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Growth hackers: What they do & how to hire one

Article originally published in February 2024 by Stuart Brameld. Most recent update in April 2024.

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Hiring a growth hacker can supercharge your business by quickly identifying and leveraging opportunities for growth. Their skills in analytics, creativity, and technology can drive impressive results, boosting customer acquisition, retention, and revenue.

“Every modern business should have a growth hacker because they can rapidly identify and leverage opportunities to scale the business and improve profits using creative, low-cost tactics.”


Stuart Brameld, Growth Method CEO & Growth Advisor

Growth & growth marketing on the rise

According to Google Trends, worldwide interested in growth marketing has increased substantially over the last 15 years, and continues to grow.

The LinkedIn 2023 Jobs on the Rise list examines millions of jobs started by LinkedIn members across the last 5 years. The results reveal the 25 fastest-growing job titles over the past five years, the most in-demand roles and emerging trends defining the future world of work.

Growth and growth marketing related roles were consistently placed in the top 10 fastest-growing roles worldwide, with 2 growth-related roles in the UK’s top 10 fastest-growing jobs.

What is the role of a growth hacker

The role of a growth hacker is crucial for the advancement of any business. As a growth marketer, their primary focus is to drive rapid business growth. They do this by devising and implementing strategies that focus on productivity and scalability in the business. A growth hacker’s responsibilities revolve around understanding and utilising the entire customer lifecycle (AARRR), crafting a solid growth strategy, running numerous marketing experiments, and optimising the results.

A core component of a growth hacker’s methodology is experimentation. They regularly conduct various tests to determine the most effective ways to boost business growth. From utilising new marketing platforms to trying out different growth techniques, a growth hacker’s role is all about engaging in result-driven practices. Moreover, a growth hacker also instils a growth culture in an organisation. They seek to foster a working environment that encourages creativity, flexibility, and a relentless pursuit of growth.

What makes a great growth hire?

A modern growth hire requires a wide base level of knowledge, along with deep expertise in one or two areas well-suited to your business.

The T-Shaped Marketer framework popularised by Buffer illustrates the concept well.

“The vertical bar on the T represents the depth of related skills and expertise in a single field, whereas the horizontal bar is the ability to collaborate across disciplines with experts in other areas and to apply knowledge in areas of expertise other than one’s own.”


https://buffer.com/resources/t-shaped-marketer/

Required skills for a growth hacker

Here are some of the core traits and skills of a good growth hacker.

Trait Description/Detail
Creativity A great growth hacker can think outside the box to find unique solutions to marketing challenges.
Analytical Mind They have the ability to analyse data, understand trends, and use that information to drive growth.
Knowledge of Digital Marketing Channels They understand the ins and outs of social media, SEO, content marketing, email marketing, and other digital channels.
Risk-Taking Willing to experiment with new strategies and accept the potential failure that comes with risk.
Customer-Focus They focus on understanding customer needs and improving the customer experience.
Technical Skills They possess knowledge of programming, database management and web analytics.

Growth hacker salary

Depending on experience and location, salaries for skilled growth hacker’s are typically in the ranges below:

For more information you can view active job postings for growth marketing manager roles on LinkedIn here.

  • The average salary for a growth hacker in the UK is approximately £45,000 per year.
  • In the US, the average salary for a growth hacker is around $98,500 per year.

Hiring a growth hacker

Looking to hire a growth hacker? Here are our top 10 job boards for growth and growth marketing related roles.

About Growth Method

Growth Method is the growth platform designed for experiment-led and data-driven marketers.

Learn more at on our homepage, connect with Stuart on LinkedIn or schedule a call today.