This presentation compares Lean Startup principles to content life cycles and shows how Chicago web company Mightybytes used these concepts to build a content-driven web application called Ecograder that crawls websites and grades them on sustainability criteria.

1. Agile Content
Lessons from Lean
Startups
Content Jam
October 17, 2013
a presentation by
Tim Frick
@timfrick
Monday, October 21, 13

2. Mightybytes is a Certified B Corporation
B Corps use the power of business to solve social &
environmental problems.
Monday, October 21, 13

3. Think Like a Startup
Earlier this year, Mightybytes tried an experiment: we attempted to become a
lean startup, or at least act like one as we developed a content-heavy digital product
called Ecograder.
Monday, October 21, 13

4. Ecograder
Who it’s for:
•
•
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Web designers & developers
Marketing managers & website owners
Environmental nonprofits
Any environmentally conscious person who works on websites
Monday, October 21, 13

5. Ecograder
Ecograder (www.ecograder.com) is a free tool that measures website
sustainability and provides a roadmap for making improvements and decreasing
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Monday, October 21, 13

6. Ecograder
How it works:
1. Input your URL
2. Crawls your website
3. Assesses its sustainability level
based on several key factors
4. Produces a score and report
for site improvements
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7. Ecograder
What it grades:
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8. Ecograder
Handy dandy reports
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9. Ecograder
Content and Curation-Heavy
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10. Content Science!
“Content marketing must be approached like a scientist.
There are no mistakes, just feedback.”
Srinivas Rao, Search Engine Journal
Applying Principles of Growth Hacking to Content Marketing
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11. Lean Startup vs. Content Marketing
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12. Validated Learning
1. Specify a goal
2. Specify a metric that represents the goal
3. Act to achieve the goal
4.Analyze the metric—did you get closer to
the goal?
5. Improve and try again
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13. Minimum Viable Product
Product version which allows a
team to collect the maximum
amount of validated learning about
customers with the least effort.
Source: Paul Kortman, paulkortman.com
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14. How We Learned
• Hypothesis to prove: will building a
website sustainability grader help
create awareness about the internet’s
carbon footprint?
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15. Lean Green Lessons
• Eliminates the need to ‘know it all’.
• Testing hypotheses allows for rapid
iteration of ideas.
• Involving users throughout the
process speeds up feedback.
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16. Mighty Learning Lessons
• Waterfall habits are not easy to break.
• Team of 12 not so lean.
• Hard to create a ‘comprehensive
resource’ without a lot of content.
• Iteration: products don’t end
(unless you pivot).
Monday, October 21, 13

17. 7 Ideas for
Growth Hacking
Content Strategy
Monday, October 21, 13

18. 1. Embrace Limitations
• Start small: use social networks to
bounce ideas first before executing them.
• Set realistic goals: keep word count low,
one idea per post, etc. etc.
• Create something worth spreading for a
small group of people.
Monday, October 21, 13

19. 2. Always Be Testing
• Build/Measure/Learn: create a fast feedback loop.
• Involve customers during process (not after).
• A/B Testing: produce actionable data.
• Custom dashboards: Google Analytics, Moz, etc.
Monday, October 21, 13

20. 3. Measure What Matters
• Find the One Metric That Matters
(Lean Analytics)
• Don’t get overwhelmed by metrics;
choose wisely.
• Once defined, benchmark often
and iterate.
Monday, October 21, 13

21. 4. Consider Curation
• Rapid feedback: share content
created by others first to see
how it performs.
• Curated post: create a list of
other people’s posts about a
specific strategic topic; test
performance.
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22. 5. Repurpose Content When Possible
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23. 6. Guest Blog
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24. 7. Build Contacts
Old
A/B Test Winner
Labeling counts!
10% increase in conversions
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25. Results!
a presentation by
Monday, October 21, 13

26. Ecograder Results
• 2571 unique URLs crawled since May.
• #4 page on our site in terms of page views.
• #3 landing page for audiences coming from
social networks.
• Media placements in:
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Monday, October 21, 13
Fast Company
Chicago Sun-Times
Sustainable Brands
Fucking Homepage and more.

27. Ecograder Results
“I think you are not
in a position to give
Quebec citizen any
lesson about green
electricity.”
—Angry person at Domtar
Monday, October 21, 13

28. Ecograder Results
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29. Resources
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30. Resources
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31. Resources
Monday, October 21, 13

32. Thank
You
a presentation by
Tim Frick
@timfrick
Monday, October 21, 13