Demand Curve - The Growth Newsletter #142

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The Growth Newsletter #142

S.C.A.R.F. your ads, viral content formula, and copywriting cheatsheet.

Welcome all you growth-loving founders and marketers!

Hello everyone! I just got back from my second anniversary trip where I stayed in a boat in the woods—here's a pic of the boat!

Without further ado, topics for today: S.C.A.R.F. your ads, viral content formula, and copywriting cheatsheet.

Let's dive in 🍄

– Neal

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Want to be featured in front of 83,660 founders and marketers? Learn more here–booking into November.

1. The S.C.A.R.F. research process for better ads/content

Insight from Nigel Thomas.

You can't create the best ideas in a vacuum.

And everything you need to know about your customers and their needs, desires, and fears are on display somewhere online. Here's the S.C.A.R.F. method for finding them:

Social

Browse LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube (wherever your audience is)

Search for posts about your niche, topic, competitors, industry, and products.

• Read comments and pull out benefits and objections
• Write down 10 words creators use to describe problems

Competitors

Find 3 competitors and go through their website and social media accounts.

• Write down 5 powerful pieces of copy they use
• Scan product pages for unique selling ppints
• Use SEMrush to see their Google Ads
• Find their ads and click through the funnels

Affiliates

Affiliates are incentivized to learn how to pitch products.

Use Goole and SEO tools like SEMrush and ahrefs to find affiliates in your niche (or that mention your product or a competitor's product)

• If they talk about your product, note how they pitch it or how they review it.
• If not, see how they talk about competitors.

Reviews

If you have reviews for your product, export them into two lists:

• List 1: 1-3 stars, find objections
• List 2: 4-5  stars, find benefits

Visit competitor's and do the same.

Forums

Find relevant subreddits and forums (find them with google).

• Track most popular topics. Note objections, pain points, benefits.
• Focus on their desired lifestyle/outcome, the stories they tell, and the words they use to describe things.

2. A simple content creation formula for viral content

Insight from Diandra Escobar.

There are 3 fundamental elements to a potential viral content idea.

Most people when they create content stop after the first two:

Topic + Format + Creative Concept = Viral Content Idea

Let's dive into each and how they fit together:

#1. Topic

What are you writing or talking about? A person, a concept, a framework, an observation?

And, what emotion or outcome are you trying to achieve?

• Entertain
• Educate
• Inspire
• Surprise

#2. Format

How will you present this topic. This includes whether it's a text-only post, a video, a carousel, a podcast, or an image.

This also includes how you structure it, such as:

• X vs Y (comparing ideas)
• Analytical (deep-dive or teardown of something)
• Actionable (step-by-step breakdown on something)
• Present / Future (how things will be different)
• Interview
• Story

#3. Creative concept

The sky's the limit here. This can take the form of gamification, concept mashups, hair-brained ideas, gamification, or absurdism.

This is the realm of MrBeast. $1 to $1B yachts. Being hunted by an assassin. And putting someone alone in a circle for 100 days.

Most people don't add the creative concept. "5 tips to increase sales" is a topic with a common format. Nothing creative about it; therefore, unlikely to go viral.

An example

Billie Eilish (Topic) + Interview (Format) + Ask questions while she eats insanely spicy wings (Creative Concept) = Billie Eilish Freaks Out While Eating Spicy Wings

And 50,000,000 views. Exponentially higher than other videos on Billie Eilish.

3. Sharpen your copywriting with this cheatsheet

Insight from me (Neal O'Grady).

Copywriting is one of the most important skills.

Whether you're writing:

• Ads,
• Landing pages,
• Fundraising pitch decks,
• Cold emails,
• Social posts,
• Negotiations, or
• Speeches

You need to write clear, compelling copy if you want the person on the other end to take the action you'd like them to.

We created this cheatsheet that covers Hooks, Literary Devices, Tips, Post Types, and Frameworks. High-res version.

News and links

News you can use:

• Google AdMob is adding indirect monetary items to be offered as rewards.

• Meta is upgrading Reels to improve the performance of ad creatives.

• YouTube introduced Spotlight Moments—letting brands serve ads alongside 'the most relevant and engaging' content.

• Google Search Generative Experience can now generate images.

Tool we recommend*: idiMARKETING

76% of consumers get frustrated when companies don't give them personalized experiences.

This is only becoming more true as AI advances.

idiMARKETING offers an industry-leading consumer identity graph that spans nearly 100% of the U.S. adult population.

Their massive data repository delivers the unique insights marketers need for personalized, impactful messaging at every touchpoint.

Learn how IDI gives you the data you need to launch more successful campaigns and experiences.

*Sponsored by IDI

Want to be featured in front of 83,660 founders and marketers? Learn more here–booking into November.

Something fun

From Eli Schwartz.

What did you think of this week's newsletter?

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And if you have any comments/question, I'd love to hear them. Just hit reply!

In case you're new: Who's Demand Curve?

We’re on a mission to help make it easier to start, build, and grow companies.

We share high-quality, vetted, and actionable growth content as we learn it from the top 1% of founders and marketers.

How we can help you grow:

• Read our free playbooks, blog articles, and teardowns—we break down the strategies and tactics that fast-growing startups use to grow.
• Enroll in the Growth Program, our marketing course that has helped 1,000+ founders get traction and scale revenue.

• Want to build an audience of buyers? Enroll in the Un-ignorable Challenge now. Enrollment closes in ~2 days.

• Are you an ambitious startup/scaleup looking to grow? Our agency, Bell Curve, can be your strategic growth partner.
• Need to run ads? We’ve built the ads agency for startups.
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See you next week.

— Neal and Justin

Neal O'Grady

Justin Setzer