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How AudioPen Grew
Voice-to-text AI tool for transforming thoughts into text
How did AudioPen grow?
Summary of the sourced claims below
AudioPen's growth has largely been organic, relying mainly on word of mouth to find new customers. The founder live tweeted throughout the build process, sharing images and updates that helped attract initial beta testers, some of whom became paying customers. To keep existing customers engaged, AudioPen uses regular email updates with a personal touch. An affiliate program is also in place to incentivize word of mouth referrals.
Channels
7 channels · grouped by how AudioPen grows
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Word of mouth
· 4 mentions · 3 sources“Though AudioPen’s growth has largely been organic, Louis experimented briefly with paid TikTok influencer marketing. Unfortunately, it was an expensive misstep, costing $7,000 with no notable traffic boost. Now, he relies on word of mouth while focusing on product development over marketing, conf...”
highShow 3 more quotes
“Since day 1, I’ve relied mainly on word of mouth to find new customers.”
high“Since day 1, I’ve relied mainly on word of mouth to find new customers.”
high“Since day one, I've relied mainly on word of mouth to find new customers.”
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Email marketing
· 3 mentions · 2 sources“In order to keep existing customers engaged, I use email updates. I think they’re underutilized, especially for young products. I do my best to write regular update emails, and add a personal touch to each one.”
highShow 2 more quotes
“In order to keep existing customers engaged, I use email updates. I do my best to write regular update emails, and add a personal touch to each one.”
high“In order to keep existing customers engaged, I use email updates. I do my best to write regular update emails and add a personal touch to each one.”
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Referral Program
· 3 mentions · 2 sources“Besides that, I also have an affiliate program, which helps incentivize word of mouth.”
highShow 2 more quotes
“Besides that, I also have an affiliate program, which helps incentivize word of mouth.”
high“Besides that, I also have an affiliate program which helps incentivize word of mouth.”
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Twitter
· 2 mentions“I live tweeted throughout the build. That helped me create some hype around it. I shared images of what I was building, and shared the process with folks. It helped me get my initial set of beta testers, some of which actually paid for the product!”
highShow 1 more quote
“I shared each of those tools with people on Twitter. One of the tools struck a chord more than the others. That was AudioPen.”
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Franchise your business
· 1 mention“20 of 68 apps in the DistributionMarket database used Discord or Slack group participation as a primary distribution channel. The pattern across all of them is the same: contribution before promotion. FeedbackPanda's founders were already trusted members of Chinese ESL teacher Facebook groups bef...”
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Integrations
· 1 mention“Premium users get a whole lot more. They have everything from writing styles to longer recordings to integrations with other apps and a bunch of other features.”
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Email List Growth
· 1 mention“Perhaps if you're seeing a lot of people resonate with what you've built, spin up a quick email list, even if it's just a simple Google form.”
medium
How 2,994 businesses grow
Of businesses with mapped growth channels, the share using each —
AudioPen’s highlighted.
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Referral/Word-of-mouth67% ◀
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Social media63% ◀
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Search/SEO58%
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Email48% ◀
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Community37%
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Content/Inbound35%
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Partnerships33% ◀
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Events25%
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Paid ads24%
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Outbound/Sales19%
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Press/PR18%
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Marketplaces/App stores11%
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Podcasting4%
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Building in public3%
