BI 344: How Swag.com Growth Hacked Their Way to the Inc 5000 List

Episode Highlight


[04:13] – Jeremy gives a background of his business

• Jeremy started a product distribution company online called Swag.com in 2016.
  
  
• He discovered a problem with antiquated catalog presentations.
  
  
• His solution was to streamline the entire experience allowing buyers to personalize their products.
  
  

[05:20] – What is so special about Swag.com?

• Swag.com is different because of the product personalization and distribution platform.
  
  
• What is being distributed is an experience.
  
  
• Sales talk is not always required to sell products.
  
  

[07:21] – How Swag.com gained traction

• Initially, they targeted big brands to build strong client portofolio.
  
  
• A catchy name was essential. For Jeremy, Swag.com says everything about the business without having to say anything explicitly.
  
  
• With consistent content creation, they built a strong SEO strategy to increase their organic visitors. Their main focus is not on making viral posts but on getting to their target customers.
  
  

[8:25] – Getting the domain and starting up the business

• Jeremy got the domain from day one with no funds thanks to a deal they made with the owner; they eventually paid $200,000 for it.
  
  
• An outbound strategy works in the initial stages of startup businesses.
  
  
• Starting from top to bottom is not disadvantageous contrary to what other entrepreneurs believe.
  
  
• Rise above the challenges, get in the door and do everything you need to do.
  
  

[14:48] – Strategies to control traffic

• Using Google is too expensive to focus all your strategy based on it.
  
  
• One content strategy is creating consistent content to catch the attention of potential customers.
  
  
• From an SEO perspective, using longtail keywords in blog posts is effective when it´s focused to a specific target audience.
  
  
• Using traction channels or joining partnerships is a strategy in growth hacking.
  
  

[24:29] – Best conversion hacks

• The first conversion hack is to label products with Swag's tagline "we made this".
  
  
• After expansion, they started adding shipping labels saying "powered by swag.com" to every package.
  
  
• To gain more organic buyers, conducting giveaways is useful.
  
  
• Reciprocity helps solve the problem of cold outbound emails.
  
  
• The best way to raise money is through the press.
  
  

[30:58] – Jeremy's number one goal for the year ahead

• Jeremy intends to push hard on the Swag distribution platform.
  
  
• The platform will have unbelievably new features by then.
  
  
• The next phase is for the platform to allow people to automate Swag distribution by themselves.