Article · ~8 min read

The Law of Shitty Clickthroughs

Andrew Chen · andrewchen.com Free Intermediate

The definitive explanation of why every marketing channel decays over time, from an a16z general partner who wrote 650+ essays on growth.

  • Over time, all marketing channels drift toward terrible click-through rates.
  • Banner CTR fell ~1500x from 1994 to 2011 as novelty and arbitrage disappeared.
  • Win by refreshing creative and finding the next under-priced channel early.
Open on andrewchen.com ↗

It answers 2 questions

  1. Should I even be running paid ads at this stage?
  2. Why did my marketing channel stop working after a few months?

Read with it

  1. Based on studying 100+ consumer companies, Lenny shows that lasting growth comes from becoming world-class at one growth... Lenny's Newsletter Article · ~20 min read The Growth Engine: Kickstarting & Scaling a Consumer Business (Step 6) Lenny Rachitsky
  2. A blunt, practical guide from Demand Curve's founder on which paid and organic channels fit which business, and why most... julian.com Article · Long-form guide Startup Handbook: Customer Acquisition Channels Julian Shapiro
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →