Create your own Growth Canvas: Design virality for your product

Introduction: Creating a repeatable engine for growth

How would you describe the product in one sentence?
How would you describe the product in one sentence?
How would you grow the product? Lay out various hypotheses.
How would you grow the product? Lay out various hypotheses.
Which of these are bumps? Which are engines? Why do you believe they are engines?
Which of these are bumps? Which are engines? Why do you believe they are engines?
Are you getting users to bring in other users? Is that a part of the product workflow? Or is it a ha
Are you getting users to bring in other users? Is that a part of the product workflow? Or is it a hack layered on top?
Decide a product for which you'd like to apply the growth principles
Share your progress in your project section to get feedback from other students

How Products Spread: Five questions that you need to answer

How would you define the user? What is he doing at the time of spread?
How would you define the user? What is he doing at the time of spread?
What mechanism does the user use to spread word about the product?
What mechanism does the user use to spread word about the product?
Where does the user spread word about the product?
Where does the user spread word about the product?
Who's the recipient of this message? Why will he want to take action?
Who's the recipient of this message? Why will he want to take action?
Apply the product spread analogy to your product...
Apply the product spread analogy to your product and explain why your product would spread among users

WHY - Sender and Receiver Motivations

List the consumer and producer personas on your product.
List the consumer and producer personas on your product.
For each persona, list the user's motivation for using the product
For each persona, list the user’s motivation for using the product
For each persona, list desired growth action
For each persona, list desired growth action
Are the growth action and motivation aligned?
Are the growth action and motivation aligned?

Do you need to change the growth action?
Do you need to layer any incentives
Do you need to layer any incentives
Classify motivations into fun, fame and fortune
Classify motivations into fun, fame and fortune
For the recipient, classify motivation to click into fun, fame and fortune
For the recipient, classify motivation to click into fun, fame and fortune
Design the Pitch
Design the Pitch
Craft a clear Call To Action
Craft a clear Call To Action
Lay out the growth actions for your product....
Lay out the growth actions for your product and decide how you can maximize conversions.

WHAT and WHERE -- The Viral Seed and The External Network

Identify the seeds on your product
Identify the seeds on your product
Lay out the social interaction which will require the seeds to be spread.
Lay out the social interaction which will require the seeds to be spread.
Choose an external network. Does it satisfy the conditions mentioned in the teaching video?
Choose an external network. Does it satisfy the conditions mentioned in the teaching video?
Identify the viral seeds for your product...
Identify the viral seeds for your product and decide which network applies to your viral seed and for your user base

HOW - Managing Viral Growth

How are you encouraging creation of Seeds?
How are you encouraging creation of Seeds?
What are the points where users send the seeds out?
What are the points where users send the seeds out?
How can you design the Seed for spread?
How can you design the Seed for spread?
Design Pitch and CTA
Design Pitch and CTA
List steps from CTA to the start of a new cycle
List steps from CTA to the start of a new cycle
How can you reduce the steps in between?
How can you reduce the steps in between?
Outline steps that you will take for your product to manage and optimize viral growth
Share your progress in your project section to get feedback from other students

Revisiting the Growth Canvas

Follow all the steps in the previous chapters to fill out the canvas
Follow all the steps in the previous chapters to fill out the canvas
Brainstorm on every box. Argue counter-examples
Brainstorm on every box. Argue counter-examples
Test assumptions with users.
Test assumptions with users.

Refine constantly through A/B testing
Create the Growth Canvas for your product
Share your progress in your project section to get feedback from other students

Additional Resources

http://platformed.info/zynga-facebook-social-gaming-failure-fall/
http://platformed.info/how-not-to-go-viral-social-spamming/
http://platformed.info/why-viral-growth-virality-fails/
Students can download the Growth Canvas template at http://platformed.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Growth-Canvas.001.jpg
http://platformed.info/why-viral-growth-virality-fails/
Students can download the Growth Canvas template at http://platformed.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Growth-Canvas.001.jpg
http://platformed.info/incentives-virality-platform-growth-hacking-hacks/
http://platformed.info/naturally-viral-how-to-design-your-platform-for-self-expression/
http://platformed.info/product-strategy-instagram-kickstarter-itunes-aws-marketplace/
Students can download the Growth Canvas template at http://platformed.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Growth-Canvas.001.jpg
http://platformed.info/user-acquisition-content-discovery-platform-virality-spam/
http://platformed.info/viral-loop-surveymonkey-mailchimp-ning-meetup-eventbrite-paypal-hotmail/
http://platformed.info/destination-distribution-product-traction-widget/
http://platformed.info/virality-viral-growth-network-effects/
http://platformed.info/growth-engagement-product-design-thinking/
http://platformed.info/the-network-effect-playbook-social-products-win-with-utility-not-invites/
Students can download the Growth Canvas template at http://platformed.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Growth-Canvas.001.jpg
Students can download the Growth Canvas template at http://platformed.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Growth-Canvas.001.jpg
Students can download the Growth Canvas template at http://platformed.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Growth-Canvas.001.jpg

James Shields

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