We need to start with the basics.

Take a piece of paper, and let’s draw out real quick the basic dynamics of your growth loop. That sets the basics for your ‘Growth DNA’. —(Examples below!)

You should be able to answer a couple of different questions:
1. What’s your primary channel?
2. How do you convert people into that channel?
3. How to “close the loop”?

Those 3 questions map exactly your future growth engine, sales funnel, and retention strategy, respectively.

Let me give you two new examples:
(both extremely simple, on purpose)

EXAMPLE #1: Hipster restaurant
1. Some people find your restaurant because they walk by…
2. The food & service is good, and they like it
3. They leave rave reviews on TripAdvisor
4. You start to rank high on TripAdvisor
5. Many people check TripAdvisor for restaurant recommendations, and find you….
6. They go check you out, too. (And the cycle repeats at step #2)

Could something like that work?
+ What could you do at each step to make the ‘conversion’ to the next step higher?
+ How could this loop be optimized & improved?

EXAMPLE #2: Selling iPhone cases online
1. People search “coolest iPhone cases” and similar keywords on Google
2. You run Google ads to those keywords. People visit your store
3. In the store, you convert them with good copy, great photography, etc.
4. You use some of the revenue to buy more Google Ads (starts step #2, and the cycle repeats)

Those are two of the simplest loops I can think of.
In fact, it’s so simple… it’s almost boring again.

But 2 important things:

Thing 1:
Notice that there are always variations…

… That 2nd example could also have an organic search / SEO growth loop…
… Or you could sell through Amazon FBA instead…
… Or maybe you sell such remarkable iPhone cases, that you can unlock word-of-mouth growth…

A growth marketers’ job, is to find the best one.

And…

Thing 2:
Even simple examples like that show you exactly what to focus on…

+ One channel:: You pick one distribution channel and build a loop on top of that channel. You don’t need multiple loops. You just need one that works.

+ Many different loops:: there are many marketing channels, and thus many different loops. One isn’t better than the other—it all depends on the kind of business you’re in.

+ Copywriting :: In the 2nd example your copywriting skills really matter. Better copy => better conversions => more profits => can spend more on advertising => kills your competitors

+ Funnels are the core:: you can’t drive traffic without a strong funnel, because you’ll waste it. First build strong funnels (a nice TripAdvisor page, etc.)… and then drive traffic.

+ Mindstate:: at each step of the way, know what your customers want. Know what they’re thinking. Know how to give that to them, with the least amount of friction.

+ Happy customers:: if you’re thinking in loops, customer success matters. Happy customers are the fuel that propels your business forward. If retention sucks, the loop dies down.

+ Testing:: knowing your loops gives you focus: you’ll see exactly what areas of your business to test & optimize for… to make that damn loop cycle faster and faster

There are in total over 25+ growth loops and many variations. Here are some more examples, to get the juices flowing:

+ CandyCrush “open graph” loop
+ LinkedIn “import address book” loop (scammy!)
+ Pinterest USG-SEO loop
+ Dropbox referral loop
+ Airbnb “Craigslist hack” loop
+ Airbnb referral loop
+ Mailchimp “sent by Mailchimp” loop
+ HelloFresh street sales loop
+ Elon Musk innovation-hype loop
+ WordPress “powered by” loop
+ Indeed aggregator-SEO loop
+ Slack freemium-enterprise loop
+ Youtube embedded player loop
+ Wix “sneaky SEO” loop
+ Crypto “get rich quick” loop
+ Crypto “invested ambassadors” loop
+ Livestrong “yellow bracelet” loop
+ Paris Hilton “sex tape” loop (famous ➾ PR event ➾ famous)
+ Apple “unmistakable earbuds” loop
+ ​…

Okay, you get the point…

These loops are everywhere!

In fact, every high-growth business relies on some sort of loop like that. Traditional businesses that rely heavily on brand-building and capital expenditures… they can’t keep up with the level of growth that such businesses offer.

But we said “Operation MoneySuck”, right?

It’s time you draw out the growth loop for your business.

Of course there might be different variations. Different options.
You can draw more than one, of course (for instance: UBER has at least 4 growth loops, that all cycle in parallel).

But please get some PRACTICE.
Draw something.

Maybe once you have the basics down, you can even jot down some tentative numbers with them, too.