Eight practical written guides

Do the work with a clear checklist beside you.

Each guide covers one real GrowthMap workflow, the checks to make before you finish, and the mistakes most likely to waste time or create risk.

Guide 1New users3–5 min

Set up your first roadmap

Explore a clearly labelled example or bring your own plan. Take one step at a time; the business questions and emails are optional.

Outcome

A sample to explore, or your own reviewed plan ready for its first task.

Step by step

1
Open onboarding. Business name, business type and website are optional; continue without them if you are unsure.
2
Choose only the marketing channels you use or want to try. You can skip this question too.
3
Explore a sample plan by choosing Create a plan for me, or choose I have a plan to import to bring your own marketing plan.
4
Choose optional emails only if you want them. Leaving these choices off does not stop you using GrowthMap.
5
For your own plan, follow the import guide below: read the proposed tasks, then save only when you are happy with them.
6
Open one task and read its instructions. Do the business work before marking it complete. You do not need to finish everything today.

Check before finishing

A sample is labelled Sample plan and does not count as your real setup work. Watching the lesson does not complete a task.
You can use Remove sample plan on the Plan page, confirm the removal, and then import your own plan. Check the confirmation before removing it.
Your first action is understandable and fits the time you have. Ask for email help from Training if you need help bringing in your plan or adjusting the steps.

Common mistakes

Entering customer, credential or confidential campaign data during setup.
Selecting every channel or marking example tasks complete just to fill the setup progress bar.

Watch: Set up your roadmap

Guide 2Everyday use10–25 min

Complete one useful daily action

Use Today's Focus and the quest list to turn a large roadmap into one bounded piece of work.

Outcome

One reviewed marketing action completed and recorded in GrowthMap.

Step by step

1
Open Home and read Today's Focus before scanning the rest of the quest list.
2
Check the estimated time and outcome. Choose a smaller quest if the focus task is not realistic today.
3
Select Start Task and read Guidance & Tips before entering an answer.
4
Work through each step, keeping links, facts and permissions close at hand.
5
Review the finished work, then mark the task complete only when the real-world action is done.

Check before finishing

The action supports the current roadmap phase.
Any customer-facing claim is accurate and supportable.
Completion in GrowthMap matches completion outside the app.

Common mistakes

Marking a draft complete before it has been checked or used.
Starting several quests and finishing none.

Watch: Complete a daily quest

Guide 3Existing plans5–10 min

Import an existing marketing plan safely

Convert a useful written plan into phases and tasks while keeping the original source and human judgement in charge.

Outcome

A reviewed GrowthMap roadmap based on your existing plan.

Step by step

1
Open Plan and choose the import option. Plan name is optional; select Continue to reach the text and upload screen.
2
Paste your plan or upload a .md, .txt, .pdf or .docx document. Remove credentials, personal data and confidential client details first. Keep your original document.
3
Choose Turn into guided tasks. Wait for the preview, then read the proposed phases, tasks and time estimates. The task preview is private, temporary and expires after 20 minutes; its tasks are not saved to your plan yet.
4
If something is wrong, choose Back to my text, change your original text and create another preview. You cannot edit individual tasks in the preview. Another preview uses another AI generation; saving the current preview does not.
5
When you are happy with the tasks, choose Save these tasks. Save makes this your active plan; your other active plan stays saved in archived plans. If you are replacing existing tasks, read the warning: those tasks and their progress will be replaced, while lifetime XP stays.
6
If the save is uncertain, use Check your plans before trying again. It opens a new tab and keeps your preview here. Do not create another preview while you are checking whether the save completed.

Check before finishing

Every phase reflects an objective in the source plan.
Dependencies and time estimates make sense for your business.
No private customer or authentication data was pasted.
The saved plan contains the tasks you reviewed; a preview alone is not a completed import. Your original document remains your backup.

Common mistakes

Treating the parsed structure as professional advice or a guaranteed strategy.
Discarding the source document before you have checked the import.
Assuming the temporary preview will still be available after 20 minutes or that GrowthMap can restore your plan from an account export.

Watch: Import an existing plan

Guide 4AI-assisted tasks5 min

Review an AI-assisted draft before use

Use AI Suggest for a starting point, then apply the factual, legal and brand checks that remain your responsibility.

Outcome

A draft that has been edited, verified and approved by a person.

Step by step

1
Open a supported task and read its goal before selecting AI Suggest.
2
Treat the suggestion as editable working copy, not a finished or approved message.
3
Replace generic language and placeholders with specific, truthful details.
4
Check names, prices, claims, links, consent, image rights and the intended audience.
5
Publish or send through the correct external platform only after your final review.

Check before finishing

Every factual claim can be verified.
The message sounds like the business and suits the audience.
A person with the right authority has approved the final version.

Common mistakes

Copying an AI draft directly into a public channel without review.
Assuming GrowthMap has published or sent the draft for you.

Watch: Use AI drafts safely

Guide 5Busy owners10 min setup

Build a realistic weekly marketing routine

Choose a small set of focused actions, use reminders deliberately and review progress without turning the app into another source of pressure.

Outcome

A repeatable week with clear actions and optional gentle reminders.

Step by step

1
Decide how much marketing time is genuinely available this week.
2
Use the dashboard and plan to choose a small mix of foundation, visibility and follow-up actions.
3
In Settings, choose a daily reminder time and the morning, lunchtime or evening anchor that fits your routine.
4
Turn the weekly digest on only if a summary will help you review the week.
5
Save Settings, then use Stats at the end of the week to decide what to continue or change.

Check before finishing

The planned work fits the time available.
Reminder timing is helpful rather than intrusive.
Progress measures activity and learning; business results are reviewed separately.

Common mistakes

Using streaks or XP as a substitute for leads, sales or customer feedback.
Enabling reminders you already know you will ignore.

Watch: Plan a realistic week

Guide 6Shopify merchants3 min

Use Shopify context without giving up control

Understand what the Shopify connection supplies, what stays inside Shopify and which actions always remain manual.

Outcome

A clear, safe handoff from Shopify product context to a reviewed GrowthMap task.

Step by step

1
Open GrowthMap from Shopify Admin and confirm the connected shop, billing state and sync status.
2
Review the product sync count and the next recommended action shown in App Home.
3
Continue to the full GrowthMap workspace when the task needs detailed guidance.
4
Check every product fact, price, claim, link and permission in the proposed output.
5
Make any storefront, email or social change yourself through the appropriate platform.

Check before finishing

The connected shop domain is the one you intended to use.
Recommendations match current product information.
Shopify-managed billing is reviewed in Shopify for Shopify installs.

Common mistakes

Assuming GrowthMap edits products, themes or campaigns automatically.
Sharing customer, order, checkout or other protected customer data with a task.

Watch: Understand Shopify control

Guide 7Roadmap users3 min

Read phases, locks, progress and mastery

Use roadmap structure and habit signals as navigation aids while keeping business outcomes separate.

Outcome

Confidence about what to work on now and why later work may be locked.

Step by step

1
Open Plan and identify the active phase and its intended outcome.
2
Read tasks in order and check any dependency shown before trying to skip ahead.
3
Complete the work that unlocks a later phase instead of treating the lock as an error.
4
Use Stats to review completed work, streaks, XP and category mastery.
5
Compare those habit signals with real measures such as qualified enquiries, sales or retention.

Check before finishing

The active phase still matches the business priority.
Completed tasks represent real completed work.
Outcome metrics are tracked outside or alongside GrowthMap activity signals.

Common mistakes

Skipping foundation work only to unlock a later task.
Interpreting a streak or mastery score as proof of commercial growth.

Watch: Read your roadmap

Guide 8Troubleshooting2–5 min

Resolve common setup and access problems

Use a short diagnostic sequence for missing roadmaps, unavailable AI suggestions, embedded Shopify sessions and reminder settings.

Outcome

The right recovery step without exposing credentials or recreating work unnecessarily.

Step by step

1
If you have unfinished text or a task preview, keep that tab open. Use Check your plans in a new tab if an import or save is uncertain; refreshing can lose your unsaved work.
2
Confirm that you are signed in to the intended GrowthMap account. If there is no unsaved work, try one refresh.
3
If no roadmap appears, finish onboarding or return to the existing-plan import flow.
4
If AI Suggest is unavailable, review the AI section in Settings and its key-status message.
5
If an embedded Shopify page cannot verify its session, reopen GrowthMap from Shopify Admin.
6
If reminder changes did not stick, return to Settings, check the selected values and save again.
7
If you are still stuck, use the email-help link in Training. Describe the screen and what happened, without sharing passwords, AI keys or customer details. We can help bring in your plan and adjust the steps to suit your business.

Check before finishing

The account and connected business are the expected ones.
No API key or credential has been pasted into support messages.
The problem still occurs after one clean refresh and the documented recovery step.

Common mistakes

Creating a second account to work around an access issue.
Sending screenshots that expose keys, private emails or customer information.

Watch: Settings, privacy and fixes

Keep control of the final decision

GrowthMap provides structure, task guidance and optional drafts. You remain responsible for factual accuracy, permissions, professional judgement and anything published or sent through another platform.

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