1. SaaS products
aren’t viral*
*usually

3. “How do I go viral?”
Going viral = Sustained exponential growth curve with
zero cost of acquisition, not just a marketing stunt

4. You can’t.

5. (usually)

6. “Why not?”

7. Viral growth, the
analytical way.

8. 1000 new users
20% send out invites
10 invites sent per user
50% of emails are opened
5% click through
20% sign up
= 10 new users sign up
Viral factor = 10/1000 = 0.01

9. 1000 new users
30% connect to Twitter
20% tweet your link
100 average followers per user
1% tweet CTR
20% sign up
= 12 new users sign up
Viral factor = 12/1000 = ~0.01

10. 0.01 is a waste of time.
3000
2250
1500
750
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Viral factor 0 Viral factor 0.01

11. “How do I go viral?”

12. 100X

13. 100X*
*you’ll never get there

14. 1000 new users
20% send out invites
10 invites sent
50% of emails are opened
5% click through
20% sign up
= 10 new users sign up
Viral factor = 10/1000 = 0.01

15. Not a feature.
Not an incentive.
Not after purchase.
Not just once.
Something everybody does, every day, that makes a
high-frequency, high-retention product even better.

17. 1000 new users
20% send out invites
10 invites sent
50% of emails are opened
5% click through
20% sign up
= 10 new users sign up
Viral factor = 10/1000 = 0.01

18. Targets extroverts.
Anyone can use it.
The more the merrier.
Sharing/communication.
Utility + One job title = Fail.

19. 1000 new users
20% send out invites
10 invites sent
50% of emails are opened
5% click through
20% sign up
= 10 new users sign up
Viral factor = 10/1000 = 0.01

20. “Law of shitty CTRs"
Year CTR
1994 78%
Hotwired.com
2011 0.05%
Facebook

21. New channel.
Compelling pitch.
Low competition.
Highly optimized.

24. Product/market fit.
Daily usage.
High retention.
Share files.
Already growing fast.
<1 viral factor.

25. ...

26. “What about me?”

27. You’ve already chosen.

28. Based on your product:
1. Don’t bother
2. Or, drive down CAC
3. Or, go for it*
*probably not

29. Andrew Chen
voodoo@gmail.com
@andrewchen
http://andrewchen.co