gets 1.6 Million Visitors)
  • Click on 'For Providers'
  • Add your company to the database
  • Add reviews and case studies to increase visibility
🚀

6. Use the Y Combinator job board (for productized services)

If you sell a productized service, YC's job board tells you which funded startups are hiring for the exact work you do. Apply, and put your offer where the cover letter goes.

Here's how:

  • Go to ycombinator.com/jobs
  • Find recently funded startups that are hiring for roles related to the productized service you offer
  • Install the Chrome extension 'Simplify'
  • Use this extension to fill out the applications
  • Instead of the cover letter, plug in your offer
  • P.s. This is a variation of the strategy Brett from DesignJoy used to land his clients
📈

7. List on SaaS comparison sites

If you sell software, get listed on the big comparison and review sites. People land there ready to buy, and the listings themselves rank well in Google.

Relevant Platforms:

  • g2.com
  • capterra.com
  • getapp.com
  • softwareadvice.com
  • trustradius.com
  • saasgenius.com
  • itcentralstation.com
  • alternativeto.net
  • saasworthy.com
  • financesonline.com

Why bother?

  • Links from these sites help your own pages rank.
  • Your competitors are almost certainly already on them.
  • If you're not listed, you're invisible to everyone who shops for software this way.
  • Someone comparing tools in your category is close to buying. That's a good time to be in front of them.

Special Thanks

These tactics are compiled from the work of:

Nati Akourdadze (https://x.com/natiakourdadze)

Visit Nati's X Profile

Pick one and start this week

You don't need all seven. Run the one that matches what you sell, give it a month, and see what it brings in.