Logo
Search
Menu
Menu

Archives >

Browse recent editions

Subscribe >

Join as a free or paid subscriber

Products >

Frameworks, playbooks & more

Upgrade >

Upgrade to a paid subscription

Referral Program >

Refer friends, get rewarded

Login >

Access subscriber exclusives

Login
Sign Up
Logo

The Latest From Geoff’s Growth Guide

Dive into marketing tactics, strategies ,and insights.
Strategy Is Not a Growth Engine

Strategy Is Not a Growth Engine

Campaigns can create spikes. A growth engine connects market insight, positioning, demand, experience, lifecycle and proof so each cycle makes the next one stronger.

Steal These Growth Tactics: 8 Elena-isms Worth Borrowing

Steal These Growth Tactics: 8 Elena-isms Worth Borrowing

We wanted Elena Verna, Head of Growth at Lovable, to guest write an edition of The Growth Guide. But she was far too busy. (Fair.) So we did the next best thing.

How the Wrong Presentation Can Cause a Good Strategy to Fail

How the Wrong Presentation Can Cause a Good Strategy to Fail

Boards, executives and marketing teams all need the same strategy, but each needs a different level of detail to make good decisions.

The Lovable Playbook: A Growth Story in the Age of AI

How Lovable hit $400M ARR in 16 months by replacing the old growth playbook with a system built around speed, community, social distribution and relentless shipping.

People Don't Trust Perfection Anymore

People are now suspicious if something seems "too perfect." They trust evidence that a real person did the work.

FIFA World Cup Marketing Campaigns That Did More Than Advertise

From subsidised shirts to collectable fan bands, these brands found creative ways to become part of the tournament experience.

Building a Marketing Strategy From the Outside In Before Looking at the Internal Data

Public information won't tell you everything, but it can reveal the first growth opportunities hiding in plain sight.

When More Decisions Hinder Growth

Why the fastest teams don't necessarily make better decisions. Rather, they design systems that require fewer of them.

The Best Growth Strategy Isn't a Funnel. It's a Loop.

Why the fastest-growing companies design systems that create their own momentum.

When Operations Become Your Most Powerful Marketing Tool

Why execution may be the most compelling and credible story your company can tell.

Save Geoff From the Thought Leader Wasteland

Be part of Geoff's Growth Guide as it becomes a place for better questions, sharper thinking, practical frameworks, and honest conversations about how growth and marketing are evolving.

Growth Guide is Growing With Paid Tiers, Referral Links and More

Jun 25, 2026

•

2 min read

Growth Guide is Growing With Paid Tiers, Referral Links and More

We're taking our marketing community to the next level, with paid subscriptions for even more marketing resources and even 1:1 consults, along with referral links so you get rewarded when you share Geoff's Growth Guide with colleagues.

Great AI Marketing Needs a Better Brain

Jun 17, 2026

•

9 min read

Great AI Marketing Needs a Better Brain

Your AI will only be as useful as the context it can access. That is why the next marketing advantage may be the Marketing Brain.

Your Wedge Isn't Sharp Enough and It's Limiting Your Brand's Potential

May 20, 2026

•

8 min read

Your Wedge Isn't Sharp Enough and It's Limiting Your Brand's Potential

Most experienced marketers already have a wedge. The problem is it’s usually not sharp enough and this makes it virtually impossible to reach full potential.

Good Products Don't Spread by Accident

May 6, 2026

•

10 min read

Good Products Don't Spread by Accident

You’re not losing to better products. You’re losing to better distribution. A lot of teams assume slow growth means they need a better product, sharper positioning or another round of messaging work.Sometimes they do.But often, the product is not the main constraint. The real issue is that not enough of the right people are seeing it, understanding it, remembering it or hearing about it from someone they trust.

The System Behind Newsletters That Actually Grow

Apr 23, 2026

•

7 min read

The System Behind Newsletters That Actually Grow

Most newsletters don’t fail because they’re small. Rather, they fail because they’re forgettable.Most people approach newsletter growth as a distribution exercise. They post more. They try new channels. Test paid outreach.

Without Clear Positioning, You Don’t Have Product-Market Fit

Apr 16, 2026

•

7 min read

Without Clear Positioning, You Don’t Have Product-Market Fit

Traction can hide the problem. Growth doesn’t fix it. Most startups get this wrong, including those that are aggressively scaling.Most founders think they have product-market fit when they start seeing traction. But this isn’t necessarily the case.


When AI Becomes the Storefront

Your products and even services may soon be sold inside of AI chat apps like Gemini. Are you ready?

You Don’t Rank in ChatGPT. You Get Chosen.

The most successful marketing teams have shifted away from a myopic focus on traditional SEO. AI doesn’t care where you rank. It cares if you’re trusted.

The Growth Lever Most Teams Are Ignoring Right Now

Partnerships and collaborations are driving growth in an organic way, without the exceptional competitiveness of channels such as search.

AI is Transforming the Trust Equation

When information becomes infinite with AI, trust becomes the interface.

How Returnless Returns Drive Customer Loyalty

When companies forego a return by offering a refund and letting the customer keep the item, customers are twice as likely to buy again.

The Referral Engine as a Growth Hack

Most referral programs fail because they reward the individual. The best ones mobilise the tribe.

Use Authenticity to Accelerate Momentum and Scale

Harness the rise of “imperfect” content as proof of real, candid human voice in an AI-dominated marketing landscape.

When More Decisions Slow Growth

If everything needs discussion, nothing moves forward. It's clarity that allows scaling, while decision overload interferes with growth.

Why Small Improvements Beat Big Marketing Overhauls

Small fixes often compound faster than large, complex campaigns

How High-Performing Brands Design Growth That Feeds Itself

Why funnels stall, while loops keep growing.

Trust is the Real Growth Multiplier

Why growth stalls when trust erodes and how the strongest companies design for it.

When Operations Become the Brand

Why execution is the most credible story you can tell.

Speed Wins. Systems Make It Possible.

Most brands don’t lose when it comes to ideas. They lose on execution speed. Preparation is what makes agility possible.

The Most Underused Growth Lever in Marketing

The real advantage is transparency others are too afraid to show.

Welcome to The Growth Guide

An idea I’ve been working on for marketers, business owners & founders.


Geoff’s Growth Guide Newsletter

Geoff Main
Fractional CMO | Founder | Investor

Smart, actionable marketing strategy, insights, and ideas for founders, marketers, and business leaders.

  • Home

  • Subscribe

  • Upgrade

  • Products

  • Referral Program

  • Login

© 2026 Geoff's Growth Guide.
beehiivPowered by beehiiv