Marketing and growth for marketplaces

Marketing tactics and growth strategies for two-sided marketplace businesses. From marketplace founders, growth marketers, investors, and sharing economy experts inside and outside Sharetribe.

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Marketing & growth

Marketplace funding: The complete guide

Struggling with funding your marketplace? This guide helps you decide how much marketplace funding you need – and when and where to source it.

by Juho Makkonen


First things first

The first marketing activities for an early-stage marketplace: make sure your marketplace value proposition is crystal clear, plan your launch strategically, and start tracking your most important marketplace success metrics.

How to measure your success: the key marketplace metrics
Marketing & growth

11 marketplace metrics you should be tracking to measure your success

The most important metrics that anchor all your marketing and growth activities.

by Juho Makkonen

How to launch your marketplace
Marketing & growth
Business Model

How to launch your marketplace

Strategies that bring demand to your freshly opened marketplace platform.

by Cristóbal Gracia

Different sized and shaped paint brushes side by side
Marketing & growth

How to communicate your marketplace value proposition

Making sure every visitor knows how your marketplace can help them.

by Cristóbal Gracia


Marketing tips for early-stage marketplaces

Time to start experimenting with marketplace growth tactics! Here are some tips and recommendations for finding the right mix for you.

Red-and-white ifebuoys arranged in sequence.
Marketing & growth

What to do if your marketplace business slows down

Five recommendations to consider for your marketplace during times of slower business. Some can help you make it through these difficult times, others prepare your business for better ones ahead.

by Juho Makkonen

How to start branding a marketplace
Marketing & growth

How to start with branding your marketplace

Use the brand strategy canvas to find your unique marketplace positioning.

by Sjoerd Handgraaf

How to grow your marketplace on a budget
Marketing & growth

How to grow your marketplace on a budget

The road to 1,000 customers starts with 10 happy ones (that you didn’t have to pay for).

by Jaime Arredondo

Local content marketing for your marketplace
Marketing & growth

How to do local content marketing for marketplaces

Content marketing and local marketplaces are a perfect match.

by Sjoerd Handgraaf

How to get started with Google AdWords for your marketplace.
Marketing & growth

How to get started with Google Ads for your marketplace

The basics of setting up your first-ever Google Ads campaign.

by Sjoerd Handgraaf

How to grow your marketplace
Marketing & growth

How to find the best marketplace growth strategies

Choosing the early-stage marketing mix for your marketplace.

by Juho Makkonen


Expert tips for continuous growth

More often than not, marketing and growing a marketplace business is cumulative work. These articles help you find ideas and inspiration – and sources to follow for up to date marketplace growth wisdom.

3D pattern of pink magnifying glasses on light pink background.
Marketing & growth
Platform technology

Marketplace SEO: the complete guide

Get a comprehensive introduction to the world of SEO, tailored specifically to online marketplaces.

by Mira Muurinen

Yellow 3D coins and green bills in symmetric diagonal rows on pink background
Marketing & growth

Marketplace funding: The complete guide

Struggling with funding your marketplace? This guide helps you decide how much marketplace funding you need – and when and where to source it.

by Juho Makkonen

Online marketplace Investors and VC firms - the venture capital landscape for 2021
Marketing & growth

The top 40 + 10 marketplace investors and VC firms

The title says it all. Here are the people to keep an eye on in the marketplace investment scene.

by Sjoerd Handgraaf

Fabrice Grinda on marketplace unit economics
Marketing & growth

“Make your marketplace unit economics work,” says Fabrice Grinda

When one of the world’s most successful angel investors talks marketplaces, we listen.

by Mira Muurinen

Marketplace Conference, Geographic Expansion
Marketing & growth

Sarah Rose at the Marketplace Conference: UrbanSitter's playbook for Geographic expansion

This talk by UrbanSitter’s COO is a must for any marketplace entrepreneur planning on launching new markets.

by Mira Muurinen

Why network effects are key to successful marketplace businesses – An interview with James Currier
Marketing & growth

"Network effects are key to successful marketplaces," says James Currier

The managing partner of NFX Guild believes a new class of businesses—ones that combine aspects from marketplaces and social networks—is being created.

by Juho Makkonen


More on marketing & growth for marketplaces

More insights and success stories about marketing and growing marketplace businesses.

Michael Caldwell is smiling widely. His image is framed in a circle on top of an image of orange magnifying glasses.
Marketing & growth
Platform technology

Weave SEO into your marketplace right from the start – An interview with Michael Caldwell

Michael Caldwell shares how to take both users and search engines into account when creating your website.

by Katri Antikainen & Mira Muurinen

Mike van der Heijden is smiling and wears a blazer with a blue collared shirt with the top buttons open. His image is framed in a circle on top of an image with some orange magnifying glasses in the corner.
Marketing & growth
Platform technology

SEO can drastically improve a marketplace’s bottom line – An interview with Mike van der Heijden

Mike van der Heijden shares how investing in SEO can considerably increase a marketplace’s traffic and valuation.

by Katri Antikainen & Mira Muurinen

A row of pink 3D magnifying glasses crossing the frame on pale pink background.
Marketing & growth

Link building for marketplaces

Backlinks are key to your marketplace's SEO authority. Here's how you can build backlinks – and the tactics you should avoid.

by Mira Muurinen

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Marketing & growth

Keyword-targeted content marketing for marketplaces

Marketplace content marketing with an SEO mindset.

by Mira Muurinen

Pink 3D magnifying glasses in a three diagonal rows on pale pink background.
Marketing & growth

Keyword research for marketplaces

How to find your initial set of keywords and get started with a marketplace keyword strategy.

by Mira Muurinen

Nine pink 3D magnifying glasses arranged in a reclining diamond shape on pale pink background.
Platform technology
Marketing & growth

Technical SEO for marketplaces

This article introduces the basics of technical SEO and suggests ways to tackle common technical marketplace SEO issues.

by Mira Muurinen

Three thriving cacti in small terracotta pots on pink surface and pink background.
Marketing & growth
Starting a marketplace

Marketplace businesses that thrive in a recession

A recession is a challenge for any business. But a downturn can also offer tremendous opportunities for marketplaces

by Juho Makkonen

Three pink 3D magnifying glasses on light pink background.
Marketing & growth
Platform technology

Opportunities and challenges of marketplace SEO

How to avoid common marketplace SEO pitfalls – and tap into the unique opportunities.

by Mira Muurinen

3D coins and bills in diagonal rows on pink background.
Marketing & growth

How to crowdfund your marketplace

Your marketplace startup funding options aren’t limited to bootstrapping or raising venture capital. Read on for our CEO Juho’s best tips on a funding method close to all our hearts at Sharetribe: crowdfunding.

by Juho Makkonen

Diagonal row of green 3D banknotes and 3D coin stacks on pink background.
Marketing & growth

Why raise venture capital for your marketplace – and why not

Should you raise VC funding for your marketplace? If you want to build a unicorn, yes. If you want to get rich – maybe not.

by Juho Makkonen

Stack of yellow 3D coins and green banknote on pink background.
Marketing & growth

How to bootstrap your marketplace

Can you build a successful marketplace business without funding? Absolutely! Bootstrapping might even help you become profitable faster.

by Juho Makkonen

Optimize your marketplace for customer loyalty
Marketing & growth

The science of customer loyalty, and how to leverage it for your marketplace

Learn three science-backed tactics for increasing customer loyalty on your marketplace. Written by Chatra co-founder and CEO Yaakov Karda.

by Yaakov Karda

Canon Australia built Kyoyu, a camera-sharing marketplace, on Sharetribe Flex.
Marketing & growth

Why Canon Australia ventured into the sharing economy

Kyōyū, Canon's first-ever gear-sharing marketplace, was built on Sharetribe Flex. What benefits does the Fortune 500 company see in the sharing economy?

by Mira Muurinen

Email marketing for marketplaces
Marketing & growth

How to promote your online marketplace with email marketing

Email marketing has the highest ROI of all digital marketing channels. In this guest article, Emil Kristensen shares five concrete tactics to promote your marketplace with email marketing.

by Emil Kristensen

Cross-side demonstration virality marketplace
Marketing & growth

Brian Rothenberg at the Marketplace Conference: Driving growth via buyer/seller overlap

Trust Eventbrite’s VP of Growth: if customers are turning to providers on your marketplace, you’re on to something magical.

by Mira Muurinen

3 Ways to Use Messaging to Optimize Marketplace Operations
Marketing & growth

Three ways to use messaging to optimize marketplace operations

The right message at the right time can help onboard users, facilitate transactions from start to finish and provide leakage. This article shows in detail how to achieve this.

by Charles Costa

Influencer marketing for your marketplace platform
Marketing & growth

How to do influencer marketing for your marketplace platform

A guest post by Michael Quoc, founder and CEO of Dealspotr, on how influencer marketing can be done for marketplace platforms.

by Michael Quoc

Growing with content - An interview with Simon Powell
Marketing & growth

Growing with content - An interview with Simon Powell

The founder of TransferTravel reveals how creating content helped them build supply and awareness about their marketplace, up to 30,000 visitors per month, without spending anything on ads.

by Juho Makkonen

From bootstrapping to $1M in funding – An interview with Arash Shiva and Marius Ciocirlan of Sharegrid
Marketing & growth

From bootstrapping a marketplace to $1M in funding

Arash Shiva and Marius Ciocirlan of Sharegrid reveal how they went from bootstrapping to $1M in funding, using Sharetribe.

by Juho Makkonen

Ten Lessons Learned from Investing in Online Marketplaces
Marketing & growth

Ten Lessons Learned Investing in early-stage Marketplaces

Investor Mathias Ockenfels’ insightful lessons are worth every marketplace entrepreneur’s time.

by Mathias Ockenfels

Grow your sharing economy business with PR
Marketing & growth

How to use PR to grow your online marketplace business

Learn how to transform your sharing economy business with PR, and get a free professional press release template.

by Eve Laird & Elle Tucker

Do one thing well – An interview with Mike Williams
Marketing & growth

Do one thing well – An interview with Mike Williams

The founder of Studiotime shares how he built a profitable marketplace business by bootstrapping.

by Juho Makkonen

Conquer one city at a time – An interview with Tristan Pollock
Marketing & growth

Conquer one city at a time – An interview with Tristan Pollock

The founder of Storefront advises entrepreneurs to build manual-first marketplaces and to not scale too rapidly.

by Juho Makkonen

Adapt to the local context – an interview with Joel Serra
Marketing & growth

Adapt to the local context – An interview with Joel Serra

Quality over quantity—an essential part of EatWith's success.

by Cristóbal Gracia

Make your members happy – An interview with Jim Pickell
Marketing & growth

Make your members happy – An interview with Jim Pickell

Member satisfaction is the ultimate marketplace key performance indicator.

by Thea Sørvig Østbye

Vacate the VCs – An interview with Jeremiah Owyang
Marketing & growth

Vacate the VCs – An interview with Jeremiah Owyang

Advice on alternative ways to fund your marketplace startup.

by Thea Sørvig Østbye

Design transformational experiences – An interview with Neal Gorenflo
Marketing & growth

Design transformational experiences – An interview with Neal Gorenflo

Neal Gorenflo thinks you should start small and replicate grassroot movements.

by Thea Sørvig Østbye

Shelby Clark
Marketing & growth

Empower your providers – An interview with Shelby Clark

Shelby Clark advises marketplace entrepreneurs to focus on high-quality supply from the very beginning.

by Thea Sørvig Østbye

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