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How Copy.ai Grew from 0 to 10M Users in Four Years, Use Micromilestones to Energize Your Team - Tactician: #0082

March 21, 2024

"'You want to grow fast? Just make your sign-up button really, really big. Like, can't-miss-it big. People will click it just to get it off their screen. And there you go, 10 million users."

21/03/24

How Copy.ai Grew from 0 to 10M Users in Four Years

Why Read:

  • Learn about effective MVP testing, user acquisition through social media, SEO optimization, and scaling tactics.

Author:

  • Kyle Poyar, Operating Partner at OpenView, interviews Paul Yacoubian, ​​Founder of Copy.ai

Link: 

Key Concepts and Tactics:

  • Rapid Iteration and MVP Testing:

    • "His approach: build an MVP in a matter of weeks, launch it on Twitter and get feedback to keep iterating. The fifth launch was Copy.ai”

    • “There was a flywheel where when we’d launch, we’d get more followers and more people would be interested in what we’re doing,” Paul said. “And so the next time we’d launch, we would have even more of a kickstart to that project.”

  • Early and Iterative Monetization Strategy:

    • "From there, Paul tested raising the price to see if someone would pay $5 a month. They did... Then he raised it to $10 a month. Customers kept paying."

  • SEO Optimization and Lead Magnets:

    • "Copy.ai later invested big in SEO optimization... Paul looked at the SEO playbooks that had worked well for other SaaS companies. One of these was free lead magnets such as HubSpot’s blog title generator or Shopify’s business name generator tool."

    • "Copy.ai built out a lot of these – by my count there are at least 30 on the company’s website."

    • "These pages attracted a lot of traffic for Copy.ai. And there were compounding benefits as Copy.ai earned domain authority and ranked for more SEO terms. This gave Copy.ai an advantage as they started going after terms more related to enterprise decision makers. ‘All this stuff is a flywheel and none of it is a funnel,’ he told me."

  • Scaling to 10M Users:

    • “Scaling further meant pushing on the channels that were already working. In the early days the “marketing team” was really just Paul on Twitter. To get to 10 million users, Copy.ai hired individuals to specialize in social media, SEO and lifecycle email.”

    • “‘You don’t need many people,’ Paul advised. ‘It really helps to be able to focus a person full time on one channel. I would recommend that for any budding founders out there.’”

Use Micromilestones to Energize Your Team

Why Read:

  • Learn how setting achievable micromilestones can boost team morale, create momentum, and maintain focus on growth, especially at the early stages of bringing a product to market.

Author:

  • Jason M. Lemkin, SaaStr Founder

Link: 

Key Concepts and Tactics:

  • Acknowledging Unrealistic Initial Goals: 

    • Lemkin reflects on his overly ambitious goal-setting at Adobe Sign / EchoSign and its impact on the team. "I set a bit of an insane plan of going from $0m to $2m in ARR in our first 12 months in business... And, of course, we didn’t get to $2m by Day 365. But we did hit almost $200k in Year 1."

  • Introduction to Micromilestones: 

    • Facing the challenge of not meeting the initial goal, Lemkin devised the concept of micromilestones. "So I came up with micromilestones out of desperation... It’s a tangible milestone that can be hit in the next 2-6 months, given the reality of where you are today."

  • Setting and Celebrating Micromilestones: 

    • The shift from revenue to customer-centric micromilestones created a sense of achievement and momentum. "The first micromilestone was 1 New Customer Every Week... Now at least, every day we got an email re: one brand new paying customer... Everyone started to get a little excited about the new customer email each day."

  • Evolving Micromilestones: 

    • As the company progressed, the nature of the micromilestones evolved, focusing on different aspects of growth. "Then I moved on to measuring us by New Seats Per Month instead of new revenue... And finally, I moved on to 2 more micromilestones before we outgrew them."

  • Impact on Team Morale and Progress: 

    • The implementation of micromilestones had a profound effect on team dynamics and perception of progress. "Micromilestones helped everyone else see the success even in the tougher times... Since then, I’ve seen other great founders move to micromilestones when they have 50, 100, 200 customers, and high NPS... but only OK growth for now."

  • Lemkin's Observations on Micromilestone Success: 

    • Lemkin shares examples of micromilestones that have resonated with other startups, emphasizing the flexibility and adaptability of this approach. "Some other successful micromilestones I’ve seen: Going from 10 to 20 customers... Revenue under management... $100k in Bookings A Month... Paying Customers... MAUs, DAUs, etc... Driving NPS Up to a Key Number/Goal... New bookings — But Just from Existing Customers."

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