Shopify is a well known ecommerce company founded in 2006. In the 18 years it has been in business, Shopify has positioned itself as the go-to e-commerce platform for anyone interested in running an online business. The platform is currently the “Top ranking Website” in Business Services across the globe, a position that’s well deserved and hard won considering the impact it had worldwide.

In 2020, while the world was in lockdown Shopify merchants were cashing out, generating a combined revenue of 307 billion dollars. The platform itself has experienced steady growth hitting a personal record in 2023 after making 7 billion dollars in revenue, about 5 billion more than what it made in 2015. If this sounds impressive, wait till you see the blueprint behind all this. But first, here’s a little history about Shopify.

Shopify - When Necessity Meets Opportunity

It all started in 2024 when two friends decided to sell snowboarding equipment on the internet. Back then, there weren’t any good platforms to host an e-commerce site. Not finding what they wanted, Tobias Lutke, one of the two friends (and current CEO of Shopify) who was also a computer programmer decided to build a platform to host their website.

Two years later, the project was completed and their online shop, Snowdevil, was launched. But sales didn’t go as expected and just when the two friends thought it was all over, another opportunity came up. There were others who, like the friends, had the idea of building an e-commerce site but couldn’t find a suitable platform to host the site and didn’t have the skills to build one.

Seeing a demand, the friends decided to fill the need of this untapped market by launching the host platform they had built for their website. They called the platform - Shopify and ever since the day it was launched, Shopify has continued to grow, creating a global marketplace for entrepreneurs across the globe.

Shopify’s success is not a secret but a product of a meticulously crafted process that can be copied. Here are 7 steps the company follows to guarantee growth

#1. A Free Trial that’s too good to pass

It is common to see companies offer free trials. This way, prospects can try out the product or service and decide whether they like it or not. Free trials are often nerfed versions of the original products or services. However, it is still an effective way to attract new customers.

Two important factors to consider in a free trial are, the user experience and the quality of the product or service, and Shopify excels in both. First, they make the signup process very easy. All that is needed is an email address and no credit card information.

They go a step further to offer a discount to customers who opt for a paid plan after the 3-day trial period. Instead of paying the full amount, the user gets to pay $1/month (for the first month only). This is a hard deal to ignore considering that the customer can access the full range of features available on the platform.

The trick here is making it easy for customers to transition from a free to a paid plan. It is easier to convince a subscriber who’s on the fence to pay 1 dollar a month than it is to convince them to pay 4 or 5 dollars for a similar service

#2. It’s a Give and Take - The 100,000 dollar contest

If you want to draw attention to your business, consider giving something first. This was the idea that got Shopify about 400,000 dollars in revenue during its early days. To achieve this feat, Lutke collaborated with Tim Ferris to organize a contest. The first contest organized by Shopify was on Twitter.

People were asked to vote for their favorite Shopify store for a chance to win an iPod. But the second contest was much bigger and the prize money was 100,000. This time, the target of the contest was what Tim and Lutke called Wantrepreneurs - that is people who want to be entrepreneurs but haven’t started.

What they needed was a little push and that’s what the contest provided. At the time, Shopify was just a startup and 100,000 dollars was a huge sum of money. However, it was well worth it in the end. By the end of the contest, the number of new signups had increased by 1378 and the company generated 400,000 in revenue and store owners.

The key takeaway here is sometimes to get the attention of your target customers, you must be willing to give something first. This depends on the type of business you are running. But whatever the nature of your business, there’s always a way to keep customers happy and engaged.

#3. Build content around your Niche

In the world of the internet, Google, and SEO, content is king. Shopify got this point early and began putting out quality content even before it became popular. If you’re looking for information on how to run a successful e-commerce business, Shopify’s got you covered.

The company has a blog with thousands of articles that cover a wide range of topics, YouTube videos, and even courses that can be helpful to anyone at any stage of their e-commerce journey. This extensive and in-depth content strategy improves the searchability of Shopify which also favours business through lead generation.

Content isn’t Shopify’s primary business, but the company has leveraged it to scale up its visibility and reach potential customers.

#4. Endear potential customers with Freebies

Aside from content, another method Shopify employs in generating top funnel marketing leads is by providing free tools. The Shopify Business Tools website is a must-visit for any business owner.

Not only does it have some of the most useful business tools like the Domain Name Generator and Logo generator, but a good number of these tools are available for free. Now if you’re a new business owner looking for a website where you can find the right tools (paid and free) for your business, this is definitely the place to go.

Shopify also makes it easy to find the tool you’re looking for by separating them into different categories. All of these add to its marketing strategy, giving Shopify a robust top funnel.

Here’s the thing,

Shopify’s success is worth bragging about but it definitely wasn’t built in a day. For instance, it takes time to rank in terms of SEO but an early start guarantees the best outcome. Additionally, Shopify has proven that the best marketing is often the one that gives the best value for nothing in return. By nothing I mean the commitment from the user’s point of view is insignificant enough that they don’t mind. Like the $1 a month subscription fee, the smooth signup process, and the 100,000 dollar contest that nudged potential customers to signup and start a business.

In the end, all the hard work paid off, just as it would for anyone who employs a similar strategy. Perhaps the main reason for Shopify’s success is that it is headed by someone who was once in the position of its target market and who understands clearly what the target market is looking for in a platform like theirs. Put yourself in this same position by asking yourself, if I were my target audience, what would make me patronize this business? You’d be surprised at what you’ll learn.

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