Reddit Reddit reviews Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth

We found 22 Reddit comments about Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth
Traction How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth
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22 Reddit comments about Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth:

u/Squagem · 17 pointsr/smallbusiness

> What's the next step after I've got the idea?

For solopreneurs with very little technical knowledge like you, I highly recommend the following:

  1. Distill the problem that you're solving down to the simplest possible level (Hint: Even after you've done this you can likely still distill it further).
  2. Get a Mailchimp mailing list up and running.
  3. Head over to a tool like Clickfunnels, LeadPages, or Squarespace, and create a very simple landing page using one of their templates. Also, consider using OptinMonster or something if you really want to aggressively push for emails.
  4. Build out a really simple landing page for your product that clearly illustrates the value you are offering in very simple words. The CTA should be "sign up for the beta" - you're just looking to get an email address.
  5. Get this site in front of your ideal target customers (you might need to spend some time figuring out who that is). Here, you can use Reddit, Adwords, Facebook ads, Twitter, LinkedIn ads, whatever makes sense for your business. I highly recommend the book Traction for this part as it's clearly the hardest part.
  6. Once you have ~50 signups, start with live Q&A sessions, or simple surveys to further understand the painpoints of the community.
  7. Once you get to the point that people are literally saying "take my money, where is the product!?!?", THEN AND ONLY THEN should you reach out to a developer with a very clear MVP in mind, and have them build it out for you (expect somewhere around $10K for this).
  8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 until you get bought by Google.

    *

    This is very hard, but the most important takeaway is this:
    just do something**. Action is always more important than thinking about action, just don't spend a fortune on developers until you have...

  • A very clear idea of what the problem you're solving is; and
  • That idea has been validated by real people who would give you real money if you made the product.

    That's it. Have fun!

    P.S: I'm currently doing this with a mobile app for the rock climbing community, so comment below if you have any more questions on any specific tactics.

    P.P.S: I'm in no way affiliated with any of the above tools, I just use them on a regular basis and find them a pleasure to use.
u/crooning · 10 pointsr/Entrepreneur
  1. You don't need a co-founder. Your age doesn't matter for many markets.

  2. Identify a pain point that a group of people have, and think of a way to solve that problem.

  3. Read this: http://paulgraham.com/ds.html

  4. From the article above, it mentions to do things manually. Throw up a free landing page on Squarespace or Wordpress or any other free page hoster. Use Google Docs and Zaiper and WooForms, free tools, to glue your service together. Use free tools from here: https://hackernoon.com/how-to-build-a-saas-with-0-fed2341078c8 Make it so your idea just barely works, and it delivers value to your target customer. This is your MVP.

  5. Validate your idea. Hit the pavement. Grind. Look for your customers. Tell them about your solution. Ask if it fixes their problem. Will they pay for it? Why? Why not?

  6. Rinse and repeat until you start getting users, making money and are growing. Don't fall in love with an idea. Start delivering value.

    You don't need a VC. You don't need co-founders. Just get started and do something. Anything. Bootstrap from the ground up. Failure is the best teacher. Ideas are worthless. Execution is everything.

    Oh yeah, and read books and blogs on digital marketing while doing all this. Once you get the ball rolling, marketing is what you will want to spend the most time on. This is a classic book on how many startups first successfully marketed their services and got their users: https://www.amazon.com/Traction-Startup-Achieve-Explosive-Customer/dp/1591848369
u/scarysaturday · 9 pointsr/marketing

Marketing in a startup? Traction is the clear choice here. It's full of actionable advice that you can apply in a clear and rational manner.

u/artsynudes · 6 pointsr/marketing

For social media you should check out different company blogs. Those are really helpful. I like the Buffer and Hootsuite blogs a lot.

But books are way better than online websites

For marketing you should read Traction by Gabriel Weinberg

Ryan Holiday's Growth Hacker Marketing and Trust Me, I'm Lying are insanely informative and fun to read.

u/wakeballer39 · 4 pointsr/Entrepreneur

I would highly recommend reading the book Traction by Gabriel Weinberg. It is a very easy read and is basically a manual for launching products. Very tactical and you will learn a lot. Not all of them will be specifically applicable but at some point in your product cycle they will be.

It goes through 19 different possible marketing channels. Targeting blogs, Publicity, Unconventional PR, SEO, Social Ads, Offline Ads, Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Viral, Engineering as marketing, Business Dev, Sales, Affiliate Programs, Existing Platforms, Trade Shows, Offline Events, SPeaking engagements and community building.

http://www.amazon.com/Traction-Startup-Achieve-Explosive-Customer/dp/1591848369

u/mikenseer · 4 pointsr/Entrepreneur

Great suggestion!

And to add onto this awesome reading list, here's a book that's full of actionable takeaways: [Traction by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares] (http://www.amazon.com/Traction-Startup-Achieve-Explosive-Customer/dp/1591848369/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1450331991&sr=1-2&keywords=traction+by+gino+wickman)

u/organizedfellow · 2 pointsr/Entrepreneur

Here are all the books with amazon links, Alphabetical order :)

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u/frejjsan · 2 pointsr/Entrepreneur
u/balancedbyus · 2 pointsr/smallbusiness

I think you need to explore other marketing paths. I'm reading this book which I think will really help you out - http://www.amazon.com/Traction-Startup-Achieve-Explosive-Customer/dp/1591848369/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1450751755&sr=8-2&keywords=traction

u/flysonic10 · 2 pointsr/startups

Check out the book Traction for a good framework to start thinking about your traction strategy.


https://www.amazon.com/Traction-Startup-Achieve-Explosive-Customer/dp/1591848369


YC's Startup School just ended. You can check out some of the tips from their videos.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQ-uHSnFig5OMuEYI4rnNz08BIHxhxdHG


Major takeaway... talk to users.

u/lypur · 2 pointsr/startups

Start figuring out how you'll get sales early! Read "traction" https://www.amazon.ca/Traction-Startup-Achieve-Explosive-Customer/dp/1591848369

u/RycePooding · 2 pointsr/Entrepreneur

Traction by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares

This book gave us so many ways to not only focus on traction, but also how to gain it, where to spend our time (small team, no funding) etc. Really good, quick read.

u/simmondz · 1 pointr/marketing

First Round Review: Great collection of articles that someone working in the world of SaaS could enjoy. I'd particularly pay attention to their Search Portal as well. If you're looking for info on marketing, growth, management or even pricing -- they have you covered.

​

SaaStr: It's more dedicated to the management / sales / operations side of SaaS but there's a lot of value to be found here. Jason Lemkin the founder of SaaStr is quite active on Quora as well. I would spend some time reviewing his posts there. The SaaStr podcast is also filled with value.

​

For pure marketing content - I'd recommend: Andrew Chen's blog, Hiten Shah's newsletter/blog, Ross Simmonds, Everyone hates Marketers Podcast, The Drift Blog, Sujan Patels Blog, Foundation Marketing, Reforge, The BuzzSumo blog and Forget The Funnel.

​

If you're interested in data re: pricing - Check out Tom Tunguz / the folks at Price Intelligently.

​

My personal fav for SaaS marketing books is Traction: A Startup Guide to Getting Customers by Gabriel Weinberg & Justin Mares. It breaks down a ton of different growth channels and is quite good for someone just getting started. The book Predictable Revenue is also quite good.

u/sebastmarsh · 1 pointr/Entrepreneur

Traction by Justin Mares and Gabriel Weinberg --

https://www.amazon.com/Traction-Startup-Achieve-Explosive-Customer/dp/1591848369

Best book on learning how to do marketing, hands down.

u/mankaden · 1 pointr/startups

READ THIS BOOK! Absolutely one of the top 3 best business/startup books ever and focuses on marketing and gaining traction.

https://www.amazon.com/Traction-Startup-Achieve-Explosive-Customer/dp/1591848369

u/rawrhisspurr · 1 pointr/Entrepreneur

Recently finished a book called Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth, and each chapter is dedicated to the marketing channels in your chart. Your chart is a nice summation of the book's overall goal outline, highly recommend checking Traction out!

u/busymichael · 1 pointr/startups

Followed!

I am 1 year into my journey and am revenue positive. It is the 3rd time I have done this journey. I firmly believe a solid programmer does not need a "business" co-founder. The marketing skills are straightforward to learn and practice.

Check out the book Traction -- it is a great primer on how to build your business.

Well done--- I look forward to updates!

u/Sellezely · 1 pointr/marketing

Do read a book named Traction by Gabriel Weinberg & Justin Mares
https://www.amazon.com/Traction-Startup-Achieve-Explosive-Customer/dp/1591848369

u/youngrichntasteless · 1 pointr/Entrepreneur

Ah sorry, I had assumed you didn't have customers yet. Check out this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Traction-Startup-Achieve-Explosive-Customer/dp/1591848369

What's your target demographic?

One thing that comes to mind is referrals, incentivizing your 73 current users to share with their like-minded colleagues.

u/gtgug8 · 1 pointr/Entrepreneur

If you are really interested in learning to code, go checkout onemonth.com or codeschool.org.

That said, the key to becoming a successful entrepreneur in any new market is finding a problem/or pain point that customers are willing to pay you for. Focus on trying to solve a really big pain point!

Once you find a compelling pain point and have customers who are willing to pre-order, sign a letter of intent, or a purchase order. Take your company vision and start selling that vision and your early traction to people who can build your product.

So much of being successful in this game is being able to 1. solve a real problem, 2. inspire others (sell) to join you.

With regards to your major etc. I'd suggest going to work for a startup for a little while. Even for free as an intern. Find a company that you think has great leadership that you can learn from.

Go work there and hustle your face off. Create as much value as you can. This experience will help you learn what you really want to do and you'll find out what skills you need to build your own company and what skills you need in others.

It will also help you find other oportunities outside of the tech field. There are TONS of opportunities outside of "tech".

My favorite example of this is a company in Santa Barbara that came out of UCSB's life science lab called Apeel Sciences. It is science-based and technical but it's not a software company or app and it is going to literally change world.

There are some pretty big problems out there that need to be solved. Find an area you are passionate about, and go solve something really hard.

Books for you to checkout:

Traction By Justin Mares Great book on marketing

The Entrepreneurs Guide To Customer Development This will give you the low down on market validation, how to search for a problem to solve.


Hope this helps:)