Growth Hacking with Social Empire

"Growth hacking" is one of those terms that you may not have heard before, but the idea will make sense right away. It refers to the practice of thinking creatively and being open to trying different strategies to quickly and effectively start and grow a business. Mark Middo, the founder of Social Empire and the author of a book called 5 Minute Business, shares a variety of ideas (or growth hacks) which help you, in his words, "unconventional marketing techniques to get your product or service in front of thousands (if not millions) of people."

Based in Melbourne, Australia but with contacts all over the globe, Mark and his colleagues give away lots of great tips on the Social Empire website, with posts covering such topics as quickly building your following on Twitter, learning how to successfully promote events on Facebook, and finding the best freelancers through oDesk to help complete tasks that you need to outsource for your new business. In addition to the website itself, you can get more tips each week through the free Social Empire newsletter.

I used to think it took a lot of capital to be an independent entrepreneur and create a startup business, but with the internet, you can reach a lot of people quickly and inexpensively and get the word out about your product or service without spending money on a storefront--or even on postage. Many of the best and most current ideas about indie business are available online, directly from people who are putting those same ideas into practice right now for their own businesses. It's always great to find another website where the free sharing of creative business ideas is actively encouraged!