One proven strategy that Merlin followed to get 2x users weekly in 2023.

We doubled our users every week in Jan '23, despite ranking #9 on Product Hunt, all thanks to one dead-simple insight.

When we first launched Merlin, we saw folks were frustrated switching tabs to use ChatGPT on other platforms (like Gmail, LinkedIn, etc.). We solved this by making a simple tool that allowed users to get ChatGPT responses anywhere with just a click of Cmd+M (or Ctrl+M).

What led to the insane growth was not the tool itself, but the simplicity of the messaging. Given Merlin was so simple, if anyone asked what Merlin is, we just said - “Click Cmd+M to get ChatGPT on any website.” And that messaging resonated with the world.

It was easy to share at a dinner table conversation, easy to show in a 20-second clip on YouTube, and easy to highlight in a list of “top-10 AI tools”. In Jan’23, we had a daily growth rate of ~7% for about two months straight!

And if I had to boil down one reason, it was just the messaging. If it wasn’t simple enough, we wouldn't have got the visibility and later the SEO advantage (which still benefits us today).

Sometimes we overcomplicate things, but the best solutions that have worked well for us are often surprisingly simple.

P.S.: Did you know that you can send personalized LinkedIn DM replies using Merlin AI? It's actually one of my fav features, and I used it twice today. Try it now.