Author’s Note

I’d like to let you in on a secret. Could you lean in a bit closer?

The text you have in front of you now is the book that I never intended to write.

With no less than five books published in 2015, I capped off my final book, “Hack Sleep,” and I was done. I had written everything I wanted to write. It was all out of me.

Writing is torture. And the more ambitious the book, the greater the pain. Great ideas are common but trying to organize them all into something, showing up each day, looking at what you’ve written and trying to see how it all fits, losing yourself (and your mind) in the process, that’s the hard part.

If you’ve ever attempted to solve a Rubik’s cube, then you’ll understand well.

And so it was with a great sense of reprieve that I waddled off into the sunset of semi- retirement, in pursuit of less demanding — and more lucrative — projects. And most importantly, new challenges that could pique my interest.

During the interim, I launched and grew two fully-fledged productized service businesses, launched a podcast and an online magazine, launched a crowdfunding campaign, created a Udemy course, published several information products, created an established affiliate brand, and appeared on more than fifty podcasts and publicationsall while being nomadic, traveling and living abroad full-time.

My business ventures are now completely virtual and online, my income streams diversified to more than a dozen.

It’s been a fun and thrilling ride. I’ve spent each and every day outside of my comfort zone. And it’s been a learning experience unlike any other.

Regardless of what I was working on — the one constant throughout it all was the need for marketing. Not any kind of marketing, but the kind that really kicks-ass. The kind that creates a frenzy around whatever it is I was trying to promote. The kind that delivers real, tangible, visible results. And it was the one thing other entrepreneurs, bloggers, and business owners kept asking me about.

The unfortunate truth is that most businesses suffer from a cancer. It eats away at the core of the business and even afflicts the health and sanity of the entrepreneur himself. As a result of this cancer, an entrepreneur becomes gaunt, sunken, hollow, and fraught with anxiety.

This cancer is nothing less than a lack of traffic, customers, users, and subscribers. A lack of customers is the #1 reason why businesses fail. Lack of deal flow and revenue from poor lead and value generation is the cause. And of the businesses still operating, nearly all of them want more. More than what they are currently getting.

These strategies I’ve learnt — and that I’m about to share — can help them. I did not want to write this book. But I knew that I had to.

My Journey

As I set out to try all new types of unconventional marketing for my own products, I felt like Columbus setting out to explore an undiscovered land. There were no charts to guide me — only tales of El Dorado that lingered on the lips of sailors, a faint promise, a hope hiding beyond the next horizon… but could it perhaps be true?

I had no lighthouses to guide my efforts. Only a few faint lights lay hidden in the murky distance. Many of my campaigns met with failure, shipwrecked on the reefs and shoals of marketing oblivion. When I did succeed, it was often a long, roundabout course. But gradually I mapped out every course, every current.

I returned from this New World with knowledge that my peers had never previously thought possible. El Dorado does indeed exist — caches of hidden treasure lay hidden all around — but these destinations exist in remote locations and our coordinates must be precise.

And I thought, why should hide all of this to myself?

The things I have discovered as a result of this hands-on experience growth hacking my own projects was too good not to share.

Despite my solemn vow back in 2014 to never again work with clients, I created a growth hacking service, which doubled in size for the last three years. I now work with approximately 40 clients in two dozen countries.

For more than ten years I have been working in marketing. Every single client, campaign, and market provides a unique challenge. But from each campaign we’ve drawn out a seed of wisdom that applies to analogous undertakings.

From tireless tests and experiments I’ve been able to create a process that is proven to be consistent, repeatable, and most importantly — it works.

Growth marketing is flourishing under present conditions. A quick Google search on “growth hacking” returns more than 56 million results. It has multiplied in volume, prestige, and respect — and rightfully so.

Automation is becoming smarter and more efficient with each passing day, allowing us to accomplish 50x what we could before. Developers release new tools each week, exponentially multiplying the limits of what is possible.

“Technological deflation” drives down costs allowing powerful marketing techniques to become available to anyone. The risks have become minimal, and failures trivial.

Growth hacking is developing quickly, and it is only now beginning to take off. New results are being reported all the time. Everyone is joining in this new “gold rush” and rushing to acquire the hat of a growth hacker.

A few of these men — and women — are developing to become true masters. Each of these impresarios has their own style, strengths, and flavor of marketing. Each is (either quietly or publicly) building their empire.

WHAT YOU’LL FIND IN THIS BOOK

Again, I never wanted to write this book.

Yet here I sit, at 9:00pm on a drizzly Saturday evening in Bangkok, agonizing over these words when I’d rather relax and enjoy a cold drink with a friend.

My original intent was to write an updated and expanded version to the business section (Part III) of my book “Buy Your Own Island” on how to create a lifestyle business, with new chapters and strategies.

As I continued to work on this project, I debated whether or not to include these chapters from my original work. In the end, I decided to include these, as a bonus supplement, so that you get even more value from this book. I’ve also invited several friends to contribute chapters sharing their own unique strategies for growth marketing.

I am much busier today than when I wrote my first book way back in 2014. Time and again I’ve wanted to give up on the process of writing this book, which has brought me close to the point of tears. But I’ve persisted.

With that said, I do indeed feel fortunate to share with you everything I’ve learned these past few years as a result of my adventures in marketing.

It is with great esteem — and an equal measure of humility — that I present to you this new work, in the sincere hope that you will find the wisdom shared in these pages useful and helpful in your own life and business journey.

My goal in writing this book is to help you understand—with the clarity of sparkling spring water—the exact process we are using to win this game.

In this book, you will not find abstract theories and opinions, but well-proved principles and facts. Every tactic has been tested. This is a precise guide of established technics.

We can, in confidence, hand this book to any person in the expectation that they will be able to use these methods to effectively grow their business. Here you will entire systems broken down, step-by-step procedures, tutorials, and screenshots.

I have been able to achieve for myself a near-unlimited amount of personal freedom and autonomy, 100% online, all without ever having to answer to a boss. I have never “gotten rich quick” with any overnight successes to make this possible.

Rather, it has been a deliberate, persistent, and patient process. I’ve distilled the process into several core tenets, which I will present to you in the next chapter. I truly believe that these can be duplicated to apply to anyone.

But this is a book about more than just tactics and shiny new tools. On a fundamental level, I have a core strategy that I apply to every single campaign. It is based upon four important concepts, which I’ll share with you in the next chapter.

Conclusion

Well then, it is time for me to sign off. I’m closing up the laptop for today.

I hope that as you read this book, you come to think of me as your true friend and ally. I want you to experience the same level of freedom that I have been fortunate enough to create for myself. I want you to do it less time than it took me. And ultimately I want you to surpass me and take this craft of “growth marketing” further.

If you are reading this book, know that you and I are kindred spirits in the pursuit of wisdom and growth. We are earnest and loyal comrades in arms, and I am dedicated to lifting you up and helping you be successful in any way I can.

Please let me know if I can improve my efforts at this goal. You can reach out to me easily via Twitter - @dandanflood.

Foreword: Marketing is War, Minus the Venom.

“Advertising is much like war, minus the venom.We are usually out to capture others’ citadels or garner others’ trade.We must have training and experience, also right equipment. We must have proper ammunition, and enough.”

- Claude Hopkins, “My Life in Advertising”

It was the turn of the 18th century, and the world was about to be torn apart by the hinges. The American Revolution brought down the British Empire and established a new order. An even bigger upheaval, one that would disrupt the entire global order, was about to erupt.

In 1789, bloody revolution breaks out in France. A mob storms the fortress at Bastille. Marie Antoinette is murdered. An enraged Austria declares war on France. Badly underestimating their opponents, they are soundly defeated by a young upstart officer named Napoleon, who quickly rises up the ranks to become emperor.

The Prussians, renowned for their abilities in war, were certain to not make the same mistake. They observed Napoleon’s campaigns in Austria, and had to come to respect their adversary. Nevertheless, the Prussian general staff was confident that if Napoleon were to challenge the might of Prussia, this young upstart would finally learn his lesson.

The Prussians had reasons to be confident in their ability to wage war. Prussia had carved out a military machine dating back to the days of Fredrick the Great: a popular saying of the era was that while most nations possessed an army, Prussia was an army in possession of a nation.

The Prussian military staff had refined the art of war to an exact science. The officers that made up the Prussian General Staff were decorated and veteran soldiers of many battles. They studied military history, had completely memorized the playbook, and knew every maneuver and rule of war. Their soldiers were well-trained and marched in formation with perfect precision; it was beautiful to behold.

Finally, in 1806, the opportunity had come. Napoleon had declared war on Prussia. At Jena and Auerstedt, sites of the first battle, the Prussians outnumbered the French two to one. And then something strange happened. Napoleon’s armies were acting in ways that the Prussians had never seen before. They moved quicker, and in smaller numbers. They could never quite pin down their exact movements or objectives. The confused Prussians were slow to grasp the situation or react.

All of their best laid plans had to be folded up and put back on the shelf, because Napoleon was breaking all of the rules. They were divided amongst themselves and quarreled amongst themselves about how best to respond.

Within two weeks, Napoleon entered Berlin. He completely crushed the Prussians, who surrendered unconditionally, scarcely able to comprehend what had happened.

SENTINEL OF CERTAINTY OR CHAMPION OF CHAOS?

“Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder... Only the ladder is real. The climb is all there is.”

-Petyr Baelish

Marketing is war. True marketers are the generals on the frontline, faces covered in mud from the trenches. Our reward for victory is survival and a fresh set of hungry opponents.

Marketing is a fluid activity. Every new tactic or platform has an expiration date and the clock is ticking each day. And the old guard is changing.

Planning is important, but brilliant, overly complex plans are useless. Perfection is the enemy of success. Simple plans, which allow room for velocity of implementation, testing, feedback and response, are best.

The biggest wins come not from what worked in the past, but from the new, novel, and disruptive.

Like Napoleon, the entrepreneurs who are enjoying massive amounts of success are the warriors, always in the trenches, always hungry. Those who have discovered and exploited powerful “hacks” and developed these into competitive advantages that are difficult to duplicate.

Much like Moses parting the Red Sea, their success may seem like nothing short of a miracle.

From SEOs building powerful link networks that let them dominate search rankings to affiliate marketers who discover hidden niche opportunities, they win by finding loopholes that others haven’t discovered.

Upheavals - in almost every business niche and industry - occur around us every day.

Approach your life as a business and your business as life. Know how and when to improvise. Be an experimentalist, a scientist, always adapting and implementing the best methods.

Many of your experiments will fail but if you are consistent and diligent in your efforts, you will discover big wins outside of the realm of what others imagine possible.

The most brilliant marketers and entrepreneurs I’ve been privileged to know are not simply smart business people or clever marketers. They are dedicated to becoming masters of their craft and extremely motivated.

They are diligent in how they manage their time; disciplined about their work; and maintain devotion to studying their craft even after, perhaps especially after, they have hit the top of their game.

They’ve learned to love the game. You will too -- once you’ve discovered how to perform with consistent excellence.

And finally — the last secret to success, as Napoleon demonstrated to the Prussians, is that we need to be willing to play by our own set of rules.

Allow me to demonstrate with another real-life example.

THE MOST FASCINATING DENTIST YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF

About a hundred years after Napoleon rampaged around Europe, another renegade had begun to wreak his own havoc amongst another established order.

He was perhaps the very first growth hacker.

The American Dental Association called him “a menace to the dignity of the profession” and did everything they could to try to shut him down. But he could not be stopped.

His name was Edgar “Painless” Parker and he was the P.T. Barnum of the dentistry world.

In the early 1900s, there were as many as 5,000 street dentists in New York alone. But the flamboyant and famous “Painless Parker” was the king of them all.

When Parker opened his practice, he waited six weeks without a single patient. He was taught in dental school that it was unethical to advertise or solicit work. He played by the rules but after another 90 days passed with only one patient, he knew had to change them. So he decided to take things on the road — he bought a traveling circus and became its ringmaster.

He would wear a top hat and roll in to a new town, circus-and-dental practice in tow, proclaiming “painless dentistry!”

He would run full page newspaper ads in each city he visited, and huge crowds showed up. People came with their entire families. Non-patients would come to see the elephants, watch the trapeze artists, or ogle the bearded lady.

Out on the streets, a musician or band would play to draw attention — which also provided great cover for the screams of patients, who were plied whiskey and hydrocaine. Parker would deliver his well-practised speech from his horse-drawn wagon and offer to treat anyone.

To convert his prospects, he created an irresistible offer: 50 cents per tooth extraction, and promised every potential patient that if it hurt, he would pay the patient $5 (approximately $120 in today’s dollars).

He was enormously successful, at one point pulling 357 teeth in a single day, which he strung to a necklace.

He once treated a massive 1,800kg (4,000 lbs) hippo called Lucas, performed at a theme park in Long Beach, and snapped photos with celebrities, all while promoting his dental services and adding to his fame.

As Painless Parker pulled teeth, his adversaries gnashed their own. Finally, the establishment hatched a strategy. The California dental board accused him of false advertising on the grounds that no dentistry could be truly called “painless.”

At last — Parker’s opponents had this wily upstart in a corner. Or so they thought. Parker outmaneuvered them, legally changing his first name to Painless and they could not do a single thing.

Parker continued to have massive success, banking on his now legendary name. He would go on to open a chain of twenty-eight dentist offices, employing 70 dentists on his payroll. He brought affordable dentistry to the working class. Oh, and he also grossed a cool $3 million per year (about $72 million adjusted for today’s dollars).