The Ultimate Startup Marketing Checklist

I’ve put together a simple list of the essentials you need to know to grow your startup.

I have read tons of guides and articles about startup marketing. Some of them had more than 4000 words. It’s not a secret, that I am a lazy person and I really hate long and empty stories. I’d rather get interesting information as fast as possible.

That’s the reason why I decided to write simple startup marketing to do list (checklist). I was collecting these tips and tricks for more than 4 years. Our last project Kickresume got more than 300K downloads without spending a penny on paid advertising. We just followed these simple steps.

Of course my checklist is not finished yet. Everyday I find something new worth of adding. Here is the latest version. Enjoy!

→ Before launch←

1. Pick kick-ass name for your startup it will be your best investment for the future.
2. Don't forget to save different domain names like .com .co .eu .io .ca…
3. Define your target audience and personas.
4. Create social media profiles and start posting regularly to get fans/followers.
5. Set up coming soon page (you can use Launchrock) and push users into inviting their friends (get some inspiration from Robinhood)
6. Start building invite list for beta testers, offer priority access or discount for early adopters.
7. Sign up for Betalist and other similar sites.
8. Start writing blog.
9. Implement Google Analytics and other tools (Mixpanel, Buffer, Intercom, Mailchimp, Ahrefs…)
10. Submit your startup on Angelist, CrunchBase, StartupTunes… (you can use this ultimate list)
11. Build a press list and relationship with journalists.
12. Be press friendly and create media kit/press page.
13. Start beta testing, measure everything and get feedback from testers (by phone, email…)
14. Prepare for the launch — set up launch date, write and share press releases, promote on social media profiles, prepare newsletter, invite all your beta users…

→ After launch←

1. Measure, measure, measure. everything. (HotJar, Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Intercom…
2. Make A/B tests (landing page, newsletters, sign up forms…)
3. Focus on your target audience and target market.
4. Ask your users and get feedback on your product.
5. Use bugtracking tools and ask users for help.
6. Growth Hacking is your best friend. This list of Growth Hacks can help.
7. Learn some lessons from how popular startups onboard new users.
8. Write killer transactional emails (sent to a user based on some action) and use Mandrill to deliver them. Here are some great examples.
9. Don’t forget to send newsletter. If you have thousands of subscribers use Amazon SES. It's really cheap and effective.
10. Prepare social media and content strategy.
11. Post on your social media profiles regularly and communicate with your fans/followers. Also try websites like Quora or Slideshare.
12. Implement Twitter cards on your blog.
13. Get rich snippet in Google search results.
14. Sell BENEFIT not FEATURE and solve problem. This is one of the most common mistake made by startups.
15. Show what happening ''behind the scenes'' of your startup. (pictures from offices, secret future features…)
16. Collect and show testimonials from your happy users.
17. SEO takes time but it's really effective.
18. Write fresh content for your blog regularly and try guestblogging. (this can help: The Ultimate list of 95 Blogpost Ideas by Buffer) Don't forget to promote your content.
19. Use HD stock photos in your blog posts, social media posts… (get some free pictures here)
20. Google+ is not dead! Join communities and post interesting content. You will also get better search results ☺
21. Create viral promotional video. Here are some great examples.
22. Get featured on Product Hunt, Hacker News, Killer Startups and post on Reddit.
23. Get featured on Techcrunch. Here Are The TechCrunch Staff’s Email Addresses.
24. Launch referral program like Dropbox.
25. If you have some budget start paid advertising (Google Adwords, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Youtube…)
26. Don’t forget the power of word-of-mouth.
27. Try affiliate marketing.
28. Follow trends in startup marketing (10 Trends for Startup Marketing in 2015)
29. Make Sean Ellis test
30. Tune up your pricing page (11 Tips for a Pricing Page)
31. Read this article on Medium +300 Awesome Free Things for Entrepreneurs.
32. Build relationships (also with your competitors)
33. Write Medium Blog post ☺

Keep-it-simple-stupid (KISS) & be creative.

You can also follow me on Twitter, where I can share great articles on growth hacking and startups with you.

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