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Flodesk
SaaS B2B & B2C

Flodesk is beautiful, simple email marketing software for small businesses.

flodesk.com · Founded 2019 · 43 public sources · Updated 7 days ago

Researched profile. Starter Story's AI research system compiled this page from 43 public sources — the founder didn't write it. Automated research can misread or misattribute a source, so treat figures as best-effort. How this works →

How Flodesk Grew

Design-driven email marketing platform for small businesses.

How did Flodesk grow?

Summary of the sourced claims below

Flodesk's growth was driven primarily by a referral program that encouraged users to share referral links, creating a network of salespeople among their customers. The company also utilized a viral footer in emails, similar to the early Hotmail model, to promote their brand and facilitate growth. Paid advertising was introduced later and complemented other growth efforts.

Channels

9 channels · grouped by how Flodesk grows

  • Facebook Community

    · 3 mentions · 3 sources
    “we had this Facebook community where a lot of people were gathering to talk about Flowdust and we actually, we have tens of thousands of people in there now. It's sort of like our, our support group.”
    high
    Show 2 more quotes
    “They are also super engaged on their Facebook support group, helping answer any questions they can (if the other customers don’t beat them to it).”
    medium
    “They engage with their vocal community on Facebook, gathering feedback and continuously improving the platform.”
    medium

  • Word of mouth

    · 3 mentions · 3 sources
    “So we had actually planned to launch on August 12th of 2019, but we had a really good friend who was also an advisor who had, and she was an influencer in the space. And she had a list then of about 15,000 people who were also influential in this small business bubble. And she tried us, she was l...”
    high
    Show 2 more quotes
    “This has been the driving force behind Flodesk’s biggest growth channel, customer-led growth. ... over 75% of their referrals come from individuals, not influencers, meaning they have created salespeople in all their users.”
    medium
    “By August 12, 2019, they had already generated significant interest, thanks in part to a campaign with the Rising Tides Society and word-of-mouth from influencer friends.”
    medium

  • Referral Program

    · 2 mentions · 2 sources
    “And Martha had geniusly pushed our team to include a referral program right from the start. So immediately people were copying and sharing their referral links to share about Flodest.”
    high
    Show 1 more quote
    “They also never run any sales - but every single one of their users has a referral link that will give you 50% off your first year (and give them some money).”
    medium

  • Viral growth

    · 2 mentions · 2 sources
    “So Flodesk made sure they blew their customers away with easy-to-design, on-brand templates that resulted in success for their users. ... But to make the sharing process even easier, Flodesk added a footer to say: “Made with love and Flodesk” - which ~83% of users leave on. This means that Flodes...”
    medium
    Show 1 more quote
    “There's the Calendly story, right? The beta user told all his friends and the thing just went viral immediately. Did you have like a viral moment when- Oh my goodness, yes. Oh, is that right? Exactly like that.”
    medium

  • Affiliate program

    · 2 mentions · 2 sources
    “Their growth strategy heavily relies on a robust affiliate program, accounting for their primary source of income. The program’s simple yet effective messaging—“give $19, get $19”—resonates well with users.”
    medium
    Show 1 more quote
    “You had a viral moment. You had affiliates.”
    medium

  • Organic social media

    · 2 mentions · 2 sources
    “The day after that tutorials all over YouTube and bloggers. And Martha had geniusly pushed our team to include a referral program right from the start. So immediately people were copying and sharing their referral links to share about Flodest. So it just appeared all over the blogosphere. It like...”
    medium
    Show 1 more quote
    “This organic buzz led to 50 trial sign-ups per hour, and the platform quickly gained traction on social media.”
    medium

  • SEO

    · 1 mention
    “Organic search also plays a role, with Flodesk dominating long-tail keywords that drive traffic to their site.”
    medium

  • Advertising on social media

    · 1 mention
    “we realized that our paid ads are having a huge return on investment for the company. So now we want to have someone come in to own that so they can scale that operation.”
    high

  • Pay Per Click Advertising

    · 1 mention
    “Paid advertising complements these efforts, with Flodesk investing around $700k per quarter in ads. They work with a PPC agency specializing in their market, ensuring their campaigns reach the right audience.”
    medium

How 3,289 businesses grow

Of businesses with mapped growth channels, the share using each — Flodesk’s highlighted.
  • Social media
    64% ◀
  • Referral/Word-of-mouth
    64% ◀
  • Search/SEO
    58% ◀
  • Email
    47%
  • Community
    37% ◀
  • Content/Inbound
    35%
  • Partnerships
    32% ◀
  • Events
    24%
  • Paid ads
    23% ◀
  • Outbound/Sales
    19%
  • Press/PR
    17%
  • Marketplaces/App stores
    12%
  • Podcasting
    4%
  • Influencer partnerships
    3%
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