25 Growth Hacking Books to Skyrocket Success

Discover the secrets of rapid business growth from a growth marketing expert. What people to hire, how to manage a team, launch experiments, what tools to use, and a list of proven examples to inspire you.

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Taking your business to new heights is, indeed, a tall task (pun intended!). In this article we’ve handpicked 25 growth hacking books that will guide you through the journey to transform the way you think about marketing, customer acquisition, and scaling your business. 

These insightful reads are packed with tried-and-tested strategies, real-world examples, and valuable tips from growth marketing experts. So, grab a cup of your favorite beverage, settle in, and let’s dive into these game-changing growth hacking books that will put your business on the fast track to success.

Growth Hacking Books Compilation

Here’s a short table we’ve compiled of all the growth hacking books mentioned in this article. We’ll talk about each of them in detail below. 

Growth hacking bookAuthorsWhere to get the book
Hacking GrowthSean Ellis, Morgan BrownAmazon
Explosive GrowthCliff LernerAmazon
Startup Growth EnginesSean Ellis, Morgan BrownAmazon
Growing Happy ClientsDaphne Tideman, Ward van GasterenAmazon
Product-Led GrowthWes BushAmazon
Growth HackingRaymond Fong, Chad RiddersenAmazon
Growth Hacker MarketingRyan HolidayAmazon
TractionGabriel Weinberg, Justin MaresAmazon
The Secret SauceVin Clancy, Austen AllredAmazon
BAMF BibleJosh FechterOfficial website
The Growth Marketer’s PlaybookJim HuffmanAmazon
HookedNir EyalAmazon
Ready, Set, Growth HackNader SabryAmazon
Lean AnalyticsAlistair Croll, Benjamin YoskovitzAmazon
Contagious: Why Things Catch OnJonah BergerAmazon
Viral LoopAdam L. PenenbergAmazon
Zero to OnePeter Thiel & Blake MastersAmazon
The Paper Plane PlanRoss DaviesAmazon
Growth Marketing HandbookJon YongfookPublishizer (preorder)
100 Days of GrowthSujan Patel, Rob WormleyOfficial website
Don’t Make Me Think, RevisitedSteve KrugAmazon
Marketing for business growthTheodore LevittAmazon
Food for GrowthGeckoboard & MentionOfficial website (free e-book)
Lean Marketing for StartupsSean EllisLeanpub
Scaling UpVerne HarnishAmazon
Become a growth marketing pro with our must-read list of growth hacking books
Become a growth marketing pro with our must-read list of growth hacking books

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

Hacking Growth
Growth hacking book for beginners.

This one usually comes first in most lists of the best growth hacking books. Rightfully, “Hacking Growth” delves into the innovative world of customer led growth hacking, providing a comprehensive guide on accelerating your business’s success. 

Ellis, the man who coined the term “growth hacker,” and Brown, a renowned marketing expert. He focuses on the intersection of product development, marketing, and data analysis.

Buy the ebook here

Explosive Growth: A Few Things I Learned While Growing To 100 Million Users — And Losing $78 Million, by Cliff Lerner

Author Cliff Lerner

It’s a rollercoaster ride of a book through the world of startups. Author Cliff Lerner shares his invaluable insights and experiences from scaling his company, Snap Interactive, to over 100 million users and a billion-dollar valuation. 

Lerner shares his unique perspective on growth hacking, combining humor and honesty to reveal the best practices for generating growth hypotheses and achieving rapid scale in today’s competitive business environment.

Buy the ebook here

Startup Growth Engines: Case Studies of How Today’s Most Successful Startups Unlock Extraordinary Growth

books growth

In “Startup Growth Engines,” authors Sean Ellis and Morgan Brown, the dynamic duo behind the bestseller “Hacking Growth,” take readers on an inspiring journey into the world of unique startup success stories. The authors present in-depth case studies, examining unique growth hacking examples to achieve rapid market dominance.

This book will inspire you with remarkable success stories and equip you with the growth marketing tools and knowledge to unleash your startup’s full potential and catapult it to the top.

Buy the book here

Growing Happy Clients: Our processes & experiences for growing fortune 500 corporates & the fastest growing scaleups, by Daphne Tideman and Ward Gasteren

 books growth
Growth hacking book for beginners.

“Growing Happy Clients” is a how-to guide for agency owners and marketers eager to scale their businesses while ensuring high client satisfaction and retention. Author Ward Gasteren, a seasoned marketing expert, shares his experience building a roadmap to hacking growth and fostering lasting client relationships.

The book is insightful for agency owners, marketers, and business leaders committed to scaling their ventures while keeping their clients delighted and coming back for more.

Buy the book here

Product-Led Growth: How to Build a Product That Sells Itself, by Wes Bush

Product-Led Growth book

In “Product-Led Growth,” author Wes Bush delivers a guide on creating a business that captivates users and drives growth and success.

The tabletop growth hacker book challenges the traditional marketing and sales-driven approach to business, presenting an alternative strategy that focuses on building an exceptional product experience that sells itself.

Buy the book here

Read also:

Growth Hacking: Silicon Valley’s Best Kept Secret, by Raymond Fong and Chad Riddersen

Silicon Valley's Best Kept Secret
One of the best marketing books

Take an insider’s look into the world of data-driven strategies that have fueled the success of many Silicon Valley startups. Co-authors Raymond Fong and Chad Riddersen, both experienced growth hackers and entrepreneurs, demystified the concept of growth hacking and revealed the strategies used by industry leaders to achieve explosive growth.

Regardless of size or stage, they provide actionable advice on implementing growth hacking techniques in your business.

Read the reviews here

Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising, by Ryan Holiday

Growth Hacker Marketing

In “Growth Hacker Marketing,” Ryan Holiday unveils the future of marketing, offering a compelling primer on the growth hacking strategies that are reshaping the industry — the book is packed with eye-opening insights, real-world examples, and actionable advice. Holiday demystifies the concept of growth hacking, revealing how successful startups and businesses leverage unconventional tactics to achieve rapid growth and outpace their competition.

Buy the book here

Traction: A Startup Guide to Getting Customers, by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares

Traction

“Traction” is a powerful guide for startups and businesses seeking to achieve explosive customer growth.

Authors Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares present the concept of the “Bullseye Framework,” a systematic approach to help companies identify and capitalize on the most effective traction channels to drive growth.

Buy the book here

Secret Sauce: The Ultimate Growth Hacking Guide, by Austen Allred and Vin Clancy

Secret Sauce
One of the best business growth books in the list

“Secret Sauce,” the ultimate growth hacking guide, unlocks the secrets of crafting persuasive and impactful messages that leave a lasting impression. 

Mills dives deep into the psychology of persuasion, exploring the key ingredients that make a message irresistible and memorable. Throughout the book, Mills presents real-world examples, business case studies, and actionable tips to help marketers master the art of persuasive communication.

Buy the book here

playbook

Get your free example of growth marketing playbook with 40+ templates for successful experiments

THE BAMF BIBLE — Top 25+ Growth Hacks from 2017, by Josh Fechter

The BAMF Bible

Author Josh Fechter, a highly-regarded growth hacking expert, compiles the top 25 growth hacks from 2017 that have helped companies achieve remarkable success in a highly competitive market. This comprehensive guide is filled with cutting-edge B2C and B2B growth hacking strategies, tactics, and real-world examples that can be applied to any business seeking rapid growth.

Buy the book here

The Growth Marketer’s Playbook: A Strategic Guide to Growing a Business in Today’s Digital World, by Jim Huffman

The Growth Marketer's Playbook

“The Growth Marketer’s Playbook” is a practical how-to guide by Jim Huffman, a renowned growth marketing expert and startup founder. It’s an outstanding specimen of books on growth marketing, offering readers the exact growth marketing strategies employed by today’s top startups and VC-backed businesses.

The book is designed to help entrepreneurs and marketers navigate the digital world and grow their businesses correctly, regardless of their experience level.

Buy the book here

Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, by Nir Eyal

Hook Model

The author — Nir Eyal, an expert in behavioral design, presents the “Hook Model” — a powerful framework that helps entrepreneurs and product designers create engaging and addictive business products that stand the test of time. Drawing on real-world examples from successful companies like Facebook, Twitter, and Slack, the book provides actionable SaaS growth hacks for anyone looking to create products that users can’t resist.

Buy the book here

Ready, Set, Growth hack: A beginners guide to growth hacking success, by Nader Sabry

Ready, Set, Growth hack

A great book tailored for beginners seeking to understand and apply growth hacking tips to drive business success. Written by Nader Sabry, a seasoned entrepreneur and growth hacking expert, this book provides practical advice on implementing growth hacking techniques across various stages of a business, from customer acquisition and activation to retention and referral strategies.

Buy the book here

Lean Analytics: Use Data to Build a Better Startup Faster, by Alistair Croll and Benjamin Yoskovitz

Lean Analytics

Written by renowned experts in data analytics and lean startup methodology, it presents a comprehensive guide that combines the principles of lean thinking with the practical application of analytics. The book covers essential topics such as defining success, selecting the right growth marketing metrics, and avoiding common pitfalls in data analysis.

Buy the book here

Contagious: Why Things Catch On, by Jonah Berger

Contagious

This growth marketing book will inspire you to think differently about marketing and unlock the potential of contagious content to drive growth and success for your business. Jonah Berger is a marketing professor and expert in social influence, presenting a captivating analysis of the critical factors that make content contagious and drive people to share it with others.

Buy the book here

Viral Loop: From Facebook to Twitter, How Today’s Smartest Businesses Grow Themselves, by Adam L. Penenberg

Viral Loop

“Viral Loop” explores the powerful phenomenon that has driven the success of today’s smartest businesses. The author — Adam L. Penenberg, is an award-winning journalist and expert in digital culture. He provides a comprehensive look at the mechanics of viral loops and the factors contributing to their success, drawing on interviews with industry leaders, extensive research, and real-world case studies.

Buy the book here

18 business growth experts you should follow this year

business experts

What are Growth Loops? How It Can Scale Your Company

growth loops

Product Led Growth Marketing: hack your product growth

PLG

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future, by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters

Zero to One

“Zero to One” will inspire you to think differently about the future, reimagine the possibilities, and build the groundbreaking companies shaping tomorrow’s world. Here, for instance, you can find Peter Thiel’s (an author) experience and insights from founding PayPal, investing in Facebook, and his work with other groundbreaking companies.

Buy the book here

The Paper Plane Plan: Growth hacking techniques especially for the B2B service industry, by Ross Davies

The Paper Plane Plan

“The Paper Plane Plan” is an invaluable resource for entrepreneurs, marketers, and business leaders in the B2B service industry who want to understand and apply B2B growth marketing approach.

The author — Ross Davies, is an experienced digital marketer and entrepreneur. With professional insights and actionable advice, this book will equip readers with the knowledge and growth marketing services needed to excel in the world of B2B services and achieve long-term success.

Buy the book here

Growth Marketing Handbook, by Jon Yongfook

Yongfook

Yongfook, an experienced entrepreneur and growth hacker, covers many topics, including customer acquisition, activation, retention, revenue generation, and referral strategies. Each stage of your growth hacking canvas. Every growth hack is presented concisely, easy to understand, and complete with real-world examples and actionable advice to help you implement and optimize your growth strategy. 

Buy the book here

100 Days of Growth: Proven Ways to Grow Your Business Fast, by Sujan Patel and Rob Wormley

100 Days of Growth

This book focuses on providing proven growth tactics that can be implemented by businesses of all sizes and across various industries. The author describes various growth hacking tools and growth method covering customer acquisition, conversion optimization, content marketing, social media, and email marketing.

Each tactic is presented in a straightforward, easy-to-understand format, complete with real-world examples, tips, and insights to help readers implement and optimize their growth strategies. 

Buy the book here

Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, by Steve Krug

Don't Make Me Think, Revisited

An essential resource for web designers, developers, and digital marketers alike. Written by a renowned expert in the usability and user experience field, this updated edition builds on the original book’s success by incorporating new insights, examples, and best practices for creating user-friendly websites and applications.

Buy the book here

Books aren’t the only source of growth inspo! Dashly experts can help you too 👇

Marketing for business growth, by Theodore Levitt

Marketing for business growth

“Marketing for business growth” book truly is a timeless classic that offers invaluable insights and guidance for businesses seeking to create a strong marketing growth strategy and achieve success.

This book, written by Theodore Levitt, a renowned marketing expert and former Harvard Business School professor, explores the essential marketing principles and their role in driving business expansion.

Buy the book here

Food for Growth, by Geckoboard & Mention

Food for Growth

“Food for Growth” is a collaborative effort between Geckoboard and Mention, companies with expertise in data visualization and social media monitoring.

They provide real-world examples, tips, and insights to help readers implement and optimize their growth marketing test process, drawing from their experiences working with businesses across various industries.

Buy the book here

Lean Marketing for Startups, by Sean Ellis

Lean Marketing for Startups, by Sean Ellis
Book for novice and experts.

If you want to overgrow your startup, this one’s for you. Along with other best books about growth hacking from the same author, it covers various topics, including agile product development, business model design, web analytics, customer acquisition, and more. Drawing from his experiences working with startups, Ellis provides real-world examples and case studies demonstrating the effectiveness of lean marketing principles in driving sustainable growth.

Buy the book here

Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It…and Why the Rest Don’t, by Verne Harnish

Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It...and Why the Rest Don't, by Verne Harnish
One of the best books in a list.

If your business seeks sustainable growth and long-term success, that’s the book for you. Harnish, an author, describes four key areas: people, strategy, execution, and cash. He delves into the importance of building the right growth marketing team, crafting a winning strategy, executing precisely, and maintaining a healthy cash flow. The author also shares valuable case studies and real-world examples from his experiences working with businesses across various industries.

Buy the book here

With this comprehensive list of growth marketing and growth hacking books, we hope you find something to your taste and needs, be it a hardcover, an audiobook, or even a free copy 😉 Enjoy the reading!

Read also: Your Growth Marketing Strategy Template with guide and examples

Conclusion

There are a lot of resources that will help you pursue an approach with the growth hacking concept in mind.

This article provides you with top 25 books on growth and growth hacking (+ summary to each) so that you can grasp the fundamentals and adjust your business plan according to them with ease.

Become a growth marketing pro with our must-read list of growth hacking books
Become a growth marketing pro with our must-read list of growth hacking books

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Growth Hacking?

Growth hacking refers to a series of techniques implemented by companies that seek rapid growth within a condensed timeframe. This term is fairly recent, having gained recognition with the surge of startup culture.

What skills should I have to test growth hacks?

There is a combo of marketing and management skills within a growth mindset:

  • Analytical skills: analyze data and track product metrics framework KPIs to measure the effectiveness of your business hacking growth ideas.
  • Technical skills: knowledge of web development, SEO, and analytics tools.
  • Creativity to come up with innovative marketing ideas to improve growth and engage the user to buy.
  • Communication skills to communicate effectively with your team and stakeholders, making your ideas and the results of your testing clear to all.
  • Continuous learning: Growth hackers need to stay up to date with the latest marketing trends and be always learning new techniques of hacking business growth.
  • Focus on results: You should be highly driven by results and have a goal-oriented mindset, even when testing different growth hacks.

What does a growth hacker do?

A growth hacker is someone who continuously seeks efficient methods to drive growth and attain optimal outcomes at minimal expenses, creating a win-win scenario throughout the process.

How can you become a growth hacker

While there are no specific university programs designed for growth hacking, comprehensive training is required to become a professional growth hacker, much like any other career. Beginners can explore introductory courses and recommended books, gain hands-on experience in various roles within the industry, and stay open to new methods in order to comprehend product and content marketing.

What are growth hacking books?

Books on growth hacking are blueprints that detail effective methods for capturing interest, acquiring customers, establishing a brand, and rapidly expanding while maintaining a manageable budget.

What are some good growth hacking books for startups?

Some good growth hacking books for startups include Traction by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares, One Million Followers by Brendan Kane, and High Growth Handbook by Elad Gil.

What are the best books on growth hacking?

Some of the must-read books on growth hacking are Contagious by Jonah Berger, Hacking Growth by Sean Ellis, Growth Hacker Marketing by Ryan Holiday, and Growth Hacking by Raymond Fong and Chad Riddersen.

Best Growth Hacker books for beginners

If you’re looking to gain a deeper understanding of growth hacking, three indispensable books are:

Moreover, if you want to fast-track your career as a growth hacker, “Growth Hacking: How to Become a Growth Hacker” by Joe & Jose Casanova is the ultimate guide.

What is the best alternative to Hacking Growth” by Sean Ellis?

Here is a list of alternatives:

  • “Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth” by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares.
  • “The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses” by Eric Ries.
  • “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products” by Nir Eyal.
  • “Contagious: Why Things Catch On” by Jonah Berger.

Best Growth Hacking books for the advanced

To sharpen your skills in the strategic arena of growth hacking, four necessary books are:

Best Free Ebooks for Growth Hackers

Here are some of the most captivating free ebooks on growth hacking:

Please find all the links compiled below.

Best Books for Growth Hacking Inspiration

Vin Clancy’s “The Secret Sauce” Sujan Patel’s “100 Days of Growth” and Josh Fechter’s “BAMF Bible” are valuable resources for learning about growth hacking, authored by experienced experts in the field. These texts provide numerous examples of successful growth hacking strategies.

What are the best books on growth mindset?

If you’re looking to develop a growth mindset, be sure to check out:

  • “Contagious” by Jonah Berger,
  • “Pre-suasion” and “The Psychology of Persuasion” by Robert Cialdini,
  • “Lean Analytics” by Alistair Croll & Benjamin Yoskovitz,
  • “This Is Marketing” by Seth Godin, “Hooked” by Nir Eyal, “Product-Led SEO” by Eli Schwartz,
  • and “Moneyball” by Michael Lewis.

These books offer valuable insights and techniques in areas like marketing, persuasion, analytics, and more, helping to cultivate a mindset geared towards growth and success.

Books aren’t the only source of growth inspo! Dashly experts can help you too 👇

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