You’re chasing growth, pouring budget into Meta and Google, and watching your CAC climb. What if the highest ROI channels for your SaaS aren't the ones everyone talks about? Matt Swulinski, a growth master from Superhuman, Whisperflow, and Victor.com, says it's time to look beyond the usual suspects. He's built growth playbooks by applying e-commerce tactics to SaaS, and he argues that channels like referral programs, Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), and affiliate marketing are where ambitious founders will find their next unfair advantage.

Key Takeaways

  • Referrals need to be a product feature: Don't treat referral programs as an afterthought. Integrate them deeply, make rewards easy to discover, and align them directly with product usage limits.
  • PR's new role is AEO: Traditional PR for traffic is dead. Its real value now is creating "citations" that boost your presence in answer engines, not driving direct traffic waves.
  • YouTube is your AEO secret weapon: Long-form YouTube reviews rank for longtail queries and are highly prioritized by answer engines, making them a top early-stage AEO strategy.
  • Affiliate marketing for non-customers: Pay generous revenue shares (or CAC) to non-customers who actively create content and reviews. At Whisper and Victor, this was Swulinski's highest ROI channel.

The Method: Three Underestimated Growth Engines

Swulinski's approach to growth channels beyond direct paid ads focuses on three areas, each designed to generate high-quality leads and sustainable growth.

First, he champions referral programs as a core product feature, not a tacked-on extra. “Have that referral program set up and it be very front and center and easy to discover in the product to make it effortless for someone to share the product and get something you know for doing that,” Swulinski advises. The key isn't just offering a reward, but making that reward deeply tied to product value. He stresses, “Align referral program to usage limits.” For example, if your SaaS has a tiered usage model, a successful referral could unlock a higher tier or provide extra usage credits, directly incentivizing continued engagement with your product.

Next, Swulinski shifts the conversation around public relations (PR). Forget the idea that a big press mention will send a traffic tsunami. “The PR is less of a like PR blows up and there's like a traffic wave really that PR is made for citations right around AEO,” he states. In an age of Google's AI Overviews and other answer engines, the goal isn't direct clicks but establishing your product as an authoritative source in its niche. To achieve this, Swulinski points to YouTube reviews as particularly potent. “YouTube reviews because they're long form and they they they rank longtail. They'll essentially um be they're one of the main things that get picked up by the answer engine,” he explains. These in-depth videos provide rich context and signals that answer engines love, giving your product high "citation value" for relevant queries.

Finally, Swulinski makes a strong case for affiliate marketing, a channel he considers widely "underappreciated." Unlike referrals that leverage existing customers, affiliate programs empower non-customers to act as promoters. The secret, according to Swulinski, is generosity. "Affiliate where you're you're paying let's say a percentage of revenue or some kind of a CAC to people that are not your customers and they go out of their way to create content and reviews and and all of that," he says. This isn't about one-off payments; it's about building a network of content creators who see a direct, ongoing financial incentive to champion your product. The ROI? At Whisper and Victor, Swulinski notes, "it is the highest ROI channel."

Where This Breaks Down

While these channels offer immense potential, they aren't magic bullets. Referral programs only work if your product already has genuine love and shareability. If users aren't seeing value, no reward will make them refer. AEO via YouTube requires a product with enough existing buzz or a compelling enough story for creators to review it authentically; faking it will ring hollow. Affiliate marketing, especially with generous revenue shares, demands a robust understanding of your Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV) to ensure profitability. If your product has a low average contract value or high churn, those generous commissions will quickly erode margins. These methods require patience and a solid underlying product; they amplify existing product-market fit, they don't create it.

What to Do With This

This week, take two concrete steps: First, audit your product's current referral mechanism. Is it front and center? Are the rewards aligned to usage limits, offering more product value rather than just discounts? If not, brainstorm three immediate changes. Second, search YouTube for reviews of your top two competitors or similar products in your niche. Identify 3-5 creators who produce relevant, long-form content. Craft an outreach plan to engage them, focusing on the value they can provide to their audience by reviewing your product and exploring a generous affiliate commission structure that rewards their content efforts directly. This isn't about a quick hit; it's about building durable, high-ROI growth loops.