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How to grow a subscription business | Yuriy Timen (Grammarly, Canva, Airtable)

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Sep 1, 2022

Guest

Yuriy Timen

Yuriy Timen, a growth advisor and former Global Head of Marketing at Grammarly, shares his expertise on scaling subscription businesses. He discusses the importance of effective onboarding for user retention and dives into innovative SEO strategies that leverage first-principles thinking. Yuriy emphasizes the evolving landscape of paid acquisition and the significance of incrementality testing in maximizing ad spend efficacy. He also explores the potential of untapped platforms like TikTok and highlights the value of offline marketing in building resilient brands.

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insights

INSIGHT

Paid Acquisition Contraction

Paid acquisition is contracting due to increased focus on efficiency and attribution.
This creates opportunities for companies with strong unit economics and attribution capabilities.

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ADVICE

Ruthless Prioritization

Prioritize ruthlessly and avoid spreading resources too thin across multiple growth areas.
Ensure sufficient investment in your chosen tactic before diversifying.

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ADVICE

Focus and Iterate

Focus on one growth tactic initially, but set clear guardrails for evaluation.
Avoid prematurely abandoning tactics without sufficient testing and iteration.

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The Crucial Role of Effective Onboarding in Subscription Growth

01:44 • 3min

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Advisory Insights and Growth Strategies

04:55 • 18min

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Innovative SEO Strategies and Paid Advertising Insights

22:29 • 2min

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Navigating Paid Acquisition in Subscription Startups

24:16 • 6min

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Understanding Incrementality in Advertising Spend

29:59 • 2min

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Strategies for Effective Growth in Subscription Businesses

32:01 • 3min

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Evaluating Experimentation Strategies in Marketing

34:52 • 3min

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Navigating Growth Strategies for Subscription Businesses

37:55 • 19min

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Unlocking the Potential of Emerging Advertising Channels

56:36 • 2min

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The Power of Offline Marketing and Resilience

58:58 • 9min

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Yuriy Timen was Global Head of Marketing and Growth at Grammarly, and is now a full-time growth advisor, having worked with more than a dozen companies, including Canva, Airtable, Whimsical, Otter.ai, Oyster, Flo Health, and Clay. In today’s episode, Yuriy discusses the ever-changing world of growth, emerging growth tactics, and how to find your growth engine. You’ll learn the most effective strategies for driving user acquisition, how to balance and diversify organic and paid channels, when it’s time to change plans, how to vet new growth channel opportunities, and much more.—

Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/transform-your-subscription-growth

—Where to find Yuriy Timen:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuriytimen/• Twitter: https://twitter.com/thetimenator—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for making this episode possible:• Flatfile: https://www.flatfile.com/lenny• Modern Treasury: https://www.moderntreasury.com/• Eppo: https://www.geteppo.com/—Referenced:• Casey Winters: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseywinters/• Elena Verna: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenaverna/• Lyka Pet Food: https://lyka.com.au/• Ethan Smith’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanls/• Graphite: https://www.graphitehq.com/• Recast: https://getrecast.com/• Measured: https://www.measured.com/• INCRMNTAL: https://www.incrmntal.com/• Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less: https://www.amazon.com/Essentialism-Disciplined-Pursuit-Greg-McKeown/dp/0804137382/• Man’s Search for Meaning: https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/0807014273/• The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz: https://www.amazon.com/Splendid-Vile-Churchill-Family-Defiance/dp/0385348711/• The All-In Podcast: https://www.allinpodcast.co/• Hustle: https://www.netflix.com/title/80242342• Mark Fiske at H.I.G.: https://higgrowth.com/team/mark-fiske/—In this episode, we cover:[03:49] Yuriy’s background[09:46] Different paths to growth for subscription-based products[13:21] When to lean into virality[15:39] What are network effects?[16:32] SEO strategy and timeline: how long can it take to see results?[24:22] The shifting landscape of paid media[28:09] The return of media mix modeling[32:01] How can you tell if media spending equates to business results?[33:44] Don’t spread yourself too thin[36:01] How to tell if you’ve taken a strategy far enough[38:02] When to lean into a strategy that’s working vs. when to think about diversification[42:13] Is there a shift from growth to survival?[46:19] Two reasons to do paid media[56:45] Why you shouldn’t dismiss TikTok (and other channels you might be overlooking)[59:36] Lightning round!—Production and marketing: https://penname.co/

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