After reaching our first 1,000 users through direct outreach and personal onboarding, we faced a crucial question: how could we grow beyond our personal networks while maintaining zero (or near-zero) customer acquisition costs?
The answer lay in finding scalable distribution channels that aligned with our long-term vision. We needed methods that would compound over time rather than requiring constant reinvestment.
SEO: Playing the Long Game
Search engine optimization became our primary focus for sustainable growth. Unlike paid advertising that stops generating users the moment you stop spending, SEO investments continue to pay dividends for years.
We approached SEO with three distinct strategies.
1. Strategic Content Creation
We identified high-intent keywords related to our product features and created in-depth content around them. Articles like "How to Export Kindle Highlights," "Best Chrome Extensions for Researchers," and "How to Take Notes on YouTube Videos" targeted specific problems that Glasp solved.
These weren't superficial blog posts designed to game search algorithms. We created genuinely helpful guides that showcased our product's capabilities while providing standalone value. A reader could implement our advice even without signing up for Glasp.
This approach meant our content often ranked well for relevant keywords. More importantly, the users who found us through these searches had specific problems that Glasp immediately solved, leading to higher activation and retention rates.
2. Strategic Backlink Acquisition
We recognized early on that certain backlinks carried disproportionate SEO value. Government (.gov) and education (.edu) domains in particular could significantly boost our search rankings.
Rather than using automated outreach or link exchanges, we took a more thoughtful approach:
- We reached out to my alma mater to feature Glasp in their alumni resources
- We contacted the Japanese Ministry of Education to include Glasp in their educational tools directory
- We established relationships with educational blogs and research platforms
These high-authority backlinks didn't just improve our rankings. They placed Glasp in contexts where serious readers and researchers would discover it.
3. User Interview Case Studies
We transformed our user interviews into detailed case studies that served two purposes at once: they provided social proof for potential users while creating valuable SEO content.
These case studies highlighted diverse use cases:
- A job seeker who followed product managers on Glasp and read their recommended articles to eventually land a PM role
- A venture capital team using Glasp collaboratively to research potential investments
- Writers using Glasp to collect research before drafting articles
Each case study targeted specific keywords while showcasing real-world applications of our product. When potential users searched for ways to solve similar problems, they'd find these stories and see Glasp as a solution.
The beauty of this SEO-focused approach was its compounding nature. Each piece of content we created continued working for us month after month, year after year. The results weren't immediate, often taking 6 to 12 months to fully materialize, but they were lasting and built upon each other.
Medium: Leveraging Existing Distribution
In addition to our own blog, we used Medium as a strategic channel for reaching new audiences. Medium's recommendation algorithm offered a way to get our content in front of readers who hadn't heard of Glasp.
We published in-depth tutorials, thought pieces on knowledge management, and guides to effective learning. Each article included natural mentions of Glasp where relevant, without being overly promotional.
The key insight was understanding Medium's algorithm, which rewards engagement. We focused on creating genuinely valuable content that readers would highlight, respond to, and share, the actions that would boost an article's distribution within Medium's ecosystem.
This strategy created a virtuous cycle: users would discover our articles on Medium, many would sign up for Glasp after reading them, and then they would use Glasp to highlight and save other Medium articles, creating visible social proof of our tool within the platform.
Guest Posting: Borrowing Audience Trust
While building our own SEO presence, we simultaneously pursued guest posting opportunities on established platforms. This allowed us to borrow the trust and audience of existing publications.
We specifically targeted technology blogs, productivity websites, and knowledge management communities. Rather than pitching overtly promotional content, we offered genuine value through articles like:
- "Top 10 Chrome Extensions in 2022" for technology review sites (with Glasp naturally included)
- "How the World's Top Thinkers Organize Their Knowledge" for productivity blogs
- "The Future of Social Reading" for forward-thinking publications
These guest posts served multiple purposes:
- Introducing Glasp to established audiences
- Building authoritative backlinks to our website
- Positioning us as thought leaders in our space
- Creating content that could be repurposed across channels
The key to successful guest posting wasn't volume but strategic placement. A single article on the right platform could bring more qualified users than dozens of posts on less relevant sites.
Product Hunt: Multiple Launches for Multiple Features
Most products launch on Product Hunt once and consider it done. We took a different approach, launching individual features as standalone products.
After our initial Product Hunt launch in September (which brought modest traffic), we realized we could return to the platform with each major feature release:
- PDF highlighting capabilities
- YouTube transcription and highlighting
- AI summary generation
- iOS and Android apps
- Audio transcription tools
Each of these launches brought a fresh wave of attention, backlinks, and users. More importantly, it signaled to the community that Glasp was constantly evolving and improving.
This strategy of "feature as product" launches accomplished several goals at once:
- Regular visibility on a high-traffic platform
- Continuous backlink generation
- A reputation for innovation and development velocity
- Natural opportunities for previous users to re-engage
What we learned was that Product Hunt wasn't just a launch platform. It was an ongoing distribution channel we could tap repeatedly with the right approach.
The Compound Effect: Why We Prioritized These Channels
Looking back, the common thread connecting all these channels was their compounding nature. Unlike paid advertising that delivers predictable but temporary results, these organic approaches started small but grew over time.
Six months into our SEO efforts, we might rank for a handful of keywords. Twelve months in, that number might grow to dozens. Two years in, we could rank for hundreds of relevant terms, each bringing a steady stream of qualified users.
The same compound growth applied to our content, backlinks, and community presence. Each asset we created continued working for us indefinitely, requiring maintenance rather than replacement.
This approach aligned perfectly with our resource constraints. As a small team without external funding, we couldn't afford strategies that required constant reinvestment. We needed to build assets that would appreciate over time.
The results speak for themselves: by the end of our first year, we had gained tens of thousands of users without spending on acquisition, laying a foundation that would eventually support millions.
What's more, these users came to us already aligned with our mission. They discovered Glasp through content about learning, knowledge management, and thoughtful technology use. They weren't bounty hunters chasing free trials or incentives. They were people who genuinely resonated with our vision of open knowledge sharing.