Newsletter: How to think like a growth engineer #9363
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High level feedback:
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I like the format and points in this, though maybe we need to go one level deeper somehow? I can't quite put my finger on it, but maybe the takeaways feel a little vague. Rather than "think about X" it's more like "go try this" and being a bit more explicit?
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I feel like it's lacking at least one good example from something we've done at PostHog. This would add some credibility plus make it feel more specific to us, rather than a general guide anyone could have published. Could we come up with one example for each point, even if it's hypothetical "this is what this looks like" type example?
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I wouldn't normally say this, but I feel like it might need some kind of conclusion? Either that, or one more point to feel a little more complete? I don't feel so strongly about this, though. Adding some examples elsewhere might be enough.
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Let's get some custom art for this. We've used the "experiment hog" enough already!
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| title: The secrets of growth engineers | |||
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'How to think like a growth engineer' tested well in the poll. 'How growth engineers think' could work well, too.
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| The tradeoff is caring less about products, features, roadmaps, and user requests. They let the metrics be their north star and do whatever, wherever to improve it. Instead of doing what they feel is right or the roadmap set by someone else, they work trying to improve the metrics. | ||
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| > **Takeaway for software engineers:** What are the growth metrics of what you are working on? Understand your key flow [conversion](/docs/product-analytics/funnels), activation, and [retention](/docs/product-analytics/retention). You can use a framework like [AARRR](/product-engineers/aarrr-pirate-funnel) or [growth loops](/product-engineers/growth-loops) to model this. |
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We should remove the "for software engineers" here. It's useful for anyone in product roles, so need to limit the audience.
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To add something visual, could we add a graphic of a growth loop between these two sections with a caption?
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| Growth engineers capture these gains through their unique way of thinking and working. Luckily, you don't need to go to growth engineer school to learn this yourself. If you aspire to create a successful product and business, you should care about what growth engineers do to make that happen, and this post aims to help you do just that. | ||
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| ## 1. Being data-driven is a cliche, but it's also a way of life |
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Depending on the headline we choose, we should tweak these headlines so they match up.
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| > **Takeaway for software engineers:** What are areas of your work that could leverage more of an experimentation mindset? Could you be more pragmatic and iterate on a hypothesis instead of just shipping the next feature on your list? | ||
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| ## 3. How growth engineers figure out what to work on |
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Maybe change to be something "Hunting wins < fixing problems"
Yeah I agree with this, I wonder if it's because I'm reading it as a bit too general 'this is what growth engineers do' rather than 'as a software engineer, these are things you should steal to be a better engineer'? |
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I'm using rockethog as cover for now:
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| > **Takeaway:** Figure out the status quo for the area you work on. To do this: | ||
| > 1. Define and track your activation and retention numbers. | ||
| > 2. Track how they move week over week. | ||
| > 3. Track how they move with the changes you ship. | ||
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| > You can't think like a growth engineer if you don't have a metrics baseline to start from. | ||
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| > For more advanced users, create a dashboard using a framework like [AARRR](/product-engineers/aarrr-pirate-funnel) or [growth loops](/product-engineers/growth-loops) to monitor your key flow conversions, activation, and retention. | ||
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Couple of small things:
- I think these might work better as sub headings than boxouts, but I don't feel strongly.
- Can we come with a better heading than 'Takeaway'. Something like "Make it happen" or "How to start".
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I will test some stuff out in Substack and see what looks best
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| ## 3. Prioritize like a growth engineer | ||
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| Engineers are like bus drivers, helping move a product along its roadmap toward success. Growth engineers are like Uber drivers, bouncing from experiment to experiment stacking little wins that payoff in the long term. |
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Just realized this would make a great visual – could we get Lottie do a couple of hogs, one driving a bus on a fixed route, another an uber? Nice to have, not must have.
Co-authored-by: Andy Vandervell <[email protected]>
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