This document outlines ideas for building an effective growth funnel for startups. It discusses testing many paid traffic campaigns across different channels to acquire users at scale. These include search, display, YouTube, Gmail, and social ads targeting keywords, interests, and retargeting. The document emphasizes testing funnels with multiple touchpoints to increase conversion rates and optimize for gross margin rather than spend percentage. It also stresses the importance of tracking metrics to identify high and low performing campaigns and elements of the funnel.

1. #500STRONG CEREBRO PROGRAM
FULL CONTACT DISTRIBUTION FOR
FAST GROWTH & SOME OTHER TRICKS

2. IDEA #1/12
WE ARE ALL
IN THE SAME BUSINESS

3. WE ARE ALL
IN THE SAME BUSINESS

4. SO…
I F T H I S I S T R U E
+ <

5. YOU’VE GOT A
PROFITABLE BUSINESS

6. IF NOT…
GAME OVER

7. IDEA #2/12
HOPEFULLY YOU BUILD A
UNICORN

8. BUT UNICORNS ($1B COMPANIES)
ARE UNLIKELY AND NORMALLY
THEY FIRST LOOK LIKE HORSES
• I know you have dreams an all, but it’s
statistically improbable that your idea
it’s a billion dollar idea and that you’ll
be able to build a billion dollar
company
• It’s also not that probable that your
product is as amazing as Dropbox and
Evernote
• Hey even if it’s awesome (think AirBnB)
they still need traction and traffic.

9. IDEA #3/12
DISTRIBUTION WON’T MAKE
YOUR PRODUCT SUCK LESS

10. BUT WILL HELP GET
DATA T O F I X I T
• Normal Cycle: You launch, press
coverage, some friends, users… they
don’t stick to your product!
• You deploy some fixes (most of the
times based on intuition)
• But you are out of friends and press!
• So you’ll need fresh blood. Here’s
where this presentation will help you.

11. IDEA #4/12
MASTER INSTANT PAID TRAFFIC

12. I T W I L L S AVE YOU TIME
AND MAKE YOUR LEARN
FASTER
• First: No such thing as free traffic. You pay with
sweat and time, or with money.
• SEO works and it’s beautiful but by the time it
works your accel period is over or you are out of
money.
• You can turn paid traffic on and off as you wish.
Make some tweaks, turn it on, measure, turn it off.
Rinse and repeat.
• I’m aware paid traffic doesn’t work for every
business model (for dropbox in the early days did
not work), but it does work to prove concepts,
designs, if you don’t have enough organic/viral
traffic yet.

13. IDEA #5/12
MOST NEW STARTUP FUNNELS
ARE TOO “LAZY”

14. MOST STARTUPS FUNNELS
LOOK LIKE THIS
main keyword
www.

15. THIS CAUSES
SEVERAL PROBLEMS
• If you are in a competitive market like “CRM” you’ll be scared paying $50 USD per
Click and you’ll quit. Plus your competitors have a lot more thought out funnel.
• Even if you make it work, it’s hard too scale. What would you do to get more people
searching for your main keyword? Yeah exactly! Hard to do something about it.
• Then you raise money and you promise your investors that your CAC (Customer
Acquisition Cost) is $X. When in reality is $X only for very targeted limited traffic.
• If your competitor CAN and IS WILLING TO spend more money than you because
he insists more with a funnel that “tries harder” and has better conversions, he’ll
end up with most of the impressions in the market.

16. IDEA #6/12
CHANNELS AND APPROACHES

17. Channels:
Places to Advertise on
Approaches:
Your Strategy to Get Seen
main keyword
your brand (or product name, etc.)
competitor (or product name, etc.)
lateral thinking
Google
Display
Network
gMail

18. MIXING OUR CHANNELS AND APPROACHES
WE GO FROM THIS
main keyword
www.

19. people who signed up and not activated
www.
Google
Display
Network
gMail
main keyword
your brand
competitor
lateral thinking
main keyword
your brand
competitor
lateral thinking
main keyword
your brand
competitor
lateral thinking
main keyword
your brand
competitor
lateral thinking
obvious interests
your brand
competitor
lateral thinking
remarketing
Google
Display
Network
remarketing
people who visited and did not signup
people who visited cart page and abandoned
people who activated and haven’t purchased
people who bought, sell them some more
people who visited and did not signup
people who signed up and not activated
people who visited cart page and abandoned
people who activated and haven’t purchased
repeat what works on: people who bought, sell them some more

20. IDEA #7/12
25+ CAMPAIGNS THAT EVERY
STARTUP SHOULD RUN

21. CAMPAIGN TYPE #1
GOOGLE SEARCH - MAIN KEYWORDS

22. CAMPAIGN TYPE #1 - HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM!
GOOGLE SEARCH - MAIN KEYWORDS

23. CAMPAIGN TYPE #2
GOOGLE SEARCH - YOUR BRAND

24. CAMPAIGN TYPE #3
GOOGLE SEARCH - YOUR COMPETITORS

25. CAMPAIGN TYPE #4
GOOGLE SEARCH - LATERAL THINKING

26. CAMPAIGN TYPE #4
MORE EXAMPLES OF
LATERAL THINKING
• Weight Loss Infoproduct
• Women Buying Diapers
• Wedding Dresses
• Wedding Catering
• Wedding Gifts
• How to Breast Feed

27. HOW FAR CAN YOU GO LATERAL?
UNTIL GROSS MARGIN AND
CONVERSIONS ALLOW!

28. CAMPA I G N T Y P E # 5 , 6 , 7 , 8
GOOGLE DISPLAY NETWORK
• When people read blog/articles/webpages
about your topic, about your main keywords
• When people read blog/articles/webpages
about your brand or products.
• When people read about your competitors
blog/articles/webpages (ie. software “a” vs.
software “b”) brand or products
• When people read blog/articles/webpages
that can be interesting for your target
market

29. WHO KNOWS…
WHICH SITE IS THE SECOND
SEARCH ENGINE IN THE WORLD?

30. CAMPA I G N T Y P E # 9 , 1 0 , 1 1 , 1 2
YOUTUBE ADS
• When people watch videos about your
topic, about your main keywords
• When people watch videos about your
brand or products.
• When people watch videos about your
competitors (ie. software “a” vs.
software “b”) brand or products or how
to.
• When people watch videos that can be
interesting for your target market

31. CAMPAIGN TYPE #13, 14, 15, 16
GMAIL ADS

32. CAMPAIGN TYPE #17, 18, 19, 20
REMARKETING VIA GDN
• Target People that Visited but did not Signup
• Target People that Signed up but did not Activate —> “Hey…Finish what you started!”
• Target People that Activated but did not Purchase —> “You are missing this features!”
• Target People that Went to your Checkout Page —> “Here’s a coupon?”

33. CAMPAIGN TYPE #21, 22, 23, 24
REMARKETING VIA FACEBOOK
• Target People that Visited but did not Signup
• Target People that Signed up but did not Activate —> “Hey…Finish what you started!”
• Target People that Activated but did not Purchase —> “You are missing this features!”
• Target People that Went to your Checkout Page —> “Here’s a coupon?”

34. CAMPAIGN TYPE #25+
FACEBOOK CAMPAIGNS
• People who are interested in topics that make sense to you
• People who are part of groups that tell you they might need your product/service
• People who have jobs/positions/live, etc. that make you think they might need your services
• People that are fans of some of your competitors or complementary products
• People that read books, watch movies, etc.
• Create Similar Audiences of your Leads, Customers and Audiences that Work Well

35. CAMPAIGN TYPE # ¿STILL COUNTING?
YAHOO/BING (CLONE WHAT WORKED)
Yeah Some People Still Use Them and Traffic is Cheap and Might Convert Better!

36. SOME RESULTS
IS IT WORTH THE TROUBLE?
83% from the Traffic comes from Display
….y 87% of the Conversions!

37. IT’S NOT ONLY WORTH IT
IT’S NEEDED!

38. OPPPS! WE HAVE A PROBLEM:
CHANNEL FATIGUE

39. IDEA #8/12
THE EGO-FUNNEL LENGTH
CORRELATION

40. NORMALLY, NO ONE
GETS MARRIED IN THE
FIRST DATE
• Except in Vegas ;)

41. HOW DO I KNOW?
TOOK ME MONTHS OF BEING IN HER INBOX!

42. SO…
LET’S TURN THIS:

43. people who signed up and not activated
www.
Google
Display
Network
gMail
main keyword
your brand
competitor
lateral thinking
main keyword
your brand
competitor
lateral thinking
main keyword
your brand
competitor
lateral thinking
main keyword
your brand
competitor
lateral thinking
obvious interests
your brand
competitor
lateral thinking
remarketing
Google
Display
Network
remarketing
people who visited and did not signup
people who visited cart page and abandoned
people who activated and haven’t purchased
people who bought, sell them some more
people who visited and did not signup
people who signed up and not activated
people who visited cart page and abandoned
people who activated and haven’t purchased
repeat what works on: people who bought, sell them some more

44. INTO SOMETHING…
MORE PRO LIKE THIS ONE:

45. people who signed up and not activated
viral loops phone
www.
Google
Display
Network
gMail
main keyword
your brand
competitor
lateral thinking
main keyword
your brand
competitor
lateral thinking
main keyword
your brand
competitor
lateral thinking
main keyword
your brand
competitor
lateral thinking
obvious interests
your brand
competitor
lateral thinking
remarketing
Google
Display
Network
remarketing
people who visited and did not signup
people who visited cart page and abandoned
people who activated and haven’t purchased
people who bought, sell them some more
webinars
people who visited and did not signup
people who signed up and not activated
people who visited cart page and abandoned
people who activated and haven’t purchased
repeat what works on: people who bought, sell them some more
Social Media:
ebooks
infographics
drip
sequences
triggered
email
email
broadcasts
triggered
email
free trial >
phone

46. INSIGHT:
THE SHORTER YOUR FUNNEL,
THE BIGGER YOUR EGO.

47. WHY YOU NEED IT?
BECAUSE MEDIA BUYING IS A BIDDING PROCESS, THE ONE THAT
CAN EXTRACT MORE VALUE FROM THE CLICK (BECAUSE IT HAS
MORE “OPPORTUNITIES” TO SELL IN IT’S FUNNEL) CAN PAY THE
MOST AND GET THE MOST TRAFFIC.

48. IDEA #9/12
COPY (AND MESSAGE2MARKET MATCH)
MATTERS… A LOT

49. INCREDIBLE CLICK-THROUGH-RATES WHEN YOU
SPEAK TO YOUR PERFECT CUSTOMER

50. IDEA #10/12
NOW TEST… A LOT.

51. WHAT AND HOW TO TEST
DO YOU LIKE FREE MONEY?
• Start with the Point with More Traffic & Higher Dropoff
• PPIE = Potential. Proven. Importance. Ease.
• Make sure you have enough traffic before starting.
• If not… Don’t be afraid of Sequential Testing when you are starting.
• Get Ideas from Proven Funnels and Experts (ie. I love: http://useronboard.com/)
• Test the Copy and the “Parts of the Funnel”
• Get Ideas from your Data

52. IDEA #11/12
YOU CAN’T SPEND A %

53. OPTIMIZE FOR
GROSS MARGIN
• People Take Pride on Their Conversion
Rates.
• Now you’ll start driving more “broad”
traffic and of course, conversion rates
will go down! Because it’s people less
interested.
• Very High Conversion Rates means you
are not Spending Enough on Traffic.
• What do you prefer: 10% ROI on $1M
on Spend or 100% on $1 in Spent

54. IDEA #12/12
MAKE SURE YOU ARE TRACKING
(EXAMPLES OF WHAT COULD HAVE GONE
WRONG WITHOUT TRACKING)

55. BE A SHERLOCK HOLMES OF METRICS
AND ASK QUESTIONS

56. WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW
WHICH EMAILS PERFORM BEST?

57. NOT TRAFFIC IS CREATED EQUAL
WHICH COUNTRIES MAKE YOU MORE MONEY?

58. NOT TRAFFIC IS CREATED EQUAL ( 2 )
ARE YOU SURE ALL CITIES ARE WORTH THE SAME?

59. LET YOUR INTERNAL DATA
ALSO SPEAK TO YOU AND NO,
ANALYTICS IS NOT A PERFECT SCIENCE

60. DON’T HIDE FROM YOUR CUSTOMERS
WANNA CHAT?

61. UNDERSTAND THE DATA TO HELP YOU BUILD HYPOTHESIS’ AND TEST WHAT MATTERS
DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS
ON YOUR MONEY PAGES?

62. BE CAREFUL WITH
THE “DIRECT” CURSE

63. TO FINISH…
LET’S COMPARE AGAIN

64. V1:
THE “LAZY” STARTUP FUNNEL
main keyword
www.

65. people who signed up and not activated
viral loops phone
www.
Google
Display
Network
gMail
main keyword
your brand
competitor
lateral thinking
main keyword
your brand
competitor
lateral thinking
main keyword
your brand
competitor
lateral thinking
main keyword
your brand
competitor
lateral thinking
obvious interests
your brand
competitor
lateral thinking
remarketing
Google
Display
Network
remarketing
people who visited and did not signup
people who visited cart page and abandoned
people who activated and haven’t purchased
people who bought, sell them some more
webinars
people who visited and did not signup
people who signed up and not activated
people who visited cart page and abandoned
people who activated and haven’t purchased
repeat what works on: people who bought, sell them some more
Social Media:
ebooks
infographics
drip
sequences
triggered
email
email
broadcasts
triggered
email
free trial >
phone
V2: THE PRO STARTUP

66. NOW LET’S SEE IF ALL OF THIS IS REAL…
LET’S HEAR SOME STORIES

68. HOW TO BEAT KASPAROV AT CHESS
AND OTHER TRICKS

69. EVERYTIME HE MAKES A MOVE,
MAKE TWO.

70. BUILD A GROWTH TEAM
(AND LET THEM TO
THEIR JOB)
• If you don’t have a Growth Team, at
least have Growth Days!
• If you are at Growth Stage, guess
who has priority on resources?
• Keep those guys in check, growth is
important but don’t sacrifice long
term success for short term gains.

71. YOU’LL STILL NEED TO WORK YOUR ASS OFF
TRY A LOT, I T M ATTERS

72. SOMETIMES IS JUST A
MATH PROBLEM

73. Source: http://tomtunguz.com/

74. SOLUTIONS TO THE
MATH PROBLEM:
• 1) Track Better
(give more time, assign direct)
• 2) Increase Conversions
• 3) Grow a Pair of Balls
• 4) Go and Raise More Money
(if you need)

75. YOU ARE A PIECE OF KNOWLEDGE AWAY FROM TREMENDOUS GROWTH
STUDY & COPY

76. WHERE TO LEARN AND FIND IDEAS TO COPY
RESOURCES
• Look at Successfull Companies… They Test a Lot.
• Good Site: http://www.useronboard.com/
• Find out how/where they Advertise: http://www.adbeat.com/ | https://
www.whatrunswhere.com | http://semrush.com/
• Browse, Research, Be a Customer
• This is my Feedly (RSS Reader) File… You can read what I read ;) Go to:
http://bit.ly/juansfeedly

77. SOME TOOLS
RESOURCES
• Campaign Building:
• For Adwords: Google Adwords Editor,
AdStage.io
• For Facebook: Adespresso, Qwaya, AdStage.io
• Email Drips/Trigger: Intercom.io, Customer.io,
Ontraport
• Email Broadcasts: Sendgrid, Mailchimp, Ontraport
• Customer Support: Helpscout, Zendesk, desk.com
• CRMs: Ontraport, Pipedrive, Pipelinedeals,
ZohoCRM, Salesforce
• Rapid Landing Page Building:
• LeadPages
• Unbounce
• MegaphoneApp
• Tracking: Google Analytics, KissMetrics, Mixpanel
• Phone Support: Talkdesk, IfByPhone
• Project Management Softare:
• Asana (I use this one)
• Basecamp
• Trello

78. “Now they call it Growth Hacking.
For years I called it doing my job.”
@JUANMARTITEGUI