22 ways to use Claude's Research mode to grow your business

Build a list of podcasts that regularly interview [description of who you are, such as small business owners who teach productivity, or founders of service businesses] and whose listeners are [your ideal customer]. Focus on active shows with at least [number] episodes that have published a new episode in the last sixty days. Favor podcast directories, show websites, and recent episode pages over lists of top shows. Deliver a report that gives, for each show, the host, the topic focus, audience size signals (review counts, chart rankings, episode count, any stated download numbers), recent guests similar to me, and how they book guests (application form, email, booking agency, or referral only).

Find email newsletters in [your niche] that accept paid sponsorships, classified ads, or cross-promotions. Focus on newsletters with audiences between [low number] and [high number] subscribers whose readers are [your ideal customer]. Favor the newsletters’ own sponsorship pages, ad marketplaces, and media kits over third-party summaries. Deliver a report that lists each newsletter, its stated subscriber count and open rate where published, the ad formats offered, the published rates or the rate range if not public, and how to book.

Identify businesses, creators, and tools whose audience overlaps with [your ideal customer] but who do not compete with [your product or service]. Focus on candidates who already run affiliate or referral programs or have a history of partnerships. Favor their partner pages, affiliate program listings, and past collaboration announcements. Deliver a report that lists each candidate, what they sell, why their audience overlaps mine, evidence they partner with others, their affiliate terms where published, and the best person or page to approach.

Find conferences, virtual summits, association meetings, and industry events in [your niche or industry] that have open or upcoming calls for speakers in the next twelve months. Focus on events attended by [your ideal customer] in [region or “anywhere, including virtual”]. Favor event websites, speaker application pages, and past-year agendas. Deliver a report that lists each event, its dates and location, the audience profile, the speaker application deadline and link, what they look for in a session, and past speakers similar to me.

Identify journalists, columnists, and staff writers who have covered [your topic] in the last twelve months at publications read by [your ideal customer]. Focus on writers who cover the topic repeatedly rather than once. Favor publication archives, author pages, and bylines over media databases. Deliver a report that lists each writer, their outlet, their beat, links and one-line summaries of their three most recent relevant articles, the angle they tend to take, and any public contact method or pitch preferences they have stated.

Map the online communities where [your ideal customer] gather to discuss [your topic], including subreddits, Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups, Slack and Discord servers, and independent forums. Focus on active communities with regular posting. Favor the communities themselves, their posted rules, and member counts over listicles. Deliver a report that gives, for each community, the platform, member count, activity level, the exact rules on self-promotion and links, whether there are promotion days or threads, and the kinds of posts that get engagement there.

Find websites, blogs, and online publications in [your niche] that accept guest articles or outside contributors and whose readers are [your ideal customer]. Focus on sites that have published guest content in the last six months. Favor their write-for-us pages, contributor guidelines, and recent article archives. Deliver a report that lists each site, its audience and reach signals, the submission guidelines and process, the topics they have run in the last three months, gaps in what they have covered, and whether they pay or allow author links.

Identify creators on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Substack with audiences between [low number] and [high number] followers or subscribers who create content about [your topic] for [your ideal customer]. Focus on creators who have done collaborations, guest appearances, joint posts, or cross-promotions in the last year. Favor their channels, profiles, and past collaboration posts. Deliver a report that lists each creator, their platform and audience size, their content focus, evidence of past collaborations and with whom, and the collaboration format that would fit them best.

Identify newsletters on [your topic] with roughly [your audience size] subscribers that could be candidates for a recommendation swap with [your newsletter name]. Focus on newsletters that already recommend other newsletters, visible through their recommendation pages, welcome emails, or cross-promotion mentions. Favor the newsletters’ own pages and archives. Deliver a report that lists each newsletter, its approximate size, its topic overlap with mine, evidence of who it already recommends, how often it publishes, and how to reach the writer.

Find trade associations, professional organizations, and member groups whose members are [your ideal customer]. Focus on organizations in [region or “the US”] with active member communication. Favor the associations’ own websites, media kits, and event pages. Deliver a report that lists each association, its member count and profile, its member newsletter and whether it accepts sponsors, its annual events and exhibitor or speaker options, published sponsorship packages and prices, and the contact for partnerships.

Research which customer acquisition channels worked for [type of business] at roughly my stage: [your revenue range, audience size, or years in business]. Focus on first-hand accounts from founders describing what they tried, what worked, what failed, and the numbers involved. Favor founder interviews, podcast transcripts, public growth breakdowns, and detailed blog posts over general marketing advice. Deliver a report that ranks the channels by how often they were credited with growth at this stage, with the specific examples behind each, the time it took to work, and the channels founders said were a waste at this stage.

Research the customer referral programs run by [type of business or specific competitors] in [your niche]. Focus on the incentive offered to the referrer and the referred, how the referral is tracked, and how the program is promoted. Favor the programs’ own pages, terms, and any reported results. Deliver a report that describes each program, its incentive structure, the mechanics, any evidence of how well it performs, and the common patterns across the programs that work.

Survey the lead magnets and free opt-in offers used by businesses and creators in [your niche] to attract [your ideal customer]. Focus on format (checklist, template, quiz, course, tool, report) and topic. Favor the offers themselves as found on websites, landing pages, and newsletter sign-up forms. Deliver a report that catalogs the offers by format and topic, notes which formats and topics are crowded, identifies the ones that appear to perform well based on prominence and longevity, and lists the formats and topics nobody in the niche is offering yet.

Research the seasonal demand patterns for [your product or service] among [your ideal customer]. Focus on when interest rises and falls across the year, what drives each peak, and when competitors run their promotions. Favor search trend data, industry sales reports, and historical promotion timing from competitors. Deliver a report with a month-by-month picture of demand, the events or deadlines behind each peak, the windows where competitors are quiet, and a suggested promotion calendar for the next twelve months.

Compile a swipe file of headlines, opening hooks, and landing pages from [your niche] that show signs of performing well: long-running ads, heavily shared posts, top-ranking pages, or frequently cited examples. Focus on content aimed at [your ideal customer]. Favor the originals over commentary about them. Deliver a report that lists each example with its source, then analyzes the patterns across them: structures, emotional angles, specificity, length, and proof elements, ending with the patterns that appear most often among the strongest examples.

Collect the objections, hesitations, and doubts people express before buying [your product or service type]. Focus on the language buyers use with each other, not with sellers. Favor product reviews, forum threads, comparison discussions, and question-and-answer sites. Deliver a report that groups the objections by theme, ranks them by how often they appear, quotes the exact phrasing buyers use, and notes how buyers who went ahead say they got past each one.

Break down the sales pages of the top-selling [your product type] in [your niche], including [specific competitors if known]. Focus on page structure, section order, total length, the types of proof used (testimonials, numbers, credentials, guarantees), pricing presentation, and where and how often the call to action appears. Favor the pages themselves. Deliver a report that describes each page section by section, then compares them to show the elements every strong page shares, the ones that vary, and a suggested outline for a page selling [your product].

Compare the content published by [list three to five competitors or leading voices in your niche] to find topic gaps. Focus on what each covers heavily, what each covers thinly or not at all, and what [your ideal customer] asks about that none of them address well. Favor their blogs, newsletters, video channels, and community questions from buyers. Deliver a report that maps the topics covered by each competitor, identifies the topics with heavy coverage, lists the gaps where buyer interest is visible but coverage is thin, and ranks the gaps by how much demand there appears to be.

Find the most shared, most linked, and most cited pieces of content in [your niche] from the last two years. Focus on articles, videos, reports, and tools that [your ideal customer] passed along or that other creators referenced. Favor sharing signals, backlink and citation patterns, and mentions in other content over the creators’ own claims. Deliver a report that lists each piece with its source and spread signals, then analyzes why each one traveled: the format, the angle, the data or originality involved, and who passed it along, ending with the patterns that recur.

Research win-back campaigns run by [type of business] to recover customers who canceled or went quiet. Focus on the timing after cancellation, the offer or message used, the channel, and any reported recovery rates. Favor documented case studies, founder and marketer accounts with numbers, and examples of the actual emails or messages. Deliver a report that describes each campaign, its timing and offer, the reported results, and the patterns across the campaigns that recovered the most customers, with a suggested sequence for a business like mine.

Study how subscription businesses in [your niche or a comparable category] persuade monthly customers to switch to annual plans. Focus on the discount size, added bonuses, the timing of the offer in the customer’s lifecycle, and how the offer is presented. Favor pricing pages, upgrade emails, and any published results on conversion to annual. Deliver a report that catalogs the approaches, the typical discount range, the bonuses used instead of or alongside discounts, evidence of what worked, and a recommended approach for a plan priced at [your monthly price].

Audit the public footprint of [your business name] and [your name], including search results, review sites, business directories, forum and community mentions, social profiles, and any third-party pages that describe the business. Focus on what a prospective customer would find in the first two pages of results and on the major review and directory sites. Favor the live pages themselves. Deliver a report that lists every place the business appears, what each says, and flags anything outdated, incorrect, inconsistent across listings, unanswered (such as reviews without replies), or missing where competitors are present.