What is the difference between product-led growth and engineering as marketing?

Product-led growth (PLG) focuses on your core product being the driver of acquisition (usually via a freemium model). Engineering as marketing involves building separate auxiliary tools specifically to attract traffic that eventually funnels into your core product.

How do I measure ROI on a free tool?

Track three metrics: 1) Traffic (New Visitors), 2) Tool Completion Rate (how many finish the quiz/calc), and 3) Click-through to Core Product (or Signup). Calculate the cost of engineering hours vs. the value of leads generated compared to your average CPC.

Can I use no-code tools for engineering as marketing?

Absolutely. Tools like Bubble, Webflow, or AI builders (like Lovable or Bolt.new) are perfect for this. The user doesn't care how it's built, only that it solves their problem.

Should I put the tool on a subdomain or subdirectory?

For SEO purposes, a subdirectory (yoursite.com/tool) is almost always better because the backlinks the tool earns will boost your entire domain's authority. A subdomain acts as a separate site in Google's eyes.

How do I know if there's demand for a free tool?

Start with 500+ monthly searches for your tool type plus keywords like calculator, generator, or checker in your niche. Use Ahrefs or Ubersuggest to validate. If there's no search volume, you're building for nobody.

How long does it take to build a marketing tool?

Expect 20-40 hours for a simple calculator ($2K-$8K at agency rates), 80-200 hours for a complex tool ($10K-$30K). No-code alternatives like Lovable or Bolt.new can reduce this to 2-10 hours for simple tools.

Engineering as Marketing Explained

What is Engineering as Marketing?

Engineering as marketing is the practice of building software tools like calculators, quizzes, widgets, or free micro-apps, to generate leads and brand awareness. Instead of writing a whitepaper saying you are an expert, you build a tool that proves it.

The concept was popularized by Gabriel Weinberg in his book Traction, but the landscape has shifted. Today, it's not just about simple calculators; it's about solving a splinter problem—a small, annoying issue your customer faces right before they need your main product.

For example, before a user needs a full SEO suite, they just want to know if their site speed is okay. A free speed test tool captures that intent perfectly. If you are exploring low-cost ways to acquire customers, this is often more durable than paid acquisition. For more foundational tactics, check our guide on SaaS startup marketing tips.

5 Modern Examples (That Aren't Just HubSpot)

Most guides cite HubSpot's Website Grader from 2006. While classic, it's outdated. Here are five modern examples showing how this strategy has evolved.

1. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools and Free SEO Tools

Ahrefs famously refuses to use tracking pixels for retargeting. Instead, they released a suite of free tools (Backlink Checker, Keyword Generator). These tools rank for massive volume keywords that their main paid product page couldn't easily target. They capture top-of-funnel traffic and subtly upsell the full suite.

2. Vercel's OG Image Generation Playground

Vercel targets developers. To show off their serverless function speed, they built a tool that generates Open Graph images on the fly. It's useful, developer-centric, and doubles as a tech demo for their core infrastructure. It naturally attracts the exact persona they want to hire or sell to.

3. Linear's Readme and Method

Linear didn't just build a project management tool; they marketed their engineering culture. By releasing internal tools and sharing their Linear Method (often implemented in software configurations), they turned their opinionated software design into a marketing asset.

4. Notion's Template Gallery

Notion turned user-created templates into a marketing flywheel. The template gallery ranks for thousands of keywords (project management template, habit tracker template) and each template requires Notion to use—automatic product adoption. Users discover Notion through templates, not ads.

5. Stripe's Atlas and Documentation

Stripe's incorporation service (Atlas) and exhaustive API docs function as engineering-as-marketing. Developers discover Stripe through docs, stay for the tooling, and eventually integrate payments. The product is the marketing—every tutorial and code snippet reinforces Stripe as the default choice.

Comparison: Engineering as Marketing vs. Traditional Channels

Feature	Paid Ads (PPC)	Content Marketing (SEO)	Engineering as Marketing
Setup Time	Fast (Hours)	Slow (Weeks/Months)	Medium (Days/Weeks)
Cost Profile	Linearly increases with clicks	Upfront time + distribution	Upfront build + maintenance
Asset Durability	None (Stops when you stop paying)	High (Compounding)	Very High (Backlink magnet)
Conversion Rate	Low to Medium (Cold traffic)	Medium (Educational)	High (Utility/Trust based)

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Prerequisites: Before You Build

Do not write a single line of code until you have checked these boxes. Building a tool nobody wants is the most expensive marketing mistake you can make.

Validated Problem: You need to make sure that people are actually searching for the solution. So look for keywords like calculator, generator, template, or checker.
Hosting Environment: A subdomain (e.g., tools.yourdomain.com) or a subfolder (e.g., yourdomain.com/free-tools/). Subfolders are generally better for SEO.
Development Resources: Either a dedicated engineer for 1-2 weeks or a low-code/AI solution. If you are budget-conscious, read our SaaS startup costs breakdown to see where this fits.

Step 1: Identify the Gap Opportunity

Your goal is to find a high-volume, low-difficulty keyword that requires a programmatic solution. Standard blog posts can't calculate a mortgage or resize an image. That is your gap.

Use an SEO tool to look for queries related to your industry that end in:

...calculator (e.g., SaaS churn calculator)
...generator (e.g., privacy policy generator)
...checker (e.g., DNS propagation checker)
...converter (e.g., JSON to CSV converter)

Action: Pick one idea that logically leads to your product. If you sell email marketing software, build a Subject Line Tester, not a Mortgage Calculator.

Engineering as marketing niche example: Subject Line Tester tool

Step 2: Build the Minimum Viable Tool

Speed is critical. Do not treat this like your core product. It needs to be functional and delightful, but it doesn't need complex architecture.

If your main team is busy, this is the perfect use case for AI coding agents. Tools like v0 by Vercel or Bolt.new can generate simple React calculators or converters in seconds based on a text prompt.

Troubleshooting Tip: Keep the UI dead simple. One input, one output. Users bounce if they have to sign up before getting value. Give the value first, ask for email second.

No-Code and AI Options for Non-Technical Teams

You don't need a full-stack engineer anymore. Here's how to build marketing tools without code:

Calculators and Forms: Typeform or Outgrow for quiz-style tools
Simple Web Apps: Bolt.new or Lovable for AI-generated React apps
API-Based Tools: v0 by Vercel for developer-focused utilities
Embed Widgets: Notion or Coda for lightweight tools you can embed on your site

Build time comparison: A custom-coded calculator might take 40 hours. The same tool in Lovable takes 2-4 hours. Trade-off: less customization, but 10x faster to market.

Step 3: Design the Conversion Hook

The tool gets them there; the hook gets them to stay. You have two main options for conversion:

1. The Unlock Model: The tool gives a basic result (e.g., Your site score is 60/100). To see how to fix it, the user enters their email.

2. The Next Step Model: The tool solves the immediate problem (e.g., generates a logo). The CTA says, Want to put this logo on a website? Try our builder.

Launching Your Tool?

Don't launch to crickets. Get your tool in front of early adopters.

Launch Your App

Step 4: Distribution and Promotion

Even free tools need promotion. Because it's a tool and not just a post, you have access to specific distribution channels that blog posts don't.

Where to launch:

Product Hunt: Great for initial buzz. (See Product Hunt alternatives if you want niche audiences).
Reddit: Subreddits love free utilities. Use tools like Crowdreply to find relevant conversations.
Directories: Submit to SaaS directories. We compiled a list of the best SEO directories to help you rank.

How to Calculate ROI on Engineering as Marketing

Unlike paid ads, engineering as marketing doesn't have a simple cost-per-click. Here's how to measure whether your tool is worth the investment:

The Formula:
Tool ROI = (Leads Generated x Lead Value) - (Build Cost + Maintenance Cost)

Build Cost: Engineer hours x hourly rate. A simple calculator might take 20-40 hours ($2K-$8K). A complex tool could run $20K+.
Maintenance Cost: Estimate 10-20% of build cost annually for bug fixes, API updates, and hosting.
Lead Value: Your average customer LTV x conversion rate from tool user to paying customer.

Benchmark: If your tool generates 500 email signups/month at a 2% conversion rate and your LTV is $2,000, that's $20K/month in pipeline value. A $5K tool pays for itself in the first week.

The Hidden Costs: When to Say No

Engineering as marketing is not free. It has an ongoing tax. Before you build, consider these downsides:

1. Maintenance Debt: APIs break. Libraries deprecate. A broken tool on your site looks worse than no tool at all. Who will fix it when it breaks on a Saturday?

2. Support Tickets: Users will email support asking how to use the free calculator. You need a plan to handle these without clogging your paid support queue.

3. Brand Dilution: If the tool is low quality, users will assume your main product is also low quality. If you can't build it well, don't build it.

The Should You Build It Checklist

Answer these before committing engineering resources:

Is there search volume? If nobody's Googling for this tool, you're building for nobody. Minimum 500 searches/month.
Does it lead to your product? A mortgage calculator doesn't help an email marketing SaaS. The tool must attract your actual buyer.
Can you maintain it? If your sole engineer leaves, will the tool break and embarrass you?
Is your core product stable? If you're pre-PMF, don't distract with side projects. Fix your main product first.

Skip this strategy if: You're pre-product-market fit, have no engineering bandwidth, or the tool doesn't logically connect to your core offering.

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