25 Growth Hacking Books to Skyrocket Success
Discover the secrets of rapid business growth from a growth marketing expert. What people to hire, how to manage a team, launch experiments, what tools to use, and a list of proven examples to inspire you.
Part 12: 25 Growth Hacking Books to Skyrocket your success
Taking your business to new heights is, indeed, a tall task (pun intended!). In this article we’ve handpicked 25 growth hacking books that will guide you through the journey to transform the way you think about marketing, customer acquisition, and scaling your business.
These insightful reads are packed with tried-and-tested strategies, real-world examples, and valuable tips from growth marketing experts. So, grab a cup of your favorite beverage, settle in, and let’s dive into these game-changing growth hacking books that will put your business on the fast track to success.
Growth Hacking Books Compilation
Here’s a short table we’ve compiled of all the growth hacking books mentioned in this article. We’ll talk about each of them in detail below.
| Title | Authors | Where to get the book |
| Hacking Growth | Sean Ellis, Morgan Brown | Amazon |
| Explosive Growth | Cliff Lerner | Amazon |
| Startup Growth Engines | Sean Ellis, Morgan Brown | Amazon |
| Growing Happy Clients | Daphne Tideman, Ward van Gasteren | Amazon |
| Product-Led Growth | Wes Bush | Amazon |
| Growth Hacking | Raymond Fong, Chad Riddersen | Amazon |
| Growth Hacker Marketing | Ryan Holiday | Amazon |
| Traction | Gabriel Weinberg, Justin Mares | Amazon |
| The Secret Sauce | Vin Clancy, Austen Allred | Amazon |
| BAMF Bible | Josh Fechter | Official website |
| The Growth Marketer’s Playbook | Jim Huffman | Amazon |
| Hooked | Nir Eyal | Amazon |
| Ready, Set, Growth Hack | Nader Sabry | Amazon |
| Lean Analytics | Alistair Croll, Benjamin Yoskovitz | Amazon |
| Contagious: Why Things Catch On | Jonah Berger | Amazon |
| Viral Loop | Adam L. Penenberg | Amazon |
| Zero to One | Peter Thiel & Blake Masters | Amazon |
| The Paper Plane Plan | Ross Davies | Amazon |
| Growth Marketing Handbook | Jon Yongfook | Publishizer (preorder) |
| 100 Days of Growth | Sujan Patel, Rob Wormley | Official website |
| Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited | Steve Krug | Amazon |
| Marketing for business growth | Theodore Levitt | Amazon |
| Food for Growth | Geckoboard & Mention | Official website (free e-book) |
| Lean Marketing for Startups | Sean Ellis | Leanpub |
| Scaling Up | Verne Harnish | Amazon |
Hacking Growth: How Today’s Fastest-Growing Companies Drive Breakout Success, by Sean Ellis and Morgan Brown
This one usually comes first in most lists of the best growth hacking books. Rightfully, “Hacking Growth” delves into the innovative world of growth hacking, providing a comprehensive guide on accelerating your business’s success.
Ellis, the man who coined the term “growth hacker,” and Brown, a renowned marketing expert. He focuses on the intersection of product development, marketing, and data analysis.
Explosive Growth: A Few Things I Learned While Growing To 100 Million Users — And Losing $78 Million, by Cliff Lerner
It’s a rollercoaster ride of a book through the world of startups. Author Cliff Lerner shares his invaluable insights and experiences from scaling his company, Snap Interactive, to over 100 million users and a billion-dollar valuation.
Lerner shares his unique perspective on growth hacking, combining humor and honesty to reveal the best practices for generating growth hypotheses and achieving rapid scale in today’s competitive business environment.
Startup Growth Engines: Case Studies of How Today’s Most Successful Startups Unlock Extraordinary Growth, by Sean Ellis and Morgan Brown
In “Startup Growth Engines,” authors Sean Ellis and Morgan Brown, the dynamic duo behind the bestseller “Hacking Growth,” take readers on an inspiring journey into the world of unique startup success stories. The authors present in-depth case studies, examining unique growth hacking examples to achieve rapid market dominance.
This book will inspire you with remarkable success stories and equip you with the tools and knowledge to unleash your startup’s full potential and catapult it to the top.
Growing Happy Clients: Our processes & experiences for growing fortune 500 corporates & the fastest growing scaleups, by Daphne Tideman and Ward Gasteren
“Growing Happy Clients” is a how-to guide for agency owners and marketers eager to scale their businesses while ensuring high client satisfaction and retention. Author Ward Gasteren, a seasoned marketing expert, shares his experience building a roadmap to hacking growth and fostering lasting client relationships.
The book is insightful for agency owners, marketers, and business leaders committed to scaling their ventures while keeping their clients delighted and coming back for more.
Product-Led Growth: How to Build a Product That Sells Itself, by Wes Bush
In “Product-Led Growth,” author Wes Bush delivers a guide on creating a product that captivates users and drives growth and success. The tabletop growth hacker book challenges the traditional marketing and sales-driven approach to business, presenting an alternative strategy that focuses on building an exceptional product experience that sells itself.
Read also:
Growth Hacking: Silicon Valley’s Best Kept Secret, by Raymond Fong and Chad Riddersen
Take an insider’s look into the world of data-driven strategies that have fueled the success of many Silicon Valley startups. Co-authors Raymond Fong and Chad Riddersen, both experienced growth hackers and entrepreneurs, demystified the concept of growth hacking and revealed the strategies used by industry leaders to achieve explosive growth.
Regardless of size or stage, they provide actionable advice on implementing growth hacking techniques in your business.
Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising, by Ryan Holiday
In “Growth Hacker Marketing,” Ryan Holiday unveils the future of marketing, offering a compelling primer on the growth hacking strategies that are reshaping the industry — the book is packed with eye-opening insights, real-world examples, and actionable advice. Holiday demystifies the concept of growth hacking, revealing how successful startups and businesses leverage unconventional tactics to achieve rapid growth and outpace their competition.
Traction: A Startup Guide to Getting Customers, by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares
“Traction” is a powerful guide for startups and businesses seeking to achieve explosive customer growth.
Authors Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares present the concept of the “Bullseye Framework,” a systematic approach to help companies identify and capitalize on the most effective traction channels to drive growth.
Secret Sauce: The Ultimate Growth Hacking Guide, by Austen Allred and Vin Clancy
“Secret Sauce,” the ultimate growth hacking guide, unlocks the secrets of crafting persuasive and impactful messages that leave a lasting impression.
Mills dives deep into the psychology of persuasion, exploring the key ingredients that make a message irresistible and memorable. Throughout the book, Mills presents real-world examples, case studies, and actionable tips to help marketers master the art of persuasive communication.
THE BAMF BIBLE — Top 25+ Growth Hacks from 2017, by Josh Fechter
Author Josh Fechter, a highly-regarded growth hacking expert, compiles the top 25 growth hacks from 2017 that have helped companies achieve remarkable success in a highly competitive market. This comprehensive guide is filled with cutting-edge B2C and B2B growth hacking strategies, tactics, and real-world examples that can be applied to any business seeking rapid growth.
The Growth Marketer’s Playbook: A Strategic Guide to Growing a Business in Today’s Digital World, by Jim Huffman
“The Growth Marketer’s Playbook” is a practical how-to guide by Jim Huffman, a renowned growth marketing expert and startup founder. It’s an outstanding specimen of books on growth marketing, offering readers the exact growth marketing strategies employed by today’s top startups and VC-backed businesses.
The book is designed to help entrepreneurs and marketers navigate the digital world and grow their businesses correctly, regardless of their experience level.
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, by Nir Eyal
Delve into the psychology behind habit-forming products and provides a step-by-step guide for building products that captivate users and keep them returning for more. Nir Eyal, an expert in behavioral design, presents the “Hook Model” — a powerful framework that helps entrepreneurs and product designers create engaging and addictive products that stand the test of time. Drawing on real-world examples from successful companies like Facebook, Twitter, and Slack, the book provides actionable SaaS growth hacks for anyone looking to create products that users can’t resist.
Ready, Set, Growth hack: A beginners guide to growth hacking success, by Nader Sabry
A great book tailored for beginners seeking to understand and apply growth hacking tips to drive business success. Written by Nader Sabry, a seasoned entrepreneur and growth hacking expert, this book provides practical advice on implementing growth hacking techniques across various stages of a business, from customer acquisition and activation to retention and referral strategies.
Read also:
Lean Analytics: Use Data to Build a Better Startup Faster, by Alistair Croll and Benjamin Yoskovitz
Written by renowned experts in data analytics and lean startup methodology, it presents a comprehensive guide that combines the principles of lean thinking with the practical application of analytics. The book covers essential topics such as defining success, selecting the right growth marketing metrics, and avoiding common pitfalls in data analysis.
Contagious: Why Things Catch On, by Jonah Berger
This growth marketing book will inspire you to think differently about marketing and unlock the potential of contagious content to drive growth and success for your business. Jonah Berger is a marketing professor and expert in social influence, presenting a captivating analysis of the critical factors that make content contagious and drive people to share it with others.
Viral Loop: From Facebook to Twitter, How Today’s Smartest Businesses Grow Themselves, by Adam L. Penenberg
“Viral Loop” explores the powerful phenomenon that has driven the success of today’s smartest businesses. Adam L. Penenberg, is an award-winning journalist and expert in digital culture. He provides a comprehensive look at the mechanics of viral loops and the factors contributing to their success, drawing on interviews with industry leaders, extensive research, and real-world case studies.
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future, by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters
“Zero to One” will inspire you to think differently about the future, reimagine the possibilities, and build the groundbreaking companies shaping tomorrow’s world. Here, for instance, you can find Peter Thiel’s experience and insights from founding PayPal, investing in Facebook, and his work with other groundbreaking companies.
The Paper Plane Plan: Growth hacking techniques especially for the B2B service industry, by Ross Davies
“The Paper Plane Plan” is an invaluable resource for entrepreneurs, marketers, and business leaders in the B2B service industry who want to understand and apply B2B growth marketing approach.
Ross Davies, is an experienced digital marketer and entrepreneur. With professional insights and actionable advice, this book will equip readers with the knowledge and tools needed to excel in the world of B2B services and achieve long-term success.
Growth Marketing Handbook, by Jon Yongfook
Yongfook, an experienced entrepreneur and growth hacker, covers many topics, including customer acquisition, activation, retention, revenue generation, and referral strategies. Each stage of your growth hacking canvas. Every growth hack is presented concisely, easy to understand, and complete with real-world examples and actionable advice to help you implement and optimize your growth strategy.
100 Days of Growth: Proven Ways to Grow Your Business Fast, by Sujan Patel and Rob Wormley
This book focuses on providing proven growth tactics that can be implemented by businesses of all sizes and across various industries. The authors present various growth hacking tools and techniques covering customer acquisition, conversion optimization, content marketing, social media, and email marketing.
Each tactic is presented in a straightforward, easy-to-understand format, complete with real-world examples, tips, and insights to help readers implement and optimize their growth strategies.
Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, by Steve Krug
An essential resource for web designers, developers, and digital marketers alike. Written by a renowned expert in the usability and user experience field, this updated edition builds on the original book’s success by incorporating new insights, examples, and best practices for creating user-friendly websites and applications.
Marketing for business growth, by Theodore Levitt
“Marketing for business growth” book truly is a timeless classic that offers invaluable insights and guidance for businesses seeking to create a strong marketing growth strategy and achieve success.
This book, written by Theodore Levitt, a renowned marketing expert and former Harvard Business School professor, explores the essential marketing principles and their role in driving business expansion.
Food for Growth, by Geckoboard & Mention
“Food for Growth” is a collaborative effort between Geckoboard and Mention, companies with expertise in data visualization and social media monitoring.
They provide real-world examples, tips, and insights to help readers implement and optimize their growth marketing test process, drawing from their experiences working with businesses across various industries.
Lean Marketing for Startups, by Sean Ellis
If you want to overgrow your startup, this one’s for you. Along with other best books about growth hacking from the same author, it covers various topics, including agile product development, business model design, web analytics, customer acquisition, and more. Drawing from his experiences working with startups, Ellis provides real-world examples and case studies demonstrating the effectiveness of lean marketing principles in driving sustainable growth.
Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It…and Why the Rest Don’t, by Verne Harnish
If your business seeks sustainable growth and long-term success, that’s the book for you. Harnish, a business growth expert, focuses on four key areas: people, strategy, execution, and cash. He delves into the importance of building the right growth marketing team, crafting a winning strategy, executing precisely, and maintaining a healthy cash flow. The author also shares valuable case studies and real-world examples from his experiences working with businesses across various industries.
With this comprehensive list of growth marketing and growth hacking books, we hope you find something to your taste and needs, be it a hardcover, an audiobook, or even a free copy 😉 Enjoy the reading!
Abby
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