14 Proven SaaS Growth Hacks That you Can Use [With Case Studies]

Looking for new ways to grow your SaaS business? 

We have 14 proven strategies for growth that truly work! 

Editor's note: This is a guest post from Houston Golden, founder and CEO of BAMF. 

#1 - Write Guest Posts 

Main Benefits: 

• SEO Backlinks 

• Qualified Traffic 

How To: 

1. Find a website that accepts guest posting - Simply Google the industry you are in (e.g. “Social Media”) and add “write for us” at the end of the query.

2. Follow the instructions given by the website to increase your chances for a successful guest article

Case Study: This awesome study from JS Marketing 

#2 - Host an “Ask Me Anything” Session 

Main Benefits: 

• Increases your Authenticity 

• Improves your Brand Footprint 

How To: 

1. Select a platform - Reddit is a nice place to get free traffic, but you can also consider live social media channels or even an industry influencer channel.

2. Be genuine and personal - Even the biggest CEOs have done AMAs. Don’t be afraid to host one as people love to talk directly to the leader of the company, instead of a marketer or a developer.

Case Study: This Study by Hypebot  

#3 - Create a free tool (microsite) 

Main Benefits: 

• Showcases the strength of your SaaS business 

• Creates unique value that is shareable 

How To: 

1. Decide what portion of your tool can be easily made into a microsite. Research what is often sought after in your industry.

2. Build your tool, but make sure to include an e-mail prompt and the main logo of your SaaS brand.

Case Study: This unique writeup by Lauren Hallden for RJMetrics    

#4 - Target Competitor Keywords

Main Benefits: 

• A quick SEO boost 

• Targeting a highly convertible audience 

• Increasing your brand footprint within an industry 

How To: 

1. Know your competitors. Write articles on how your tool compares to them.

2. You can even promote them in AdWords for extra brand awareness

Case Study: This guide by AdEspresso 

#5 - Write Useful Content 

Main Benefits: 

• Authority Content is Highly Shareable 

• Reach Audiences in your Industry 

How To: 

1. Pick a topic in your industry that is interesting to people. Make sure it’s a topic that will help you showcase your authority experience. For example, at BAMF, we use cutting-edge growth hacking ebooks like the BAMF Bible to showcase our expertise.

2. Start posting! Medium, Reddit and LinkedIn are great ways to naturally boost your authority content.

Case Study: This study by Jamie Bailey 

#6 - Use Visually Engaging Content (Think Infographics) 

Main Benefits: 

• Serves as a stand-out PR Pitch 

• Attracts a wider audience 

• Increases content shareability 

How To: 

1. Showcase the biggest benefit of your business through highly visual or infographic content. (Example - CV Builder NovoResume showcasing their software benefits through visual content)

2. Use celebrity-driven reinforcement by targeting the infographic to be brand/celebrity-specific. Pitch it as content to PR Outlets in your industry.

Case Study: This unique study by Neil Patel for Mint 

#7 - Use Webcomics to Your Advantage 

Main Benefits: 

• A definite engagement booster 

• Instant relatability 

How To: 

1. Create a unique and simple style. Make sure the character of your comic falls in line with your buyer’s persona.Source: The Sysadman Diaries 

2. Create content that showcases and makes fun of daily situations and struggles that your buyer’s persona might encounter.Source: Freshworks

3. Integrate the webcomic in your existing funnels. Source: FreshWorks

Case Study: An awesome case study by FreshWorks

#8 - Make YouTube SEO your Greatest Friend 

Main Benefits: 

• Relatively Low SEO Competitiveness because video content is harder to create.

• Boost your SE Rankings on Google as well (Video Results are often shown on the front page) 

• Highly Targeted Traffic 

How To: 

1. Ensure that you follow a step by step proven process.

2. Research your industry in a similar manner you would for your blog content marketing. Select the right topics for videos.

3. Use YouTube methodologies to build an engaging video for the platform (think infographic animations, video essays and similar) 

Case Study: This case study by Techmangnate 

#9 - Discounts? Of course! 

Main Benefits: 

• Improve your customer base and conversions almost at an instant 

• Keep your churn rate at a minimum 

• Improves your overall customer growth 

How To: 

1. Calculate your ROI and LTV to determine the most lucrative discount you can offer.

2. Think seasonal and targeted.

3. Build out a discount campaign for returning customers.

Case Study: An amazing Case Study by Sixteen Ventures

#10 - Improve your Pricing Formula 

Main Benefits: 

• Ensure that your marketing and sales foundation is up to par with business standards 

• Improves your conversion averages 

How To: 

1. Create a survey among your top customers and ones who haven’t subscribed to determine your value proposition and value perception.

2. Work to improve either your value proposition or value perception to reach a price value equilibrium.

Case Study: This case study by Price Intelligently

#11 - Launch a Referral (Affiliate) Program 

Main Benefits: 

• Help OTHERS promote your business 

• Get numerous benefits once the program is running (brand footprint increase, SEO backlinks and more) 

How To: 

1. Build out a payment/referral tracking system

2. Create a promotional base kit for referrals (materials, case studies, brand books and anything relevant)

3. Build out marketing and promotional material. Ensure you run a campaign to promote your referral program

Case Study: This case study overview by Pladesk 

#12 - Use YouTube Influencers to your Advantage 

Main Benefits: 

• A relatively untapped niche (compared to Instagram influencers) 

• Relatively low cost with long-term benefits (especially if the videos created by the influencers are evergreen) 

How To: 

1. Decide your payment method (affiliate vs. payment per video or a combination of both)

2. Search YouTube for relevant industry influencers

3. Build out a sheet featuring information on the influencers.
   - Channel Name
   - Contact Information
   - Price Per Video 
   

4. Plan and start out your promotion

Case Study: This overview case study by Chrisian Gleitze 

#13 - Create a Press Kit 

Main Benefits: 

• Will serve you a multitude of purposes 

• Helps out in the PR Outreach process 

How To: 

1. Collect the necessary background information
   - Info on the founders/founding team
   - Previous PR Coverage
   - Designs, Logos, Brand Guidelines
   - Any applicable awards or certifications of the company
   - Screenshots and Photos 

2. Build out an Introduction Presentation that summaries the benefits of your product. Make sure to include any relevant contact info.

3. Build out the press kit and put it on your website.

Case Study: This overview case study by Prezly 

#14 - Cross-Promote with Relevant Businesses 

Main Benefits: 

• Tap into an existing customer base 

• A win-win scenario that might be highly affordable for your business 

How To:

1. Research what other SaaS and relevant software your customer base is using 

2. Build out your value proposition and campaign proposal 

3. Contact the marketing departments of those businesses and build out a campaign  

Case Study: This case study by Hired.com 

Author Bio:

Houston Golden

Houston Golden is the Founder & CEO of BAMF, where he led the company from $0 to $3M+ in revenue in its first two years and has built a proven process for turning clients into LinkedIn Influencers through viral content that has generated over 300M+ organic views. He enjoys yoga, running and surfing, along with playing his ukulele and dreaming of new business ideas and being a father is his favourite.