Traction
by Gabriel Weinberg · first published 2014
78% recommend22% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Practical guide to getting customers that walks through about 19-21 marketing channels and how to test them quickly. Valued for its specifics; suits programmers and founders who are weak at marketing.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"Most startups don't fail because they can't build a product. Most startups fail because they can't get traction."--
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Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
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…searching. For my side project, I've had decent success responding to posts/questions on sites like Quora, where someone is looking for exactly what you offer. It's free too (besides for your time!). The book Traction (https://www.amazon.com/Traction-Startup-Achieve-Explosive-Cu...) gives a pretty solid overview of different marketing methods/strategies.
on “Ask HN: How do you market your side project?” ↗Yep. Oh, and if you're interested in the subject, I can also recommend "Traction" by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares, it's a really neat outline of traction channels.
on “Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?” ↗There's a lot more to marketing than getting on the front page of HN. OP, I suggest you read Traction by Gabriel Weinberg, and The Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank, and consider if you've successfully identified who your customers are, and a valid channel for reaching them. Further ask if you've…
on “Ask HN: 4 months after posting my project on HN, it has 0 users. Has it failed?” ↗…are some tips to help with this: 1) Explore more "steady" acquisition channels. Yes, PH/HN are "spike-y" channels and they're often not enough to have a business generating sustainable income. Read "Traction" by Gabriel Weinberg (I'm also doing some research on this topic [1]). 2) Maybe flip the script and do the opposite? Choose 1 or 2 promising projects, and do "six months of exploring user acquisition".…
on “Six Months of Tiny Projects” ↗To add to an already great answer by @yoloswagins, you may want to read the book "Traction" by Gabriel Weinberg. It lists 21 ways, or channels, a business can utilize to find customers. Although the book is primarily targeted for startups, the information therein is really applicable to any…
on “Ask HN: Where to Learn Rudimentary Marketing Skills?” ↗…going the venture capital route), try the “Startups For the Rest of Us” podcast. Start from the beginning. Or startupbook.net for mostly the same content in book form. The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. Traction by Gabriel Weinberg.
on “Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?” ↗…product. After almost 5 years as a VC, I can readily confirm that most products don't sell themselves. Even the really good products need sales, marketing, etc. A great book to get started on marketing is Traction by Gabriel Weinberg (of DuckDuckGo) and Justin Mares (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00TY3ZOMS/)
on “Ask HN: Best business advice for software developers” ↗…be an effective channel? If you're manpower limited, you could double down on marketing channels that are already effective for you, or spend the time and money testing channels. Check out the book 'Traction' by Gabriel Weinberg (of DuckDuckGo).
on “Ask HN: If you had 7k to spend on a SaaS launch, what would you do?” ↗…have had some progress but lack strategy, or a vision - ie what is your business here to solve. So instead you are placing lots of bets to see what works. Look up the EOS methodology, or read the book Traction by Gabriel Weinberg, it’s a good read with lots of helpful tools. Ultimately if you like your team, want to do something to change the world, have the support of your backers, perhaps do some services…
on “Ask HN: My startup has basically failed. What now?” ↗Hi, I'm in a similar situation myself and in the process of figuring out why. I would recommend reading the book "Traction" by Gabriel Weinberg. I think it is relevant for you to share your project - there could be many different factors why traffic isn't converting. Trial users from a Show HN are great but I've multiple…
on “Ask HN: 4 months after posting my project on HN, it has 0 users. Has it failed?” ↗There is a good book on this called “Traction” by Gabriel Weinberg (the founder of DuckDuckGo) where he outlines 19 “channels” for getting traction [1]. I’ve also seen the guy from FPU [2] do a good job at extending this list. Also, why is nobody…
on “I made a database of TL;DR business strategies/case studies” ↗I enjoyed Traction https://www.amazon.com/Traction-Startup-Achieve-Explosive-Cu... It's written by the founder of DuckDuckGo and he talks through all the different potential marketing channels and how to choose what's…
on “Ask HN: What are your best tips or resources when it comes to marketing?” ↗…way I can, whether that's content marketing (my preferred means), commenting on forums, twitter, facebook, broadcasting my domain URL via my phone's hotspot, merch/stickers, etc. I'd recommend the book Traction by Gabriel Weinberg for ideas.
on “Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2022 – Show and tell” ↗Traction: A Startup Guide to Getting Customers by Gabriel Weinberg (guy behind Duck Duck Go). Fantastic read so far.
on “Ask HN: What is HN reading?” ↗> I am a programmer who sucks at marketing That's the mission critical bug that will kill your business ;) Read these three books ~many~ times: -> The Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank -> Traction by Gabriel Weinberg -> No B.S. Direct Marketing by Dan Kennedy Then split your overall time 50% dev, 50% marketing. Plan B: keep an eye on the contracting market in your area of expertise ... Good…
on “Show HN: Slack Meets GitHub Issues” ↗