Growth Roundup: Recruiting, Newsletters & Paid Search Ads

The Evolution of Growth Marketing

The growth marketing landscape is demonstrably evolving, shifting away from quick fixes towards more structured, team-based approaches with an emphasis on speed. As Ward van Gasteren, founder of Grow with Ward, shared in a recent interview, the industry is witnessing a rapid adoption of best practices. This begs the question: what comes next as the low-hanging fruit is claimed?

Leveraging Growth Professionals

Engaging a dedicated growth marketing professional can significantly reduce the burden on founders navigating this complex terrain. Van Gasteren highlighted the critical role of knowledge – encompassing both qualitative user feedback and systemic analytical methods – alongside strategic experimentation.

Growth Marketing Recommendations & Resources

This week’s TechCrunch growth marketing compilation includes valuable perspectives from Stewart Hillhouse and Sam Richard regarding the process of building a successful growth team. Furthermore, we present recommendations for growth marketers sourced from our community. We encourage you to contribute your own recommendations via our survey.

Featured Growth Marketers

Marketer: Maksym Podsolonko, Fractional CMO
Recommended by: Anonymous
Testimonial: “Provides practical, hands-on marketing assistance and assumes complete responsibility for the marketing function. A strong fit for organizations that do not require a full-time Chief Marketing Officer.”

Marketer: Tate Lowry, Ranq
Recommended by: Anonymous
Testimonial: “I’ve followed Tate’s work since his co-ownership of the e-commerce platform Here Pup. Tate and Perrin demonstrated a clear understanding of my website’s needs and provided realistic growth projections. Their approach was characterized by honesty and transparency, a rare quality in agencies.”

Demand Curve Insights

Tested tactics for growing newsletters: Stewart Hillhouse, senior content lead at Demand Curve, details effective strategies for newsletter growth. Hillhouse emphasizes the substantial return on investment newsletters can deliver – approaching 40x – but stresses the necessity of dedicated effort. The article explores the 60% rule for pop-up implementation, optimal email timing, and prioritizing quality content over sheer volume. He notes, “We’ve observed minimal correlation between email frequency and resulting conversion rates.”

(Extra Crunch) Demand Curve: Key questions for paid search ads: Hillhouse also authored an Extra Crunch piece outlining 14 crucial questions to address within your paid search advertisements. One key consideration centers on the social aspect of shopping, noting that “Real-world shopping is inherently social; consumers observe others’ purchases, compare preferences, and seek opinions.” Hillhouse then explains how to replicate this dynamic within an online shopping experience.

Building a Growth Team

(Extra Crunch) How to hire and structure a growth team: Sam Richard, senior director of growth at OpenView, offers guidance on the essential questions to ask when recruiting a growth leader. Richard asserts, “A capable growth-focused candidate will already possess an understanding of industry benchmarks and be able to pinpoint the most critical areas for improvement within your customer journey.”

Van Gasteren’s Perspective on Growth Hacking

How Ward van Gasteren thinks about growth hacking today: During the interview, Ward van Gasteren addressed common misunderstandings surrounding growth hacking, particularly the perception of it as a foolproof methodology. He clarified that, “While analytical data can reveal *where* growth is slowing, it cannot explain *why* that slowdown is occurring.”

Do you have a startup growth marketing expert you would like to recommend? Please share your insights by completing our survey.