Core Principles of Growth Hackers
“Growth hacking is not a rigid process or ‘secret book of ideas’, but rather a philosophy.” — Derek Clark
I asked three growth hackers — Morgan Brown, Lincoln Murphy, and Jim Gray — “What five tools are in your growth hackers’ toolbox?”
I loved that their initial responses weren't products (which is unexpected, right?):
I realized what they were sharing with me are the core principles of growth hackers — tools that are much more powerful than any products. And to subscribe to the growth hacking philosophy means to be aligned with these principles.
I've outlined ten principles below based on their input.
Ten Core Principles of Growth Hackers
1. Be creative.
Growth hackers don’t wait for someone else to share opportunities with them, they discover them on their own.
2. Be curious.
Growth hackers are curious about everything, so it’s only natural that they possess multidisciplinary knowledge. They study marketing, products, and engineering, and are often experts in at least one of these disciplines.
3. Be empathetic.
Growth hackers spend time discovering what’s important to people and thinking about how they can solve problems. They validate these problems and determine whether their proposed solutions are likely to work.
4. Be insightful.
Growth hackers take time to analyze data and understand it to gather insights. They then execute on these insights.
5. Be logical.
Growth hackers analyze both quantitative and qualitative data to make decisions. They don’t rely on intuition.
6. Be resilient.
Growth hackers are patient. Most of the time, things aren't going to work out. And when they do work out, they aren't going to happen over night. There will be a lot of obstacles along the way.
7. Maintain integrity.
Ethical growth hackers don’t partake in black hat tactics. It’s as simple as that. If a “growth hacker’s” long-term goals don’t align with retention, then they aren't growth hacking.
8. Perfect your wording.
Growth hackers find language-market fit. In Growth Hacker TV’s interview with Dan Martell (Founder of Clarity.fm), from 14:50 — 17:50 Dan discusses how growth hacking isn't a set of marketing tactics, but is instead the ability to quickly deliver on “what you say your product does”.
9. Rely on the Scientific Method.
Growth hackers rely on the Scientific Method to approach growth — they form questions, hypotheses, predictions, tests, and analyses.
10. Spend time networking.
Growth hackers understand that having access to a solid network is an “unfair advantage”. They take the time to build their networks and get to know key players.
If you aren't familiar with what growth hackers are and what they do, refer to these articles:
I’m available for a limited number of SaaS consulting retainers, writing engagements, and I offer Twitter curation + growth (500–1,000 or more followers / mo.) with an authentic approach so that your feed doesn’t look like everyone else’s.
