The magpies in growing channels 🪺

Hi there 👋,

In many ways, people who work in growth are like magpies.

We see a shiny object and we want it.

But rather than stuffing our nest with tinfoil, coins and rings, we stuff it with TikTok, Instagram and Meta Ads.

Our Shiny Object Syndrome applies to channels, and to quote Pokemon, we “GOTTA GET THEM ALL!”

Too often, we just jump in and test a new growth channel. 

The result? 

Three to six months later, we’re still plodding along on that channel, sending content out into the abyss, and debating whether it’s working.

We need structure in testing channels. 

We can’t just pick up a shiny channel and hope it fits in our crowded nest.

How to define a channel testing plan

Don’t worry, I’m not going to suggest a ten-page channel plan. 

This isn’t going to be a complete thesis on testing channels.

Instead, I only have seven points for you. 

Answer these seven questions before you pick up any shiny channel.

1. What is the goal of the test? Basically, why do we want to test this channel?

2. What is the channel name?

3. What type of channel is it? E.g. awareness, acquisition, referral, retention, linear or loop

4. How do we test this channel? What type of tests will we need to run to ensure we’ve fully understood this channel?

5. What is the test duration? When do we evaluate the test?

6. What is the measure of success? What does success look like?

7. What is the channel budget? What will we invest based on CAC and the measure of success?

Let’s try it out

We’re going to put these seven points into practice so you can see what I mean. 

Goal:

Find an additional channel to scale up growth as current channels are less out of hand

Channel Name:

Meta Ads

Channel Type:

Acquisition - Potentially a Growth Loop

How do we test: 

Test various approaches on Meta ads until the end of June. The type will be based on which shows the most promise to continue investing there.

• Retargeting ads 

• Shopping Advantage+ ads

• Prospecting - Broad, Interest & Lookalike audiences 

• Test at least 5 different creative & 5 different copy

Test duration:

15th May - 30th June

Measure of success:

Within 50% of ideal CAC with at least 20 purchases per month that AREN’T retargeting 

Channel Budget:

£30 per day

• 20 purchases per month = £600 per month, at 50% more then ideal = £900 = £30 per day

• The extra 2 weeks of budget (testing for 1.5 months) will give us testing room to see what is and isn’t working

• Total budget: £1,200

CAC 20 pounds

Success 50 new subscribers

Now it’s not just this shiny new object, but something real and concrete. 

You need to do this with every single channel you start using, and trust me, you’ll see better results for it.

Recommendation

In every edition of Growth Waves, I also share a related book, individual or newsletter to check out related to the week's topic.

Before you can start testing a channel, you need to narrow down which channels to test.

For this, I recommend turning to the insightful Anna Furmanov.

In this article, she discusses how to create a more structured approach to narrowing down your channels.

She also focuses on how to prioritise different channels.

It’s truly a must-read!

Reminder - if you haven’t done so already, click here to fill out my Growth Waves newsletter improvement survey. A previous link wasn’t working, but there’s still time to give your feedback and get rewarded for helping me to improve my newsletter.

Remember, one lucky respondent will win free access to one of my online courses:

• A Crash Course to Message-Market Fit - usually £45

• Growth Experiment Tracking - usually £145

It can feel like we have infinite space for new channels, as they don’t take up any physical room.

But what’s less infinite is your time, energy and budget.

You need to be selective in choosing new channels, and you need to implement them correctly.

Don’t just leap onto the new big thing, but take a structured approach.

And with the right battle plan, you really can catch them all.

Daphne