Hacking Growth: How Today's Fastest-Growing Companies Drive Breakout Success

by Sean Ellis

Now one of the largest media sites on the Web, Upworthy grew at a lightning-fast clip, thanks in large part to their dedication to seeking language/market fit for every story they publish—their genius is in repackaging content they find on the Web with headlines so catchy they often go immediately viral. But it’s not that Upworthy’s editors are necessarily the most naturally brilliant or creative; their brilliance is that they don’t leave creativity up to chance. Instead, they hack it. The process of selecting headlines begins with a staffer writing at least 25 different possible headlines for each story. Out of these 25, a curator chooses a handful of favorites, and then the managing editor green-lights a set of those for testing. And their testing method couldn’t be simpler. The only tools necessary are Facebook, Bitly (a free online site that generates trackable URLs for Web content), and an old-fashioned timer. Here’s how they do it.