Growth for platforms
Be the platform creators recommend, not the one they compare.
For software built for creators, experts and small brands. We build the authority that makes your category yours, and the growth system that turns it into signups, activated users and revenue, as a program your team runs with us, for a fraction of agency cost.
Every creator who wins brings the next one.
From the team that’s helped DTC brands like Kanin Shot, Sensate and Nae Nae’s generate millions of dollars in revenue, now applied to the platforms those brands and creators run on.
Who it’s for
Software whose users are creators, experts and small brands.
If your platform succeeds when your users succeed, your growth runs through them. The program is built for that.
Creator storefronts and link-in-bio tools
Platforms where creators sell products, bookings and downloads from one link.
Course, community and membership platforms
Software that helps experts teach, host communities and run paid memberships.
Booking and practice tools for experts
Scheduling, intake and client management for coaches, practitioners and studios.
Commerce and ops tools for small brands
Storefronts, subscriptions, reviews and fulfilment tools for independent DTC brands.
The problem
Great product. Crowded category.
Creator and commerce software is one of the most crowded corners of SaaS. Here’s where growth usually stalls.
A feature war you can’t win
Every competitor ships the same features. Comparison pages decide the deal, and price becomes the tiebreaker.
Paid acquisition keeps getting pricier
The same creators see the same ads from every platform. Cost per signup climbs every quarter.
Signups that never activate
People create an account, poke around, and never publish, sell or book anything.
Creator programs that fizzle
Affiliate links go out with a launch, then go quiet. Nobody owns the relationship after month one.
Invisible in search and AI answers
When someone asks “what’s the best tool for…”, competitors get named and you don’t.
Churn in month two
Users leave before they’ve earned their first dollar on the platform, so they never see why it’s worth paying for.
You don’t win this category with more features. You win it by being the platform people trust, and the one that gets them their first win.
How we help
Authority and growth. One loop.
Authority makes you the platform people choose. The growth system makes sure they succeed once they do, and tell the next creator.
Category authority
Own the conversation in your category, before the comparison page.
- A category point of viewThe positioning and the one idea that make you the obvious choice for a specific kind of creator, not one tool among twenty.
- Founder and team-led contentPosts, short video and a newsletter that teach your users how to win, so the platform is the place they learn.
- Creator stories as proofReal users, real setups, real numbers they’re happy to share. The proof that sells a platform is the people on it.
- Search and AI visibilityGuides, comparisons and structured answers that get you ranked, and named when people ask an assistant for a recommendation.
Growth system
Turn attention into activated users who stay and spread the word.
- A creator partner programAmbassadors and affiliates who are recruited, briefed and kept active, not a link handed out once at launch.
- Onboarding that gets to the first winActivation flows designed around the moment a user first publishes, sells or gets booked.
- Lifecycle that keeps users earningEmail and in-app nudges that teach the next step, so users grow on the platform instead of leaving it.
- Paid reach, measured on revenueAds that amplify content and creator stories already proven to work, measured on activated users and paid plans.
Two ways to work with us
Done for you, or done with you.
Same team, same playbooks, same measurement. The difference is who does the work, and what it costs.
| Done for youGrowth Marketing | Done with youThe Growth Program | |
|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | Our team builds and runs it | Your team, with our playbooks and reviews |
| Best for | Platforms ready to scale acquisition | Platforms finding their growth engine |
| Cost | Full-service retainer plus managed spend | A fraction of an agency retainer |
| Senior operators | Run your channels day to day | Review your work and guide decisions |
| Playbooks and benchmarks | Used on your behalf | Yours to keep and use |
| Community | Optional | Built in: founders and growth leads |
| Measured on | Activated users and revenue | Activated users and revenue |
Brands rather than software? See Growth for brands →
The path
From signups to users who stay.
Most platforms pour money into acquisition while new users quietly leave. The program fixes growth in the order it pays back.
Pick the creator you’re for and the idea you stand for. Rewrite the homepage and pricing page around it.
Content, search and the first creator partners, set up to bring in the right signups.
Onboarding and lifecycle built around the first win: first sale, first booking, first student.
Keep users earning, turn winners into case studies and ambassadors, then put paid reach behind what works.
The Shasta difference
Your users are already in our circle.
Shasta is a community of experts, practitioners and makers: the people creator platforms are built for. That gives the program something most marketing teams don’t have, real users to learn from, and an honest read on what they need.
And the same standard applies to you as to the shelf: no earnings claims you can’t show, no “creators make six figures” headlines without the receipts. Growth built on what’s true is the kind that lasts.
The platform that tells creators the truth is the one they recommend.
How it works
Start with an audit. Then a monthly loop.
The same loop our done-for-you clients run, with your team at the wheel.
Tell us where you are
Signups, activation, retention, channels and team. We look at the funnel from first visit to first paid month.
Audit and plan
We review positioning, site, onboarding, lifecycle and acquisition, and hand you a plan in the order it should happen.
Monthly loop
Work through the plan with playbooks, operator reviews of your pages, flows and campaigns, and the founder cohort.
Grow, or hand it over
Keep running it with us behind you, or move to done-for-you Growth Marketing when you’re ready to scale.
Questions
Straight answers.
Part of the circle already, or want to be? Join A Shasta Founder’s Circle →
We’re a software company. Why work with a marketing team that grew DTC brands?
Because creator and commerce platforms win the same way consumer brands do: positioning, creative, a reason to tell a friend, and a first experience that delivers. We add the SaaS side: activation, lifecycle and retention.
What does it cost?
A fraction of a full-service agency retainer. Pricing depends on your stage and is shared once we know where the platform is.
Do we need a big paid budget?
No. Most platforms we’d work with grow first through positioning, content, creators and activation. Paid comes once there’s something proven to amplify.
Can you help us get recommended by AI assistants?
We build the content and structure that search engines and AI assistants draw on: clear category pages, honest comparisons and real use cases. No one can guarantee a mention, but you can make yourself the easiest answer to cite.
Where does Shasta come in?
Shasta’s circle is made of experts, practitioners and makers, the kind of people creator platforms are built for. Where it fits, that means honest feedback and real users to learn from, never a list for sale.
Can we move to done-for-you later?
Yes. Many teams start in the program and move to Growth Marketing when they’re ready to scale. The plan and measurement carry straight over.