Run a group where customers teach each other to get more from the product, and let it become the reason the next customer buys.
Instant Pot did no television or print advertising. It sent its pressure cooker to about 200 food bloggers and cookbook authors and ran a company Facebook group where owners swapped recipes. By January 2017 the group had more than 300,000 members (NPR, via WGBH, 18 January 2017), and roughly three million by 2024 (Modern Retail, 3 June 2024).
On Amazon Prime Day 2016 Instant Pot sold 215,000 units, helped by a 30% price cut to $69 from $99 (NPR, via WGBH, 18 January 2017).
Consumer products, subscriptions and software that people use often and have to learn: kitchen, fitness, hobbies, tools.
A product people have to learn creates questions, and every answer from another owner makes the next buyer more confident and more likely to use it. Facebook Page posts reach few people, averaging 0.13% engagement by followers in the third quarter of 2026 (Socialinsider), but a group is a different machine: members joined for the conversation.
Oats Overnight runs the same play: a Facebook group where around 82,000 of its subscribers weigh in, posting around 2,500 comments a day (Modern Retail, 3 June 2024).
Reported. Instant Pot's figures from NPR (January 2017) and Modern Retail (June 2024). Self-reported. Oats Overnight's figures from its founder (Modern Retail, June 2024).
Cost to test. No media spend. A moderator for a few hours a week for a quarter.
Kill it if after three months fewer than one member in ten posts or comments in a month.
A group needs a moderator from day one, or it fills with complaints and spam. It works for products people use often and talk about, less for products bought once. Instant Pot's Prime Day record came with a 30% discount, so do not credit the group alone.
The Affiliate Discord, The Review Engine, Seed 500
A 30-minute call first. If it fits, two calls in one week and a written growth plan you keep.