PLG distribution
The product as its own channel: powered-by sharing, free tools, and the AI credits that activate a signup.
The cheapest, hardest-compounding channel is the product spreading the product. This page is how that works: the sharing surfaces, the free tools, and the free-plan AI credits that turn a signup into a user who shares. The loop this feeds is in growth-flywheel; the full channel order is in channels-overview.
The rule: gate creation, never distribution
The product loop only spins if the thing a user shares carries Intempt to the person who receives it. The rule, the way Calendly, Loom, and Fathom grew with no referral incentive:
Gate creation, never distribution. Every sharing surface should do three things:
- Let the recipient view, book, or receive with no login.
- Carry a "powered by Intempt" badge plus a signup CTA.
- Let the badge be removed only on a paid plan.
The free shared page is the distribution. The create side is where AI, token cost, and monetization live, so that side stays metered. Do not make creation free to chase sharing.
The sharing surfaces, and where they stand
| Surface | Shareable | No-login view | Powered-by badge | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Booking / scheduling | yes | yes | yes, with a hide toggle | Loop built |
| Shared meeting / recording | yes | verify | no | Gap: add badge + CTA |
| Shared dashboard / report | yes | verify | no | Gap: add badge + CTA |
The booking page already runs the Calendly loop. The two highest-frequency surfaces, a call recording sent to a prospect and a dashboard sent to a stakeholder, spread the content but not Intempt. Adding the badge and a signup CTA there is the cheapest acquisition win in the whole model, and it needs no new budget. The hide-badge option stays paid-only on all three, and recipients always view without logging in. Each shared link can optionally carry a ?via handle so the share also attributes.
Free tools
The marketing lead-magnet tools on /free-tools and /tools are the same loop pointed at strangers. A visitor runs a free tool, gets a real result, and the result page carries the same powered-by badge and signup CTA as any shared surface. The tool is the demo; the CTA is the door into the free plan. Same rule as every other surface: the output is free and branded, the heavy creation is metered.
AI credits are the activation fuel, not the acquisition
Getting someone to the free plan is only half the job. The free plan gives a bounded daily AI grant: enough free Blu runs, images, and analysis to reach real value in the first session, bounded so the token cost of free never runs away, with the heaviest AI paid-only.
- Acquisition gets them to the free plan.
- The AI credits get them to value.
- Value is what makes them share and convert.
That is the hinge of the whole engine. A signup with no activation does not share, so the credits are what keep the loop turning.
What to build next
- Add the powered-by badge plus a signup CTA to the shared-meeting and shared-dashboard views.
- Paid-gate the hide-badge toggle on both.
- Confirm no-login viewing on both.
- Apply the same badge plus CTA to free-tool output.
This is Phase 1 of the flywheel execution in growth-flywheel, product owns it, and it is the cheapest work on the board.
Related: growth-flywheel · channels-overview · owned-content-seo-aeo.
Growth channels
The channels Product & Growth runs: PLG distribution, the creator and UGC program, paid media, and the campaign and coupon offers behind them.
Paid and UGC ads
Intempt-run paid media, fed by creators who film one recipe as one ad: real GTM-engineering workflows, not feature tours, with creators earning a share of ad spend plus a retainer floor.