The fact that the Internet has become a key support tool for businesses in recent years is undeniable. Not only does it help with day-to-day operations, but it also offers resources to expand our customer base. Of course, it’s not magic—like anything else, it has its challenges—but it also comes with shortcuts and strategies.

What are growth strategies?

There are many tools that can help increase traffic and engagement with potential clients, just as there are various ways to enhance these results. This is where growth hacking comes in—a concept that could be loosely translated as “positioning strategies” or, more simply, “clever tricks to drive growth.”

Maybe the term isn’t widely known, but it encompasses marketing and communication tactics as common as search engine optimization (SEO), A/B email testing, or social media strategy. These actions combine marketing, design, and data analysis with one main goal: growth (in visits, users, customers…). While they’re widely used by entrepreneurs, they’ve also been adopted by more established companies.

The key to success lies in achieving exponential growth in a short period of time. And for that, the most crucial element is an in-depth understanding of the company’s ideal customer. That’s how you design the most effective “shortcut.”

The best part is that, to some extent and depending on available resources, any company can apply these techniques, no matter its size or industry (as long as driving traffic to its website is important). So today, we’re going to explore several proven examples that have worked for both large corporations and small businesses—based on an insightful article from The Payroll Blog. That article starts with what is likely the first documented growth hack in history—and perhaps one of the simplest (and most brilliant):

In 1996, Hotmail was a newly launched web-based email service. Just one year later, it had around 12 million users and was acquired by none other than Microsoft.

So how did it go from being a startup to one of the tech giant’s most in-demand services?

Through referrals—80% of their users were responsible for spreading the word. At the end of every email sent from Hotmail, the system automatically added a postscript that said something like, “I love you. Get your free email at Hotmail.”

That simple little link brought in millions of new users. It was a straightforward action, never used before, and it shows just how powerful open-minded thinking can be when focused on growth.

How can you use this example in your business?

Below are some actionable strategies you can implement… or use as inspiration to develop your own.

1. Professional webinars

Hosting events and courses is common, and in the internet era, many of these have moved online to save time and money. Finding an interesting topic, revealing little-known features of your product, or addressing common problems can all serve as the foundation for a webinar that helps both current and potential customers.

You don’t need to reach everyone—just the right people. Webinars are ideal for that. Identify a relevant segment for your business and offer free training on topics they care about. Webinar registrations give you valuable contact data for future campaigns, and more importantly, you get a few minutes at the end to talk about your product and how it solves their problems.

Steps to follow:

1. Choose a relevant topic and/or speaker.
2. Create the webinar (e.g., with GoToWebinar).
3. Set up a landing page for registration.
4. Make sure everything is working correctly.
5. Invite people via email, social media, blog, calls, etc.
6. Deliver a high-value event.
7. Thank attendees and send follow-up materials by email.
8. Review results, tweak your strategy, and repeat.

You can extend this strategy by offering ebooks, a blog, or even in-person courses to reinforce your company’s image as an expert in the field.

2. Gifts for new customers

Some companies reinvest a portion of their profits into growing their customer base by offering giveaways or prizes. It’s a risky strategy, but the key lies in the execution. Once again, it’s essential to understand your target customer. The ideal prize should be something only they would value—or at the very least, something they’d want. Ideally, the prize should be related to your business but not be your actual product. Good examples might be accessories, relevant training, or items that are in high demand within your community.

The goal here might be to build your database, grow your newsletter subscribers, or increase meaningful interactions with potential clients.

Steps to follow:

1. Find the perfect giveaway. The more popular the prize, the more entries you’ll get—but beware of attracting low-quality leads.
2. Launch the campaign (e.g., using KingSumo).
3. Promote it via social ads, email marketing, etc.
4. Encourage participants to refer friends (e.g., offer bonus entries for sharing or inviting).
5. Use the gathered data to run a targeted sales campaign.

3. Guest posting

Content is king online. The more your content circulates, the better. A widely used technique is to write articles for other websites—guest posting—sharing your expertise with readers interested in your niche, no matter where they are.

This isn’t always easy, but many people are surprisingly open to collaborations. The key lies in three basic pillars: offer exclusive content, make it truly valuable, and be open to broader partnerships (such as offering space on your own blog).

Guest posting not only positions you or your team as experts, it also helps generate backlinks to content you want to promote and increases your brand awareness among audiences outside your usual reach.

Steps to follow:

1. Identify blogs that are relevant to your business or target audience.
2. Create original, exclusive, high-quality content.
3. Build a compelling pitch for each blog owner.
4. Contact each one personally.
5. Follow up and keep adding blogs to your outreach list.
6. Promote the published content through multiple channels.

4. Referral incentives

The best way to attract new users is through recommendations from existing ones—but you have to motivate them to refer you. One of the most effective ways to do that is by offering two-sided incentives: the existing user gets something for sharing your product or service, and the new user gets a reward for signing up.

Ideally, these rewards should be connected to your business, so the existing user gets added value, and the new one encounters fewer barriers to trying your product.

Steps to follow:

1. Identify why users should share your product and how they would do it.
2. Offer something your current customers truly value in exchange.
3. Offer something enticing to new users for signing up through a referral.
4. Promote the referral program to your existing customer base.

5. Exclusive invitations

Everyone loves feeling special—and in certain sectors, exclusivity can be offered at a very low cost. By launching an exclusive service with controlled access, you can create buzz and anticipation that few other strategies can match. This also helps build a tight-knit community of users who can assist in improving a new product, refining a service, or simply strengthening brand perception.

Even if not all users are part of your ideal customer base, creating buzz before a public launch can be extremely beneficial. One example is offering limited-time access to a beta version of your platform. The benefit for the user is free access for a limited time, possibly paired with a limited number of invites to share—or exclusive use for a specific period.

This is a common strategy for products in development, where early users can provide feedback and help shape the product.

Steps to follow:

1. Define the value proposition and how people will access it.
2. Set up an exclusive invitation program (e.g., using LaunchRock).
3. Promote the program through every possible channel (email, PR, social media…).
4. Create support materials to help users (videos, tutorials, guides…).

These five strategies can help you generate traffic, grow your subscriber list, or increase sales. But success isn’t just about following instructions to the letter. They all share one core principle that must always be respected—especially when thinking about growth strategies:

They benefit users.

Offering the very best your company has to potential customers will always be the best growth hack of all—starting, of course, with having the best possible product or service.

Go for it!