Growth Hacker Marketing in the AI era

Nowadays, everyone is trying to sell a product or service, even themselves, as professionals, but they are all seeking the same way. Ads that will hopefully drive you to a sale or to catch a lead, and don't take me wrong, this is okay, but we have too MUCH of it in the market. Ryan Holiday, a person I love to read and grab knowledge from, put a very "strange" way to market a concept in his book, "Growth Hacker Marketing." Some people didn't get the idea then, but Ryan's visionary concept was built to last through the years. Nowadays, it is easier to get because we understand the value of personal brand and branding more deeply.

Personal brand, brand awareness, and branding, bring clients and leads without trying to sell. The perfect example in Ryan's book takes us back to 1996 when Hotmail added a simple message to the end of every email, "I Love You. Get Your Free Email at Hotmail." Hotmail's users exploded from 20,000 to over one million in their first year, just by a slight change. But how can we apply this thinking outside the box and find innovative, product-driven ways to market in a world full of ads and AI?

The answer is another three questions. Who is buying me, or is engaging with the brand, and how can I get to them without selling? How can I be on their minds and their mouths? What am I offering that they will recommend? 

​Here are a few examples: PayPal incentivized growth by paying users cash to invite friends. This word-of-mouth viral loop enabled PayPal to quickly reach many users effectively and leave competitors with minimal traditional advertising. GoPro built a brand with viral YouTube and social media user videos, encouraging customers to create and share action content. This content acted as authentic marketing and dramatically increased visibility at a low cost.

If you got the answers for those questions, don't think about it; go and test it. If it doesn't work, analyze the data collected, modify it, and test it again with the changes you made, until you get the correct answers. Once you do that, you will stand out in the market. While others are misapplying AI, take your opportunity and think out of the box.

And don't take me wrong, you still need AI to automate and use agents to do more in less time of what is repetitive and takes time from the workforce. So they can focus on bringing actual growth to the company, just like these two example companies did. Marketers need to think outside the box and analyze data to create better campaigns that stand out in the challenging market.

​In conclusion, Ryan's idea made sense then, and it makes sense now. Use it, because many people compete the same way and forget that marketing isn't just about advertising.

References

1. GoPro. (2025, October 7). 5 successful marketing strategies of GoPro to boost sales. Digital Agency Network. https://digitalagencynetwork.com/successful-marketing-strategies-of-gopro-to-boost-sales/

2. Growsurf. (2021, November 14). Insights from inside the infamous PayPal referral program. https://growsurf.com/blog/paypal-referral-program

3. Harvard Professional Development. (2025, April 13). AI will shape the future of marketing. https://professional.dce.harvard.edu/blog/ai-will-shape-the-future-of-marketing/

4. Holiday, R. (2013). Growth hacker marketing: A primer on the future of PR, marketing, and advertising.

5. M1 Project. (2025, September 4). Top 32 benefits of automating your marketing strategy with AI. https://www.m1-project.com/blog/benefits-of-automating-marketing-with-ai

6. Saleshub. (2025, April 30). Real-world UGC success stories that transform brand engagement. https://www.saleshub.ca/real-world-ugc-success-stories-that-transform-brand-engagement/

7. Shortform. (n.d.). Growth hacker marketing by Ryan Holiday: Book overview. https://www.shortform.com/books/blog/growth-hacker-marketing-book.html

8. Swarnadeep Debnath. (2025, August 13). How PayPal’s $20 referral hack boosted user base to 5M. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/swarnadeep-debnath-_growthstrategy-plg-referralmarketing-activity-7361630369797861376-LbV7