How Clubhouse built its Network Effect?

11 Growth Hack to Pull a Network Effect like Clubhouse (in random order)

A. Easy Creation Tool

Clubhouse is a content-first social platform where users create content by just talking, easiest and effective means to converse with the audience, this same applies to Tik Tok it also has an easy way to create content. For clubhouse, it's just a click & talk.

B. Private

Network effects are always public which means the platform is easily accessible to everyone but clubhouse created FOMO with private access or waitlist thus helped them to create fear of missing out and in turn made more users to get on the waitlist and ask for invites.

C. Initial Endorsement

It came from celebrities of fields like tech startups, Hollywood, venture capitalist, music, sports and others this helped clubhouse to build trust and reach to more users at scale.

D. Exclusivity of invite/referrals

Clubhouse users can only invite 1 person on the platform, and as already first 3 points made users join waitlist but without an invite, they won't be able to join thus created this viral loop of sharing invite to peers on social media which in turn again got new eyeballs for them and more new users started asking for the invite on threads, groups, forums and all other possible places.

E. Social Currency

With all of the above happening, the users who got the access now feels like exclusive & thus shares to the world about their experience & thus it makes other users join the platform as they also want to earn that social currency & wants to be seen cool.

F. iOS

With times we have seen exclusive apps perform better on iOS than Android, as already the iOS community is very close, connected and more trusted to each other because of the underlying love for platform and apps these type of exclusive apps do perform better there.

G. Public Relations, not PR

Clubhouse got a great start with a discussion of it's $100 million valuation and due to this they first got introduced in the tech world and later spread in other fields and since the launch, they are always in the discussions.

H. Team & Community

Clubhouse team did a perfect job to tap into the communities & leaders and giving access to them to create room on the clubhouse, I still remember around July 2020 or something @jatin10 was telling me to conduct an event on Clubhouse as their community manager or someone got in touch with him to share the invite and will also help with onboarding and further details to plan an event.

I. Timing

I feel the timing of the clubhouse couldn't be more perfect than this, launched in the times when the world was entering a pandemic, a perfect time by luck or strategically I don't know but great timing.

J. Silicon Valley

All locations can create network effect but if done right then Silicon Valley can surely help you start & catapult a network effect to a greater extent as things which are popular here get easy acceptance to a global audience and moreover social currency plays it part in the rest of world.

K. Tailwinds

Unlike connection first platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn clubhouse is creation first platform and it has got some fantastic tailwinds like

1. the rise of creators

2. podcast growth

3. acceptance of the audio first approach

4. the need for realtime personal connection and engagement

5. lookout for next/alternative social/cool platform

6. tech/startup trends

Let me know if I have missed something or you would like to add to the list & also comment down below to share other relevant hacks & tactics to build network effects in product and services & see you guys in the next one till then happy hacking.

Article published here: https://malavwarke.substack.com/p/how-clubhouse-built-its-network-effect

PS: yes you can also use the comment section to share clubhouse invites :p