Scale your product with AI-powered marketing
A step-by-step playbook of growth hacks for SaaS, apps and online products - organised into four levels, from zero budget to paid scale.
Level 1 · Foundations
39 hacksZero-budget fundamentals every new product needs: proof, pricing clarity, launches and the first feedback loops.
Video testimonials from customers
Best testimonials there are!
- Effort
- Low
Upgrade button
Highlight the ‘upgrade’ button in your product.
- Effort
- Low
Submit URL to directories for free traffic
Add your URL to directories.
- Effort
- Low
Survey customers
Simply ask your customers.
- Effort
- Low
Testimonials
Use testimonials on your website.
- Effort
- Low
Testimonials on pricing page
Underrated way to remove doubts.
- Effort
- Low
Set alerts
Know when customers are stuck.
- Effort
- Low
Show the pain points
Address the real pain points (before vs after).
- Effort
- Low
SSO login
Add SSO login to your sign-up plan.
- Effort
- Low
ProductHunt Alternatives
Leverage on the names of competitors on PH.
- Effort
- Low
Review sites
Add your product to review sites.
- Effort
- Low
Product Hunt launch
Launch to the world.
- Effort
- Low
Product updates
Send product updates to keep them in the loop.
- Effort
- Low
Make it socially shareable
Spread the word!
- Effort
- Low
Monitor Helpcenter search
Look up what customers search for.
- Effort
- Low
Launch on Betalist
Acquire beta users.
- Effort
- Low
Listen to user feedback
Feedback > product optimization > more sales.
- Effort
- Low
Live chat
Add a live chat in your product.
- Effort
- Low
Inbox leads
Get new leads from your own inbox.
- Effort
- Low
Increase your pricing
Simple hack for more revenue.
- Effort
- Low
Create and share a Changelog
Keep user more engaged.
- Effort
- Low
Customized testimonials (onboarding)
Add (customized) testimonials to your onboarding.
- Effort
- Low
FAQ on pricing page
Remove doubts.
- Effort
- Low
FAQ on site
Remove friction.
- Effort
- Low
Feedback for churn
Ask for feedback when customers churn.
- Effort
- Low
Founder-led marketing
Build a personal brand.
- Effort
- Low
Help center for customers
Create a help center with self-service resources.
- Effort
- Low
Testimonials sign-up page
Remove the doubts when signing up.
- Effort
- Low
CTA: Taglines
Address time-commitment concerns.
- Effort
- Low
Add “Credit Card Not Required”
Remove friction to sign up.
- Effort
- Low
Add Apple Pay and Google Pay
Make signing up super easy.
- Effort
- Low
Annual plan: make it the default option
Instead of monthly, let users opt-in for annual.
- Effort
- Low
Annual plan: promote it in your side bar
Right in their face.
- Effort
- Low
Annual plan: Provide bonus perks
Besides 10% discount, add extra bonuses.
- Effort
- Low
Annual plans discount
Annual plans discount.
- Effort
- Low
Build in public
Share what you’re building > reach more people.
- Effort
- Low
Personal handcrafted welcome email
Stop automated welcome emails.
- Effort
- Low
CTA: Outcome-Centred
Change CTA Text From Feature To Outcome-Centred.
- Effort
- Low
Pricing: Add Logos to Plans
Let potential customers feel what plans are right for them.
- Effort
- Low
Level 2 · Traction
15 hacksContent, community and product-led moves that turn a trickle of signups into repeatable traction.
Video tutorials
Develop video tutorials showcasing your product’s capabilities.
- Effort
- Medium
Write case studies
Show, don’t tell.
- Effort
- Medium
Use in-app messaging
Onboarding hacks.
- Effort
- Medium
TikToks
Create tiktoks and get views.
- Effort
- Medium
Start a blog
Tailored to your target audience's pain points.
- Effort
- Medium
Premium features (featuring)
Make premium features visible to all customers.
- Effort
- Medium
LinkedIn freebies
Release a freebie on LinkedIn.
- Effort
- Medium
Live (video) call
Add a live (video) call in your product.
- Effort
- Medium
Cold email outreach
Cold email campaigns can work well.
- Effort
- Medium
Cold LinkedIn DM outreach
Direct dms in the inbox of potential customers.
- Effort
- Medium
Facebook Groups
Talk to potential customers.
- Effort
- Medium
Fake Scarcity Tactics
Scarcity always works.
- Effort
- Medium
FOMO: countdown timers
Use Countdowns & Bake In Urgency.
- Effort
- Medium
FOMO marketing: beta features
Gate Early Access Behind Visible Usage Milestones.
- Effort
- Medium
“We miss you” campaigns
Re-engage lapsed users with “We miss you” campaigns.
- Effort
- Medium
Level 3 · Systems & AI
44 hacksCompounding engines: AI-automated content, SEO plays, integrations, affiliate loops and onboarding systems.
Webinars
Use webinars to demo your product.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Usage-based pricing tiers
Instead of recurring subscriptions?
- Effort
- Medium-high
Start a YouTube channel
Reach your audience organically.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Templates
Add ready-to-use templates.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Special Pricing: lock it in
Lock them in with fomo.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Quizzes
Free lead generator.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Scrape Competitor Reviews
Learn from your competitors.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Product-led demo calls
Use product-led demo calls to showcase value.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Product-led onboarding flow
Let customers come to the “aha” moment sooner.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Medium blogging
Underrated platform.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Offer Deep Discounts ‘If You Leave’
Smart pricing hack.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Podcasting
Launch a podcast on industry topics.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Powered by
Viral Loop Marketing: “Powered by”.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Leaderboards
Create leaderboards for customers.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Implement gamification
Gamification > higher conversions.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Host (or join) Twitter Spaces
Host industry/niche related events.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Industry Comparison Website
Leverage on the name of market competition.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Industry reports
Write industry reports and get quotes from industry leaders.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Infographics
Create infographics to visually represent key data.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Launch an affiliate program
Let other users promote your product.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Competitor Comparison Posts
Leverage on the name of competition.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Create a (free) course
Educate > sell.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Create a free chrome extension
Free product > reach audience > upsell.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Create a viral launch video
Instantly go viral.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Forums & Community
Add community-driven forums for peer support.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Free product as lead gen
Free product > audience > upsell.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Freemium pricing model
Free tier > leads?
- Effort
- Medium-high
Get quoted in an article for a backlink
Backlinks > seo > boost.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Glossary of terms
Build a glossary of terms related to your industry.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Guest posting
Easy way to get more eyeballs.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Pre-Designed Templates
Offer Pre-Designed Templates To Get Users Started.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Auto-upgrade consent
Ask customers to accept auto-upgrade if you’re charging usage-based.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Automatic Cold DM on X/Twitter
Set up automations on X.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Blog Post Competitor Backlinks
Hack to get backlinks.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Automate blogging with AI
Set it up once, and rank automatically.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Build integrations
Reach more people through 3rd party marketplaces.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Slack notifications marketing
Subscribe to Slack communities and groups and target keywords.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Document in public on a “HQ” account
Build a brand around your brand focused on the people behind the brand.
- Effort
- Medium-high
The Endowed Progress Effect
Make users complete tasks sooner.
- Effort
- Medium-high
In-App Nudges
Guide users faster to their aha moment.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Turn 1 feature into a free tool
Funnel people from 1 free feature into the main product.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Thought leadership posts
Post on LinkedIn personally as a founder and let employees do the same.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Email Onboarding Drip Campaigns
Invest in your onboarding email drip campaigns.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Template Library
If you sell anything related to templates, this will boost SEO + conversions.
- Effort
- Medium-high
Level 4 · Paid scale
26 hacksFor products with budget: paid ads, influencers, sponsorships, acquisitions and everything you can buy your way into.
YouTube influencers
Leverage YouTubers to build awareness by asking for a review.
- Effort
- High
Twitter/X ads
Target audience on twitter/x.
- Effort
- High
Sponsor an online community
Reach your target audience with ads.
- Effort
- High
Sponsor on an event
Reach your audience.
- Effort
- High
Sponsor podcasts or newsletters
Sponsor podcasts or newsletters targeting your audience.
- Effort
- High
Reddit ads
Reach audience on reddit.
- Effort
- High
Retarget YouTube Ads
Retarget your viewers.
- Effort
- High
Retargeting campaigns
Launch retargeting campaigns for website visitors.
- Effort
- High
Run ‘Comparison’ Ads
Target unhappy users of competitors.
- Effort
- High
Live events
Weekly live event for customers.
- Effort
- High
Localized marketing
Make it available in native languages.
- Effort
- High
Migration services
Make it easy to switch to you.
- Effort
- High
Partner up with SaaS products
Partner with complementary SaaS products for co-marketing campaigns.
- Effort
- High
LinkedIn ads
Reach target audience on linkedin.
- Effort
- High
Industry free newsletter
Start (or buy) an industry free newsletter.
- Effort
- High
Free account for creators
Give away your product for free (or equity) to big creators.
- Effort
- High
Give away money to followers
Give away money to followers.
- Effort
- High
Pay off existing subscription fees
Make it easier to switch from competitors.
- Effort
- High
Generate ads with ChatGPT
Let ChatGPT come up with best-performing ads.
- Effort
- High
Personalized video (automation)
Create 1 personalized video and send it to 1000 prospects.
- Effort
- High
Acquire an asset
Acquire a newsletter or another asset > instant reach.
- Effort
- High
Acquire another SaaS product
Strategically acquire market share.
- Effort
- High
Buy a distribution channel
Buy a resource with lots of traffic and sell your own products.
- Effort
- High
Give away equity deals
Create ambassadors by giving them equity.
- Effort
- High
Register a domain suffix
To start a new task with a custom domain suffix (can go viral).
- Effort
- High
Make your employees your content army
Let all your employees post on Linkedin.
- Effort
- High