9. Have an idea and find your users
Turning a simple idea into a lead-generating experiment
In the previous article, we explored how to generate interest in a new app idea. The concept is simple: create a directory of apps that are profitable on WooCommerce but missing on Shopify.
This would be gold for Shopify developers looking for a validated, profitable app idea. Once it works for Shopify, we could easily expand the same approach to other platforms with app stores, like Notion.
Struggling with organic reach
We’ve been trying to reach developers on Reddit and Discord—but the anti-spam measures on those platforms make it tough to get traction. It’s hard to scale when your outreach gets throttled or flagged.
I wanted another approach. Let’s validate our idea with a lead generation page. The goal: measure whether developers actually care enough to sign up.
Building a quick landing page
To keep things simple, I used Leadpages.com (no affiliate or sponsorship).
I followed Alex Hormozi’s classic template for the landing page:
Headline
Subheadline
Image
Three bullet points:
They should get the product
Why they should get it
Why they’d regret not getting it
Here’s what that looked like for our idea:
Site name: Your Next Big Shopify App
Subheading: See the apps on WooCommerce, missing from Shopify
Image: Something generic
Bullet subheadings:
See all the profitable apps missing from Shopify
Make your next validated app
Build a killer app while you still can
The great thing about this framework is its simplicity. With so little copy, you can easily experiment and learn what resonates. Each test takes just minutes to tweak.
Why Leadpages?
There’s loads of landing page generators out there. You could even build your own, with Vercel, an AI, and a bit of time.
But I went with Leadpages to save time. At $50/month, it was worth it for the built-in analytics, form tracking, and quick setup.
I picked the simplest template available—just enough to communicate the idea without overcomplicating things.
And I promise, I’m not affiliated. I just looked on google, and they were the cheapest.
Driving traffic with paid ads
With the landing page ready and a custom domain set up, it was time to get traffic. I tested a few paid channels likely to reach the right audience:
Google Ads
Reddit Ads (targeting Shopify app developer communities)
LinkedIn
I started with Google Ads—it takes a little learning, but you can set up a campaign in under an hour.
Then, I launched Reddit Ads, targeting Shopify dev communities specifically.
Next steps
That’s it!
Both campaigns are configured to run for a week with a $20/day budget each. That’s enough to generate a small but meaningful signal of interest—whether this concept actually resonates with Shopify developers.
If we see traction, we’ll have early validation that the “Your Next Big Shopify App” directory is worth building further.