Stripe is known for product excellence. The team has consistently launched products that are loved & thrive.
It's a key reason they're valued at $36 billion.
But they should also be known for content & community excellence. It's why they get 1M+ mos visits. [THREAD] 🧵
It's a key reason they're valued at $36 billion.
But they should also be known for content & community excellence. It's why they get 1M+ mos visits. [THREAD] 🧵
When most marketers think about content marketing they think about three things: blog posts, landing pages & lead magnets.
That's a broken perspective.
Content strategies must go much deeper than tactics & start with an understanding of your audience.
That's a broken perspective.
Content strategies must go much deeper than tactics & start with an understanding of your audience.
At Stripe; the audience is developers.
Stripe's laser focus on serving (truly SERVING) developers gave them rapid growth and the support from developers from the start.
Stripe's laser focus on serving (truly SERVING) developers gave them rapid growth and the support from developers from the start.
In 2010, @garrytan helped Stripe tap into the YC network by writing about how Stripe was working on a modern payment processing solution.
That ignited some initial traction with developers.
Marketing tip:
Embrace guest posts & influencer marketing.
That ignited some initial traction with developers.
Marketing tip:
Embrace guest posts & influencer marketing.
To strengthen & grow their community, Stripe launched a competition called "Capture The Flag"
It was a development wargame that helped the community practice identifying and exploiting common security problems. If you captured the flag; you got a t-shirt.
Did it work?
It was a development wargame that helped the community practice identifying and exploiting common security problems. If you captured the flag; you got a t-shirt.
Did it work?
You bet...
In 2012, more than 16,000 developers from around the world participated in Capture the Flag 2.0.
This is brand advocacy & community excellence.
Marketing Tip: Have fun with your customers.
In 2012, more than 16,000 developers from around the world participated in Capture the Flag 2.0.
This is brand advocacy & community excellence.
Marketing Tip: Have fun with your customers.
Their commitment to the developer community is still true & active today.
You can see this in their acquisition of the community @IndieHackers, a knowledge sharing platform (aka forum) for entrepreneurs.
This was a brilliant move.
You can see this in their acquisition of the community @IndieHackers, a knowledge sharing platform (aka forum) for entrepreneurs.
This was a brilliant move.
The IndieHackers community has:
Over 159,000 backlinks
A very niche audience
15k+ visitors a month
Ranks for 61k keywords
And has an entire section showing companies running on Stripe.
It gets better...
Over 159,000 backlinks
A very niche audience
15k+ visitors a month
Ranks for 61k keywords
And has an entire section showing companies running on Stripe.
It gets better...
Remember how most marketers focus on blog posts?
Not Stripe.
Stripe's blog content generates ~10k visits a month.
But Stripe's technical documentation generates ~100k visits a month. This isn't an accident.
Not Stripe.
Stripe's blog content generates ~10k visits a month.
But Stripe's technical documentation generates ~100k visits a month. This isn't an accident.
The documentation is created to please & rank.
Most tech documentation is trash from a UX standpoint. Not at @stripe - It's pleasant. Seriously folks, don't underestimate the value of UX in content.
More on that here:
foundationinc.co/lab/ux-copywri…
Most tech documentation is trash from a UX standpoint. Not at @stripe - It's pleasant. Seriously folks, don't underestimate the value of UX in content.
More on that here:
foundationinc.co/lab/ux-copywri…
And just look at this URL structure:
stripe . com /docs /payments /accept-a-payment
I'm geeking out but it's a thing of beauty. 🤓
You can look at this URL and realize that this is going to be documentation (docs) for how to accept a payment using their payments API. So good.
stripe . com /docs /payments /accept-a-payment
I'm geeking out but it's a thing of beauty. 🤓
You can look at this URL and realize that this is going to be documentation (docs) for how to accept a payment using their payments API. So good.
Another way Stripe serves their community is through in-depth guide on topics relevant to payments, technology companies and entrepreneurship.
Some of the guides are 3,500+ words.
These aren't for wantrepreneurs looking for a snack.
It's for entrepreneurs who want a meal.
Some of the guides are 3,500+ words.
These aren't for wantrepreneurs looking for a snack.
It's for entrepreneurs who want a meal.
Stripe takes their role in inspiring their community so seriously that they launched "Stripe Press" -- A publishing house for great ideas and books that inspire makers.
More on that here:
press.stripe.com
More on that here:
press.stripe.com
Stripe is also very intentional with their international content presence.
When COVID-19 hit, they developed guides that would help businesses in multiple countries.
When COVID-19 hit, they developed guides that would help businesses in multiple countries.
Could some of their content be better optimized for SEO?
No doubt. Some are getting very little organic traffic yet they're some of the best assets on the subject.
With a few on-site changes & backlinks...
They'd likely win.
But here's another area Stripe thrives...
No doubt. Some are getting very little organic traffic yet they're some of the best assets on the subject.
With a few on-site changes & backlinks...
They'd likely win.
But here's another area Stripe thrives...
DESIGN 🎨
Across documentation, landing pages and even tweets...
Stripe is consistently putting out content that is supported with quality design. Look at the beauty of this thing:
Across documentation, landing pages and even tweets...
Stripe is consistently putting out content that is supported with quality design. Look at the beauty of this thing:
Stripe embraces design excellence.
This can be seen in the tweet above but also on landing pages like this one targeting SaaS companies.
They showcase @NotionHQ with a beautiful animation as social proof on a landing page. This builds trust.
This can be seen in the tweet above but also on landing pages like this one targeting SaaS companies.
They showcase @NotionHQ with a beautiful animation as social proof on a landing page. This builds trust.
Know what else builds trust?
🎮 Running fun competitions for your community
💬 Investing in communities like Indie Hackers
📝 Designing beautiful documentation
📣 Being co-signed by tech leaders
📚 Creating highly valuable guides
Content can build trust. Stripe is living proof.
🎮 Running fun competitions for your community
💬 Investing in communities like Indie Hackers
📝 Designing beautiful documentation
📣 Being co-signed by tech leaders
📚 Creating highly valuable guides
Content can build trust. Stripe is living proof.
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