What is Growth Hacking?
Growth hacking is a subfield of marketing focused on rapid experimentation across marketing channels and product development to identify the most efficient ways to grow a business. The term was coined by Sean Ellis, the founder of GrowthHackers.com, in 2010.
A growth hacker is not just a marketer. They are a blend of marketer, engineer, and product manager who is obsessed with one thing: sustainable growth.
The Growth Hacking Mindset
Growth hacking is more of a mindset than a specific set of tools.
- Data-Driven: Growth hackers are analytical and live by data. Every decision is based on testing and metrics, not assumptions.
- Creative & Resourceful: They are constantly looking for innovative, low-cost strategies to acquire and retain users.
- Focus on the Full Funnel: A growth hacker doesn't just focus on attracting users (the top of the funnel). They are equally obsessed with activation, retention, revenue, and referral.
- High-Tempo Experimentation: The core of growth hacking is a rapid experimentation process (Hypothesize -> Test -> Measure -> Learn) to quickly find what works.
The AARRR Framework (Pirate Metrics)
The AARRR framework, created by investor Dave McClure, is a popular model used by growth hackers to understand and optimize the customer lifecycle.
- Acquisition: How do users find you?
- Goal: Find scalable, repeatable channels to acquire new users.
- Example Tactics: Viral loops, SEO, content marketing, targeted PPC.
- Activation: Do users have a great first experience?
- Goal: Get new users to experience the product's core value (the "Aha!" moment) as quickly as possible.
- Example Tactics: Simplified onboarding flows, welcome emails, interactive tutorials.
- Retention: Do users come back?
- Goal: Build a sticky product that users integrate into their lives or workflows.
- Example Tactics: Push notifications, email drip campaigns, community building, adding new features.
- Revenue: How do you make money?
- Goal: Convert active users into paying customers.
- Example Tactics: Optimizing pricing pages, in-app purchase prompts, free trial-to-paid conversion flows.
- Referral: Do users tell others?
- Goal: Turn your existing users into a customer acquisition channel.
- Example Tactics: Referral programs (e.g., Dropbox's "get more free space"), social sharing prompts, affiliate programs.
Growth Hacking is a Process, Not a Magic Trick
There is no single "hack" that will lead to explosive growth. True growth hacking is about building a disciplined, data-driven process of continuous experimentation to discover what uniquely works for your product and your customers. It's about finding small wins that compound over time to produce massive results.