This guide will help you master product-led growth in record time.
What’s great about it is that everything on this list applies to 2022.
In other words, nothing here is out of date. So you can get started today.
Here’s what’s included:
- An Introduction to Product-Led Growth
- Product-Led Models
- User Onboarding
- Key PLG Metrics
- PLG Tech Stack
- Production Operations
- Product-Led Sales
- Benchmarks
- Product-Led Marketing
- Top Podcast
- Experts to Follow on LinkedIn & Twitter
Ready to learn how to achieve product-led growth? Let’s go.
An Introduction to Product-Led Growth
This section is designed to teach you all the basics about product-led growth: what it is, why it’s important, and why you should care. If you’re new to product-led growth, the content below is a must-read.
They’ll give you a basic understanding of this go-to-market strategy before we get into more advanced details of it below.
What is product-led growth? A definition and why it’s taking off
By: Wes Bush (ProductLed)
Product-Led Growth is defined as a go-to-market strategy that relies on using your product as the main vehicle to acquire, activate, and retain customers. This article covers all the basics written by the bestselling author of Product-Led Growth: How to Build a Product That Sells Itself.
Designing for Buying: How to Break Through the Ceiling in Product-Led Growth
By: Sarah Guo (Greylock)
If you build it, users will come. Sarah Guo at Greylock discusses how product-led companies break through this ceiling and drive scalable growth.
Why your 2021 Marketing Plan sucks
By: Dan Schoenbaum (Hightide Advisors)
If you were bullish on your company’s growth last year, you need to carefully assess your overall go-to-market strategy. Read this article to learn why.
The Pillars of Product-Led Customer Success
By: Aazar Ali Shad (ProductCraft)
In today’s market, B2B SaaS companies are expanding through product-led growth. But how do they retain their new customers and get them to use their product consistently? The answer lies in product-led customer success.
Next Generation Go-To-Market Has Arrived for K12
By: Graham Forman (Edovate Capital)
A great breakdown of SaaS history and the current technological revolution has led to the rise of product-led growth.
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Product-Led Growth Fundamentals Course
By: ProductLed
This practical, no-fluff training video will transform how you approach product-led growth in less than 44 minutes.
Product-Led Models
This section is dedicated to teaching you how to choose a product-led model that is right for your business.
It’s perfect for anyone who wants to achieve product-led growth and learn about the different models (free trial, freemium, or hybrid) or challenge their current approach to market.
Free Trial vs. Freemium: Use the MOAT Framework to Decide
By: Wes Bush (ProductLed)
Find out whether a free trial or freemium model is the right strategy for your business with the MOAT decision framework.
Where Freemium Thrives and Dies
By: Wes Bush (ProductLed)
Since the rise of PLG, more companies than ever before are launching a freemium model. This article debunks what environments your free plan will absolutely thrive in and where it might flop.
Free trial vs. Freemium FAQs
By: Ramli John (ProductLed)
In this video, Ramli John walks through the top FAQs when deciding between product-led growth models.
Playbook: Scale to $100M+ ARR with a Usage-Based Pricing Model
By: Kyle Poyar (OpenView)
Usage-based pricing allows customers to pay for products according to how much they use or consume them. Here’s a playbook dissecting this approach.
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Freemium vs. Free Trial: How 5 Startups Found Their Best Model
By: Priscilla Tan (Breadcrumbs)
If you’re looking for some clear-cut examples of how five companies chose their model, take a look at this resource.
User Onboarding
If you’re looking to create an incredible onboarding experience for your users, this section is for you.
User onboarding is usually the only aspect of a product that every single user will experience, including those who decide it isn’t right for them.
So, the million-dollar question is: are you wasting the investment in the marketing, sales, and product teams with an experience that neglects the needs of first-time users so you can achieve product-led growth this year?
User Onboarding Course 101
By: Appcues
Learn how to effectively guide your new users, and ensure that your product becomes their next favorite tool.
Monthly Recurring Revenue SaaS: The 7 psychology principles responsible for +20% growth for clients
By: Ramli John (ProductLed)
Increase your Monthly Recurring Revenue by following these 7 psychology principles responsible for +20% growth for ProductLed’s clients.
Product-Led Onboarding: How To Turn Users Into Lifelong Customers
By: Ramli John (ProductLed)
Truly master user onboarding with this in-depth book by Ramli John. This six-step framework will give you all the advanced strategies you need to turn users into lifelong customers.
How to build your first onboarding walkthrough
By: Pendo
A step-by-step guide to help you build your very first onboarding experience.
Complete Guide to Jobs to be Done in User Onboarding
By: Ray Slater Berry (Chameleon)
Considering using the Jobs to be Done (JTBD) framework to build better user experiences? Then, step right this way; we’ve done the heavy-lifting to make your job easier.
Definitive Guide to User Onboarding
By: Wes Bush (ProductLed)
If you want to learn advanced strategies and frameworks to take your onboarding experience to the next level, be sure to check out this ultimate guide.
Key PLG Metrics
Monitoring metrics is important for every SaaS company to grow.
But which ones are important in a product-led growth model?
This section covers the key metrics you should follow so you can achieve product-led growth successfully this year.
15 Metrics Every SaaS Company Should Care About
By: Sophia Bernazzani (HubSpot)
To ensure your company is growing at the rate it should be, you need to keep track of revenue, churn, leads, and more. This article reviews the key SaaS and growth metrics your company needs to measure and focus on improving to grow.
11 essential product metrics for measuring product-led growth
By: Katryna Balboni (Appcues)
One of the most tangible ways companies can create alignment is by settling on the right set of product metrics. This article focuses on the product-led metrics you need to monitor for growth.
10 Product-led Growth Metrics You Need to Track Today
By: Serhat Erdem (UserGuiding)
Another resource dedicated to the top product-led growth metrics you need to track.
What the Heck Are Value Metrics and How to Find Yours
By: Wes Bush (ProductLed)
A value metric is the way you measure value exchange in your product. Here’s a guide explaining value metrics and why they are the linchpin to the successful execution of a product-led go-to-market strategy.
Retention metrics that matter
By: Craig Zingerline (ProductLed)
This article looks at the core retention metrics you need to monitor, along with how to measure and improve them.
PLG Tech Stack
If you're looking to achieve product-led growth, you'll need a new toolbox.
There is a lot to think about when choosing the tools you need for success. This section covers all you need to know about your product-led growth tech stack.
The Ultimate Product Led Growth Tech Stack
By: Arpit Choudhury (Correlated)
Because product, growth, and sales teams who don’t have access to the right tools with the right data are like musicians without instruments on a stage — they’re unable to do what they do best. Here’s an example of the ultimate tech stack.
Product-Led Growth Tech Stack: 199 SaaS tools for growth
By: Laura Kluz (ProductLed)
Adopting a product-led growth model requires a new toolbox. But what tools actually exist to solve your problems. Check out this massive list of 199+ tools to help you crush your PLG goals.
PLG tools for each step of the customer journey
By: Spencer Coon (Beamer)
If you’re curious about which PLG tools you’ll need at each step of the customer journey, then this list is for you.
Building a Marketing Ops Tech Stack for Product-Led Growth
By: Jacob Levinger (ProductLed)
This article focuses on the bedrock components of a marketing ops tech stack. It provides a great explanation of which tools you need, and more importantly, why.
How to choose a tech stack for product-led growth
By: Diana Hsieh (ProductLed)
In this video lesson, Diana Hsieh explains what you need to think about when choosing your tech stack.
Product Operations
This section is for anyone who needs to learn the basics of product operations in a product-led company.
As with most operations roles, product ops is primarily a support function that assists the product team, but it is beginning to emerge as a vital piece of the product-led puzzle.
What is product ops, and is it right for you?
By: Christine Itwaru (ProductLed)
For anyone questioning what exactly product ops is and if it’s needed at your company, check out this resource.
Trend Forecasting for Product Managers
By: Megan Murphy (ProductLed)
A company’s future depends on understanding your market’s evolving needs and expectations shaped by external forces. This article outlines how to identify those signals of change.
Product Operations: What It Is And Why It’s More Important Than Ever
By: Casey Paxton (Parlor)
Another resource touching on the fundamentals of product operations and why it’s of rising importance.
The Rise of Product Ops: the New Discipline Powering Product Excellence
By: Shaun Juncal (ProductPlan)
As product management continues to evolve, many new practices have been put in place to optimize product teams. This resource highlights those best practices.
The 5 W’s of Product Operations
By: Max Duce (Appcues)
Who, what, why, when, and where is product ops? Read on to find out.
Product-Led Sales
Contrary to popular belief, being product-led doesn’t automatically mean you’re anti-sales. For those who want to know how the role of sales fits into product-led growth, this section is for you.
We’ve gathered all the best resources on product-led sales – ranging from basics to advanced knowledge so you can conquer your product-qualified leads (PQL) and beyond in 2022.
(Not sure what a PQL is? Then, you’re in the perfect place. Read on.)
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What is Product-Led Sales?
By: Fred Melanson (Bliinx)
This video describes the basis of product-led sales and gives an introduction on how to integrate product-led sales into your current workflow.
An Introduction to Product-led Sales
By: Anna Talerico (ProductLed)
While not every company can have a true product-led growth model, any company can set out to create a product-led funnel. Read on to find out how.
How to define PQLs: A cheat sheet for Product-Led Growth Teams
By: Earl Lee (HeadsUp)
Not sure how to define a PQL for your business? This article breaks it down for your team.
The Definitive Guide to PQLs
By: Alexa Grabell (Pocus)
This resource discusses what PQLs are, why you should be using PQLs, and how to define them to supercharge your sales team.
Making the product experience better with sales-assisted user onboarding
By: Ramli John (Sales Hacker)
When done correctly, salespeople can add a ton of value to users in a PLG model. They make the product experience better – especially when it comes to onboarding users.
Benchmarks
Data drives decisions, but how is your product performing against others in the same space?
This section looks at the different product-led growth benchmark reports that were created in 2021.
Each one will give you a detailed look at the data of hundreds of PLG companies so you can best learn how to achieve product-led growth.
2021 Product Benchmarks
By: Openview
In 2021, OpenView put the latest data under a magnifying glass to uncover: the best way to build a growth-driven product, the right sales and marketing approach for your product, and where to look for bleeding-edge PLG inspiration.
Product Benchmarks
By: Pendo
Pendo analyzed 1,000+ digital products and established benchmarks for businesses of all sizes so you can see how your own business stacks up.
Key Product Led Growth (PLG) measures and benchmarks for K12 B2B edtech companies
By: Graham Foreman
A comprehensive article comparing traditional sales-led SaaS companies to PLG companies, along with key metrics to track.
The State Of Product-Led Experience Vol. One
By: ReinventGrowth
This resource takes data and insights from 40+ leading SaaS organizations to analyze key areas of PLG: onboarding, metrics, KPIs, experience, among others – including benchmarks
Product-Led Growth 2022 Benchmarkeing Survey
By: ProductLed, Gainsight, & RevOps Squared
ProductLed, in partnership with Gainsight, and RevOps Squared, is conducting research throughout January and February to benchmark the state of Product-Led Growth including:
- PLG adoption maturity
- PLG organizational responsibilities
- PLG customer acquisition measurements
- PLG customer expansion measurements
- PLG conversion measurements
- Product analytics adoption
- Product experience measurements
If you are involved in the planning, strategy, or execution of a Product-Led Growth strategy in your company, you can gain early access to the research findings by participating in the research.
Product-Led Marketing
This section is all about how the marketing team needs to adjust in a product-led company.
Ultimately this all comes down to making the shift from just telling people what you do to showing them what you do.
All of the resources listed here will show you how to do it.
The Ultimate Guide to Product-Led Growth Marketing
By: Userpilot
Product-led growth marketing is when you use the product as the primary driver of acquisition. This guide shows you how to drive your business’ product-led marketing efforts.
A Complete Guide To Product-Led Content Strategy (With Examples)
By: Greg Jarboe (Search Engine Journal)
This guide is for anyone looking to focus on weaving their product into their content without being too salesy.
5 Ways to Drive Pipeline With Product-Led Content
By: Navattic
This guide explains how product-led content makes the job of a sales team easier with the different formats you can use to master the craft.
When your product is content
By: Eric Peters (HubSpot)
The VP of Marketing at HubSpot shares how online education and certification can empower product growth.
Top Podcasts
Product-Led Revenue Podcast
By: Correlated
In this podcast hosted by Correlated, a platform dedicated to product-led revenue, you’ll hear innovative tactics from professionals who are using product user insights to drive revenue growth.
Product-Led Sales Podcast
By: HeadsUp
If you’re new to the product-led sales game, you’ll want to check out this podcast by HeadsUp. It brings together the world's best leaders in sales, GTM ops, customer success, and revenue, to share their insights around closing deals and growing revenue at product-led companies.
ProductLed Podcast
By: ProductLed
Every week, we release a new podcast episode that dissects how world-class product leaders are using their products to grow their business.
Value First: The Product-Led Sales Podcast
By: Fred Melanson (Bliinx)
This is a weekly interview series with the world’s best product-led sales and growth leaders who share their secrets about growing PLG companies, hosted by Fred Melanson of Bliinx.
OV Build Podcast
By: OV Build
If you're looking to learn more about how other businesses approach product-led growth, you can't go wrong with Openview's podcast, led by Venture capitalist Blake Bartlett.
Inside Intercom Podcast
By: Intercom
The Intercom podcast interviews a wide range of operators at leading SaaS companies and dig deep into the background of each guest to give you some valuable insights.
Product to Product Podcast
By: Roadmunk
The Product to Product podcast is run by Roadmunk. This podcast is perfect if you're looking to learn from other product folks who are bold enough to share what did and didn't work.
Experts to Follow on LinkedIn & Twitter
With so many people talking about product-led growth, you might be on the lookout for who to follow on social media.
This section highlights the top players in the field who use their platforms to share knowledge about product-led growth with their followers.
Ramli John
The former Director of Training at ProductLed, and now the Director of Content at Appcues, Ramli shares a ton of insights on SaaS and product-led onboarding, the latter is a topic which he wrote a bestselling book on.
Twitter: @RamliJohn
Wes Bush
The founder of ProductLed and author of the bestselling book Product-Led Growth: How to Build a Product That Sells Itself, Wes has been dubbed the Bill Gates of PLG and shares about all things related to the topic.
Twitter: @wes_bush
Eric Peters
Eric Peters is the Senior Growth Manager over at HubSpot, and his LinkedIn is packed with insights on diversity, growth marketing, product-led growth, customer education, and product management.
Twitter: @EricPeters0
Eric Keating
Eric is the VP of Marketing at Appcues and a huge advocate for user onboarding, product marketing and product-led growth.
Twitter: @iamerickeating
Sam Richard
The VP of the Growth Team at OpenView, Sam talks about SaaS and product-led growth.
Twitter: @SamCRichard
Gibson Biddle
A former leader at top companies like Netflix, Gibson shares about his experiences at these companies along with speaking, writing, and hosting workshops on product leadership, strategy, and culture.
Twitter: @gibsonbiddle
Andrew Capland
A coach for B2B growth teams and the founder of Delivering Value, Andrew uses his platform to share valuable advice aimed at growth teams on topics related to product-led growth.
Twitter: @acapland
Mario Ajaulo
The Senior Director of Growth at Outsystems, Mario coaches students here at ProductLed, while using his LinkedIn platform to share insights about his experience with product-led growth.
Francis Brero
The Co-founder and CPO of MadKudu, Francis shares his insights on all things related to the B2B SaaS world.
Twitter: @FrancisBrero
Connect on LinkedIn.
Conclusion
I hope this guide helps you master product-led growth this year.
Now it’s your turn: what’s your favorite resource on this list?
Or perhaps there is another excellent resource I didn’t know about that you think I should add.
Let me know in the comments below.
