Smart Marketing Show: Recent Episodes
Jason Tucker & Bridget Willard
The WordPress Marketing Show has evolved over time from a question and answer show to a WordPress-focused marketing show.
Jason Tucker is an IT Director and WordPress Web Developer and Bridget Willard is a self-proclaimed Twitter Nerd. They both love WordPress and its diverse community. Please join us Fridays at 9:00 a.m. Pacific. No matter the topic, we plan to have fun, educate, and, of course, build a community.
Smart Marketing Show is part of the WPwatercooler Network.
Feedback for our shows can be provided here: https://www.wpwatercooler.com/feedback/
Our modern world puts up efficient, yet annoying, communication barriers. Market yourself by being reachable and you’ll have a key differentiator.
In this episode, Jason and Bridget are joined by Adrian Tobey. We’ll chat about how giving people access to us makes a big difference in our small business marketing.
This Week’s Panel Jason Tucker @jasontucker
Bridget Willard @bridgetmwillard
Adrian Tobey @Groundhoggwp
Show Sponsors ServerPress Thank you to ServerPress makers of DesktopServer and WPsitesync for sponsoring our show.
How Are You Spending Your Marketing Budget? You could be a show sponsor. Supporting podcasts is a smart use of your marketing budget. We have been sponsored by big brands such as Kinsta, Adobe, and Beaver Builder. Why not get your audience in front of the thousands of people who download this show every month?
It's one thing to network for clients and referrals yet another thing entirely to build a support network. What do we mean by support?
Developers and designers don't know everything in their fields. After all, tech changes every 20 minutes. It's easy to become out of touch on an odd client project. Who do you turn to in your network to jog your memory and point you in the right direction?
In this episode, Rhonda Negard joins Jason and Bridget to chat about how we all need a circle of peers to lean on.
This Week’s Panel Jason Tucker @jasontucker
Bridget Willard @bridgetmwillard
Rhonda Negard @fatdogcreatives
Show Sponsors ServerPress Thank you to ServerPress makers of DesktopServer and WPsitesync for sponsoring our show.
How Are You Spending Your Marketing Budget? You could be a show sponsor. Supporting podcasts is a smart use of your marketing budget. We have been sponsored by big brands such as Kinsta, Adobe, and Beaver Builder. Why not get your audience in front of the thousands of people who download this show every month?
It’s easy to keep up a pace when your product launches and you’re riding the wave of adrenaline and podcast slots. What happens 6 months from now or a year later? Will people remember your product? Will you be relevant?
In this episode, Jason and Bridget discuss how digital products can stay top-of-mind all the time. If people can’t remember you, they won’t buy your goods — digital or otherwise.
This Week’s Panel Jason Tucker @jasontucker
Bridget Willard @bridgetmwillard
Show Sponsors ServerPress Thank you to ServerPress makers of DesktopServer and WPsitesync for sponsoring our show.
How Are You Spending Your Marketing Budget? You could be a show sponsor. Supporting podcasts is a smart use of your marketing budget. We have been sponsored by big brands such as Kinsta, Adobe, and Beaver Builder. Why not get your audience in front of the thousands of people who download this show every month?
Tool Or Tip Of The Week This week’s Tool or Tip of the Week is brought to you by The Definitive Guide to Twitter Marketing.
Jason Recommends CloudApp and Droplr.
Bridget Recommends SparkToro.
Time Stamps 00:05:10 “You got to stay top of mind all the time.” Bridget Willard
00:08:43 “But what you can’t measure is how I’m feeling.” Bridget Willard
00:10:43 “They value the people that go, they actually physically go to the event, as well as the people that watch.” Jason Tucker
00:12:56 Jason Talks Tracking Methods
00:15:31 Don’t Forget the Value of Radio
00:18:51 Jason Talks About Automatic Ad Insertion
00:20:32 “Why do you think I harp on Twitter so much? It’s the least expensive way to get eyeballs.” Bridget Willard
00:21:25 “If nobody knows who you are, the ads don’t work.” Bridget Willard
00:22:24 Jason Talks Delivery Vehicles and Social Icons
00:23:36 No, algorithms are like dogs, they do what you train them to do.
00:25:28 Belts Have Twitter Accounts
00:26:35 Texas, Power, and San Antonio and Competing with Big Brands
00:30:15 There is a huge opportunity for WordPress people.
00:34:18 Jason Talks Evergreen and Reporting Content
00:37:02 Jason Talks Walmart, TikTok, and Regional Dialects
00:42:10 One interaction is not enough.
How does a new developer with no street cred market his/her product without WordCamps to help foster those important relationships? “How do they get to pitch/talk to other developers about integrations if they can’t earn that street cred? In this episode, Bridget and Jason will chat with Adrian Tobey of Groundhogg.io. He’ll talk about his experiences marketing from zero in 2018 to 25,000 a month in recurring revenue.
This Week’s Panel Jason Tucker @jasontucker
Bridget Willard @bridgetmwillard
Adrian Tobey @adriantobey
Show Sponsors ServerPress Thank you to ServerPress makers of DesktopServer and WPsitesync for sponsoring our show.
How Are You Spending Your Marketing Budget? You could be a show sponsor. Supporting podcasts is a smart use of your marketing budget. We have been sponsored by big brands such as Kinsta, Adobe, and Beaver Builder. Why not get your audience in front of the thousands of people who download this show every month?
Value adds are a great way for WordPress Developers to differentiate their services from freelancers and agencies. So many developers launch, bill, and leave. There’s no annual contract, no maintenance, and no support for clients.
Here’s your website. Good luck!
What if we could change that? What if you could add value (with the current and premium version) of a WordPress plugin? Jason and Bridget will chat about her new plugin. It encourages your clients to blog (read: publish) once a month with best practices in mind.
Because the content and framework are in a draft blog post, no need to worry about them messing around in the dashboard or needing admin access.
Extend your services. Build with intent. Launch with Words.
Learn More About Launch With Words * Launch With Words-A WordPress Plugin * Small Business Copywriting Plugin -Launch With Words -WordPress plugin – WordPress.org * Jump-Start a Year’s Worth of Content via the Launch With Words Plugin – WordPress Tavern * Be sure to upvote on Product Hunt
Bridget’s Links To Help Developers * Website Questionnaire to Give To Clients * Information on collecting past due invoices * Bridget Willard’s Collections Email and Letter Template * Plugin Rank Affiliate Link * Content Planner & eBook To Give Clients “webdeveloper” for 50% off * How to Market Your Plugin — The Book
This Week’s Panel Jason Tucker @jasontucker
Bridget Willard @bridgetmwillard
Show Sponsors ServerPress Thank you to ServerPress makers of DesktopServer and WPsitesync for sponsoring our show.
How Are You Spending Your Marketing Budget? You could be a show sponsor. Supporting podcasts is a smart use of your marketing budget. We have been sponsored by big brands such as Kinsta, Adobe, and Beaver Builder. Why not get your audience in front of the thousands of people who download this show every month?
Tool Or Tip Of The Week This week’s Tool or Tip of the Week is brought to you by The Definitive Guide to Twitter Marketing.
Jason recommends HomeCam for integrating your Ring (et al) on AppleTV.
Bridget recommends Versions for when you just can’t even with SVN and the Plugin Directory.
Show Timestamps 00:01:39 Bridget Introduces Herself
00:06:16 “This website is still alive; it’s not a dormant thing.” Jason Tucker
00:06:44 “I feel like people don’t really know me.” Bridget Willard
00:11:44 How do you spend your billable hours?
00:12:41 Why is Launch With Words JSON?
00:14:08 There are no other copywriting plugins.
00:17:31 Ronald Huereca built two plugins. The importer and the one for me.
00:19:03 Behavior Flow since Product Launch
00:19:41 “I am the source of truth for this plugin.” Bridget Willard
00:20:42 “you’re making sure that you’re getting the people that are actually going to interact with the content” Jason Tucker
00:21:52 The Mission of Launch With Words
00:22:39 “Hey, Bridget, what about duplicate content?”
00:23:35 How does the Starter Pack Work?
00:25:28 How often should I publish?
00:26:29 Bridget double-dog dares developers.
00:27:56 The Franchise Industry & Syndicated Content
00:30:38 How Launch With Words is Different — Ideal Use Case
00:32:54 What is the business model for Launch With Words?
00:34:10 “You are on an infomercial. And that’s okay.” Jason Tucker
00:35:06 Jason’s Three-Legged Stool Analogy #MustListen
00:36:35 “I want to make WordPress developers’ lives easier.” Bridget Willard
00:38:06 “So essentially, everyone’s copying a bunch of BS, that isn’t actually like, what you absolutely need in order to be able to launch that site.” Jason Tucker
00:44:28 Partner Together to Get Better Clients
“Managed WordPress Hosting” is as commonly known now, thanks to Sally Strebel as Kleenex. Pagely continues to be a market leader in the hosting space. And they’re privately funded! Their business conference Pressnomics is also Sally’s brainchild and attended by a host of entrepreneurs.
In this episode, Sally chats with Bridget and Jason about how our previous experiences can help us see a path forward.
Follow Sally Strebel on Twitter @BizGirl
“Last, being underestimated is a gift. They’ll never see you coming until they can’t help but notice. If you’re with the right people while that’s happening, there’s no better feeling.”
Read her essay, “Marginalized” on HeroPress
https://heropress.com/essays/marginalized/
Show Sponsors Desktop Server – ServerPress https://serverpress.com/
WPsitesync https://www.wpsitesync.com/
Become A Patron And Support Us On Patreon!
You know you should have email marketing for your small business, but it leaves you with more questions than answers. No worries.
In this episode, Jason and Bridget will be chatting with Tess Wittler, an email newsletter expert. We will discuss some of these strategies in building trust.
How being authentic sets you apart
What to improve to increase your odds of getting word of mouth referrals
How to turn email newsletters into lead generation machines
The first question you need to ask before creating your email newsletter
How often to publish your email newsletters
How to repurpose your newsletter content for social media?
■Panel
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Jason Tucker @jasontucker https://twitter.com/jasontucker
Bridget Willard @bridgetmwillard https://twitter.com/bridgetmwillard
Tess Wittler @tesswittler https://twitter.com/TessWittler
■Socials
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Twitter ▶ https://twitter.com/wpwatercooler
Instagram ▶ https://www.instagram.com/wpwatercooler
Instagram ▶ https://www.youtube.com/wpwatercooler
Facebook ▶ https://www.facebook.com/wpwatercooler
■Show Sponsors
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Desktop Server – ServerPress https://serverpress.com/
WPsitesync https://www.wpsitesync.com/
■Are You Looking For Brand Awareness?
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You could be a show sponsor. Let people know you’re still in business and supporting your products. Supporting podcasts is a great way to repurpose your in-person conference budget.
We have been sponsored by big brands such as Kinsta and Cloudways. Why not get your audience in front of the thousands of people who download this show every month?
Yes, WPwatercooler has thousands of downloads every month. We’re not just a YouTube Show. https://wpwatercooler.com/sponsor
■Timestamps
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#smartmarketingshow
What do technical dependencies have to do with marketing in WordPress? Everything. Technical debt is a thing -- almost worse than student debt. But hey, you got that bachelor’s degree, right?
This week, Jason and Bridget are joined by Devin Walker, the CEO, and co-founder of GiveWP.com. We’ll have a discussion on how your dependency choices can affect your user experience. And that’s marketing, baby!
Panel
Jason Tucker @jasontucker
Bridget Willard @bridgetmwillard
Devin Walker @innerwebs
Check Out Bridget’s New Book
“Keys To Being Social: Being Real In A Virtual World”
Kindle – https://amzn.to/2HZELOq
Paperback – https://amzn.to/2H4lqvl
Show Sponsors
Desktop Server – ServerPress https://www.servepress.com
WPsitesync https://www.wpsitesync.com
Cloudways – Cloudways is a managed WordPress hosting provider that offers 5 best-in-class cloud providers, giving you freedom of choice and flexibility to build amazing WordPress websites. It comes with an intuitive platform that lets you manage your server and applications within a few clicks. All this is backed by 24/7 professional support that acts as your extended team as you grow your business.
https://www.cloudways.com
How Are You Spending Your Marketing Budget?
You could be a show sponsor. Supporting podcasts is a smart use of your marketing budget.
We have been sponsored by big brands such as Kinsta and Beaver Builder. Why not get your audience in front of the thousands of people who download this show every month?
#smartmarketingshow
You have a business and a logo. Awesome. You may even have memorized your color’s hex code. But what about different moods? What color shouldn’t be used in your logo?
On this episode, Jason and Bridget will chat with Rhonda Negard of FatDogCreatives.com. We’ll talk about what to do and what not to do. Open your brand’s color palette with moods.
Panel Jason Tucker @jasontucker
Bridget Willard @bridgetmwillard
Rhonda Negard @fatdogcreatives
Check Out Bridget’s New Book “Keys To Being Social: Being Real In A Virtual World”
Kindle – https://amzn.to/2HZELOq
Paperback – https://amzn.to/2H4lqvl
Show Sponsors Desktop Server – ServerPress
WPsitesync
Cloudways – Cloudways is a managed WordPress hosting provider that offers 5 best-in-class cloud providers, giving you freedom of choice and flexibility to build amazing WordPress websites. It comes with an intuitive platform that lets you manage your server and applications within a few clicks. All this is backed by 24/7 professional support that acts as your extended team as you grow your business.
How Are You Spending Your Marketing Budget? You could be a show sponsor. Supporting podcasts is a smart use of your marketing budget.
We have been sponsored by big brands such as Kinsta and Beaver Builder. Why not get your audience in front of the thousands of people who download this show every month?
Should your business have a personality or be professional? Does professional mean boring? No way!
Rhonda Negard joins Jason and Bridget to talk about how you can allow your business brand to have a personality of its own. You’ll definitely want to watch this episode.
Panel Jason Tucker @jasontucker
Bridget Willard @bridgetmwillard
Rhonda Negard @fatdogcreatives
Check Out Bridget’s New Book “Keys To Being Social: Being Real In A Virtual World”
Kindle – https://amzn.to/2HZELOq
Paperback – https://amzn.to/2H4lqvl
Show Sponsors Desktop Server – ServerPress
WPsitesync
Cloudways – Cloudways is a managed WordPress hosting provider that offers 5 best-in-class cloud providers, giving you freedom of choice and flexibility to build amazing WordPress websites. It comes with an intuitive platform that lets you manage your server and applications within a few clicks. All this is backed by 24/7 professional support that acts as your extended team as you grow your business.
Are You Looking For Brand Awareness? You could be a show sponsor. Let people know you’re still in business and supporting your products. Supporting podcasts is a great way to repurpose your in-person conference budget.
We have been sponsored by big brands such as Kinsta and Cloudways. Why not get your audience in front of the thousands of people who download this show every month?
Yes, The Smart Marketing Show has thousands of downloads every month. We’re not just a YouTube Show.
It’s like the chicken and the egg. When do we launch the product’s landing page? When do we launch the landing page for our new service. Bridget and Jason will explore this topic on this must-see episode. Panel Jason Tucker @jasontucker
Bridget Willard @bridgetmwillard
Check Out Bridget’s New Book “Keys To Being Social: Being Real In A Virtual World”
Kindle – https://amzn.to/2HZELOq
Paperback – https://amzn.to/2H4lqvl
Show Sponsors Desktop Server – ServerPress
WPsitesync
Cloudways – Cloudways is a managed WordPress hosting provider that offers 5 best-in-class cloud providers, giving you freedom of choice and flexibility to build amazing WordPress websites. It comes with an intuitive platform that lets you manage your server and applications within a few clicks. All this is backed by 24/7 professional support that acts as your extended team as you grow your business.
Are You Looking For Brand Awareness? You could be a show sponsor. Let people know you’re still in business and supporting your products. Supporting podcasts is a great way to repurpose your in-person conference budget.
We have been sponsored by big brands such as Kinsta and Cloudways. Why not get your audience in front of the thousands of people who download this show every month?
Yes, The Smart Marketing Show has thousands of downloads every month. We’re not just a YouTube Show.
What’s the business application for using Twitter? Can you really grow your business by tweeting? What about Lead Gen? Yes. You can generate leads and build your business on Twitter. This week Bridget and Jason will give you 45 minutes packed with their best advice (valued at $175/hour). Don’t forget to listen for Jason and Bridget’s Tool or Tip of the Week.
Panel Jason Tucker @jasontucker
Bridget Willard @bridgetmwillard
Check Out Bridget’s New Book “Keys To Being Social: Being Real In A Virtual World”
Kindle – https://amzn.to/2HZELOq
Paperback – https://amzn.to/2H4lqvl
Show Sponsors Desktop Server – ServerPress https://serverpress.com
WPsitesync – https://www.wpsitesync.com
Cloudways – Cloudways is a managed WordPress hosting provider that offers 5 best-in-class cloud providers, giving you freedom of choice and flexibility to build amazing WordPress websites. It comes with an intuitive platform that lets you manage your server and applications within a few clicks. All this is backed by 24/7 professional support that acts as your extended team as you grow your business. https://www.cloudways.com/en/
Are You Looking For Brand Awareness? You could be a show sponsor. Let people know you’re still in business and supporting your products. Supporting podcasts is a great way to repurpose your in-person conference budget.
We have been sponsored by big brands such as Kinsta and Cloudways. Why not get your audience in front of the thousands of people who download this show every month?
Yes, The Smart Marketing Show has thousands of downloads every month. We’re not just a YouTube Show.
Become A Patron And Support Us On Patreon!
Do you copy others in their marketing efforts? To some extent we all do. But is their audience the same as yours? Is their marketing person skilled? Or are you just following the influencer?
In this episode, Jason and Bridget will rant about hashtags. Okay. You’re right. Bridget will rant and Jason will balance her out. But that’s why you watch the show, right?
Panel Jason Tucker @jasontucker
Bridget Willard @bridgetmwillard
Check Out Bridget’s New Book “Keys To Being Social: Being Real In A Virtual World”
Kindle – https://amzn.to/2HZELOq
Paperback – https://amzn.to/2H4lqvl
Show Sponsors Desktop Server – ServerPress https://serverpress.com
WPsitesync – https://www.wpsitesync.com
Are You Looking For Brand Awareness? You could be a show sponsor. Let people know you’re still in business and supporting your products. Supporting podcasts is a great way to repurpose your in-person conference budget.
We have been sponsored by big brands such as Kinsta and Cloudways. Why not get your audience in front of the thousands of people who download this show every month?
Yes, The Smart Marketing Show has thousands of downloads every month. We’re not just a YouTube Show.
Bridget’s Videos On Hashtags When we are self-taught, it’s easy to have gaps in our education. We see an influencer use a hashtag and copy them without really understanding the why. These videos should help.
- Hashtags Are For Search
- How to Effectively Use Hashtags
- Hashtags are Links
- How To Follow a Hashtag or Twitter Chat
Tool Or Tip Of The Week This week’s Tool or Tip of the Week is brought to you by Keys to Being Social — The Book.
Bridget recommends Lumen 5’s Business Video Maker. This tool allows you to convert a blog post into a video and more. Their pricing starts at a free plan and goes up to enterprise level. You can even write a script. With a tool like this, there’s no reason why you can’t build up your YouTube channel.
You’ll have to watch the episode to see Jason’s recommendation.
00:01:52 What are hashtags
00:02:51 Twitter Chats using Hashtags
00:04:03 Hashtags are a filter
00:04:37 Hashtags as sarcasm
00:05:09 Hashtags are like search
00:06:20 Hashtags are links
00:06:26 Hashtags are not translated
00:07:33 Hashtags are not transferable between social networks when crossposted
00:08:12 Hashtags and TikTok
00:09:06 Nobody can own a hashtag
00:09:29 Be careful with hashtags
00:10:12 Hashtag Trends
00:12:02 This episode is worth $175 of my time
00:14:06 Hashtags are like Categories and Tags in WordPress
00:15:23 Question - Do you encourage people to follow your hashtags?
00:17:05 You don’t have to use all the hashtags
00:18:32 Hashtags are not a magic thing
00:19:12 Hashtags on Facebook
00:20:03 Organizing your hashtags for a tweet
00:21:01 Hashtags and accessibility
00:22:58 Hashtags and Instagram tip
00:25:44 More tricks on organizing a tweet with a call to action and hashtags
00:26:43 Capitalize hashtags for accessibility
00:28:04 Games using Hashtags
00:28:48 Off topic and silly
00:30:06 Hard returns in tweets
00:30:42 Hashtags help people participate
00:31:36 Phone vs computer and hashtags
00:33:06 Sometimes hashtags are a long game
00:33:43 Follow Bridget and her modeling
00:34:33 Number of hashtags in a post
00:35:15 Sometimes it’s better to reply than retweet
00:35:45 Use the native client for the social network at least once a day
00:36:13 Twitter Fleets
00:38:26 Bridget’s way works, try it for 2 weeks
00:39:14 Google Analytics and Twitter
00:40:28 Tool or Tip of the Week
00:41:37 Bridget’s Tool or Tip of the Week - Lumen5
00:48:34 Jason’s Tool or Tip of the Week - WAVE.video
00:50:17 Bonus tip - Using Canva to create video
00:53:25 Bonus Tip - Storyblocks with Canva
00:54:44 Reformating video using Canva
00:55:57 Building "Stories" in Canva
00:56:56 Bonus Bonus Tip - Video Leap
01:00:20 Outro
Panel
Jason Tucker @jasontucker
Bridget Willard Bridget Willard, Marketing Consultant
Check Out Bridget’s New Book
“Keys To Being Social: Being Real In A Virtual World”
Kindle – https://amzn.to/2HZELOq
Paperback – https://amzn.to/2H4lqvl
Sponsors
Desktop Server – ServerPress https://serverpress.com
WPsitesync – https://www.wpsitesync.com
Are You Looking For Brand Awareness?
You could be a show sponsor. Especially now, let people know you’re still in business and supporting your products. Supporting podcasts is a great way to repurpose your in-person conference budget. https://wpwatercooler.com/sponsor
#smartmarketingshow
You’re hired to build a website. Maybe it’s in WordPress or Squarespace. The client pays you. You ask for the content. Now what?
Regardless of the tool, Wix, Squarespeace, WordPress, ClassicPress, you still need content. You may be using a JAMStack over Larvel. Heck, you could be doing it in FrontPage. You still need words.
Words come from clients. Clients need a website. They don’t have words. What do you do now?
Jason and Bridget talk about how you can get the content from your clients, or, better yet, outsource your content writing and include it in your contract.
Panel
Jason Tucker https://twitter.com/jasontucker
Bridget Willard https://twitter.com/bridgetmwillard
Check Out Bridget’s New Book
“Keys To Being Social: Being Real In A Virtual World”
Kindle – https://amzn.to/2HZELOq
Paperback – https://amzn.to/2H4lqvl
Sponsors
Desktop Server – ServerPress https://serverpress.com
WPsitesync – https://www.wpsitesync.com
Are You Looking For Brand Awareness?
You could be a show sponsor. Especially now, let people know you’re still in business and supporting your products. Supporting podcasts is a great way to repurpose your in-person conference budget. https://wpwatercooler.com/sponsor
#smartmarketingshow
Personal branding, speaking, and marketing is a moving target in our increasingly virtual world. How do you market yourself as a speaker in a time such as this? What tools help you remain relevant and keep the discussion going?
Our friend, fellow podcaster, and well-esteemed speaker Adam Silver joins us on this episode with guest co-host Jen Miller, of Next Door Marketer.
Panel
Jason Tucker @jasontucker
Jen Miller @jenblogs4u
Adam Silver @heyadamsilver
Check Out Bridget’s New Book “Keys To Being Social: Being Real In A Virtual World”
Kindle – https://amzn.to/2HZELOq
Paperback – https://amzn.to/2H4lqvl
Sponsors
Desktop Server – ServerPress https://serverpress.com
WPsitesync – https://www.wpsitesync.com
Are You Looking For Brand Awareness?
You could be a show sponsor. Especially now, let people know you’re still in business and supporting your products. Supporting podcasts is a great way to repurpose your in-person conference budget. https://wpwatercooler.com/sponsor
#smartmarketingshow
Accessibility and marketing go hand in hand. It may not seem that way at first, but how do you divorce the user’s experience from your product’s marketing?
Can people find your website, use it, and get the information they need? Maybe, sure. What about Instagram? In-Person Menus? Do your videos have subtitles? Are they accurate?
Joe Simpson, Jr. joins Jason and Bridget to expand upon this topic we began in Episode 167. Join live to ask questions and be part of the chat.
Panel:
Jason Tucker @jasontucker
Bridget Willard @youtoocanbeguru
Joe Simpson Jr. @joesimpsonjr
📗Check out Bridget’s new book "Keys to Being Social: Being Real in a Virtual World"
Kindle - https://amzn.to/2HZELOq
Paperback - https://amzn.to/2H4lqvl
Sponsor:
Desktop Server - ServerPress https://serverpress.com
WPsitesync - https://www.wpsitesync.com
#smartmarketingshow
In this episode Rhonda Negard joins Jason and Bridget again to talk about how an empathy map helps with your user experience (UX). You’ll want to take notes during this show!
Download for this episode: https://docs.google.com/presentation/u/0/d/1Y3mpZgSiZdqff9nfUJAkJqsKyZyUjrbQvO6Z7SNkrq8/copy
Panel:
Jason Tucker @jasontucker
Bridget Willard @youtoocanbeguru
Rhonda Negard @fatdogcreatives
📗Check out Bridget’s new book "Keys to Being Social: Being Real in a Virtual World"
Kindle - https://amzn.to/2HZELOq
Paperback - https://amzn.to/2H4lqvl
Sponsor:
Desktop Server - ServerPress https://serverpress.com
#smartmarketingshow
With the pandemic, restaurants are more cognizant of germs. Which the rest of us germaphobes have been like wait -- you don’t clean your menus? Gross! So now you can’t go anywhere near a restaurant without scanning a QR Code.
The only thing is this -- what do your customers see when they click that code?
Join Jason and Bridget as they dive into this socially-distanced topic.
Panel:
Jason Tucker @jasontucker
Bridget Willard @youtoocanbeguru
📗Check out Bridget’s new book "Keys to Being Social: Being Real in a Virtual World" https://amzn.to/2HZELOq
Sponsor:
Desktop Server - ServerPress https://serverpress.com
#smartmarketingshow
So often design is what we hide behind instead of marketing ourselves and our business. Rather, it’s design, tweak, redesign, it’s not good enough, well there is a new tool out -- and so on.
Jason and Bridget are joined by Dave Bloom of GingerSoul.co for this discussion on what it means to apply minimalism to our marketing efforts -- and, how to stop productively procrastinating.
Panel:
Jason Tucker @jasontucker
Bridget Willard @youtoocanbeguru
Dave Bloom @gingersoul_co
A redhead-powered web studio. Designing tools that encourage + enable less-techy people to create value with the web. Working on http://soulsites.co & http://downbeat.io.
Sponsor:
Desktop Server - ServerPress https://serverpress.com
#smartmarketingshow
Work life balance is a nice thought. But what happens when your children have to be schooled at home? How about taking care of a loved one? Moving?
It is tricky for sure. Jason, Jen, and Bridget chat about how to keep your marketing going with added responsibility.
WPwatercooler network is sponsored by ServerPress makers of DesktopServer. Be sure to check them out at https://www.serverpress.com
#smartmarketingshow
The world is changing fast and the tools and platforms you need to do your job as a marketer continuously evolve. How do you keep up as a marketer? What are the best practices when everything can change overnight?
WPwatercooler network is sponsored by ServerPress makers of DesktopServer. Be sure to check them out at https://www.serverpress.com
Join us on an upcoming episode of Smart Marketing Show by visiting our Participant guidelines page. https://www.wpwatercooler.com/joinus/
#smartmarketingshow
Michelle Keefer of MKConsulting joins Jason Tucker and guest co-host Jen Miller to discuss how you can smarten up engagement strategies with personal touch points, swag, and meaningful conversation. Plus get tips for reducing digital distractions in your marketing, business, and daily life.
Join us on this episode of WPblab by visiting our Participant guidelines page.
WPwatercooler network is sponsored by ServerPress makers of DesktopServer. Be sure to check them out at https://www.serverpress.com
#smartmarketingshow
Effective marketing includes considerations for your audience and their needs. This is why accessibility matters from your website to social media hashtags.
Joe Simpson, Jr. joins Jason and Bridget to have this important conversation. Be sure to tune in.
Learn about Joe from his website. Definitely watch his presentation at WordCamp Long Beach.
Show Sponsors ServerPress Thank you for being a preroll sponsor, ServerPress! ServerPress is the maker of DesktopServer, WPSiteSync, and so much more! Check them out at serverpress.com.
The Query - WPwatercooler A question and answer show for 38% of the web. Jason Cosper answering your WordPress questions. Got a question?
Are You Looking For Brand Awareness? You could be a show sponsor. Especially now, let people know you’re still in business and supporting your products. Supporting podcasts is a great way to repurpose your in-person conference budget.
Accessibility is Simple - Include as Large of an Audience As Possible Accessibility adds to your value as an entrepreneur and improves SEO. Everything starts on your phone; design for small and think about how we communicate. Plan for the worst-case and then you will make it easy for everyone.
Get someone else to use your website to see how they use it; this is a basic UX principle, Joe reminds us.
"Accessibility is about making your services and your business available to all people." Joe Simpson, Jr.
It is worth noting that if your business comes under litigation (class action) for ADA (physical) issues they can also add digital issues. Yes, they can throw your business website into the class action on path-of-travel and other ADA issues with your property.
Accessibility and Websites
"The great things about WordPress is that a lot of themes are accessible out of the box." Joe Simpson, Jr.
"When I think about accessibility, I ask people to open up their website, close their eyes, and hit the tab key three times. Do you know where it is supposed to be?" Joe Simpson, Jr.
https://twitter.com/Highforge/status/1270067227304185856
Accessibility and Alt Tags
"With alt tags, context of the tex hat is around the image [is important]." Joe Simpson, Jr.
If the image is decorative, then mark it as such. The WP Admin now has that feature.
Accessibility and Search
Good semantic HTML is good for accessibility and SEO efforts. Don't forget all of the great voice assistants that everyone uses.
"When I heard that people are listening to their emails [I knew accessibility has a larger audience]." Jason Tucker
Accessibility and Hashtags When you CamelCase a hashtag it's not only easier for the sighted to read it, but screen readers will read it to a user as two separate words. CamelCase is capitalizing the first letter in each word. Remember that punctuation isn't
https://twitter.com/redcrew/status/1283388363714826241
Accessibility and Social Media Images Whenever possible, use alt descriptions for images that you use on social media as well. This helps you reach a much larger audience. Twitter allows you to write alt tags for your photos as well as GIF library images you post.
Tool Or Tip Of The Week Your ad could have been here. Just sayin'
Joe recommends Buddhify to help you meditate on the go.
Jason recommends Grabatar to sync your contacts with their Gravatars.
Bridget recommends Sarah Beth Yoga for anyone interested in yoga.
In this episode, Jason and Bridget have q conversation with Keith Besherse about how to make the best use of print media in a digital world.
Strategy, tactics, getting it done on time and on budget. What would you like to know?
Sponsored by ServerPress and WPSiteSync
https://www.serverpress.com https://www.wpsitesync.com
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Landing Page Strategies – Continuing the discussion of the why and how of landing pages, tackling the questions that go deeper. How do landing pages impact SEO? Are landing pages a requirement for conversion? When does a subdomain make sense? How do you build an audience through the use of landing pages? In this episode, Jen Miller of Next Door Marketer joins Jason and Bridget to deliver the reasoning behind the use of these types of webpages.
Panel: Jason Tucker, Bridget Willard, Jen Miller
Join us on this episode of Smart Marketing Show by visiting our Participant guidelines page.
WPwatercooler network is sponsored by ServerPress makers of DesktopServer and WPSiteSync. Be sure to check them out at https://www.serverpress.com and https://wpsitesync.com
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In an unstable economy, the most important way to market yourself as a freelancer isn’t your rates. In this episode, Jason and Bridget are joined by Rhonda Negard of Fat Dog Creatives to discuss the marketing angles freelancers always forget — reliability and delivery.
This episode was inspired by The Futur’s “How Much Should I Charge as a Freelancer” video. It’s a great listen for five minutes.
Panel: Jason Tucker, Bridget Willard, and Rhonda Negard
Show Sponsors ServerPress Thank you for being a preroll sponsor, ServerPress! ServerPress is the maker of DesktopServer, WPSiteSync, and so much more! Check them out at serverpress.com.
Are you looking for brand awareness? You could be a show sponsor. Especially now, let people know you’re still in business and supporting your products. Supporting podcasts is a great way to repurpose your in-person conference budget.
Freelancers – Know Your Strengths Rhonda sees herself as a rebranding specialist. Though she can (obviously) make a logo from scratch, this is her gift. (Definitely check out this case study. Because of that, she charges by the project, not by hour.
The opposite is also true; it’s important to know your weaknesses. Once you start outsourcing, you have a bit of project management that is unavoidable.
“If you’re not good at project management, you do not want to take too many projects where you have to manage people.” Rhonda Negard
Freelancers – Networking Is Important Whether your networking is on LinkedIn, Twitter, or in person, it’s important to account for this time as work. Start a relationship and “get curious about other people,” Rhonda says, but not to your own detriment.
“Don’t just look to get jobs but to give jobs.” Rhonda Negard
Whether you are hired as a freelancer or outsource work to freelancers, you need to keep your bench warm. Connect with people on “as many platforms as you can,” reminds Rhonda. This way, they are sure to stay top-of-mind.
Freelancers – Price by Project When looking for vendors, Rhonda wants to know the full total of the project. This way, she can add in her margin as an agency.
When bidding, account for your time that includes networking, going through emails, and research and development, Rhonda says.
Freelancers – Meet Your Deadlines When it comes to how long something takes, well — that’s up for debate. Does it take an hour? Or is it an hour after you’ve been thinking about it for a week? You need to know this so you don’t overload your production schedule.
It’s a slippery slope when you’re pricing too low. You take on more work and miss deadlines. It’s okay. We’ve all been through it. The important thing is to understand how much work you can really handle.
“Build research time into your quote.” Rhonda Negard
Tool or Tip of the Week Your ad could have been here.
Rhonda recommends Nail It! by Ted Leonhardt. This helps you shift your mindset from employee to entrepreneur.
Jason recommends Tappy Card. You can share any website with this special QR code. And it’s under $15!
Bridget recommends keeping kindness in the form of grace at your intention right now.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Email list management is key to ensure your email campaign is delivered. Many people focus on open rates without realizing their deliverability is sub-optimal. Working hard on email campaigns only to end up in spam is a bummer. But how old is your list? Email lists go stale like old bread.
Amy Hall joins Jason and Bridget to discuss how to stay out of spam! It’s pretty technical but we believe in you. (Even Bridget did her homework — which took about an hour.)
“When you buy an email list you are wasting your money.” Amy Hall
Show Sponsors ServerPress Thank you for being a preroll sponsor, ServerPress! ServerPress is the maker of DesktopServer, WPSiteSync, and so much more! Check them out at serverpress.com.
Are you looking for brand awareness? You could be a show sponsor. Especially now, let people know you’re still in business and supporting your products. Supporting podcasts is a great way to repurpose your in-person conference budget.
Authenticate Your Domain Name The first tip has has “nothing to do with the email that you’re building, it has to do with your own email address,” Amy says. If you’d like to stay out of the junk or spam folders, then be sure to authenticate your domain name with your email marketing provider.
“Don’t send [your email campaign] from Gmail!” Amy Hall
“Oops!” Bridget Willard
Email From Your Domain Name Maybe you were like Bridget and were sending email campaigns from Gmail. It’s okay. You can fix that. (She did right after this episode). This is really important for email deliverability (staying out of the spam folder.)
Let the receiver’s inbox know that your email is a real and valid address and not being spoofed. This is why you use DMARC markers on your DNS server. Mailchimp is a great resource for soft and hard bounces. Mailchimp has great instructions for DKIM and SPF.
Most email campaign providers like ConvertKit, Active Campaign, and Constant Contact have these services or help articles.
Then, ensure you send emails consistently. Whatever you promise in your welcome message (every week, twice a year), do that.
Clean Your List Regularly This is where automation can be your best friend. If an email subscriber hasn’t opened an email in 6-9 months, send them a re-engagement campaign asking them to take an action. Then send them to a “thanks for sticking around” type of landing page.
You can clean your list through a service separate from your campaign provider. Amy recommends downloading the CSV, cleaning the list, then uploading the CSV. It’s better not to have that ding in your account.
“And the thing about it is, is it doesn’t, they count, doesn’t get pinged that you have bad email addresses in it, so you don’t have to ding against you because it’s not really a ding, but it isn’t ding, they’re going to be watching you because you have that email addresses.” Amy Hall
Don’t Be That Person It’s easy to add people to your lists. Bridget does it. We all do it. If you do, have an automated welcome email with the reason why that person was added and the ability to unsubscribe.
“It is against the law to send an email without an unsubscribe option,” Amy reminds us. If you see these, report them as spam in your email reader (email client).
Tool or Tip of the Week This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you byCloudways. Is your website slow? Or are you looking for a reliable host for your WordPress projects?
Whether it’s an existing website or a project on your drawing board, Cloudways offers a hosting environment with all the features you need to succeed online.
Cloudways is optimized for speed and delivers outstanding performance and security, all supported by 24/7/365 support by expert cloud engineers.
It is an ideal platform for WordPress projects because of the choice of FIVE cloud providers including AWS, Google Cloud, Linode, DigitalOcean, and Linode. The best part – your managed server and WordPress websites are ready in a few minutes.
Once the app is up and running, you can add more power to your business operations, thanks to exciting features such as free SSL certificates, CloudwaysCDN, automated and on-demand app/server backups, and custom-built Teams features to onboard distributed team members.
Cloudways extends your in-house team and takes care of all server management issues, and lets you focus on building amazing websites for your online businesses.
If you like what you have heard, start with a 3-day free trial of Cloudways now!
Amy recommends Kickbox to clean your emails.
Jason recommends Timerly for Toggl.
Bridget recommends wordhtml.com for cleaning HTML.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
It’s important for businesses to understand how to engage with the current political climate as their brand. Brands are often considered tone-deaf when they say nothing. Amber Pechin is the diversity and inclusion lead for Phoenix Startup Week and will help us navigate the conversation on this episode.
Show Sponsors ServerPress Thank you for being a preroll sponsor, ServerPress! ServerPress is the maker of DesktopServer, WPSiteSync, and so much more! Check them out at https://www.serverpress.com https://www.wpsitesync.com
Cloudways Is your website slow? Or are you looking for a reliable host for your WordPress projects?
Whether it’s an existing website or a project on your drawing board, Cloudways offers a hosting environment with all the features you need to succeed online.
Cloudways is optimized for speed and delivers outstanding performance and security, all supported by 24/7/365 support by expert cloud engineers.
It is an ideal platform for WordPress projects because of the choice of FIVE cloud providers including AWS, Google Cloud, Linode, DigitalOcean, and Linode. The best part your managed server and WordPress websites are ready in a few minutes.
Once the app is up and running, you can add more power to your business operations, thanks to exciting features such as free SSL certificates, CloudwaysCDN, automated and on-demand app/server backups, and custom-built Teams features to onboard distributed team members.
Cloudways extends your in-house team and takes care of all server management issues, and lets you focus on building amazing websites for your online businesses.
If you like what you have heard, start with a 3-day free trial of Cloudways now!
https://www.cloudways.com
Are you looking for brand awareness? You could be a show sponsor. We think it is a great idea to let people know you’re still in business and supporting your products. Supporting podcasts is a great way to repurpose your WordCamp Swag budget.
https://www.wpwatercooler.com/sponsor
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Here’s the situation. “Your parents went away on a week’s vacation.” Just kidding. No, for real. You just got a great lead. Super awesome lead. But the client needs work that is out of your wheelhouse. What do you do? We suggest partnering.
On this episode of the Smart Marketing Show, Jason and Bridget will be joined by Jen Miller of Next Door Marketer to gain some insight on how to find those magic partnerships.
Panel: Bridget Willard, Jason Tucker, Jen Miller
Show Sponsors ServerPress Thank you for being a preroll sponsor, ServerPress! ServerPress is the maker of DesktopServer, WPSiteSync, and so much more! Check them out at serverpress.com.
Are you looking for brand awareness? You could be a show sponsor. We think it is a great idea to let people know you’re still in business and supporting your products. Supporting podcasts is a great way to repurpose your WordCamp Swag budget.
Partnering Helps with Time Constraints Being a freelancer or an agency of one is great until you want to make more money. You either need to charge more or do more. That only works for a while. Then you have another choice: hire or partner.
“I’m not someone who can walk away from a deadline.” Jen Miller
Know yourself. If deadlines are important to you, then partner with a vendor who feels the same. In fact, Jen Miller suggests building in a weekend. Give your vendor a date that is before it’s due to the client. Time marches on and waits for no vendor and sites don’t build themselves — even with Gutenberg.
Partnering Helps with Growing Pains Growth is good until you fall asleep while you’re typing. (Never publish without editing, by the way.) Networking (in-person, Slack Channels, etc) is so important. Get to know people and how they work. Ask questions. You never know when you’ll need a qualified referral (handoff) or a partner.
Checking in with a potential vendor or referral on their production schedule before recommending them to your client is just plain smart, Jen suggests.
“As an agency owner, you have to be willing to step in and do those pieces.” Jen Miller
Partnering Requires Communication It’s like on a dating app when everyone says they value communication until there’s a communication problem. Part of good communication is open communication and frequent communication. This is where networking and systems meet.
“Check in to see how the partner is doing on the project,” Jen Miller says. After all, it is your client. In the end, the work is your responsibility. If you don’t want the responsibility of managing the partner-vendor, then you’ll need to handoff the client to someone. Even then, you may want to check in.
Project Management is Key Project Management Systems are a huge part of successful communication. Choose a tool and use it consistently. Have a system. Sometimes a Google Sheet is good enough. A system only works if you use it.
It’s even a good idea to create a short training video to quickly onboard partners. If both you and your partner-vendor use a project management tool (Jen likes Basecamp 3), choose yours. It’s your client.
Tool or Tip of the Week This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you byCloudways. Is your website slow? Or are you looking for a reliable host for your WordPress projects?
Whether it’s an existing website or a project on your drawing board, Cloudways offers a hosting environment with all the features you need to succeed online.
Cloudways is optimized for speed and delivers outstanding performance and security, all supported by 24/7/365 support by expert cloud engineers.
It is an ideal platform for WordPress projects because of the choice of FIVE cloud providers including AWS, Google Cloud, Linode, DigitalOcean, and Linode. The best part – your managed server and WordPress websites are ready in a few minutes.
Once the app is up and running, you can add more power to your business operations, thanks to exciting features such as free SSL certificates, CloudwaysCDN, automated and on-demand app/server backups, and custom-built Teams features to onboard distributed team members.
Cloudways extends your in-house team and takes care of all server management issues, and lets you focus on building amazing websites for your online businesses.
If you like what you have heard, start with a 3-day free trial of Cloudways now!
Jen recommends his Clarity.fm.
Jason recommends the Google My Business app.
Bridget recommends Seconds. It is an app for interval training timers.
Become a Patron and support us on Patreon!
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Hoards of people have signed up for every course they can, hoping to use their time well during the "New Normal of COVID-19." But, they are also overwhelmed. They've got 99 courses but your course ain't one. So, how do you appeal to them, stand out, and market your online course?
This episode, Jason and Bridget are joined by Chris Badgett of LifterLMS. He's very active on Twitter as well as YouTube. So if you're thinking about designing an online course, go check those resources out. You can even watch his 13 video playlist of starting an online course.
Show Sponsors ServerPress Thank you for being a preroll sponsor, ServerPress! ServerPress is the maker of DesktopServer, WPSiteSync, and so much more! Check them out at serverpress.com.
Are you looking for brand awareness? You could be a show sponsor. We think it is a great idea to let people know you’re still in business and supporting your products. Supporting podcasts is a great way to repurpose your WordCamp Swag budget.
Integration Age Historically, we've had revolutions and evolutions: the enlightenment age, the industrial revolution, the information revolution. Now, Chris says, we are in the integration age.
"So the, the way I look at it is that they were kind of transitioning out of the information age into the integration age. And that includes integrating information, boiling it down, getting past overwhelm. And, honoring the limited lifespan we have and attention we have. So the old model of education is really around getting access to the best information. The new model is about getting results efficiently and going direct as the shortest path possible to the ideal outcome." Chris Badgett
We all have access to thousands of libraries -- free, thousands of courses -- free. Yet, how many of us take advantage? Few. We're overwhelmed with information. We need to know how this information is relevant to our lives.
"When you design around your expertise in the information and not the learning journey and the result of the person, once you end up with these like giant, I call them, resource courses, like giant courses that are extremely dangerous and get abandoned a lot." Chris Badgett
Support the Learning Journey Supporting the learning journey with your online course means you design the course with the end in mind. What are the expected results?
Being overwhelmed is a factor of motivation. Why is the learner taking the online course? Is it to get a certificate? There are two types of motivation when it comes to learning: extrinsic and intrinsic.
Extrinsic motivation could be a monetary reward (raise at work) or earning respect (credentials on LinkedIn). Intrinsic motivation comes from a desire from your soul to improve. Knowing what motivates your learner, helps you design your course.
Adding a map for your online course, reverse engineering it from the end result, with milestones helps with course retention.
An easy way to do this is to have a challenge. They lend themselves well to steps and pre-training/gamification.
"One of the things that’s exploding in marketing right now is what are called challenge funnels. ...Why is it, why are challenged funnels exploding? Well, what’s the challenge? The challenge is designed around a result and a challenge is time bound. So, you know, there could be like a 30 day challenge, a 90 day challenge, a four day challenge, whatever it is, health, wealth, relationships, whatever." Chris Badgett
Transformation is Over-Hyped Not every course needs to lead to a caterpillar-to-butterfly transformation. Most of the transformations we see, in nature or otherwise, aren't overnight anyway. Rather, they are a series of steps, completed.
When it comes to marketing your online course we tend to pitch transformation. But when it comes to any kind of product, the marketing has to revolve around one question:
"What's in it for me?"
Creating early wins and adding support for the learner as well as community will help retain learners to your online course. You can even move to the coach model with weekly office hours in a group format. You spend the same hour a week, with many learners.
"The easiest way to do that add a weekly office hour call that you don’t have to prepare for, and they just show up with questions. It’s a group format so it can scale, like, okay, if you have a lot of people that follow you or in the program, it’s still just one hour on your calendar." Chris Badgett
Coaching Over Information Information is great. But if you create 10 courses that is simply a vault of your information, without any coaching, you won't have a high course completion rate. Further, you're not supporting the learner in their journey.
An important part of coaching is the right fit. This isn't about a good fit for your online course. It's a fit between the learner and the coach. Do their personality and communication styles match? How about the learner's style of learning? What about loyalty?
"Real coaching, whether that’s business coaching, life coaching, relationship coaching, it’s about fidelity." Chris Badgett
We tend to have these types of courses that circle around and around, like a spiral road going to the top of the mountain. There is no personalization or way to test out. That's frustrating for the learner.
When your online course includes personalization, you are supporting the learner's journey and reducing frustration. When you can tell a client to take this course over that one, then they are no longer overwhelmed.
Tool or Tip of the Week This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you byCloudways. Is your website slow? Or are you looking for a reliable host for your WordPress projects?
Whether it’s an existing website or a project on your drawing board, Cloudways offers a hosting environment with all the features you need to succeed online.
Cloudways is optimized for speed and delivers outstanding performance and security, all supported by 24/7/365 support by expert cloud engineers.
It is an ideal platform for WordPress projects because of the choice of FIVE cloud providers including AWS, Google Cloud, Linode, DigitalOcean, and Linode. The best part – your managed server and WordPress websites are ready in a few minutes.
Once the app is up and running, you can add more power to your business operations, thanks to exciting features such as free SSL certificates, CloudwaysCDN, automated and on-demand app/server backups, and custom-built Teams features to onboard distributed team members.
Cloudways extends your in-house team and takes care of all server management issues, and lets you focus on building amazing websites for your online businesses.
If you like what you have heard, start with a 3-day free trial of Cloudways now!
Chris recommends his YouTube Traffic System course.
Jason recommends Descript.com. It allows you to edit the transcript and the video. Super cool.
Bridget recommends her blog post with a tool to calculate your in-house rate (Google Sheet).
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We often start a nonprofit because of a mission. When your nonprofit's mission pivots, what then? Often times a rebranding is in order. Dan Maby of BigOrangeHeart.org joins Jason and Bridget to talk about how WP&UP.org approached their name change and rebranding.
Show Sponsors ServerPress Thank you for being a preroll sponsor, ServerPress! ServerPress is the maker of DesktopServer, WPSiteSync, and so much more! Check them out at serverpress.com.
Big Orange Heart Thank you for being mid-roll sponsor! Mental health support for remote workers. It’s our charity’s mission to support and promote positive wellbeing and mental health of the remote working communities. Become part of the supportive community.
Are you looking for brand awareness? You could be a show sponsor. We think it is a good idea to let people know you’re still in business and supporting your products.
Rebranding and Renaming the Nonprofit The domain for WP&UP was registered in 2014 but began operating as a charity in the UK in 2018 providing service. They always liked the idea of moving forward and up in life (as opposed to on which can feel dismissive.
"We had always intended for WP& UP to be more. ...Given the current global crisis we saw more than a 310% increase in support with 90% less donations." Dan Maby
Rebranding in 4 Weeks Dan admitted that this shift and rebrand is 18 months ahead of schedule. Once shelter in place orders began worldwide because of COVID-19, so many people became remote workers -- overnight. This new situation became a crisis; it needed to be addressed.
"Millions of people are moving to the remote working model." Dan Maby
Dan and the Board of Trustees met twice and just knew in their hearts that this pivot's timing was now. This pivot doesn't abandon the WordPress Community; rather, it expands it.
"Our heart is very much in the WordPress Community." Dan Maby
Rebranding and Relaunching In order to pivot quickly, Dan and the volunteer team looked at several solutions. Donations, obviously were a high priority. But so is SEO, user access, and accessibility. They looked at a Gatsby or GraphQL solutions but that would delay the four week timeline.
Miriam Schwab talked about her product, Strattic, at WordCamp London in 2017. The team quickly decided this is the best solution.
To build an accessibility-first site, the team had to strip out all unnecessary items. The contrast is better. The site is visually and technically lighter. Things like bloated menus were getting in the way. As far as typography goes, less is more.
Rebranding and Donation Software Before rebranding the creation of a new site (old and new are co-existing for now), Big Orange Heart (BOH for short) was using GiveWP. BOH is now using Strattic (a static site generator for WordPress) with Payhere. Payhere is a front-end wrapper for Stripe which was previously used with GiveWP.
The site is wicked fast and simple on both mobile and desktop. (You can see their current donation form on the new site.
"Give people the right tool and they can do fantastic things." Dan Maby
The Stronger #Together fundraising campaign and corresponding podcast are an emergency fundraising tool.
Another campaign for peer-to-peer fundraising is #MayYourHeartBeOrange. This is going on throughout several Facebook Groups through the month of May. It is using Donately.
Important Lessons In Rebranding * "It's good enough" is important when rebranding. * Focus on accessibility & mobile users. * Don't do it in 4 weeks. * Put together a brand guide. * Plan how to transition site with 301s. * Know your SEO will be affected, temporarily. * Ask yourself WHY. (Is this rebrand really necessary?)
Tool or Tip of the Week This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you byCloudways. Is your website slow? Or are you looking for a reliable host for your WordPress projects?
Whether it’s an existing website or a project on your drawing board, Cloudways offers a hosting environment with all the features you need to succeed online.
Cloudways is optimized for speed and delivers outstanding performance and security, all supported by 24/7/365 support by expert cloud engineers.
It is an ideal platform for WordPress projects because of the choice of FIVE cloud providers including AWS, Google Cloud, Linode, DigitalOcean, and Linode. The best part – your managed server and WordPress websites are ready in a few minutes.
Once the app is up and running, you can add more power to your business operations, thanks to exciting features such as free SSL certificates, CloudwaysCDN, automated and on-demand app/server backups, and custom-built Teams features to onboard distributed team members.
Cloudways extends your in-house team and takes care of all server management issues, and lets you focus on building amazing websites for your online businesses.
If you like what you have heard, start with a 3-day free trial of Cloudways now!
Dan recommends Espanso for a fast text expander. It's written in RUST.
Jason recommends Teleprompter for Video.
Bridget recommends the app ShadowNet.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Okay, so we agree that it’s healthy to have a marketing budget. Now, where’s the best place to spend it? PPC? Instagram? Facebook ads? A copywriter? Ugh. So many choices.
John Locke of lockedownseo.com joins us this week to discuss how to use Google Analytics to make good marketing decisions.
Be sure to subscribe to his YouTube Channel.
Show Sponsors ServerPress Thank you for being a preroll sponsor, ServerPress! ServerPress is the maker of DesktopServer, WPSiteSync, and so much more! Check them out at serverpress.com.
Big Orange Heart Thank you for being mid-roll sponsor! Mental health support for remote workers. It’s our charity’s mission to support and promote positive wellbeing and mental health of the remote working communities. Become part of the supportive community.
Are you looking for brand awareness? You could be a show sponsor. We think it is a good idea to let people know you’re still in business and supporting your products.
7 Steps to Spend Your Marketing Budget Wisely 1. Get Familiar with Acquisition Tab in G/A 2. Set Up Goals 3. Determine Marketing Budget 4. Find Out Where Your Customers Are 5. Give Honest Effort (a Month) to Top 3 Channels 6. Measure Where Your Customers Come From 7. Determine Lead Score
Don’t Dilute Your Marketing Efforts The only way to really know if your marketing efforts are working is to pick two or three things. Then measure. Test. Measure. Test. Rinse & Repeat.
“I wouldn’t focus on too many things all at once, because you’re not going to be able to measure as effectively, and you’re going to dilute your efforts.” John Locke
No Type of Marketing Is Instant It’s important to remember that there are no first-click leads in marketing. All of your efforts combine to make the lead generation engine work.
“The marketing that you do today will produce results six months from now.” John Locke
Make sure you’re on YouTube and Yelp. These are highly-favored in Google’s SERPs. When it comes to advertising, Facebook Ads are less expensive than Google Ads. Most of the time LinkedIn ads are more expensive than Twitter. Test. Give it a month. See what works. Test another platform.
Marketing Leads by Source In order to determine the best source of your leads (and where to spend your marketing budget), it is important to measure. You can’t analyze data you don’t collect. Be sure to ask clients where they heard about you. John recommends providing 4-5 sources tops.
Hot Tip: Gravity Forms has a hidden field that will show what page the user was on when they filled out the contact form.
Things like time on page, UTM codes, and coupon or affiliate codes also give an indication of where the best leads came from.
In order to get an accurate picture, however, you may want to create a spreadsheet aggregating data from all sources. What is the lifetime value for any given customer? Where did they come from?
You may get the most leads from Twitter but where do you get the best leads?
Tool or Tip of the Week This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you byCloudways. Is your website slow? Or are you looking for a reliable host for your WordPress projects?
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- John recommends reading this article “How Much Should You Budget to Spend on Marketing in 2020?” You should spend 6-7% of revenue on marketing.
- Jason recommends Google Campaign URL Builder.
- Bridget recommends the book “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.” It’s about prioritizing your priorities, not about being apathetic.
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COVID-19 and social distancing has changed the first half of 2020 dramatically. So, how can we sell things like real estate without meeting in-person? Expert and friend of the show, Carin Arrigo joins Jason and Bridget to discuss on this thought-provoking episode.
“Don’t avoid COVID; let’s deal with it as it is.” Carin Arrigo
As people, relationships are important — maybe now more than ever. Having a quality relationship with your clients has been a part of sales since day one. This is something Carin Arrigo, a real estate professional, knows deeply.
As she writes, “YET, in the brilliant words of Galaxy Quest, ‘never give up! never surrender!’ Ok, maybe not all the time. Sometimes take a break. Breathe. Regroup. Check-in with clients and allow them to lead. Be there when THEY are ready.”
Show Sponsors ServerPress Thank you for being a preroll sponsor, ServerPress! ServerPress is the maker of DesktopServer, WPSiteSync, and so much more! Check them out at serverpress.com.
Big Orange Heart Thank you for being mid-roll sponsor! Mental health support for remote workers. It’s our charity’s mission to support and promote positive wellbeing and mental health of the remote working communities. Become part of the supportive community.
Are you looking for brand awareness? You could be a show sponsor. We think it is a good idea to let people know you’re still in business and supporting your products.
In-Person Sales Requires Awareness It’s easy to set up an eCommerce website and never interact with a person. Real estate, and most client services, requires relationships. Relationships thrive with communication, continuous check ins, and, of course, in-person meetings.
Real estate traditionally has emphasized coffee shop meetings and car pools to open houses. If you have a big client load, this can be a burden with the new restrictions. (And there is no guarantee that real estate will return to pre COVID-19 practices.
“Ask the right questions; deal with the individual.” Carin Arrigo
Carin started working full-time in real estate in 2008 (perfect timing, right?). What drew her to this career was a love for people and her own personal freedom. (Does this sound familiar? Remote work FTW)
“In real estate, you can make what you want to make. I really do take on one client at a time.” Carin Arrigo
Being self-aware allows you to choose the right career for you but being aware of other people makes you valuable. It’s totally find to make money.
“Motivation is not a bad thing. We all have talents and weaknesses.” Carin Arigo
In-Person Sales Requires Empathy Carin loves working with seniors and even the children they have left behind. Many people sell their homes to downsize or to move into assisted living. Sometimes Carin’s clients are the children whose parent has passed.
“We don’t know our client’s stories. It’s very important to listen. This is not a time to work on lead generation.” Carin Arrigo
In-Person Sales Requires Work COVID adds layers that Realtors have to deal with. Now you have to think outside of the box — literally. There may be a contingency period. Now, there are extra steps to show a home virtually than in-person. This means taking great photos, doing live or virtual tours, and helping your clients choose the right home in the beginning.
You may have to suggest a mobile notary, not be present during a home inspection or an in-person visit. Provide masks, gloves, and instructions. Wipe down commonly-touched surfaces like doorknobs with sanitizing wipes.
“Real estate professionals have to work; they actually have to put in more effort.” Carin Arrigo
Sometimes the client isn’t a match. That’s fine. Be comfortable with your own boundaries; it’s fine to turn down a client.
“Anytime I feel resentful, I listen to the resentment.” Carin Arrigo
Tool or Tip of the Week This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you by Adobe Spark Post. With Adobe Spark Post, you can generate a color palette for free in just a few minutes. The color palette picker will help you better understand color and how it can improve your brand identity. First, sift through our pre-selected list of palettes that can be personalized to your liking. You can also save your brand colors to your library for easy access and future designs. Use the eyedropper tool to find sample colors from your images and logos. Allow yourself room to play around with your palette, get creative, and feel inspired by what your design is communicating. Develop your brand aesthetic with Adobe Spark Post’s color palette.
- Carin strongly believes in continued education. Spend some time learning something new — whether it is for your career or a new hobby.
- Jason recommends Wave.video. It is a bit pricy but makes video editing easy. Super easy.
- Bridget recommends the GramSpacer App. It allows you to have actual hard returns in your instagram captions. “Best $3 I’ve spent this year.”
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Those of us who work in technology can hardly imagine working without high-speed internet. Many of us pay a premium for that service. But what about the average citizen? How are they accessing content?
Would you believe that 37% of American adults use their phones to go online? Even 25% of adults don’t pay for high-speed internet and rely upon data plans.
“Today, 37% of U.S. adults say they mostly use a smartphone when accessing the internet.” Pew Research
So, let’s have a conversation about marketing strategies that are mobile-first. We’re so happy that Wes Chyrchel is our guest to talk about this timely subject.
Show Sponsors ServerPress Thank you for being a preroll sponsor, ServerPress! ServerPress is the maker of DesktopServer, WPSiteSync, and so much more! Check them out at serverpress.com.
Are you looking for brand awareness? You could be a show sponsor. We think it is a good idea to let people know you’re still in business and supporting your products.
Mobile-First Means Asking Questions When you are designing your eCommerce site, it’s important to understand the customer’s behavior. Wes echos a lot of what Michelle Keefer said in our discussion about UX.
“People think they can do UX without research; you’re designing in a bubble.” Michelle Keefer
“Everybody has to understand who their customers are and how they shop.” Wes Chyrchel
“People are shopping on their phones first,” Wes says, then they are calling. So when they call ask them a simple question. “How Do You Use Our Site?”
Mobile-first isn’t the same as mobile responsive.
“It’s a challenge; it takes constant evaluation to see what the customer wants.” Wes Chyrchel
Mobile-First Means Simple Simple means there is one call to action. Simple means the pop-ups don’t cover the screen. Simple means using collapsable elements as Jason Tucker mentions.
You may even have iframe elements that scroll. Maps in the wrong place are some of the biggest hangups on mobile sites. Thinking mobile-first means an address that can be highlighted to open the app of the consumer’s choice is best.
Five Verbs of a Website There are five things a customer can do on a website:
- Call
- Click
- Read
- Buy
- Submit
That’s it. Each page should have one of these verbs as a goal.
Change the experience for mobile and increase your eCommerce sales. Mobile-first thinking is revenue-first thinking.
Resist The Temptation to Be Clever This isn’t the time to cram in features or be clever. Just because you can include a feature, doesn’t mean you should. Ask yourself if it helps the user DO the one goal.
“People overthink mobile. They cram features that don’t belong there. It has to be different.” Wes Chyrchel
Mobile-First Helps Sales Department Your mobile first site is a sales tool. Accept the feedback from all of the departments in you company. Spend the time asking your team what they think. Don’t dismiss feedback because the people giving it aren’t “technical;” neither are your customers.
“We get in our own way a lot.” Wes Chyrchel
Tool or Tip of the Week This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you by WP and UP. WP and UP recognizes that members of the WordPress community can potentially manifest mental health issues from a variety of pressures. The WP and UP Health Hubs are designed to provide holistic support for the individual. Check them out and donate to their cause: wpandup.org
- Wes recommends having a different mindset when designing your mobile site. In fact, at the company he works at, they design mobile and desktop separately. They are eventually merged. Do a mobile audit every two years.
- Jason recommends Kinoni which allows you to use your phone as a wireless webcam.
- Bridget recommends Kindle Create and publishing on Amazon Direct Print.
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3NuiQDaUMR06BDAlaS1D
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Let’s go back to basics for a moment. What is a landing page? Where do you build one? Also, what are the best practices for landing page to achieve your goal?
In this episode, Jen Miller of Next Door Marketer join Jason and Bridget to let us in on her industry secrets. You will not want to miss this episode.
“All of our marketing is relationship marketing.” Jen Miller
Show Sponsors ServerPress Thank you for being a preroll sponsor, ServerPress! ServerPress is the maker of DesktopServer, WPSiteSync, and so much more! Check them out at serverpress.com.
WP and UP WP and UP recognizes that members of the WordPress community can potentially manifest mental health issues from a variety of pressures. The WP and UP Health Hubs are designed to provide holistic support for the individual. Check them out and donate to their cause: wpandup.org
Are you looking for brand awareness? You could be a show sponsor. It’s up to you. Let people know you’re in business and still supporting your products.
Landing Pages are Stories Landing pages should be easy to read, informative, and help your customers learn more about you. What is the solution you have and how will you help them?
“You want to tell a story. Build from there.” Jen Miller
What is a Landing Page?
“A landing page is a page on a website or maybe even an independent page on a different platform that you direct people to, to have them sign up for a specific product, service or subscription. And a lot of times landing pages come through social media either through advertising or through a specific post that’s shared and/or they come through an email campaign or they come through you know, television, radio, postcard and that instead of a general website.” Jen Miller
Well, that was easy.
Basically any page on your website or even vanity url that has a call to action is a landing pages. Realtors often use the address as a vanity url or specific one-page website, Jen says.
One-page landing pages work very well with postcard campaigns. If you pair it with an email campaign be aware of your timing and the current world situation.
“It was a different world six months ago. There should be a little bit of room to consider everyone’s financial situation. You should spend an hour on it and ask yourself, ‘is what I’m doing appropriate?'” Jen Miller
Landing Pages Are For a Specific Audience The point of the landing page is to reach a specific audience for a specific reason. Maybe the listeners on ESPN want to hire a HR agency. That landing page should be catered to ESPN’s audience.
“You want something target to the people you’re trying to reach.” Jen Miller
So, if you’re using the landing page in a coordinated ad campaign, it is important to tailor the copy on that page to that audience. Don’t send a generic landing page to everyone. Find a format that works and then duplicate it for different audiences.
Don’t forget video, too.
“Putting video on a landing page just works.” Jen Miller
What is the Best Landing Page Tool? As with most tools in business, the best tool is the one you use consistently. But go look at landing pages you like — as a consumer. Get tips from that.
- Headline
- Text
- Video
- Text
- CTA
“There are concepts that are universal to great landing pages.” Jen Miller
Video keeps your audience on your page longer. If it is longer than a minute, consider using a transcript or time-stamped bullet points. Your video better bet amazing if you want people to watch it.
Test Your Landing Page You should test your landing page on multiple devices. This is especially important for font size, positioning, and popups.
“Look at your site as a mobile user on multiple devices.” Jen Miller
Don’t Get Lost in Analytics The more you use landing pages, the more your bounce rate will increase. This is because the landing page isn’t meant for navigation. Instead, Jen Miller suggests thinking more about your conversion rate than your bounce rate.
“If the reason why they are bouncing is because they bought a product; that is a win.” Jen Miller
Many landing pages have long-form content to keep the users on the page. They can even contain 2,500 words. But note that if your plan to drive traffic from social, use short copy. If you drive traffic from an email campaign, longer is better.
Tool or Tip of the Week This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you by Fat Dog Creatives. If you’re a service-based business serious about growth, Rhonda Negard is your rebranding and web design thinker, a strategic design specialist. Check out her website at FatDogCreatives.com
Jen recommends Marco Polo. She thinks this is an excellent zoom replacement for quick team-building and even client-facing updates. Also, she has one earbud in and one being charged at all times. Now, that’s a great tip.
Jason recommends Caption This. Record and have your captioning happen as you talk. Save it and use it for Instagram or Facebook Stories and more!
Bridget recommends the “Curio App;” listen to the articles you like at a great subscription price of $8/month.
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User design and interaction (UX/UI) isn't just a trendy thing to talk about. It affects how your website communicates to your audience. One of the things we forget, as business owners, is that we are not our own customers. We're too educated. We know our websites because we built them. In this episode, Michelle Keefer joins Bridget and Jason to discuss how UX influences your marketing strategy. Communicate, test, tweak. Rinse and Repeat!
ServerPress, makers of DesktopServer - “They make local WordPress development easy!” Check them out over at ServerPress.com
You can subscribe to WPblab by going over to wpwatercooler.com/subscribe to learn how to subscribe to this and our other shows on WPwatercooler.
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We all know that websites need words. But how you say something matters just as much (or more) than what you say. In this episode, Jason and Bridget are joined by Amber Pechin to talk about writing marketing copy with empathy.
Join us on this episode of WPblab by visiting our Participant guidelines page.
WPwatercooler network is sponsored by ServerPress makers of DesktopServer. Be sure to check them out at serverpress.com.
You Can Sponsor, Too. If you’re interested in sponsoring our shows, check out the details on our sponsor page. We offer episode by episode spoken ads, rather than large contracts. This way you have a low barrier to entry so we can help you with brand awareness. We’re democratizing podcasting.
About Amber Pechin Amber and her business partner own and operate Amplitude Media - a marketing and creative agency. She is an extrovert, a dinosaur lover, mom, trained Public Relations Professional, and writer of all things. Her core belief is that humans are amazing. You should definitely follow her on Twitter.
Her newest book is called "How to Make Friends with a T-Rex." You'll have to stalk her on Twitter to see when it is ready. She's working on "Strategic Neglect: The Art of Winning at Parenting" as well.
What is Communication?
"You've not effectively communicated if the person you're talking to doesn't understand the intent behind what you're saying or trying to communicate." Amber Pechin
The only way to effectively communicate is when you can feel with them. So this is key.
It's true that people are more sensitive these days. How do you get objective evaluation if you don't accept criticism?
"As a society at large, we've gotten really bad at hearing people say something we're doing isn't good. We think that we are always right. It's a human sociological thing. It's our own internal bias." Amber Pechin
Amber suggests you answer these three questions when approaching communication with empathy:
- Who is your audience?
- What space are they in emotionally?
- How will they receive this message?
Granted, we're not mind readers, but a lot of this can be done by thinking of things from a PR standpoint. That is, Public Relations experts are trained for communications during a crisis.
Email Marketing During a Crisis If you want to have effective communication and develop empathy, it's up to the leadership to establish a culture of pushback. Surrounding yourself with "yes men" will not help anyone -- least of all your company.
This is why an inclusive diversity is important. You can hire from every demographic, but if those people don't have a voice, your company isn't truly diverse. You're also missing "multiple valuable lenses" as Amber says.
"Diverse doesn't mean inclusive." Amber Pechin
In any kind of email marketing (or any marketing) you should think about how your story is going to help the other person.
"What does the person reading this need to know?" Amber Pechin
Most often, they don't. When in doubt, leave it out.
Recommended Resources * Morten Rand-Hendriksen: Empathy and Acceptance in Design and Community * The Diversity Bonus: How Great Teams Pay Off in the Knowledge Economy * The Wisdom of Crowds
Tool or Tip of the Week This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you by Fat Dog Creatives. If you’re a service-based business serious about growth, Rhonda Negard is your rebranding and web design thinker, a strategic design specialist. Check out her website at FatDogCreatives.com
Amber recommends two things: get an air fryer -- it will change your life. Also, she loves Do You Yoga.
Jason recommends Drawful 2 which is free for the moment.
Bridget recommends learning things that you're not naturally good at by playing games. To this end she plays Word Stacks nightly.
Bonus:
https://youtu.be/Ko9F4eFNbHY
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As much as we like to think Open Source is all about giving and not getting, it isn’t a sustainable model. Peace, Love, and WordPress are great, but we still need to eat. So how are plugins really funded? We continue this series on funding open source with Russell Aaron. He has built and maintained several plugins on his own while an employee with a company. Russ says he supports his plugins “on his own dime,” so you’ll want to watch this episode for sure.
Funding Open Source: The Series * Watch Chris Badgett tell his story of how LifterLMS was funded on this episode. * Jason Coleman gives insight into how Paid Memberships Pro was built and how it used the Open Source philosophy to grow in this episode
WPblab Sponsors ServerPress Thank you for being a preroll sponsor, ServerPress! ServerPress is the maker of DesktopServer, WPSiteSync, and so much more! serverpress.com. (It works with WooCommerce now!)
Kinsta If you are tired of unreliable or slow hosting check out Kinsta.com, who takes managed WordPress hosting to the next level. Powered by Google Cloud, all their plans include PHP 7.3, SSH access for developers, one-click staging area, 20 global data centers, free SSL, free CDN and 24×7 expert support who will also migrate your site free of charge. demo.Kinsta.com
About Russell Aaron Born and raised in Nevada, Russ is no stranger to hard work and the hustle. He started coding in MySpace “pimping out tables” for the “About Me” section. He then started learning some CSS and going to WordPress Meetups.
He worked at a mortgage company and built plugins to work with the API to display rates on the website. He ended up selling that plugin to local real estate professionals and other loan shops. He knew these people personally.
Back in the day, he was asked to help organize WordCamp Las Vegas so he put his Gravity Styles plugin on hold to work on it. Serendipity rewarded him. Ben Fox urged him to build the plugin. He said, “if you don’t build it, I will.” Pippin Williamson sat down at Russ’ laptop and a few minutes later, he had the plugin ready.
Read more about Russ on his website and say hi to him on Twitter.
Why Build Gravity Styles? When you’re creating a product it is important to solve an actual problem. He hated styling forms. So, he saw Suzette Franck made all of her forms pink. So he asked her if he could use her CSS. “Sure” she said. And Russ was off building Gravity Styles.
“I hate styling Gravity Forms.” Russell Aaron
How Long Before Gravity Styles Was Solvent? It was always solvent. Russ believes that you should only work on side projects after you feed your family and have a roof on your head.
“Please keep a roof over your head.” Russell Aaron
Do the Work Don’t be afraid to walk up and shake someone’s hand. Build relationships. Those are the most valuable tool anyone has. Also, don’t be afraid of guerrilla marketing.
“Stop talking and start sweating.” Russell Aaron
For example, he used DesktopServer, built a local version of a website that was fully operational and had content. He would go to that business (someone he knew) and say something like, “Hey. I built this for you. Would you like to have a website setup in an hour for your business?” Then he’d help them with hosting or whatever, got the cash, and moved on.
“If you don’t have the passion to do this it doesn’t matter if you’re Bruce Wayne; you’re not going to get anywhere.” Russell Aaron
Advice for Plugin Developers “They gave me hosting and I did something with it.” Russell Aaron
- Be curious.
- Be passionate.
- Have a mentor then be a mentor.
- Solve a problem with your plugin.
- Hire or ask a professional to code it.
- Be accountable.
- Do the work.
- Build relationships.
- Don’t be a taker; be a giver.
- Use the tools you have.
- Go to Meetups and Conferences.
- Make friends.
- Do all of this after you’ve paid for your food and rent.
Tool or Tip of the Week This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you by Fat Dog Creatives. If you’re a service-based business serious about growth, Rhonda Negard is your rebranding and web design thinker, a strategic design specialist. Check out her website at FatDogCreatives.com
Russ recommends getting a Chromecast. Use it to play videos from WordPress.tv while you work (keep learning), YouTube, or at social gatherings.
Jason recommends Small.Chat. Even the free account allows you to integrate a chat bot on your website to your Slack channel. Respond in real time in a way that works with your team.
Bridget recommends the DOSS SoundBox. The bass is awesome. Shows the best of Miles Davis which she is currently enjoying — especially Kind of Blue.
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As the economy naturally changes, how do we adapt? Whether it is a temporary scare, industry shift, or a documented recession, we have options during an economic decline.
Jason and Bridget are joined by Pam Aungst of PamAnnMarketing.com to discuss how to market your WordPress business during these difficult times.
“We’re still humans. We still have emotions and we still do business with people we know, like and trust. Pick up your phone and call your clients. Real human connection is the important part about life.” Pam Aungst
Our show notes only touch on highlights. As always, we encourage you to watch (or listen) to the whole episode.
WPblab Sponsors ServerPress Thank you for being a preroll sponsor, ServerPress! ServerPress is the maker of DesktopServer, WPSiteSync, and so much more! https://www.serverpress.com. (It works with WooCommerce now!)
Kinsta If you are tired of unreliable or slow hosting check out Kinsta.com, who takes managed WordPress hosting to the next level. Powered by Google Cloud, all their plans include PHP 7.3, SSH access for developers, one-click staging area, 20 global data centers, free SSL, free CDN and 24×7 expert support who will also migrate your site free of charge. Kinsta.com
About Pam Aungst Pam Aungst is no stranger to innovating marketing and business strategies. Not only does she have a natural intuition toward strategy and marketing, but she has an MBA, too.
Throughout her career, Pam has been able to pivot companies during economic declines. She has done this for industrial products and even niching down in the SEO and PPC field.
Her agency, Pam Ann Marketing, and it’s white label sister company, Stealth Search and Analytics, have just turned seven years old and she’s released a new plugin: Crosscheck SEO – “Search Engine Visibility & Robots.txt Monitoring & Email Alerts Plugin for WordPress.”
Be sure to follow Pam on Twitter.
Empathy in an Economic Decline The most important driving force to cope with an economic decline is empathy. In many ways our businesses are interlinked and codependent. (Not codependent in a toxic way but a symbiotic way. Think algae and fungus. We can learn a lot from nature’s systems.)
“The symbiotic relationship between algae and fungus creates lichen. The algae make energy through the process of photosynthesis and the fungus provides protection from the elements to the algae. Without the protection of fungus the algae would die and without the life giving energy produced by algae the fungus would die. It is a true partnership!” Curtis Carman
Remember, in any time, it is easier to keep an existing client base than gain new ones. Ask your clients what they need and don’t be afraid to loosen up a bit. Generally Pam doesn’t change her hourly rate or contract terms, but right now she believes serving her clients where they are today is more important.
“I don’t have an exact plan and I refuse to have an exact plan. We have to ride this wave.” Pam Aungst
The best way to demonstrate empathy is to get ahead of the situation.
“Be as empathetic as possible. [My clients] are all asking to pause; I’m not enforcing my contract.” Pam Aungst
A recession or economic decline tends to move people toward the do-it-yourself model. But your relationships with your clients should still be maintained through helpful communication.
“Figure out how to help the client [and] maintain the relationship.” Pam Aungst
Pivoting in an Economic Decline When Pam was in charge of the her department and the company hit an economic decline, they made the decision to strategically pivot. She’s proud that they grew 30% year over year in that recession. This comes from being creative and self-aware.
“What other skills do you have or could you develop to help your clients?” Pam Aungst
Pam likes the “gun to your head” thought experiment. Imagine you’re forced fo choose a career. What’s the first thing that you think of? Now, take that and see what elements of those you can introduce.
If the first thing you said was “teach.” Then develop some online courses.
As an aside, Chris Badgett has been advocating this forever but especially now.
“If you inventory your skills, life experience & passions, (and overlap that with what the world needs right now) what could you make a free or paid online course about?” Chris Badgett
If you were hosting events, do them virtually. If you were going to speak at a conference, offer free consulting.
Email Marketing in an Economic Decline Bridget recommends against ambulance chasing. This applies to your email marketing. Jason mentioned we don’t need emails from companies who are electronic-only. The “cloud” is safe from COVID-19. Don’t be part of the noise when an emergency hits. Be part of the solution.
“Before you send any email, think about what’s in it for them.” Pam Aungst
Instead, why not reach out via text, phone, or email with this simple line, suggests Pam:
“I’m thinking about you.”
Those four words make a huge impact. We’re all businesses. Truly, we are all affected together, but we choose to be in it together.
Tool or Tip of the Week This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you by Fat Dog Creatives. If you’re a service-based business serious about growth, Rhonda Negard is your rebranding and web design thinker, a strategic design specialist. Check out her website at FatDogCreatives.com
Pam recommends the following:
- Relax.
- Mental health really matters now more than ever.
- Take care of yourself.
- Do you.
Jason recommends Unichar. Sometimes you need those trademark and copyright symbols.
Bridget recommends the Smule. You can still do karaoke and meet new people.
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We’ve all heard, “free as in beer,” but what does it even mean? You know you have a valuable solution, product, or service, but how should it be priced? What is your product business model? Is it all free, freemium, or premium only? Do you finance with the equity in your home, an SBA loan, or exposure?
Business models are Jason Coleman‘s favorite topic. We are lucky enough to be joined by him for 45 minutes on this episode. Remember, the last 15 are the Tool or Tip of the Week.
Don’t miss this episode if you want to continue the conversation on what really funds open source. (Hint: it’s not open source fairies.) There were so many quotables, you just have to watch!
WPwatercooler Sponsors ServerPress Thank you for being a preroll sponsor, ServerPress! ServerPress is the maker of DesktopServer, WPSiteSync, and so much more! https://www.serverpress.com. (It works with WooCommerce now!)
Beaver Builder The best drag and drop page builder. $99 for unlimited sites. Try today. Used by Over 1M Sites. Professional Designs. 100% Responsive Templates. Theme Compatible. Highly Customizable. Content Page Templates. Live, Front End Editing. Web Developer Friendly. https://www.beaverbuilder.com
Kinsta If you are tired of unreliable or slow hosting check out Kinsta.com, who takes managed WordPress hosting to the next level. Powered by Google Cloud, all their plans include PHP 7.3, SSH access for developers, one-click staging area, 20 global data centers, free SSL, free CDN and 24×7 expert support who will also migrate your site free of charge. https://demo.kinsta.com
Jason Coleman – Entrepreneur, Husband, Author Jason and Kim Coleman were high school sweethearts and formed their businesses together. Currently, Jason is the CEO of Stranger Studios and Paid Memberships Pro. He’s also a published author. They both have college degrees and knew that business building was their path. You can read Jason’s blog here.
(Side note: Jessalyn interviewed Kim Coleman at WCUS in 2017.)
Jason Coleman worked in the 2.0 app area and built quite a bit of proprietary software. Soon after he found WordPress. He had an eCommerce plugin that he didn’t license under GPL and saw that as a missed opportunity. Around 2011, 2012 Jason niched in the membership website market. Because the work was repeatable, he started charging more.
“Don’t combat the big guys in the space they’re winning.” Jason Coleman
So many of us in WordPress are accidental freelancers or hobbyists or employees. Jason’s passion is not only to help his local community, but to help WordPress developers set themselves up for success at Day 1. Be on the lookout for his presentation at WordCamp Orlando in 2019 on WordPress.tv. (His slides and spreadsheet resources are here.)
What are the WordPress Product Business Models? It feels like there are many business models. But with WordPress products you have three: premium, freemium, and free. You can also have a free product and charge only for support. That’s the way PMP went for quite a while. But it’s important to set goals. Make sure your goals are achievable and realistic.
Premium-only plugins don’t have the competitive advantage of being listed in the WordPress Plugin Directory. This was the opening in the market that Jason Coleman saw as a huge opportunity. There were many premium plugins for membership, but none in the free/freemium space.
Currently, PMP has a freemium model. Check it out in the directory; don’t forget to check out their add-ons, too.
Supporting Open Source with Agency Work Much like the story of LifterLMS, PMP was subsidized and supported by agency work. You have to plan in order for your WordPress product to become self-sustaining. That plan must include profit. Make projections with a percentage and stick to it. He believes 30% profit is reasonable.
Freelancers have an advantage. When doing client work, WordPress developers are used to building something and standing by it. Not many people stand by something they have built. It’s the pride in craftsmanship that is an advantage.
“A lot of freelancers move into products because they have the skill to [support something they built].” Jason Coleman
How Long Before PMP Was Profitable? Like most businesses, Paid Memberships Pro was self-sufficient and in the black by year three (2015). They reached a point where their forecasts (huge fans of spreadsheets) required they dive in to PMP 100%. To do this they paused their agency work for three months.
When Should You Raise Your Prices? Using your goals, decide when it makes sense. This is one of the reasons why Jason Coleman loves spreadsheets so much. You can tweak prices to see when you meet revenue and growth goals. Don’t worry about the people who will be upset. They will always be upset.
“There will be backlash no matter what you charge.” Jason Coleman
Instead of focusing on current customers in your projections, focus on the future customer. Mature businesses worry about churn, where most startups need to focus on future customers. Don’t forget about your current customers. Be sure to grandfather in their pricing. Loyalty, after all, is very important.
Tool or Tip of the Week This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you by Fat Dog Creatives. If you’re a service-based business serious about growth, Rhonda Negard is your rebranding and web design thinker, a strategic design specialist. Check out her website at FatDogCreatives.com
Jason Coleman recommends the distributor plugin by 10up. This allows you to syndicate content to one central site. This is good for people who publish all over the place.
Jason Tucker recommends the Peak-a-View app. This tool allows you to safely hand your phone to a kid or client and allow them to only view one album. There was a big write up on it at 9to5mac.com.
Bridget recommends Sarah Beth Yoga on YouTube. It’s organized by focus (bedtime yoga, morning yoga), type, and by minutes (10 minute, 15 minute, etc.). Bridget is finally doing 20 minute yoga.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We often hear people say that seniors will only use a telephone to contact others. Give us a break. Firstly, we all know that our grandparents 70+ are on Facebook, Genealogy.com, and ordering from Alexa.
So, how do we market to seniors without treating them like second-class citizens? We are honored to be joined by Canadian expat Warren Laine-Naida. He now teaches digital literacy to seniors.
As he says on his site,
“People have always used technology to solve problems – older people should not be excluded. Seniors also want to have a say, participate. Active participation in society should be possible for everyone. Media literacy or digital literacy is a prerequisite for this.”
Let’s dig in and have a real conversation. Let’s be serious here, Bridget can join AARP in 8 years! (Jason is a bit younger.) Well, first we have to thank our sponsors.
WPblab Sponsors ServerPress Thank you for being a preroll sponsor, ServerPress! ServerPress is the maker of DesktopServer, WPSiteSync, and so much more! https://www.serverpress.com. (It works with WooCommerce now!)
Kinsta If you are tired of unreliable or slow hosting check out Kinsta.com, who takes managed WordPress hosting to the next level. Powered by Google Cloud, all their plans include PHP 7.3, SSH access for developers, one-click staging area, 20 global data centers, free SSL, free CDN and 24×7 expert support who will also migrate your site free of charge. Kinsta.com
About Warren Laine-Naida Trained as a pastry chef, Warren is not only a fan of chocolate, he is an artist who specialized in chocolate sculptures. Because of his book, he taught himself to build a website chocolatecheese.de in 1999.
He now not only builds websites, but he is passionate about teaching children and seniors digital literacy. Follow Warren on Twitter; he has a wide range of interests.
Tech as a Second Career Many people come to tech as a way to pivot their careers. Warren did the same.
“Tech is a very accessible career because a lot of us move on because of physical issues… it’s only bordered by your creativity.” Warren Laine-Naida
Since 2016, we’ve been seeing a lot of people enter the WordPress community who have a depth of career and life experience. Wanting to leave the day job, they come to WordCamps and Meetups to learn how to switch to a career in tech. The freedom from this kind of life is appealing to every generation.
“With web you don’t enter and go up the ladder; it’s fluid.” Warren Laine-Naida
Who Is A Senior? Seniors range from 55 years old for restaurant discounts all the way to 65-72 for retirement. Some of Warren’s students are even in their eighties.
What is Digital Literacy Digital literacy is the ability to use smart devices, computers, and internet of things in order to accomplish your goals.
An important thing to note is that being tech savvy isn’t related to age. In fact, warren says the demographic that best determines digital literacy is money.
“It’s a question of disposable income. It isn’t about ability; the digital divide is based upon pure economics” Warren Laine-Naida
Tech Is a Tool Ultimately, tech is and always has been a tool to accomplish a task. And yet, because of the disposable income issue, it’s become more of an accessory.
“We’ve moved away from them as tools; they’re accessories. It’s transcended its purposes — phone, website, everything.” Warren Laine-Naida
What About Accessibility? Revealing our own bias (mine: Bridget), we thought Warren would talk accessibility. We should have a good color contrast and bigger fonts. I sort of expected a talk like Cemal Tashan gave at WordCamp Los Angeles. We were a bit surprised.
“If you don’t have access to high speed internet, then the size of the font is moot.” Warren Laine-Naida
Insert Mic Drop.
Sure. Seniors are more likely to be on a fixed income — especially given the fact that we live longer. So, sometimes they have to choose between paying for utilities or internet. Kind of makes you think, doesn’t it?
A Note About Generations Jason and Bridget are part of GenX. Jason brought up some excellent points about how the Baby Boomers and Millenials have similar goals and aspirations. It would be nice to see some mutual respect toward one another. (Okay, lecture’s over.)
Tool or Tip of the Week This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you by Fat Dog Creatives. If you’re a service-based business serious about growth, Rhonda Negard is your rebranding and web design thinker, a strategic design specialist. Check out her website at FatDogCreatives.com
Warren recommends The Innovators by Walter Isaacon. Learn why innovation is important.
Jason recommends Momentum Plus. Integrate it with Google Tasks to make task management easy across devices.
Bridget recommends the Coral App. Understand your arousal style and learn about yourself.
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How do you direct your clients to the product you really want to sell? How do you show the value of your services? Can you really get volume with a loss leader? These are all questions we ask ourselves. This week, Jason and Bridget are joined by marketing expert Nathan Allotey. We will discuss the psychology surrounding pricing. This is an episode you’ll want to bookmark and rewatch!
WPblab Sponsors ServerPress Thank you for being a preroll sponsor, ServerPress! ServerPress is the maker of DesktopServer, WPSiteSync, and so much more!
Beaver Builder The best drag and drop page builder. $99 for unlimited sites. Try today. Used by Over 1M Sites. Professional Designs. 100% Responsive Templates. Theme Compatible. Highly Customizable. Content Page Templates. Live, Front End Editing. Web Developer Friendly.
Kinsta If you are you tired of unreliable or slow hosting check out Kinsta.com, who takes managed WordPress hosting to the next level. Powered by Google Cloud, all their plans include PHP 7.3, SSH access for developers, one-click staging area, 20 global data centers, free SSL, free CDN and 24×7 expert support who will also migrate your site free of charge.
You Can Sponsor WPblab, Too. If you’re interested in sponsoring our shows, check out the details on our sponsor page. We offer episode by episode spoken ads, rather than large contracts. This way you have a low barrier to entry so we can help you with brand awareness. We’re democratizing podcasting.
A Little Bit About Nathan Allotey Nathan has been working with digital clients for ten years, has a graduate degree, and teaches people through his podcast and blog at nathanallotey.com. His podcast “Freelance Jumpstart,” can be heard anywhere you hear podcasts. If this episode makes you want to know more about pricing your services, check out more of his videos in this playlist on his site.
You Can’t Avoid Failure Reading books and listening to podcasts is good. Most people educate themselves to avoid failure. Rather, learn from failure. One thing developers understand is iteration. Test the market. Raise your prices.
“They do all these things ’cause they’re trying to avoid failure.” Nathan Allotey
“You will fail; learn from that failure and adapt.” Nathan Allotey
Know Your Cost Nathan believes that you should be making 30% profit. In order to do that, establish your base. Figure out your overhead costs that also include hosting and any plugin licenses or SaaS fees.
Remember that hourly pricing should be internal.
Know Your Worth Your pricing should reflect the years of education and hours of training that you’ve spent getting to the level of expertise you’re at.
“Definitely know your worth.” Nathan Allotey
Knowing — deeply understanding — your worth causes you to instinctually protect your time. This affects the scope of work and how a client treats you.
Don’t be afraid to stick to two revision cycles, for example. People get what they pay for. If a potential client says another agency will build the website for $5,000 less, then let them. Otherwise, that is being used as leverage to bully you. It’s manipulation.
Know Your Clients Clients like to feel empowered. Instead of presenting one proposal that ends in a yes/no answer, present options.
Price anchoring allows the customer to choose an option rather than say no. This educates them and empowers them to understand your value.
“Instead of agonizing over the decision, why not present options to the client and let them choose?” Nathan Allotey
Presenting options gives your clients to understand a range of what they should pay. They have a choice.
How Much Should A Website Cost? What value is the website going to bring to your customer? You may want to ask the client that question and use value-based pricing instead.
“How much are my websites worth rather than what a website costs.” Nathan Allotey
What should I charge? Do some research. Scope out a project and ask agencies for a bid.
“Pricing is not a decision; it’s a strategy.” Nathan Allotey
Anchoring Establishes Value If you do choose to use a loss leader in your anchoring it is important to think long term, Nathan advises.
“Tend to think long term, rather than short term when it comes to loss leaders.” Nathan Allotey
What’s Really Valuable? The most valuable thing in your business is you. Allow that value to permeate through and influence your actions, attitudes, and perceptions.
“Remember that you are valuable.” Nathan Allotey
Tool or Tip of the Week This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you by Fat Dog Creatives. If you’re a service-based business serious about growth, Rhonda Negard is your rebranding and web design thinker, a strategic design specialist. Check out her website at FatDogCreatives.com
- Nathan recommends a book called “The Win Without Pitching Manifesto.” It’s helpful for those who are shy about sales pitches to get more comfortable with your service offerings and value.
- Jason recommends Momentum, a browser extension that helps you be your most productive self. Plus, it’s beautiful. Bridget added it to her Chrome right after the show.
- Bridget recommends Voice Memos. If you’re using a tool like Headliner and want to post audio to your Instagram, for example, you need a .wav or .mp3. This tool is free and just works.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
With all of the automation, we are able (and love to do), we sometimes forget the human touch with our customers and clients. It’s annoying to us to talk on the phone, but what if it makes a difference to them? A Twitter conversation lead to Amber Pechin pitching an amazing topic that is the best 45 minutes of radio.
Well, maybe not the best. But, it is a great episode.
“I want to talk about Aliens, dinosaurs, and animals with jobs at WordPress agencies. Why you should do everything (live, work, run a business, network) as a human. It’s just a lot more fun that way.” Amber Pechin
WPblab Sponsors ServerPress Thank you for being a preroll sponsor, ServerPress! ServerPress is the maker of DesktopServer, WPSiteSync, and so much more!
Beaver Builder The best drag and drop page builder. $99 for unlimited sites. Try today. Used by Over 1M Sites. Professional Designs. 100% Responsive Templates. Theme Compatible. Highly Customizable. Content Page Templates. Live, Front End Editing. Web Developer Friendly.
VendorFuel VendorFuel is a next-generation shopping cart plugin that will ignite your eCommerce. Built using AngularJS VendorFuel lets you keep your customers on your website for the entire checkout experience. Start a 90 day free trial now and Ignite Your eCommerce.
Kinsta If you are you tired of unreliable or slow hosting check out Kinsta.com, who takes managed WordPress hosting to the next level. Powered by Google Cloud, all their plans include PHP 7.3, SSH access for developers, one-click staging area, 20 global data centers, free SSL, free CDN and 24×7 expert support who will also migrate your site free of charge.
You Can Sponsor WPblab, Too. If you’re interested in sponsoring our shows, check out the details on our sponsor page. We offer episode by episode spoken ads, rather than large contracts. This way you have a low barrier to entry so we can help you with brand awareness. We’re democratizing podcasting.
Networking for Introverts Everyone needs to know people and network. Sometimes we view networking like a dirty word that makes us feel gross. But it is important for everyone because humans are important.
“I like humans; they’re delicious.” Amber Pechin
When it comes to social events be it a Chamber meeting, WordPress Meetup, or even a wedding, we all typically go for the obvious questions.
“What do you do for a living?”
Instead of asking about the details of someone’s resume, Amber likes to shake up the game. (She does this in dating apps, too, by the way).
So, Amber asks, “What’s your favorite dinosaur?” Asking people what their favorite dinosaur is shakes us out of our norm. We turn in to five year olds, she says. Inspiring curiosity and wonder in a conversation builds relationships.
“It’s my job as an extrovert to make friends for introverts.” Amber Pechin
It’s Okay If Everyone Doesn’t Like You Bridget asked Amber if that dinosaur question ever had adverse reactions. She said she understands her personality is like cilantro: you like it or you don’t. That’s okay.
“Be okay that someone might not find you funny.” Amber Pechin
The main point of networking is to find this out. Your in-person events might help you find clients to refer to peers. That’s also valuable. Build connections. Ensure your website, as your digital storefront, shows your personality. Be you.
Bonus PR Tips Before Amber started Amplitude Media with her business partner, she was in public relations. She has a lot of great tips for businesses who are looking to reach out to the press.
The official press release is good to make, but the pitch should be the story. What is the problem and how is your announcement solving that problem for the publisher’s audience?
- “When you do PR right, you are humanizing it.” Amber Pechin
- “As a PR person, I think the press release is dead.” Amber Pechin
- “Picking up the phone shapes the story.” Amber Pechin
Tool or Tip of the Week This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you by VendorFuel. VendorFuel is a next-generation shopping cart plugin that will ignite your eCommerce. Built using AngularJS VendorFuel lets you keep your customers on your website for the entire checkout experience. Start a 90-day free trial now and Ignite Your eCommerce at VendorFuel.com!
Amber recommends Termageddon, a SaaS privacy service. Their prices are super low. Crazy low. She also recommends reading The Diversity Bonus.
Jason recommends InShot, a photo editing app. It’s available in the Apple Store and Google Play.
Bridget recommends the The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Military strategy can be applied to business and marketing.
So, What’s Your Favorite Dinosaur? Amber likes the Gigantoraptor. “Clearly it’s the dinosaur having the best time.”
Jason likes the Triceratops.
via GIPHY
Bridget thinks the Tyrannosaurus Rex is funny and terrifying at the same time. Thanks, Jurassic Park.
via GIPHY
We’d love to hear from you.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Everyone wants to start a podcast. But do you have the audience to sustain one? Unlikely. Besides, you don’t even know if you like podcasting yet.
Instead, why not be a guest on podcasts? In this episode, Jason and Bridget are joined by Warren Whitlock to get insight on how to market yourself by being a guest.
Take a listen. Let us know your thoughts.
Preroll Sponsor Thank you for being a preroll sponsor, ServerPress! ServerPress is the maker of DesktopServer, WPSiteSync, and so much more!
WPblab Sponsors VendorFuel VendorFuel is a next-generation shopping cart plugin that will ignite your eCommerce. Built using AngularJS VendorFuel lets you keep your customers on your website for the entire checkout experience. Start a 90 day free trial now and Ignite Your eCommerce at https://VendorFuel.com
Kinsta If you are you tired of unreliable or slow hosting check out Kinsta.com, who takes managed WordPress hosting to the next level. Powered by Google Cloud, all their plans include PHP 7.3, SSH access for developers, one-click staging area, 20 global data centers, free SSL, free CDN and 24×7 expert support who will also migrate your site free of charge.” https://Kinsta.com
Sponsor our show If you’re interested in sponsoring our shows, check out the details on our sponsor page. We offer episode by episode spoken ads, rather than large contracts. A show by you for you.
A Bit About Warren Whitlock Warren has a diverse broadcasting background from the radio days (we’re still in radio days) as well as having his own podcast: Distributed Conversations. More than anything he is a futurist — always intrigued about the newest technology whether it was video, Twitter, WordPress, or block chain — his current passion.
The golden thread in Warren’s career is content production. He’s produced and created content since 1969. Though the recording and distribution technology evolves, the principles do not.
“I open my mouth and it turns into content.” Warren Whitlock
Why Should You Be a Podcast Guest? Podcasting is a great way to give back. Warren paraphrases the Zig Ziglar principle that in order to get anything out of life, you must give first.
“You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.” Zig Ziglar
At the end of the day, podcast hosts are much like television producers: they have time to fill but it needs to benefit their advertisers.
Not only is giving a good way to elevate your brand awareness for your company and yourself, it’s a healthy part of any SEO strategy.
Tips For Choosing a Podcast 1. Ensure the podcast is sharable. Meaning, how will it look if you share your episode with your following. There should be more than two episodes. 2. Ensure the podcast enables and encourages commenting. Comments are important for follow-up conversations after the podcast is over and so people can find you — the guest — later. 3. If the podcast doesn’t feel authentic, it won’t do anything for your own brand awareness. 4. Podcasts are about connection. If you don’t feel the connection, it’s not a good fit. (This is why it is important to listen to a podcast before you agree to come on.) 5. Find a podcast you love and become it’s biggest fan. This will get the attention of the producers so they are more likely to invite you as a guest.
Tool or Tip of the Week This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you by VendorFuel.
VendorFuel is a next-generation shopping cart plugin that will ignite your eCommerce. Built using AngularJS VendorFuel lets you keep your customers on your website for the entire checkout experience. Start a 90-day free trial now and Ignite Your eCommerce at VendorFuel.com!
Warren recommends riding Uber Pool. It’s a great way to meet new people. You might have fun, too!
Jason recommends Shift. It’s a great way to manage all of those pesky email addresses.
Bridget recommends watching Netflix’s series: Abstract. Look at things around you. Get context for your life and your art.
Do you have any tools or tips we should know about? We’d love to hear from you. What are your experiences with this subject?
Tell us in the comments below.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
As much as we like to think Open Source is all about giving and not getting, it isn’t a sustainable model. Peace, Love, and WordPress are great, but we still need to eat.
So how are plugins really funded? In this episode, Jason and Bridget will be joined by Chris Badgett who will tell us how he used agency work to fund his plugin’s development: LifterLMS.
Take a listen. Let us know your thoughts.
Preroll Sponsor Thank you for being a preroll sponsor, ServerPress! ServerPress is the maker of DesktopServer, WPSiteSync, and so much more!
WPblab Sponsors VendorFuel VendorFuel is a next-generation shopping cart plugin that will ignite your eCommerce. Built using AngularJS VendorFuel lets you keep your customers on your website for the entire checkout experience. Start a 90 day free trial now and Ignite Your eCommerce at https://VendorFuel.com
Kinsta If you are you tired of unreliable or slow hosting check out Kinsta.com, who takes managed WordPress hosting to the next level. Powered by Google Cloud, all their plans include PHP 7.3, SSH access for developers, one-click staging area, 20 global data centers, free SSL, free CDN and 24×7 expert support who will also migrate your site free of charge.” https://Kinsta.com
Sponsor our show If you’re interested in sponsoring our shows, check out the details on our sponsor page. We offer episode by episode spoken ads, rather than large contracts. A show by you for you.
Nonprofit ShoutOut: WP&UP Chris wore the Matt Report hat that also supports WPandUP, a nonprofit helping individuals with mental health in the WordPress space. They can use your help.
A Bit of Background On Chris Badgett and LifterLMS He started as a dog musher in Alaska. When he decided to do freelance work, he charged $300 for his first WordPress website. He’s experienced every part of the WordPress journey — from pricing to roles.
Eventually, he merged his company with codeBox and his passion for learning with Thomas Patrick Levy’s coding skills lead to the intentional creation of their own LMS product, which didn’t exist in WordPress’ plugin directory at the time.
He tells his story in-depth in the Work From the Inside Out podcast.
They used their high-end projects to fund the development of LifterLMS which took two years to break even and three years before no longer “having difficult conversations with their wives,” as Chris put it.
Product Launch The MVP version of the free LifterLMS was built in 90 days. codeBox always intended to move away from agency work but specialized in high-end clients and course creators. It was a natural, yet intentional shift. Five years later, codeBox no longer provides agency work.
“It’s a process; not an event. I see a product launch as the starting point not the finish line.” Chris Badgett
How Long Does It Take to Become Solvent? It realistically takes two to three years. This is on part for most businesses. Be ready to make hard choices.
Focus on customer financing with early adopter discounts. LifterLMS had no other source of funding, private or venture capital, other than customer financing and agency work. They were quite literally bootstrapped.
Chris, as an avid survivalist and minimalist, made hard choices to live far below his means. That was a decision he and his wife made to help the business. It’s also a lifestyle they still believe in.
Balancing Client Work and Product Development Pricing correctly matters. There are only so many billable hours in the day. If a client site has an issue, that is a priority over development time. Most bootstrapped businesses in Open Source don’t have the funds in order to sustain a separate development team.
“Client work always cannibalizes the product.” Chris Badgett
Be realistic in your goals and time allotment. Don’t get discouraged.
Why Not Copy An Existing Product? Sure, you can fork another project. GiveWP was forked from EDD as founder Devin Walker talks about often. Chris’ philosophy, however, comes from his background of understanding people. (He majored in anthropology.)
“We believe the best products are built out of the voice of the customer.” Chris Badgett
Together Is Better It’s good to partner with other companies to integrate your plugin solutions. Having a powerful REST API helps ensure your product can be extended — even as a mobile app.
“Don’t do it alone.” Chris Badgett
“If you actively support other plugin shops, you build and deliver more value than you would by yourself.” Chris Badgett
Advice for Year One * “You gotta get uncomfortable. It’s extremely uncomfortable.” Chris Badgett * “Do it with real people.” Chris Badgett * “Prepare for the long haul.” Chris Badgett
Tool or Tip of the Week This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you by VendorFuel. VendorFuel is a next-generation shopping cart plugin that will ignite your eCommerce. Built using AngularJS VendorFuel lets you keep your customers on your website for the entire checkout experience. Start a 90-day free trial now and Ignite Your eCommerce at VendorFuel.com!
Chris recommends Vito Peleg’s WPFeeback and the community he is building there.
Jason recommends DoubleTake by FiLMiC Pro.
Bridget recommends the Kindle App. Did you know Amazon Prime members have access to books even audible ones?
Do you have any tools or tips we should know about? We’d love to hear from you. What are your experiences with this subject?
Tell us in the comments below.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Sometimes marketing your business means reaching out to the community around you or industry leaders. Writing biographical profiles helps your business as well as theirs. So, how can you do this well? In this episode, Jason and Bridget are joined by Allison Smith, who frequently interviews subjects. Let’s dig in and answer your questions in the live chat.
Join us on this episode of WPblab by visiting our Participant guidelines page.
WPwatercooler network is sponsored by:
ServerPress makers of DesktopServer. Be sure to check them out at https://www.serverpress.com.
VendorFuel – VendorFuel is a next-generation shopping cart plugin that will ignite your eCommerce. Built using AngularJS VendorFuel lets you keep your customers on your website for the entire checkout experience. Start a 90 day free trial now and Ignite Your eCommerce at VendorFuel.com
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Almost as old as the chicken and egg question is the question of whether to brand yourself as a company or use your name. Should you stay a private person or should you capitalize on your personality? And if you do market yourself, how to you maintain a private life?
Can you ever go back from being a public person? Will clients trust you if you're not an agency? Which is right for you?
In this episode, Jason and Bridget discuss the pros and cons while getting input from live attendees in the chat.
Network Sponsor Thank you for sponsoring the WPwatercooler Network, ServerPress. ServerPress is the maker of DesktopServer, WPSiteSync, and so much more!
WPblab Sponsors VendorFuel VendorFuel is a next-generation shopping cart plugin that will ignite your eCommerce. Built using AngularJS VendorFuel lets you keep your customers on your website for the entire checkout experience. Start a 90 day free trial now and Ignite Your eCommerce at https://VendorFuel.com
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Thanks, Sponsors!
The WPwatercooler network is sponsored by ServerPress makers of DesktopServer. Be sure to check them out at https://serverpress.com as well as VendorFuel at https://vendorfuel.com
If you’re interested in sponsoring the 40-minute mark of this show, check out the details on our sponsor page. We offer episode by episode spoken ads, rather than large contracts. A show by you for you.
https://www.wpwatercooler.com/sponsors
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Is it time to re-evaluate your product and service pricing? Jason and Bridget are joined by eCommerce expert Wes Chyrchel
Join us on this episode of WPblab by visiting our Participant guidelines page.
WPwatercooler network is sponsored by ServerPress makers of DesktopServer. Be sure to check them out at https://www.serverpress.com as well as Kinsta over at https://www.kinsta.com and Vendor Fuel https://www.vendorfuel.com
Kinsta - If you are you tired of unreliable or slow hosting check out Kinsta.com, who takes managed WordPress hosting to the next level. Powered by Google Cloud, all their plans include PHP 7.3, SSH access for developers, one-click staging area, 20 global data centers, free SSL, free CDN and 24×7 expert support who will also migrate your site free of charge. Kinsta.com
VendorFuel is a next-generation shopping cart plugin that will ignite your eCommerce. Built using AngularJS VendorFuel lets you keep your customers on your website for the entire checkout experience. Start a 90-day free trial now and Ignite Your eCommerce at VendorFuel.com!
If you’re interested in sponsoring the show, check out the details on our sponsor page. We offer episode by episode spoken ads, rather than large contracts. A show by you for you.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
This episode Jason and Bridget are joined by Tevya Washburn from Starfish Reviews. We discuss everything you always wanted to know about review marketing but were afraid to ask.
Join us on a future episode of WPblab by visiting our Participant guidelines page.
https://www.wpwatercooler.com/participant-guidelines/
WPwatercooler network is sponsored by:
- ServerPress makers of DesktopServer – https://www.serverpress.com
WPblab is sponsored by:
- VendorFuel – VendorFuel is a next-generation shopping cart plugin that will ignite your eCommerce. Built using AngularJS VendorFuel lets you keep your customers on your website for the entire checkout experience. Start a 90 day free trial now and Ignite Your eCommerce at https://VendorFuel.com
- Kinsta – If you are you tired of unreliable or slow hosting check out Kinsta.com, who takes managed WordPress hosting to the next level. Powered by Google Cloud, all their plans include PHP 7.3, SSH access for developers, one-click staging area, 20 global data centers, free SSL, free CDN and 24×7 expert support who will also migrate your site free of charge.” https://Kinsta.com
If you’re interested in sponsoring our shows, check out the details on our sponsor page. We offer episode by episode spoken ads, rather than large contracts. A show by you for you. https://www.wpwatercooler.com/sponsor
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In this episode of WPblab, Jason and Bridget talk about the ways you can level up your biz dev. It's great if you build websites and plugins. But how does anyone know? How do you build a referral network? How do you keep top-of-mind with your connections? Tune in to find out.
Bridget's Content Planner Worksheet
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In this episode, Jason is joined by David Margowsky from Pixel Jar. They will discuss why you should monetize your websites with ads and the best way to sell.
Join us on this episode of WPblab by visiting our Participant guidelines page.
Wanna sponsor our shows? WPwatercooler network is sponsored by ServerPress makers of DesktopServer. Be sure to check them out at https://www.serverpress.com as well as Kinsta over at https://www.kinsta.com
If you’re interested in sponsoring the show, check out the details on our sponsor page. We offer episode by episode spoken ads, rather than large contracts. A show by you for you.
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This week on WPblab, Bridget and Jason are going to talk about the tools, tips, and tricks every WordCamp speaker needs to know. You can't always rely upon the tech at a venue -- especially if you plan to repurpose that content later.
If you’re interested in sponsoring the 40-minute mark of this show, check out the details on our sponsor page. We offer episode by episode spoken ads, rather than large contracts. A show by you for you.
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Asking for reviews is tough. Giving one-star reviews in WordPress has become a joke. So how do you get reviews that actually help your business? In this episode, Bridget and Jason chat with Chris Badgett of LifterLMS. You won't want to miss this one.
The WPwatercooler network is sponsored by ServerPress makers of DesktopServer. Be sure to check them out at https://serverpress.com as well as Kinsta at https://kinsta.com
If you’re interested in sponsoring the 40-minute mark of this show, check out the details on our sponsor page. We offer episode by episode spoken ads, rather than large contracts. A show by you for you.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
On this episode, Jason and Bridget talk with Amy Hall on how to build up your mailing list and how to keep your email marketing audience interested.
The WPwatercooler network is sponsored by ServerPress makers of DesktopServer. Be sure to check them out at https://serverpress.com as well as VendorFuel at https://vendorfuel.com
If you’re interested in sponsoring the 40-minute mark of this show, check out the details on our sponsor page. We offer episode by episode spoken ads, rather than large contracts. A show by you for you.
"To anybody watching, stop emailing people that don't want an email from you just so you can say your list is big." Bridget
"Website for show; email for dough." AmyHall.Biz
What am I selling? Everything is a sale. No matter what, it's a sale. You're selling attention and time.
"Even if you're not exchanging money, you want their time." Amy Hall
They might not click the button on the email, but it is the system that will feed the purchase, says Amy. They are the moneymaker. They'll see you on social and then go look for the email. Then they will purchase.
How do you get people to subscribe? It really has nothing to do with the email provider you choose. It matters more about your website and the emails you're sending.
How do you know if you're emailing too much? You email too often when you get a bunch of unsubscribes. Everyone's tolerance is different.
How do you get people to attend a show? As much as you can, make the topic known.
WPwatercooler is an event. By the time Amy gets the email, for example, she's already planned Thursdays. Send out the event email two weeks before, three days before, and the day before.
Bridget suggests using Mailchimp's tagging feature in an audience in order to recruit guests from 2019, 2018, etc.
Highlight some of the previous guests and how their business has progressed since they started being on the show, says Amy.
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” – Jim Rohn
How do you get people to subscribe to your list? Anyone who has been on WPwatercooler is manually added to the list. Posting to Facebook isn't a good way to get subscribers, says Amy Hall.
What about open rates? Ensure that your headline is engaging and short (30-40 characters).
"You need clear, concise, short subject lines." Amy Hall
Headlines can be sensational or the same every week "Real Estate News from John Doe." They saw it in their email every week and they came to expect it.
"There is no formula for it. You have to test it." Amy Hall
Asking for help is always a good way to get people to open. Also, don't count on people reading the preview text in their email browser of choice. Repeat that copy and the subject line in the body of the email.
How to you keep people engaged with email marketing? What is the benefit of being on the show?
Personalize, personalize, personalize. Amy says you should sprinkle their first name throughout the body of the email.
Ensure that you offer the value propositions (reasons) why someone would want to be on the show. Talk about stats, exclusivity, and the like.
Tool or Tip of the Week This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you by VendorFuel. VendorFuel is a next-generation shopping cart plugin that will ignite your eCommerce. Built using AngularJS VendorFuel lets you keep your customers on your website for the entire checkout experience. Start a 90-day free trial now and Ignite Your eCommerce at VendorFuel.com!
Bridget loves Beaver Builder so much. She sent a pre-sales client her affiliate link this week. They loved that
Amy loves superhuman.com as an email client. Worth every dollar.
Jason recommends Coursera for certifications.
Do you have any tools or tips we should know about? We'd love to hear from you. What are your experiences with this subject?
Tell us in the comments below.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In this episode, Jason talks with Christiana Mohr and Sé Reed on how they are promoting their upcoming WordCamp.
The WPwatercooler network is sponsored by ServerPress makers of DesktopServer. Be sure to check them out at https://serverpress.com as well as Kinsta at https://kinsta.com
If you’re interested in sponsoring the 40-minute mark of this show, check out the details on our sponsor page. We offer episode by episode spoken ads, rather than large contracts. A show by you for you.
https://www.wpwatercooler.com/sponsors
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In this episode, Jason and Bridget take a small break in their format to chat about developments this week in the WordPress ecosystem. How will these changes affect how plug-in businesses and freelancers market if at all? Tune in.
Thank you to our sponsors! The WPwatercooler network is sponsored by ServerPress makers of DesktopServer. Be sure to check them out at https://www.serverpress.com as well as Kinsta.
If you’re interested in sponsoring the 40-minute mark of this show, check out the details on our sponsor page. We offer episode by episode spoken ads, rather than large contracts. A show by you for you.
Jeff Chandler Leaves WPTavern Bridget thinks his editorial voice will be sorely missed.
Journalism tries to get both sides whereas editorial content should have opinion.
Jason was more intrigued by the use of service accounts for connected services on multi user websites.
Both Bridget and Jason wonder who will now provide timely, non-biased WordPress news. “Hot takes on WPwatercooler.com” is still valid news. And, honestly, most of us who comment on WordPress are also Inside Baseball. So, we’re commenting with our own source material.
Thanks, Jeff for being awesome for ten years!
Bridget’s Trip to Montréal Bridget loved WordCamp Montréal. It was extra special because she got to see Breann McDede’s first presentation.
Also, it was really neat to see how the WordPress community in Montréal embraces bilingualism. As Michel Bluma says, “#BonjourHi.”
I decided to sit in Q&A part of a presentation in French. It's funny to hear words I know: "A-C-F," "Gutenberg," "Custom Post Types."
Can't get much more Montreal than that. #BonjourHi
PHP 7.5 — P++ Ending Backwards Compatibility From PHP Storm.
“P++ – The controversy and accusations in PHP Internals over the removal of short tags explicit call-site send-by-ref syntax, and other discussions eventually resulted in an unexpected proposal from Zeev Suraski – create a new PHP dialect. The working name P++ is not accidental here, as Zeev suggests creating a “sister” language, like C++ for C. PHP and P++ are supposed to be developed side by side within a single runtime. In the new P++ it will be possible to implement a lot of revolutionary improvements, to deprecate legacy, and clear things up without thinking about backward compatibility. Since the language would have new branding, it would not have this bad reputation. A “classic” PHP would get all the performance and other non-syntax features but maintain backward compatibility.” Roman Pronskiy
How does this affect WordPress?
WordPress 5.0 created an unintentional fork, Bridget says, because plugin and theme developers have three choices:
- Support 5.0
- Support 4.9.x
- Support Both
All of those choices are business resource decisions.
Some people say PHP’s decision to possibly abandon backward compatibility won’t affect WordPress. (Click the heading for the PHP storm article.)
“1) Shortcodes ≠ short tags
2) PHP 7.4 is already in beta and will be released later this year
3) This proposal is not suggesting abandoning the main binary. It’s more like a different interpretation mode that would be included with PHP. Everything could still work the same” William Earnhardt
Caldera Joins Ninja Forms “That is one partnership that I feel warm in my soul about,” Bridget says. Caldera will continue to be developer-focused and Ninja Forms will stay customer-facing.
This isn’t a case where a company is being sold for parts like a WordPress junkyard.
“Josh Pollock, who co-founded CalderaWP in 2015 with Christie Chirinos, will be joining Saturday Drive as VP of Engineer Experience, along with three other employees from the company, bringing Saturday Drive’s total crew number to 25. Chirinos began working as a product manager at Liquid Webearlier this year.” Sarah Gooding
Automattic Buys Tumblr Bridget thinks Automattic is buying users so they can sell out. She is hoping after the sale of Automattic, Matt Mullenweg will focus on the WordPress Project. This eliminates the c. Maybe Automattic needed the carried loss for their taxes. But she isn’t a tax lawyer and doesn’t play one on TV.
“There’s a way to make sure [the WordPress.com] userbase goes up.” Jason Tucker
How about the articles saying “WordPress Owner?“ This was a bit controversial. And it’s a real issue with who owns the trademark versus who owns the software.
Will Automattic’s Tumblr Still Allow Porn? What about the “adult content” on WordPress? Also, what is porn? Did the LBGTQ community need this space from a psychological standpoint? WordPress is a culture of inclusion. This might be super good.
“When you’re talking about sexuality, some people consider that porn.” Bridget Willard
Will Gutenberg end up on Tumblr? According to my friend “Ben” (whose name is actually Daniel Olsen) who spoke about JAM Stack at WCMTL, Gutenberg is a layer that you can put on any CMS.
“Gutenberg on Tumblr would kill Medium. So this is like a win-win-win for Automattic.” Bridget Willard
Short Codes and Block Editors Dealing with short codes in a block editor world when using a page builder.
Ben Meredith with Better Click to Tweet talked about some of his frustrations on Twitter.
Proposal to Auto Update Old WP Versions to 4.7 “Apply security updates to the latest 6 versions, and auto-update insecure sites to the oldest secure version.” Ian Dunn
Proposal: Auto-Update Old Versions to 4.7 WordPress - Live Sites 4.6 to 3.7 Complied by Bridget Willard 8/10/19
Update since airing:
Bridget attended the Core chat about this subject that was held 19 Aug 19. She compiled data from BuiltWith.com to show that over two million sites would be affected or about 8% of WordPress sites.
As an aside, WPBuffs responded to Bridget’s Instagram Post offering 10% of their services.
Tool or Tip of the Week This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you by Kinsta. If you are you tired of unreliable or slow hosting check out Kinsta.com, who takes managed WordPress hosting to the next level. Powered by Google Cloud, all their plans include PHP 7.3, SSH access for developers, one-click staging area, 20 global data centers, free SSL, free CDN and 24×7 expert support who will also migrate your site free of charge. Kinsta.com
This week Bridget and Jason are both thinking about task management and people management.
Jason likes cloze.com for relationship management.
Bridget’s into airtable.com as way to track business development communication.
Do you have any tools or tips we should know about? We’d love to hear from you. What are your experiences with this subject?
Tell us in the comments below.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In this episode, Bridget and Jason riff on marketing with influencers, affiliate links, and guest bloggers.
Thank you to our sponsors! The WPwatercooler network is sponsored by ServerPress makers of DesktopServer. Be sure to check them out at https://www.serverpress.com as well as VendorFuel.
If you’re interested in sponsoring the 40-minute mark of this show, check out the details on our sponsor page. We offer episode by episode spoken ads, rather than large contracts. A show by you for you.
Inspiration for This Week’s Episode Jason totally loves Buffer’s “Science of Social Media” podcast. He recommends this episode in particular.
“You can’t talk about social media without talking about social science.” Bridget Willard
What is an influencer? There is always someone that everyone looks to whether it’s in a WordPress Meetup or the gorillas in the mountains. Every social group has an influencer. Dynamics change as the groups change and that’s why your marketing budget can be spent more effectively with micro-influencers.
Micro-influencers, quotes Jason from Buffer’s episode, those with smaller numbers, have a 8.8% engagement rate. They have quality followers and they have the time to engage. This is the reason why so many WordPress agencies use affiliate marketing.
“Influencer marketing is just referral marketing.” Bridget Willard
Make Your Own Influencers The best way to engage in influencer marketing is to make your own influencers. We all have a sphere of influence of about twelve people. You have super fans who are always sharing your product.
Reward and dopamine are totally connected. After you’ve continually trained them by recognizing or rewarding them, they will engage in this behavior more often. The dopamine rush can come before the reward.
“Reward and recognize those people who are taking the time to talk about your brand. Those are your influencers.” Bridget Willard
Influencer Marketing in WordPress Your influencers should resonate with your brand and vice versa. The best practice should be to find someone in your target market. Protect your brand. Ensure that person resonates with your core values, in their whole life, not just online.
This applies to sponsoring blog posts, speakers at WordCamps, or even volunteers for Make WordPress.
“Make sure they are good stewards of your product.” Jason Tucker
Use micro-influencers with your content marketing. Instead of paying $2000 for one blog post, pay 20 people $100. You get 20 articles instead of one and that’s almost one every week for six months. Hire your super fans to write guest blog posts on your site. They get the byline, $100, and are happy. You get content to help your SEO efforts. It’s a win-win-win.
How do you find your influencers? Find them with how they communicate with you. Are they tweeting about your brand a lot? They may come up to your booth at a WordCamp or talk to you after you speak.
Ask them about how they use your product. Allow the conversation to be naturally unfold. Then ask if they would like to participate.
“That’s the best person to talk about that subject matter anyhow.” Jason Tucker
What shouldn’t you do? Avoid Cognitive Dissonance.
You shouldn’t go outside of your market domain. Bridget shouldn’t be an influencer for solar panels or HVAC companies, for example. She’s influential in other areas, but not in construction. Chris Lema is a cigar influencer, but not in cannabis.
You shouldn’t go after people who just have big numbers. A lot of their followers could be bought. Are their followers your potential customers?
Make sure there is no conflict of interest. You don’t want the influencer to degrade your brand.
You shouldn’t pay for ghost written reviews. That is disingenuous at best and unethical not to mention against FTC rules.
Isn’t it common knowledge that bloggers are paid to tout products or that if you click a link on a blogger’s site to buy a product, the blogger will get a commission?
No. Some bloggers who mention products in their posts have no connection to the marketers of those products – they don’t receive anything for their reviews or get a commission. They simply recommend those products to their readers because they believe in them.
Moreover, the financial arrangements between some bloggers and advertisers may be apparent to industry insiders, but not to everyone else who reads a particular blog. Under the law, an act or practice is deceptive if it misleads “a significant minority” of consumers. Even if some readers are aware of these deals, many readers aren’t. That’s why disclosure is important. FTC
A Note on Affiliate Links “If you’re the one spending hours and hours looking for a product, you can use a link.” Jason Tucker
Tool or Tip of the Week This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you by VendorFuel. VendorFuel is a next-generation shopping cart plugin that will ignite your eCommerce. Built using AngularJS VendorFuel lets you keep your customers on your website for the entire checkout experience. Start a 90-day free trial now and Ignite Your eCommerce at VendorFuel.com!
Bridget likes Twine. It’s a neat app that helps you save money with a custom plan.
Jason recommends Shift to keep all of your notifications (Gmail, et al) in one dashboard.
Do you have any tools or tips we should know about? We’d love to hear from you. What are your experiences with this subject?
Tell us in the comments below.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
This week Jason and Bridget are joined by popular podcast host Jason Resnick from Live in the Feast. Jason built his business in WordPress services and he has been talking a ton right now about word-of-mouth marketing by standing out in the crowd including niching down in the client space you serve.
Thank you to our sponsors! The WPwatercooler network is sponsored by ServerPress makers of DesktopServer. Be sure to check them out at https://www.serverpress.com as well as VendorFuel.
If you’re interested in sponsoring the 40-minute mark of this show, check out the details on our sponsor page. We offer episode by episode spoken ads, rather than large contracts. A show by you for you.
No matter what you do, it has to feel natural to you. This is the main point of this episode. Here are some good ideas but it’s not a rule.
How do you not stand out? Definitely don’t be negative. Avoid client shaming online.
“They’re paying you to have the expertise and knowledge.” Jason Resnick
Don’t go dark after your client accepts your contract and pays them.
“Reach out and say ‘hey I’m excited to be working with you, here’s what you can expect over the next few days.” Jason Resnick
Don’t be inauthentic or be rude under the guise of authenticity. Don’t try to copy what works for Gary Vaynerchuck, Chris Lema, Ellen DeGeneres, Simon Sinek. Be you. Their methods work for them because it’s their truth.
Stand Out by Providing an Experience Using empathy for your customer, not relying upon jargon, makes you a good “technical liason” as Jason Resnick (Rezzz) says. That skillset allowed him to stand out and provide a good experience for them.
“Create Memorable Moments.” Jason Resnick
Rezzz recommends Jay Baer’s book Talk Triggers. He also talks about Laura Elizabethwho helps gather content from her clients by giving them gift cards to a local cafe. It’s on Season 1 Episode 7 of Live in the Feast if you want to listen. These micro moments and celebrations smooth out bumpy spots in the project journey that are inevitable.
Stand Out by Being Human Rezzz says we should be human with our clients. Showing your clients that you pay attention to their interests (like buying them tickets for a minor league baseball game with their son who loves baseball).
Stand Out by Being Helpful Answer questions on Twitter, LinkedIn, or wherever. There is an attitude that people should just search for their answers on Google. But the uneducated will get so many choices. You’ll get too much information.
Stand Out with Your Online Presence Your website should look good and represent you well, so that when people talk about you that word-of-mouth referral doesn’t die at your URL. Rezzz’ Services Page is an excellent example of clear pricing and communication to the client.
Stand Out by Hosting a Podcast Rezzz has six seasons of Live in the Feast. He decided to create seasons about a business topic. It takes a bit more planning to create the season’s story arch. The seasons create binge-able and helpful content. Since Rezzz isn’t a long-form writer, much like our friend Carl Alexander, he decided a podcast was the right solution.
Tool or Tip of the Week This Tool or Tip of the week is brought to you by VendorFuel. VendorFuel is a next-generation shopping cart plugin that will ignite your eCommerce. Built using AngularJS VendorFuel lets you keep your customers on your website for the entire checkout experience. Start a 90-day free trial now and Ignite Your eCommerce at VendorFuel.com!
- Bridget likes Tiny Habits — the book by Jonathan Wold.
- Jason Resnick (Rezzz) likes Bonjoro — you can send personalized videos to your clients and friends.
- Jason is in on Shortcuts App (which will be part of iOS13) and the Reddit Subthread.
Do you have any tools or tips we should know about? We’d love to hear from you. What are your experiences with this subject?
Tell us in the comments below.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In this episode, Jason and Bridget are joined by Cory Miller for a discussion on creation versus identity.
As product creators, how do you separate your identity from your product? Why does it matter? When you sell your product, who are you? With all of the acquisitions that are happening now, this is an important factor in the WordPress ecosystem both financially and mentally
Thank you to our sponsor! The WPwatercooler network is sponsored by ServerPress makers of DesktopServer. Be sure to check them out at https://www.serverpress.com as well as PeepSo.
If you’re interested in sponsoring the 40 minute mark of this show, check out the details on our sponsor page. We offer episode by episode spoken ads, rather than large contracts. A show by you for you.
Product Acquisitions in WordPress Pantheon recently bought Staging Pilot. Of course we know about Liquid Web buying iThemes and Genesis being bought by WPEngine. So, how does this affect product creators?
The hardest thing, though, was leaving the team, not the product. He’ll always be attached to the brand, but it’s really about the people.
“Some of my best friends in life were on [the iThemes] team.” Cory Miller
If it works for you, go for venture capital. But have some balance with your sweat and actual equity. It’s a big deal to be responsible for someone else’s paycheck.
“Always use somebody else’s money.” Cory Miller
How do you separate yourself from your creation? Bridget set up the context of this discussion with a quote from the Game of Thrones co-writer.
“…I was very attached to the words I wrote, because I wrote them. It’s like a part of me. If I don’t like these, I don’t like me.” D.B. Weiss, Creative Brain on Netflix
Cory Miller says his startup was like a baby and for the first few years there were a lot of diaper changes. He brought it through infancy to kindergarten. He recognizes that it’s been a while since he felt those original growing pains.
“Up until now, I never saw myself as a creator… but Gosh the parallels are compelling.” Cory Miller
“When you build something whether it’s with your hands or your blood, sweat equity, …you do feel so woven into that.” Cory Miller
Build the life and the work you want. The main question you, as a creator, need to ask yourself is this: how painful is it to do everything yourself? Or — how much joy do you have working alone. You can work alone. Build that life. But if you want to build a company, then you have to delegate and/or outsource.
We should not feel guilty for outsourcing tasks to others whether it’s housekeeping, development, marketing, or support.
How do you stop being a Micromanaging Creator? Cory talks about Assembly Line leadership to get productivity. Throwing more people at problem isn’t more effective. If you care about people, they’ll care about you.
“When it comes to leadership, it’s one simple skill: care.” Cory Miller
In the creator mindset, it’s very hard to delegate, Cory says, because they are craftspeople at heart. And that is a tough situation when it comes to delegation.
Jason reminds us that having a branding guide is a good way to communicate the persona to others the way that Jen Miller and I do for our blogging and social media clients. They’re trusting us to represent them. The brand should always come first in a company — even over its creator. This allows people to be cross-trained, even in small companies, so the employees can go on vacation.
It needs to be psychologically safe in your organization for team members to make decisions with the values in mind. You need to be okay with that. (Read Chapter 3 on Teams from this book. It’s worth it.)
“Do they feel safe to make a decision?” Cory Miller
Leaving a Team to A New Duck How do you feel about handing over a team to a new duck to imprint upon? For Cory, he trusted Matt entirely. He knew his team would play their own songs. He is so proud that they can operate without him.
- Be a leader through crisis and change.
- Some people may choose to not continue.
- Communicate the positives of the change.
- Value the stories that you tell.
Being a healthy communicator is so important. Tell people what’s going on.
“In the absence of communication, people will make crap up.” Cory Miller
Advice to Growing WordPress Products It is hard to go out on your own and start something new. It’s a tough struggle. Cory has a heart for entrepreneurs but realizes he’s far from the beginning.
- Build a team that can succeed without you.
- Be aware when your product has run its course.
- Share the upward mobility options to the team.
- Communicate your intention openly.
- Values are communicated in stories.
- Empower team members to make decisions.
- Document your culture in a branding book.
- Document your systems and processes.
“Curiosity, clean communication, circling back, and rumbling become part of the culture. Just like people, when organizations own their stories and take responsibility for their actions, they get to write the endings. When they deny their stories, people on the outside, like the media, take over the story’s authorship to write new narratives that could come to define the organization.” Brené Brown, Rising Strong
Tool or Tip of the Week This week’s Tool or Tip of the Week is brought to you by PeepSo. PeepSo is a super-light, free, social network plugin for WordPress that allows you to quickly and effortlessly add a social network or an online community right inside your WordPress site. Your Community. Your Way. Find out more at at PeepSo.com
- Bridget recommends WP Feedback which is an amazing tool for QAing a website and/or getting client feedback.
- Jason doesn’t have a window in his office – such a bummer to be in the basement — but he also has several monitors. So he loves Multi Monitor Wallpaper that allows him to have one cohesive image.
- Cory recommends Transitions:Making Sense Of Life’s Changes. He leaned on this quite a bit in the last few years.
Do you have any tools or tips we should know about? We’d love to hear from you. What are your experiences with this subject?
Tell us in the comments below.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In this episode, Jason Tucker and Bridget Willard were joined by Jeff Matson from Pagely's NorthStack. He gave insight into Managed WordPress, WordPress Hosting, and Managed AWS Service.
Thank you to our sponsor! The WPwatercooler network is sponsored by ServerPress makers of DesktopServer. Be sure to check them out at https://www.serverpress.com as well as PeepSo.
If you're interested in sponsoring the 40 minute mark of this show, check out the details on our sponsor page. We offer episode by episode spoken ads, rather than large contracts. A show by you for you.
Stop Getting Cheep-A$$ Hosting WordPress hosting matters. Hosting is hosting is hosting until it's not. When it comes to your "hobby," if you take it seriously, it has the potential to become your career.
It seems like WordPress hosting is saturated, but it's really not. Pagely was the first to create Wordpress Managed hosting back in the day. You can hear Joshua Strebel talk about the last ten years in his WordCamp Phoenix talk.
So, how do we convince content creators, bloggers, and non-inside baseball writers to think good hosting is important? When you pay for $5 hosting, you get $5 hosting. They're digital slumlords, Bridget says in jest. If the support folks are getting paid minimum wage ($7 something in VA), the Five Dollar Host loses money every time one of their customers calls.
"Even if they are getting paid minimum wage, if they talk to you for an hour, the company lost money on you." Jeff Matson
Bridget spends $25 a month on Pressable and thinks that's a reasonable amount for anyone to spend. To her, it matters that the company she chooses has a reputation of treating their employees well.
"I don't want to use a service that has a big turnover. If they can't keep their employees, they have internal issues." Bridget Willard
Hobbyists Learn Everything When Their Sites Blow Up It's true. When your blog gets notices, as Jason points out, and all of a sudden you're getting traffic, your site may not be able to handle that. Managed hosts will scale the traffic.
Do you want to learn the hard way? Your hobby or small business needs to value website hosting.
"You teach them that their business is important." Jeff Matson
You don't need more web hosting than your site requires, especially if you're getting only 20 hits a week. But with something like a managed service, you can scale up and then down when you need it.
What do you get with Managed WordPress Hosting? If you're in the $250 a month or $25 a month plan, when you pay for managed WordPress hosting, you're paying for support. Larger fees at the front pay for concierge-level service. Jeff recalls how Pagely had top-tier folks in their slack helping with Gravity Forms site migrations at midnight. That's the kind of service you get with top-tier Managed WordPress Hosting.
Why not run your own box? You could run your own DigitalOcean box, but why? If you're running your own box, you have to do all of the security maintenance, patches, and updates. Also, if you're facing a DDOS attack, you have to face those trials, too.
Almost any level of business should outsource these types of things so they can focus on working on your business.
"Is that really what you want to spend your billable hours on?" Bridget Willard
So, the perfect solution between running your own box and buying high-end Managed WordPress hosting is managed AWS service.
What is a Managed AWS Service? With NorthStack, Pagely is bringing the same level of product without the support. You can get a fast site that scales when someone posts your article to Reddit.
"It's an unbelievable product to host your sites on without all the extra stuff that you might not need." Jeff Matson
This is made for developers who use GitHub and CLI to create apps and build sites. For now, that's where NorthStack is focusing. You pay for the amount of resources you're using instead of a general bucket. Automated deployments for the win.
This product better suited for small to enterprise agencies. Not everyone needs Disney-level service.
How do you market your product? Marketing products in a word-of-mouth space like WordPress requires finesse. Jeff makes recommendations on products based upon his personal experience. He regards his recommendations as a reflection of himself. In short, Jeff manages his personal branding and that's how he recommends products.
"I keep my reputation above all else and that's what I use to market products. "Jeff Matson
Tool or Tip of the Week This week's Tool or Tip of the Week is brought to you by PeepSo. PeepSo is a super-light, free, social network plugin for WordPress that allows you to quickly and effortlessly add a social network or an online community right inside your WordPress site. Your Community. Your Way. Find out more at at PeepSo.com
Bridget recommends Everybody Writes by Ann Handley. It gives actual and practical tips on effective copywriting.
Jeff recommends The Lean Startup by Eric Ries.
Jason recommends the app Vignette which allows you to (at a minimal cost) add and update photos for your contacts.
Do you have any tools or tips we should know about? We'd love to hear from you. Also, how are you marketing yourself? Tell us in the comments below.
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Marketing yourself as a WordPress developer is challenging, especially when starting out. In this episode, Jason and Bridget are joined by Rachelle Wise of Wise Arts to brainstorm some solutions.
Join us on this episode of WPblab by visiting our Participant guidelines page.
Thank you to our sponsor! The WPwatercooler network is sponsored by ServerPress makers of DesktopServer. Be sure to check them out at https://www.serverpress.com.
If you’re interested in sponsoring the 40 minute mark of this show, check out the details on our sponsor page. We offer episode by episode spoken ads, rather than large contracts. A show by you for you.
Networking through WordPress Meetups Rachelle used to be part of her local WordPress Meetups and WordCamps when she lived in Minnesota. So when she moved here to California, she looked it up and lo and behold she found the OC WordPress Meetup, where she met Bridget and Jason.
Often, attending WordPress Meetups is an excellent way to get work, said Jason, who was reminded about the way Steve runs the general meetup where a lot of new users show up. Steve would suggest that those who need help meet a developer. Mostly, they would want to hire.
Rachelle didn’t get work that way directly but still sees the value of Meetups, especially since one works alone.
“I’ve definitely given a lot of free advice; not any paid stuff yet.” Rachelle Wise
WordCamps and Meetups are brand awareness campaigns in the sense that you are meeting people and reminding them that you are in business or still in business. Keeping top of mind is important with any business.
Think about speaking. Even Jason Tucker tells attendees of Whittier WordPress Meetup to build something then teach people how you did it, what you learned, and what you would do better next time.
Marketing Wise Arts So Far Rachelle has done quite a bit of instinctual marketing so far. She hasn’t done any paid ads yet. She started working at an agency then worked as a sole developer for an agency. Once she became a remote worker, she was never going back.
After the sole developer gig devolved, she reached out to former contacts at the agency and she got several contracts through that.
“Eighty to ninety percent of my work is referral based. I meet someone I do a project for them, they tell their friends… I end up getting these amazing chains of referrals.” Rachelle Wise
The Magic Word is Referrals Most businesses works on referrals and that’s why brand awareness is so important, Bridget reminds Jason and Rachelle. Being on shows, having Twitter and social media accounts matter. If referrals are your biggest source (your audience) then going to WordPress Meetups matters most.
“Referral marekting is marketing.” Bridget Willard
Don’t burn bridges. Keep lines of communication open. If you decline work, refer instead.
The thing about referral work is people often build a thing, put up a landing page and that’s it. At some point, you’re going to exhaust your first circle. You do that through marketing whether it’s social marketing or paid marketing or in-person events like Ross Gile does with Chamber of Commerces.
How should a beginner developer market himself?
“You have to build something. Please build something.” Jason Tucker
- Set up a GitHub account.
- Set up CodePen account.
- Go through FreeCodeCamp.org. It makes you build projects that can be used on your portfolio.
- Spend time on LinkedIn and keep it updated.
- Call yourself a website builder.
- Do pro-bono work to build your portfolio.
- Case studies with screenshots are better than just links.
- Videos to show specific functionality is great.
- Build your own website and maintain it.
- Pick at niche then go to a trade show. Build landing pages for that niche.
- Have business cards to hand out.
- Go to WordCamps and WordPress Meetups.
- Go to Javascript or WooCommerce Meetups.
“Build your site on WordPress.com; it’s better than WIX.” Bridget Willard
How do you get free work?
“Find someone that looks like they need help.” Rachelle Wise
Try approaching local pizza places or nonprofit. Join a hackaton like Do Action. Definitely have business cards, suggests Jason, to give to local businesses. You may even barter for business like Jason did with the local dog groomers.
“You should build projects you care about.” Rachelle Wise
Even better, is building something that you believe in, Rachelle reminds us.
Demonstrate that you know how to learn. Rachelle Wise reminds us that the most important part of being a WordPress developer is demonstrating that you know how to learn. Good design matters, so does looking things up on Google. Show you have personality.
A Cobbler’s Children Have No Shoes You need to maintain and update your own website. The proverb is true, but you need to invest in your own business. No one can care about it more than you.
“If you don’t maintain your own portfolio and your own website, the cobbler’s not going to make shoes for anybody.” Bridget Willard
In your portfolio and case studies, don’t link to their website only. Always use screenshots, reminds Jason Tucker. Rachelle has been making videos now which shows the functionality rather than the code.
It’s important to let people know that you are accepting clients whether it is in public or through private communication.
“You have to keep your eye on the pipeline.” Rachelle Wise
If the work you do is confidential, anonymize it says Jason. Show the trend on the graph without the actual detail.
Tool & Tip of the Week * Bridget loves kencko.com. It’s a good way to get two servings of fruit and veg a day and the cost works out to be $3 each — much cheaper than juice stores. * Jason is a huge fan of UTM codes and recommends the Chrome extension, Google Analytics UTM Builder. It allows you to build campaigns and make presets. He states a use case where people are using a QR code at his church and Rachelle and Bridget are verbally shocked they are being used. * Rachelle is a new convert to Calendly. With timezones and the annoyance of email back and forth, it helps quite a bit with scheduling. People used to just call her and she was having quite a bit of conflicts. She’s happy with meeting blocks that can be set up in 30 minute and 1 hour types.
Do you have any tools or tips we should know about? We’d love to hear from you. Also, how are you marketing yourself? Tell us in the comments below.
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You built a successful company and your reputation is bar none. But how do you transition that branding online? In this episode, Jason and Bridget will give some good examples and take your live questions via chat.
Join us on this episode of WPblab by visiting our Participant guidelines page.
WPwatercooler network is sponsored by ServerPress makers of DesktopServer. Be sure to check them out at https://www.serverpress.com
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We know you know your business. You work magic for your clients, maximize their SEO, send amazing drip campaigns, write their content, and even build their site. But what about your own website? The saying about the cobbler’s kids having no shoes is completely avoidable. In this episode, Jason and Bridget will talk about having that objective eye and how her own site has evolved since 2015.
Join us on this episode a WPwatercooler show by visiting our Participant guidelines page.
WPwatercooler network is sponsored by ServerPress makers of DesktopServer. Be sure to check them out at https://www.serverpress.com
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How many times have you created a landing page for a client yet neglected a featured image? Sometimes we forget that those pages also need unique images for social sharing. In this episode, Jason and Bridget chat about strategy, tactics, and tools.
Thank you ServerPress makers of DesktopServer for sponsoring this episode.
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In this episode, Jason and Bridget chat with @Michelle Schulp from MarkTimeMedia.com about how branding can make or break your business.
Thank you ServerPress makers of DesktopServer for sponsoring this episode.
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In this episode, Jason and Bridget are joined by "Producer Jen." We brought Jen Miller from behind the scenes to talk about the interesting developments in journalism and how WordPress is involved. Join us in the live chat to ask questions. You're sure to learn a lot tonight.
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CTAs. Marketers and their acronyms, right? It's frustrating and confusing. So you know you need a call to action but where and how many? Is there such a thing as too many CTAs? In this episode, Jason and Bridget are joined by long-time marketer Robert Nissenbaum from Tactical Social Media. He'll give us some insight into the call to action conversation. Watch live so you can comment.
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"This was one of the most controversial and acrimonious we have had in a long time, maybe ever if you’re new to WordPress."
- Matt Shows off Shape Divider Blocks - 3:12
- Matt mentions vendors that are making blocks for Gutenberg - 3:73
- Matt talks about LazyBlocks https://wordpress.org/plugins/lazy-blocks/ - 4:73
- Gutenblocks are easier if you were brought up using them - 7:17
- Regardless of device used - 7:30
- Bridget mentions that it’s too bad you can use WordPress on mobile without WordPress.com being involved. - 8:23
- To Review - Matt mentions for the first time this Phasing of Gutenberg - 8:77
- Phase 2 - 10:08
- Matt shows the widget manager screen and how it’s “still there” - 10:68
- Editing menus inline - 12:05
- Phase 2 is thinking outside of post_content - 12:72
- Collaboration with multi user editing of Gutenberg. Gutenberg and Google Docs functionality - 14:25
- Core is open - “tackle our 6,500 open issues” is listed at the bottom - 16:50
- PHP7 is the minimum version for WordPress - 17:40
- WordPress 4.9 had 173 million downloads, 68.4% are running 4.9. - 18:48
- Release Cycles 4.9 to 4.9.8 - 18:92
- WordPress 5.0 - 19:40
- Matt mentions controversy with WordPress 5.0 and forcing the release date. - 19:63
- What we learned - 23:25
- Matt mentions having more Javascript talks at WordCamps - 23:98
- Here’s what we learned “the betas were tested more than any other releases”. - 25:97
- “This was one of the most controversial and acrimonious we have had in a long time, maybe ever if you’re new to WordPress. Some were bad, I blame Twitter partially. I blame everything on Twitter. Between Twitter and Facebook we have all the worst problems… and some of warts and some of the debates and some of the sort of open source product” then he goes on to mention this as a “company this would all happen behind the scenes or not at all” he continues “For us, we have all of this happening in the public and it’s all archived and linkable and version controlled and everything. So, we just have to keep in mind that, well, in addition to having good etiquette and realy conversation in a productive way for whatever we’re doing, keep in mind that things might appear worse than they actually are” he continues “because the conversations and things happening on twitter or blog posts or whatever else might not actually be representative of the basics or fundamentals or first principles of the software”
- Bridget says “did he just reprimand us?” - 28:50
- Then for some reason Matt then goes into talking about https not the nicest of segues. - 28:57
- “The community is the only thing that makes WordPress!!!!” - 29:60
- He now goes on into WordCamps and shares some stats regarding them.
- do_action - 30:55
- WordPress Foundation - Internet Archive $10k, Girl Develop It $10k, Black Girls Code $10k. We’re all in agreement that 10k per is a very small amount. - 31:83
- 85 donors. - 32:15
- Currently, there was 407 people watching the live stream from WordCamp US. - 34:12
- Matt mentions jiggling, wiggling and dancing #jiggleandwiggle - 35:50
- 200+ volunteers helped out with WordCamp US - 36:22
- Q&A Begins - 36:57
- Question 1: John - 37:63
- Jason asks about the styles of the blocks that are being made and making sure they work with all themes. This has to be a challenge.
- Bridget mentions Matt’s suit. Jason asks “Matt, who are you wearing?” - 39:25
- Bridget wants to know what the hex color is for his shirt - 39:68
- Question 2: Nick Adams - 41:30
- wordpress.org/blog and the number of posts done by employees not the community. Automattic has 830 people and 40 of them work on WordPress core.
- Question 3: Fred Meyer - Making Layouts more robust in Gutenberg. - 44:93
- Question 4: We were critical about the time he told to get his question out but he took 4 minutes to ask Matt about democratizing publishing.
- He then asks another question: - 54:13
- Question 5: Victor from Miami Why isn’t there a WordCamp Canada? Why is this called WordCamp US? Shouldn’t it be WordCamp North America? - 54:13
- Question 6: Birgit - Health Insurance & Accessibility - 56:92
- Question 7: Adam from Colorado - 59:32
- Question 8: Morten from planet Earth “The use of the word, WE” Matt responds with “We, is contextual..”
- “And if English is not your first language as well I completely understand how things are confusing as you go through”
- Morten responds with “Can I just add a comment to that? What you are describing is a governance structure without governance”
- Matt: “If only there were a meetup for that” - 60:83
- Question 8: Andrew Taylor from Portland - 67:52
- Question 9: Matthew - 70:00
- Question 10: Dimitri - WordCamp Moscow - Themes and styling with plugins adding blocks. Will there be a repository for Blocks? - 72:38
- Question 11: Cristy Chrinos of Caldera Forms - “How are you going to make sure that people that were burned by WordPress.."
- Feature Video: - 79:00
- Fin - 80:35
- Our reaction after the fact - 80:55
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Marketing your WordPress product or business can be tricky during the holidays. What's too much and what's too little. In this episode, Marc Benzakein from Server Press, LLC will join us to talk about how he got it just right.
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In this quick episode, Jason and Bridget will help you ask the right questions when hiring a social media specialist to grow your WordPress business.
This episode brought to you by ServerPress makers of DesktopServer and WPSiteSync.
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In this episode, Jason and Bridget are joined by developer and SEO expert John Locke of Lockedown Design. We will discuss how to crack the mysterious intent from searchers and some ways to improve your site's ranking.
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In this episode, Jason and Bridget are joined by Geno Quiroz, from Monterey Premier, a WordPress agency in Northern California. We're going to chat about red flag warnings, intuition, following your gut, and firing clients.
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In this episode, Jason and Bridget will chat about cold calling — the good, bad, and the ugly. How do you do this in the WordPress ecosystem effectively without sounding like a used car salesman?
No-one likes cold calling at first – it feels slimy – how to do it right?
The problem: How do you let people know that you’re accepting clients? How do people know if you’re available? Are you advertising?
For a regular brick and mortar business, people will just stop in and hire you, but if you’re an online-only business, how do you reach people? How do they know if you are accepting business?
Everybody in the WordPress space has the potential to be everyone else’s competitor – how can you reach out / connect? Everyone has a specialty or a focus – you can refer business to friends/connections that you know that handle a different specialty. If you know your limits, you can refer out work to other people you know through your networking/connections and they can do the same for you.
Bridget would see jobs posted on Linkedin, etc. and take an interview with them and when talking to them say “actually, I’d really like to be your vendor” and then have a conversation with them, basically turning the interview into a sales call!
(Bridget sidenote: The salary in our industry is way too low. If you only pay $15/hr for social media, you’re only gonna get social media worth $15)
Bridget sometimes notices jobs for companies listed for 30, 40 days … sometimes it’s good to approach them and see if they would consider outsourcing temporarily. There is a risk in reaching out but even if it doesn’t work out now, chances are they’ll remember you in the future for another opportunity.
You don’t know until you try, and sometimes you just need to ask to have a conversation!
Some people approach their businesses by choosing a niche (Ie. all real estate companies/websites) … Bridget likes to be monogamous in her relationships with clients – only one web host, only one party planner, etc. so she can really focus her attention on them.
Make sure that the way you are cold-calling people fits with your brand. Don’t try to be something your not.
Bridget suggests offering something for free when you cold call – she chooses to offer them an audit for free. Treat it like hospitality – here is a tray of hors-d’oeuvres … but don’t require them to take it! Offer the help but let them decline without feeling bad about it.
Another option is to offer your services at a discounted rate on a limited trial basis, and then if they like your work, they can do a full sign up at full price and if they’re not happy, they’re free to move on to something else.
Jason: How do you send out a referral and know that the person you are referring them to is able/willing to do the work?
Bridget: I refer them, but it’s up to the person I’m referring to decide if they are able to do it. To her, being resourceful is part of her brand. (Sidenote: Don’t pass on terrible clients!)
Jason: If I’m going to be the ‘Angie’s List’ of WordPress, I like to make sure that the person I’m handing clients off to is actually willing and able to do the work.
Bridget used to have a ‘Guru Referral’ page and would ask people if they wanted to be listed. Beyond the referral to the expert, she’s not responsible. It’s up to them and the client to see if they are compatible and can work together.
Bridget: In all business, it’s very important not to burn your bridges – be very careful how you treat your clients and competitors. Jason: It’s okay to put “caution tape” in front of the bridge if you need to maintain the relationship but maybe hold on referring people! Bridget: everyone has a preference, never say never to referring someone!
Have a portfolio – and ask your clients if you can list them on your page! It helps people to know your style and if you are a good fit for them.
What matters to you the most? Bridget: I care about mentoring people – if anyone does well, then we all do well!
Remember that when you cold call someone, you’re putting them in a defensive position.
Sometimes you have to speak up for yourself because no one else is going to do it for you.
Try: I would love to work with you – maybe we can help each other out! (But make sure your website is ready for when they come to check you and your business out). Or say, I love what you’ve built with your brand – I’d love to be part of what you are doing and help grow your brand
Publicly posting your prices gives you a starting place and a talking point, it opens up discussion. Don’t be afraid to post your prices on your website.
Be discerning, don’t indiscriminately reach out to people – make sure they’re a good fit for what you have to offer and what your passionate about. You want your passions to align with your client = synergy!
To find your ideal client, you need to be self-aware – and sometimes that means reaching out to and brainstorming with your friends. We mentor and bounce off each other in order to make each other better!
Find your peer-counselors (and/or friends) and be vulnerable and honest with them. They can help you grow!
4 Tips:
- Make sure it’s your ideal client
- Make sure you’re doing it in a way that helps them
- Make sure it gives them the option to say no
- Make sure your website is ready for your clients to check you out
Bridget – What Not to Do: Don’t go randomly follow and contact accounts of people who post about something one time because they were visiting a location
Jason – If you see someone in your area posting a lot about food and you are a restaurant – maybe make the connection – “This person is a foodie!” and follow them, contact them
Bridget: Always be helpful, be polite and be relevant.
TIPS OF THE WEEK:
Jason: Dark Mode on MAC is awesome! https://nightowl.kramser.xyz/ – Automatically toggles night mode at night and normal mode during the day! Can also set by sunrise/sunset
Bridget: https://unionmetrics.com/product/instagram-analytics/ – Instagram checkup is free – get content analytics. Analytics tools are great IF you mix things up – if you only ever post at 11 am, it will tell you 11 am is your best time – the only way to test is to mix it up
Show notes contributed by:
Cheryl LaPrade @YayCheryl
Sherie LaPrade @HeySherie
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In this episode, Jason Tucker is joined by Russ, a long-standing WordPress Community evangelist. They will be talking about taking chances with your career — the wins, losses, and overall tends.
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Repurposing Content DON’T - go to someone else’s website, highlight, copy and paste onto your site - that is bad!
DO - open up your email, look at the emails that your customers are sending you (the questions they ask), THOSE are the questions you should be using to turn into your FAQs and to fill content pages on your site.
HOW:
- Don’t assume you have to start with a title (a concept is fine) but if you have one, use it!
- Ask yourself what are the basic questions that your customers frequently ask or need to know? Questions via, phone / email / in person / help desk
- Make sure to give your marketing team access to any help desk software you use, so that they can see what customers are frequently asking and where they get stuck.
- Write it down or start a Google Doc and keep track of the Q’s
- Go do a Google search - they’ll show “people also ask” which might frame it in a way that makes for a better title (pay attention to the context)
- Try using anchor tags in your FAQs to help people navigate better
If you are answering the same questions all the time, why waste time repeating yourself? You’re better off adding the answer on a page or as part of an FAQ or blog post on your website. That way, when you receive the same question again, you can share the page and your well-worded answer with your customers!
Jason uses a plugin that will take all the header tags on the page and use it to create a table of contents at the top of the page with anchor tag links that will direct customers to the exact spot on the page that will answer their questions.
Check in with your receptionists or the people answering the phones at your business - have them make a list of the questions they are receiving and what people are calling about. If they are digging around on your site and can’t find things and calling for the answer, maybe it’s time to re-evaluate your content!
https://wordpress.org/plugins/easy-table-of-contents/
https://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/how-to-create-a-table-of-content-in-wordpress-posts-and-pages/
Richard at WPHelpdesk.nl - He gets comments & questions through a gravity form on his website and when he answers the questions, he posts it as a blog post on his website. This is a great way to create content that’s tailored to your users!
Instead of building a site and hoping people will use it (and that you have the right content), you’re building it based on exactly what your audience needs. Do right by your audience and your audience will find you! (it’s kind of hard to know who your audience is until you start having conversations!)
Sometimes your customers can be frustrating - they don’t get it! When it’s your specialization, it’s hard - you won’t be able to see why they don’t understand. A lot of times the way you communicate when someone doesn’t get it can increase frustration.
How to excel at communicating with your customers is by offering true education. Use your FAQs to help them understand your products and services. You want an educated customer base that values your products!
Use multiple ways to communicate - try video or audio along with your text, and infographics. (Always include text on the page with your videos - if it’s just video, it will have zero SEO value)
Don’t just think of one way to answer a question. Think of different ways the question could be asked and rephrase / reframe it. It will help your google search results too.
https://bridgetwillard.com/social-media-success-adjust-and-adapt-to-change/
Bridget took a question to google and made note of the different “people also ask” questions and answered each one using them as an H2 on her page!
Your content marketing should be easy to produce. Take a look at the bullet points you include on your website about the services you provide - each of those bullet points can be the starting point for a blog post!
You can also take a look at your reviews (from Yelp, etc.) and use them to frame a blog post around! Also, consider reaching out to the reviewer to do a Case Study. The who, what, when, where, how of their experience with your product. The more technical the problem, the more detailed the case study. Case studies are also really excellent for pre-sales!
Russell tends to blog straight from his head and will write exactly as he thinks and not as someone would typically write.. What’s great about that is that people will search exactly as they think too and will get results from his site they might not find elsewhere.
Think about it from your mom’s, brother’s, uncle’s, grandparent’s point of view - what would they ask, how would they phrase it? You want to answer the questions that your customers / readers / consumers are going to ask.
Use Help Scout or equivalent - it’s a great way to aggregate the info coming in. Or use Gmail and their Labels feature to help organize your conversations and keep track of them. (Also, remember to keep your subject lines relevant to your emails to make them easier to search!)
TOOLS AND TIPS Bridget: Use Google Drive https://www.google.com/drive/ to help organize your content/files and make it accessible for posting with your phone (download the app)
Jason: Believes in putting an online chat widget on your site (though, it’s not the answer to everything - someone needs to be actively looking at / responding to it) - great if you have Help Scout https://www.helpscout.net/. There is a feature called Beacon that can help lead people to answers and if they aren’t found, will direct them to chat to get help from a person!
Also Crisp Chat https://crisp.chat/en/ - allows you to chat with your website visitors
Slack https://slack.com/ is great too! You can keep conversations organized in channels.
Franz https://meetfranz.com/ Organize all your social messaging in one place!
Show notes contributed by: Cheryl LaPrade @YayCheryl
Sherie LaPrade @HeySherie
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In this episode Jason and Bridget will chat about the pros and cons of international travel when it comes to marketing your WordPress business. * EP5-Embracing the Community Through Voluntourism * Yoast Diversity Fund • Yoast * Robert Windisch (@nullbytes) * Multidots-Custom & Mobile Application Development|Enterprise WordPress * Providing Enterprise Software Development Services since 2009 * Birgit Pauli-Haack (@bph) * Multidots (@multidots) * Jon Brown (@jb510) * GitHub - schlessera/as-speaking: AlainSchlesser.com Speaking Page Plugin. * HazeOver:Distraction Dimmer™ for Productivity on Mac * AlainSchlesser.com Speaking Page Plugin. * This WP plugin will update GitHub, Bitbucket, GitLab, and Gitea hosted plugins and themes * Bridget Willard
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Syndicated content seems like a great way to publish. But is it the best option? In this episode Jason and Bridget weigh the options.
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Bridget was late to her very first meetup and ended up having to sit up front, and when it was over, she just left - “don’t do that!” ;)
Jason had a similar experience, but he likes sitting in the front row! His first meetup had nothing to do with WordPress. He threw a bunch of search terms at Meetup.com and the Adobe Software meetup kept coming up so he went! Met a guy the first time there who encouraged him to speak at the very next meetup!
Attending your first meetup:
- Be on time (or early!)
- Have a 10-sec intro or “elevator pitch” available to introduce yourself - don’t try to sound clever, just say your name and some quick things about who you are - “If your grandma doesn’t know what you do by reading your twitter bio…”
- Sit where you can hear/see easily
- Meetup.com is a good resource for finding things you like
- If you’re a ‘doer’ and want to get involved in your meetup, sit back for a bit and see what people are NOT doing - then offer to do that!
- Take notes and share them! It’s a great way to help.
- Use a photo of yourself (that actually looks like you) on meetup.com (or on social)
- If you raise your hand with a question, make it a “question”, not a statement. Ask something that actually will have a good answer and further the conversation.
Organizing your meetup:
- Sometimes you hear people say “there’s not enough people speaking at meetups”, but Bridget asks the question “Are you asking people to speak?”
- Recognize that you have different kinds of people in your meetup that might want to help, some are introverts and some are extroverts - they may want to help but won’t speak up
- It’s important to have co-leaders because each leader will have different gifts & strengths
- Speakers -- NO hard pitching!
- Know and follow the ‘code of conduct’. Make sure to create a ‘safe space’ in your meetup
- Start promoting at least two weeks in advance
- Create a facebook group or slack account so that people can connect in between meetups or re-connect if they’re not able to attend one
Bridget got involved with WordCamps when Alex Vasquez reached out to her (since she was a social media expert) and asked her to do social media for an upcoming Camp - and she’s been volunteering every since! She was ‘doing her thing’ and others recognized her gifts.
As meetup organizers, Bridget and Jen try to pay attention to what people’s gifts / strengths are.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs - ‘A Theory of Human Motivation’
If you catch someone spending a lot of time focusing on something or asking questions about something not directly related to the night’s topic, why not suggest “Maybe you can talk about that at one of our upcoming meetups!” What’s the worst that could happen? You might get a great speaker!
It’s not that people aren’t experienced or don’t have the needed gifts, but many people just need to be asked. They either don’t want to brag about their abilities or they may even struggle with ‘imposter syndrome’.
Ask “what are you working on? let’s see it!” It’s a great way to get everyone involved and possibly brainstorm new topics. You and your fellow organizers can speak every month but if you ask and seek input / topics / speakers / from your members, everyone can feel included.
If you can get people to talk, even if it’s just answering questions, eventually they’ll become more comfortable with speaking and may even be encouraged to speak at a future meetup
The way you present or comment on a tool/plugin should not reflect on how you view the user. Don’t make it sound like you’re the only one who is smart because you use “X” plugin instead of “Y” plugin. Share pro/cons and thoughts without being judgy! Try to be host/plugin agnostic as a leader of a meetup. Our job as facilitators is to create a psychologically safe place.
Be careful with gender-specific meetups - be gender-inclusive, not exclusive. You can focus your content and style at women, but you shouldn’t exclude men from attending. We can all learn from each other - men and women do things differently but all have something to offer.
We have a lot of seasoned WordPress professionals who no longer want to attend meetups because it’s too basic for them. We also have very new beginners who feel it’s too advanced. It’s nice, when possible, to be able to mix your content or have different meetups aimed at different levels.
RELATED: EP283 – Who are we presenting to at a WordCamp or WordPress Meetup? https://www.wpwatercooler.com/video/ep283-wpwatercooler/
If we approach any group of people and think “there’s nothing I can learn from any of these people” then we’re looking at it all wrong. There’s always something to be gained from networking and mentoring with other people. We want to get bigger jobs, so we should partner up with each other!
We’re more than just what we do for a living - we have unique interests/skills outside of WordPress - like yoga!
When Matt Cromwell went to WP Las Vegas a few years ago, he went to a beginner’s workshop (even though he’s an advanced user) and got to hear so much for new users that he was then able to take back with him and say “I’m going to do this differently from now on”.
We go through phases where we are advanced at some things and beginners at other things. It’s important to be a lifelong learner, there’s always something new you can learn and people you can learn from.
Try not to always talk about only the commercial plugin options and the pricier hosting options, you have to remember sometimes your audience is Joe, the cat-blogger! Not everyone works for a WordPress agency!
Promoting and blogging about your meetup is really important. Even over the holidays - that is often when people are the loneliest and need connection with others the most. Try to promote at least 2 weeks out and use more than just meetup.com to advertise.
Taking photos during your events can be super helpful - especially if you use those photos to promote the group on social media in between events
If you’re going to have your meetup on a week night, it can be tricky for people to get dinner before your meeting, so maybe provide cheap eats (pizza, etc) or try to meet up beforehand for a quick bite together.
In your meetup event page, comment & reply to people when they say they can’t attend or when they give feedback on the meeting - be interactive!
If you have a facebook page, try to schedule facebook events as reminders, and if it’s possible, even have someone record it and share it via facebook live during the meetup. (Can even be done with a cellphone)
Andrea Middleton: WordCamps are a celebration of the meetups that happen the whole year before!
Try not to have all of the meetup/WordCamp organizers sit together at events, it can be intimidating and exclusionary - it also makes it harder to focus on meeting new members and getting to know each other better.
Try to do your staff/organizer meetups not at the meetup event. Schedule a separate time for it.
Have consistency - it’s a HUGE factor - people who don’t attend regularly but know your schedule are able to hop in down the road when they may have more time to attend
Being a community means investing your time in other people. ~ Bridget
TOOLS AND TIPS
Bridget: Use Gmail to help clean-up your constant contact email list by searching gmail addresses to find out if they have a profile with their first and last name listed
Jason: There isn’t really any good formatting for doing “stories” on social media - found a great app for phones that allows you to make and customize your story - Unfold
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/unfold-create-stories/id1247275033?mt=8
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.moonlab.unfold&hl=en_US
Show notes contributed by: Cheryl LaPrade @YayCheryl
Sherie LaPrade @HeySherie
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This week, Jason and Bridget are joined by James Laws from Saturday Drive. He's also the co-host of the Adventures in Businessing podcast. We'll be discussing free work, loss leaders, and freemium price models in the WordPress ecosystem.
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In this episode, Jason and Bridget discuss the partnership with Jetpack and A2 Hosting and how it impacts the WordPress space. Who benefits and why. Marketing to agencies or end users? Who is the audience and what does Automattic and A2 Hosting have to gain?
Jetpack announces strategic partnership with A2 Hosting - bizjournals.com - Partnership will allow A2 Hosting customers to use Jetpack Personal at no additional cost
DreamHost to include Jetpack Professional with Advanced DreamPress Packages - globenewswire.com
WPWebHost to Include Jetpack Premium with its Managed WordPress Hosting - prweb.com
Recommended WordPress and Jetpack Hosting Providers - jetpack.com
Check the comments on Bridget's post on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/bridget.willard/posts/10156775585801614
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In this episode, Jason and Bridget are joined by Joshua Knapp of AnHonestHost. He’ll be talking about ways to gain and retain a customer base by offering services that improve their workflow.
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We build companies so we have something of value. So, why are people upset when companies are acquired? It comes down to marketing and branding. Join Jason and Bridget as they discuss some recent acquisitions in and out of WordPress. * https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/automattic/acquisitions/acquisitions_list * https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/godaddy#section-acquisitions * https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/wp-engine#section-investors * https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/anheuser-busch
https://prospress.com/automatewoo-joins-prospress/ Genesis and Gutenberg: https://www.billerickson.net/getting-your-theme-ready-for-gutenberg/ The Top 10 Companies Contributing to Open Source (Microsoft at the top there
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This week on WPblab we have Laura Coronado the Communications Specialist at WebDevStudios. Russell Aaron and Jason Tucker will be talking with Laura about some techniques for starting and maintaining an editorial calendar, plotting your posts and allowing yourself to be flexible in order to remain timely. If you or your staff haven't created an editorial calendar yet now is your chance to get yourself educated on it, use the social link here to share this content with your coworkers and friends on social media.
Laura Coronado is the Communications Specialist at WebDev Studios (which is over several other brands). She manages content and social media for 4 brands in total. She has been using WordPress for over a decade.
Laura uses a spreadsheet to help with planning & keeping everything organized. She always has pen and paper handy (Bridget uses a notebook to plan out her content).
- On her own blog, Laura doesn’t have an editorial calendar at all
- It depends highly on your own goals and plans – WebDev does have a calendar
- She likes spreadsheets because they are simple and there is transparency – no buffer between her and everyone else at the company
Plugins:
- Editorial Calendar – can manage multiple authors, accessible from WordPress dashboard, drag & drop capability, can schedule & edit schedule, shows you visually where things are in the calendar – highly recommended
- CoSchedule – Premium plugin, all the way up to enterprise level – has all the bells and whistles
Can also use Hootsuite for light scheduling and planning/tracking of posts.
Russell – “I don’t have a filter! And usually it’s not grammatically correct.”
He doesn’t use a schedule, it’s more stream of consciousness. He thinks it and just has to get it out on the blog. He voice blogs.
Laura doesn’t like to rock the boat and prefers to do what is easiest for the people she works with. She’s just grateful that their people are willing to write for the blog & will happily take the blog articles in whatever format they come – google doc, pen & paper, word doc, etc.
Hot Tip: There is more than just paragraphs. Bullet points / numbered lists / headlines and subheadings are great. Don’t be afraid to format!
Russell uses his headphones to record and utilizes Google Keep to store his content. Every 4 sentences he’ll skip a line to break up his paragraphs. His articles focus on two things: what is the problem & what is the solution?
On the WebDev calendar they have the due date and the publication date. For her, the due date is usually 24 hours before publication. It gives her time to work on it, proofing/editing, etc. She usually receives the blog post on the exact due date.
Russell works support and never knows what’s going to come in on a given day, so sometimes his blog posts will arrive at the very last minute (or rarely, he misses the deadline). This is why editorial calendars need to have some flexibility.
She recommends having a strategy for when blog posts don’t come in on time. Maybe going to WordPress.tv and finding a great talk to highlight.
What’s good about video is that video takes time to watch which means more time on the site and great engagement!
Jason loves that with us (Sherie & Cheryl) recording the show notes, we’re creating extra content that can be used on social media and on the site. The more content you have the better!
One of the things you need to figure out from the beginning (and keep analyzing) is how often you want to blog. Then establish the best days and times to blog. Then you can start planning your calendar. She only plans out about 2 months in advance to make sure to keep things flexible! There’s always going to be timely/seasonal topics that you want to touch on, so it’s important to have room in the schedule for that.
When you are planning out far in advance, choosing “evergreen” content means that it can be pushed to another date if you have something timely or significant that comes up and needs to be posted first. Such as when Ben came to her and said we really need to address GDPR and should probably get it posted in the next few days.
Laura does not (yet) have a disaster plan, so it can be a bit worrisome wondering what would happen if she was available. It’s probably something that should be written down (style guides, guidelines, etc.) so that others can jump in when needed.
She also thinks that WebDev (and any company really) could really use a Style Guide. How you format your text, how and what you post. That way if someone takes over for you, the tone doesn’t have to change.
She loves using Buffer for social media. She has that and the WebDev site all day long so she can monitor and make sure things are going out when they are supposed to.
You need to keep on top of things and keep the site and plugins up-to-date – if the site goes down, so does your ability to create and share content.
Bridget always recommends not to automate the entire process when posting to social media – inevitably, things will break – there are lots of moving parts to keep track of, and chances are something will get missed.
Sharing posts across multiple platforms can be iffy. If you daisy-chain them, chances are your content is going to look horrible on at least one of the platforms. Try to use an app that will let you post the same content directly to each platform instead of sharing from one platform to the other.
Using Rebrandly to create their shortlinks. WDS.AF
Russell uses a plugin called InstaGo to redirect traffic
What is the payoff for WDS? In the end, the editorial calendar & content strategy is designed to support their marketing strategy, which in the end, supports their business goals.
They have found that their old blog posts were very technically oriented, which is a great audience, but they’re not the decision makers. Who they really want to talk to is the marketing & business executives. They have to decide if their old posts are worth re-posting and if they will reach the right audience.
They’ve identified 3 older blog posts that could be updated and need to decide if it’s worth the time to update them and re-present them or if it’s not worth the time sink.
If something lives on the internet (like a blog post), it’s important to make sure it’s kept up to date, especially in regards to rates/fees for services your company offers. Sometimes it’s better to choose to delete old content instead of refurbishing it. Russell worked for a financial company and had a post with rates in it – set up a plugin to scrape the current rates so he would never have to worry about updating it but it would still be current.
If you decide not to update an out-of-date post and delete it instead, how do you handle the dead link? Laura suggests redirection to something that is more relevant or current.
WebDevStudios is communicating all the time so they work hard to keep things interesting. Sometimes they include contests, and hidden ‘easter eggs’ but all of this takes planning.
Tools and tips of the week:
- Laura – Loves to use Grammarly, but it does have some conflicts with WordPress – it will make you a better writer
- Jason – Ginger – it’s a chrome extension that helps with proofreading & Grammar.
- Russell – Composer – it goes into all the dev projects and pull all the necessary files for each person
Show notes contributed by: Cheryl LaPrade – @yaycheryl
Sherie LaPrade – @heysherie
The post WPblab EP104 – Planning & Maintaining a Flexible Content Calendar w/ Laura Coronado appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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Everyone knows DesktopServer. But it wasn't magic. In this episode, Jason and Bridget are joined by Marc Benzakein. He'll talk about how DesktopServer went from a development project to a common and popular workflow solution. Join in the live chat to ask questions.
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- Bridget Willard – https://www.linkedin.com/in/bridgetwillard/
- Jason Tucker – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasontucker/
-
Marc Benzakein https://serverpress.com
- @marcbenzak | @serverpress
-
Gregg Franklin – handles 90% of the customer service because he’s so good with people
- David Jesch
- Stephen Carnam
Branding is something you have to do for yourself personally as well as the company you are with – Marc has been told he’s the face of ServerPress because he’s gone to so many WordCamps, but he also has his own “brand”
You want to know who these people are, you want to know that they’re people of integrity and you want to know what their mission is
Marc has known Gregg since 1989 – they both worked in the video department at Circuit City!
Gregg always made sure to be very knowledgeable about the products and he was very good with the customers, but he was also very competitive!
If an agency’s specialty is WordPress, it makes sense to go to WordCamps – the first year Marc was involved with ServerPress, he did 26 WordCamps (2014), basically one every other weekend! Kept up a similar pace the next few years.
Marc went to WordCamp San Diego before he even became involved with ServerPress and that’s when he first fell in love with the WordPress community. Phoenix was the first WordCamp that he spoke at.
Other than Southern California, ServerPress’ footprint was very small at that time. When he went to speak at Phoenix, he gave a talk/workshop that was 2 hours. There were about 100 people in the room and it went without a hitch! Marc had planned for almost every contingency, but nothing happened. Phoenix was bigger than WordCamp Miami at the time so he knew he had to be on his game!
They were a bootstrap company with not a lot of capital. How do they get their name out there?
Branding is more important than “marketing” at that level. “You get to control your marketing, but people control your brand. They get to decide what they think of you whether you like it or not.”
What did they want people to think about ServerPress:
- We’re at every single WordCamp
- We’re an established company in the community
They decided to provide lanyards with their name and logo on it and the WordCamp’s logo on the other side – but after about a year were asked to stop doing that – he knew when they did it the first time, they might eventually be told to stop! (reminiscent of what happened with Pantheon branding the hotel elevators at WCUS 2016) Andrea Middleton (from the WordPress Community team) called him (and was SO nice), and politely encouraged them to stop, which they agreed.
Jason: you should provide power strips in the rooms with your logo on them! People would LOVE you!
Marc: better idea – take your sponsor table and just fill it with power strips. People would hang out there all day long!
Bridget: almost all businesses in the WordPress spectrum are self-made, small businesses. But they are the ones that are sponsoring the local community, the meetups – they are making an investment in the people which keeps them in the WordPress ecosystem.
This is why one of Bridget & Jason’s main goals with this show is to give people actionable ideas to improve their marketing and learn how to reach their audience better
The question you have to ask yourself is: What is our return on investment? It’s not a concrete, easy number when you are involved in WordCamps. Money/profit is the scorecard that most people look to. But for small businesses in the WordPress ecosystem, the people, the loyalty and community that you gain are the ROI. They will sell your product without you asking them to do it – you are providing something that is so valuable to them that they have to preach it from the mountaintops – you are giving them so much more value than they expected.
Marc started programming on a mainframe computer at the age of 10, – he’s smart but he feels lucky that he gets to work with 2 of the smartest people he knows representing a great product!
2017 was a tough year for DesktopServer – Apple had more security updates than ever, Microsoft had more security updates than ever and they had to react to all of it. Also, PHP7 came and they had to react to that as well. It was a perfect storm – a year of being reactive rather than proactive. It was because of their branding and the loyalty that they built up among their customers, that people were willing to give them grace and work with them during that time.
What can we do to make our customers feel like they are getting the value for what they are spending?
They appreciate that they have such a loyal following and fanbase. Bridget: you can either make your influencers or find your influencers and ServerPress “made” their influencers.
Marc has never had a partnership like this one. They have a deep respect for each other. It might be fate … it just worked out! There needs to be some overlap between the roles, but not so much that everyone is stepping on each other’s toes.
Marc handles operations, business development, billing, marketing, etc. Gregg handles customer service and people. Dave/Steve speak their own language and understand each other. They make sure not to step on each other’s toes. They all have their jobs pretty well defined and nobody wants to take over anyone else’s!
It’s all a matter of having a healthy amount of respect for each other and boundaries. Within the company, Marc has the nickname of “The Mayor”. There have been times that they’ve all talked about the direction that the company should go and it often came down, in the end, to “What does Marc think?”, but everything at ServerPress is really a consensus. Everyone has a say. They have disagreements, but they end up with a better end-product as a result. They don’t let their egos get in the way of building a better product and building a better company.
What you see is what you get with them. They are exactly who you see on a weekend at a WordCamp and during the week at ServerPress. People don’t care how big a company is, they want to have some sort of personal connection to the company. This is why they go to so many WordCamps – they want to have that same connection to their customers.
If I treat people with respect and honesty, I can be the same person inside my company and outside, personally.
Tip of the Week Marc
New plugin for ServerPress that automatically backs up your database
Google Photos – https://photos.google.com/
Bridget
Revive Old Posts plugin – bring up older content from your blogs and recycle it – great for sharing evergreen posts, lots of custom settings
Jason
https://agenda.com/ – Note-taking app that ties into your calendar – you can write notes about specific events that you are attending. Supports markdown.
https://developer.apple.com/design/awards/
https://overcast.fm/+K8lgFR3dk Rene Ritchie and Serenity Caldwell speak with the creators of Agenda — a WWDC 2018 Apple Design Award winning note taking app for Mac. They discuss Agenda as well as this year’s major announcements from a developer and end user perspective.
—
Show notes contributed by:
Cheryl LaPrade – @yaycheryl
Sherie LaPrade – @heysherie
The post WPblab EP103 – Bootstrap to Commonplace: Talking Branding & Grass Roots w/ Marc Benzakein appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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In this episode, Jason and Bridget are joined by Marcy Massura, who has an extensive background in marketing, to say the least. We're going to apply marketing principles from other industries to WordPress freelancers and agencies and give you all good reasons to use this neglected social network.
You can find Marcy on the following sites:
Marcy Massura & Company
twitter.com – @marcymassura
linkedin.com – marcymassura
instagram.com – @marcymassura
Bridget Willard – https://www.linkedin.com/in/bridgetwillard/
Jason Tucker – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasontucker/
Marcy Massura – https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcymassura/
Linkedin is more help focused and is more self-regulating than other social platforms.
LinkedIn self-polices its groups.
Have a ‘real’ photo for LinkedIn profile photo – how people would see you in real life.
^ Focus on your face and eyes
Your header image is very important.
Header image should communicate what you do
A safe place to promote what you do, You can brag about your accomplishments
Premium LinkedIn allows to better hunt for a job or looking for people to fit a specific role or job. https://www.linkedin.com/profinder
Small biz helping other small biz find right connections.
LinkedIn ads result in actual results, continues to improve all the time.
Linkedin offers all types of advertising and is very open-minded with it comes to ads.
Job titles are great but think about how someone would be searching for the type of job you want to be hired for.
Have fun with your personal tagline, not so much your titles. Have fun with the tagline but do not forget the keywords.
LinkedIn is 15 years old the – same age as WordPress
LI is more than a resume receptacle
Nice way to get more recommendations is to add a note on the bottom of all invoices.
Also, Linkedin is one of the only social network platforms that you want to be friends with your clients.
Connect with New clients on LinkedIn, great way to ask for recommendations AFTER a job well done.
Don’t fake your reviews, make them count.
There is a toggle on your profile that lets you notify everyone or not of changes.
Cool stuff on LinkedIn:
Can follow hashtags to have it show in the feed
Its kinda like a think tank. People seem to be so willing to help. However, this is based on your connections.
Tip of the Week Marcy
Sprout Social – Social media management made easy.
– 99/month to start
^ it’s no hootsuite or hexagon, but great for small business and reviewing reports on social interactions.
Bridget
How Adam Smith can change your life]
Goes good with tequila
Jason
Rescue Time – tracks time spent doing tasks on your computer
automatic and IFTT reports to rescuetime when Jason is Lyfting about.
______________
Show notes contributed by:
James Tryon – @jamestryon
Paul Oyler – @PappyOyler
The post WPblab EP102 – LinkedIn: Why WordPressers Shouldn't Ignore it appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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In this episode, Bridget and Jason are joined by Rick Solari. Bland branding is bad branding. Allow your personality to shine. Let’s chat about taking a different approach than the norm.
- Bridget Willard
- Jason Tucker
- Rick Solari
Bridget: Don’t be so stuck on your business model that you’re not willing to ‘shift’!
Rick: Media Producer and consultant – helps people spice things up in their brand awareness, social media, videos, etc – teach how to share your true voice and gain more followers along the way!
There’s a lot of people out there who continuously post the same things – very familiar/similar to others in their industry. Rick teaches people to go ‘outside of the box’ and add fun & personality to their marketing efforts.
Find your voice and just speak it – scream it as loud as you can!
Bridget – I always default to “as polite as possible”
Humor is really tricky in this post-modern world – “skin is so thin, it’s a wonder most people don’t have skin cancer”
Pushing boundaries can get you attention but you want to make sure it’s the right kind of attention. Make sure it doesn’t backfire on you.
Be careful with hashtags and social media campaigns, you have to be prepared for the hecklers.
It’s one thing to get people to talk about you and your brand, but are you getting them to talk about you and behave or ‘take action’ in the way that you want them to?
Bridget: You really have to know your audience. The danger is that you are being a source of entertainment but there is no benefit coming your way.
If what is happening or is popular/trending in social media makes sense for your brand, jump on that!
Being funny can be really good – it’s not necessarily a bad thing
pic.twitter.com/kRGBixcBTg
— Yanni (@Yanni) May 16, 2018
#Laurel? #Yanny? Or… pic.twitter.com/5hth07SdGY
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 17, 2018
Torque and ‘Doc Pop’ do a great job with their videos and cartoons
https://torquemag.io/author/doc-pop/
Bridget: One of the reasons I like humor is that it can be a gentler way to communicate a truth.
BrunchBros – Brunch is a big thing in Miami, FL! They have various different characters like the “business bro” and the “frat bro” and they post memes based around those characters – adds humor and wit to the more typical “food blog” style posts
Bridget: contemplating writing backstories for stock photos! She loves making up stories about random people at restaurants, public events, etc. It might be a good way of tricking herself into writing again and would be a great way to show her understanding of people!
There’s a game called ‘memes’ that is similar to that idea with storytelling based on a picture
We’re always pushing to do more, be more, learn more. Sometimes it’s nice to just see something cheery on the internet that makes you smile or laugh. It might even spark creativity in someone else!
There are limits to how far you should take your humor. Create a pros/cons list – what is the worst thing that can happen if I post this? If you think something is funny, you should try to consider what the opposite reaction could be to that content.
Weigh out the pros/cons – even if it’s completely funny to you, work out how it might be received wrongly by someone else and what would happen – work the cons list and make sure you are comfortable with the possible reactions before you post
If you have a team, try to ping-pong your ideas with a group. If not, bounce it off your good friend and see what they think.
If you can figure out how to quickly jump onto & associate your brand with something that is happening (current events) then that can be social media gold – have to make sure it’s not a sensitive issue though
The biggest hangup with companies, especially bigger ones, is the reluctance to give up control
Make sure if you are going to jump on something that’s trending and bounce off of it, that you do it in a timely manner. Don’t be the cardboard company that wanted to react to an event that happened 6 weeks ago!
Try creating a google search using boolean operators so that it’s very specific, that way when something actually comes up, you know it’s something worth reacting to
Think about how do you take something boring and turn it into something that sticks?
If you’re a bank, for example, what do you talk about? Talk about stuff that is “a win” for your brand or your customer and use that feature to inject a bit of humor into your marketing.
Southwest is one of Bridget’s favorite airlines. The flight attendants have a lot of autonomy and get to have a lot of fun with what they do. She mentioned bad turbulence and made a joke about it on social media during a flight and they replied and then DM’d her back and sent her a gift certificate.
Everything you do in social media is a risk. There will always be some backlash. There will always be critics. Take the risk but know what kind of backlash you might get. Go in with eyes wide open.
Jason: If you can be timely (but be sensitive not to push it too far) you can pull off a lot of cool things.
Rick: You want to respond within the hour or within the day depending on what it is and the staying power of the trend.
Tools/Tips of the Week
Rick: huge fan of Mashable.com – they have a shop, including online courses. There is an instagram marketing crash course for entrepreneurs on a huge sale!
Bridget: Had a revelation that Javascript is Algebra and thought maybe she can teach herself! Started Wes Bos Javascript30 but needed more background to get started. Someone recommended FreeCodeCamp and it is SO cool! On lesson 22 already! Also set up a CodePen account – wants to prove to herself that she can do it! “We can do anything we want to do, we just have to put our minds to it”; “Say YES to yourself”
Jason: hates Slack, but if you’re going to use it, you need something that will corral it. Franz – you install it and log into all of the services you use to chat with folks, aggregates all of them into one
Show notes contributed by:
Cheryl LaPrade – @yaycheryl
Sherie LaPrade – @heysherie
The post WPblab EP101 – It’s okay to have a personality in your marketing with Rick Solari appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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On this episode, Jason Tucker and Bridget Willard get sentimental and invite past guests to jump on and share what they've learned recently in WordPress. We're all life-long learners. Come join in the fun in the chat and see more details in our Facebook Group.
100 Episodes since October 2015!!
- Bridget Willard
- Jason Tucker
Bridget: “As we learn and grow and teach, our bio’s change and grow!”
Russell Aaron * Has been on WPblab off & on since the beginning and was on nearly weekly in the beginning when it was more of a Q&A show * His girlfriend was super supportive of his journey in WordPress and let him spend the time he needed coding and ‘leveling up’ his skills. They now have a little boy, which is also a big learning journey for them! * Never thought he could work for a company like WebDev Studios but met the right people and answered the right questions and here he is! Over 2 years with them now! * If you are ever having errors, you have 3 options – make a backup and try turning things on and off, have a staging site, and reach out to people you are connected to in the community – lean on other people! * WordPress is so cool! Put your heart into it and you’re gonna love it!
Kevin Hoffman * Kevin remembers WPblab when it was still on the Blab platform! * Blab was an interesting beast, you never knew who would pop in! Bridget: it was like Chatroulette! * Had to keynote WordCamp Pittsburgh on 2 days notice, so he covered his WordPress journey, which basically all started with WPblab. * Decided to try and run his own blab – talked for 30 minutes and no one showed up! Realized that he wasn’t putting things on record – not writing blog posts or sharing his work. People don’t always operate on your time. I have value to offer but it doesn’t mean the person on the receiving end is ready at that moment. He worked on WordPress for 7 years before he wrote his first blog post!
James Tryon * Easily Amused, Inc and Wapu.us * James has been on & off the show for a long time, helping with show notes too! * Bridget: For a long time WPblab was a virtual meetup! It was a great option for people who had meetups far from them. * James looks forward to it every week, it makes his Thursday night! Loves the chatting, and hanging out with everyone! Even though he’s across the country, it feels like everyone is together on Thursday nights! * Jason: it’s so strange because he’ll see people online and through Blab all the time and then see them in person and it will be like they’ve just seen each other, even though they are on opposite coasts – all thanks to WPblab * James’ word of wisdom – he has been thoroughly enjoying an hour a day of yard work lately! Exercise and fresh air! * He really loved WP Watercooler but WPblab feels like home to him. He looks forward to it every Thursday and feels bad when he has to miss it. We all feel like family! * Bridget: “It’s so true! If I have a panic attack while I’m at WCEU, will any of my friends be there?” And so many people jumped up to say they would!
Roy Sivan * Had him on several WPblab shows in the past & interviewed him several times * His favorite memory was getting in a deep conversation with Bridget about open source * One thing that impresses Bridget most is that Roy and none of the WP Crowd ever talk down to her about WordPress & her level of knowledge/skills * “For every good developer, there is a user to give that developer purpose!” * You’re a user and without you, I have no reason to build this thing – but you give us purpose and a reason to create! * Bridget: you can have a cognitive dissonance if you aren’t using your product. Even if you knew it once a few years ago, if you haven’t used it since, everything has changed!
The whole crew
- Roy’s shoutout – go over to Matt Cromwell’s twitter to check out a video of trolling Ben
- Roy – he loved how Jason was always doing tech support with Blab!
- Bridget – you want Jason to be the “guy” – you certainly don’t want it to be me!
- Bridget – I don’t build websites, hire Roy!
- Bridget – just wrote her first WordCamp talk on GitHub with Markdown!
- All – discuss how much (or if any) company logo can appear on WordCamp talk slides and still be acceptable for WordPress.tv
- Bridget – WordPress has taught me how to go to bars – true story LOL
- Bridget – WordPress.TV is the best – free learning! Lynda is great, but WP.tv is free
- Russell – when I got to WordCamp, I want to learn, I don’t want to be bored! WordPress.tv – if you ever want to see the energy of the community, that’s the place
- Russell & Bridget both dream about their WordCamp talks
Tools of the week: * James: Google Drive is amazing for working as a team – we can all take notes on the same documents and share the same files. We use it all the time, along with Slack.
* Russell – WP-CLI (command line interface) – if you don’t know what the command line tool is and how amazing it is, go learn about it – it’s the best tool!
* Kevin: Look into BEM – Block Element Modifier (CSS naming convention)
https://twitter.com/kevinwhoffman/status/987005921510526976
* Roy: SVG.js – complex animating with SVGs – really great library with lots of cool plugins – wrote a plugin called the Gutenburg Object Plugin. Takes the data and saves it properly in the database as an array instead of in markup format.
* Bridget: TouchNote – will send postcards of your photos & even canvas prints Also: STEP program with the State Department – connects you to US Embassy and give them your info for when you are traveling overseas
* Jason: Markdown editor: https://macdown.uranusjr.com/ – simplest and free – MacDown. It’s 2 panes, type text on one side, renders Markdown on the other side
Roy Question for Bridget – where you used to believe Open Source was not a good thing, how do you feel now? – When you have intellectual property and you give it away for free – it is your choice. The thing that’s great about WordPress, it’s not about planned obsolescence. They don’t create something that will break to create new customers. This is the issue that she has with Gutenberg. WordPress believes that everyone has the right to publish and stands upon the idea that they will never break your site. Gutenberg might break that. What is the best solution for your customer/user?
Bridget:
-
The relationships and people are what makes WordPress valuable.
-
WordPress is at a crossroads, do we want to stay with our core beliefs that it’s all about ‘democratizing publishing’ or do we bow to capitalism?
- I love WordPress, I love the community and I love the WPblab group even more!!
______________
Show notes contributed by:
Cheryl LaPrade – @yaycheryl
Sherie LaPrade – @heysherie
The post WPblab – 100th Episode Mastermind – Lifelong Learning with Our Community appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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WordPress is a diverse and inclusive community. So why do we have specialty Meetups? Do we need one? In this episode, Jason Tucker and Bridget Willard invite the founder of Women Who WP, Jen Miller to talk about this important subject.
Jen Miller – the WPblab unofficial show producer!
Started a specialty group called WomenWhoWP – geared toward women, but open to everyone! The setup is a little different than a traditional meetup because “woman dialogue differently”. Yvonne originally coined that phrase. They wanted to be able to share and grow and dialogue together regularly!
Why do you need a woman’s meetup? Men don’t see how much they dominate the conversation (and how much more they are represented in tech – Bridget was one of only a few woman at a recent Developer meetup).
The way women relate at meetups is far different than the way men do. Men also ask questions differently – women tend to include more social details and stories, and men tend to get straight to the point.
Friendship is when you say “oh my gosh – me too!” Women feel comfortable sharing when they feel others understand them or can relate. As their group has grown, more of those women have started attending the regular WP meetup as well!
Bridget has a mug on the show that happened because of WomenWhoWP – it came from a friend at WordCamp Mumbai – Meher is doing a WWWP group in Mumbai. WWWP is now worldwide – women are excited about it!
They saw in their own meetup, they & other women in the group didn’t get to spend much time talking together, so they decided they needed to set aside time to really relate with each other.
WWWP meetings happen over food at restaurants. They have discussions over dinner so by the time the presentation happens, everyone feels like they’ve bonded and created friendships.
How you are physically in a room and your body language matters – it makes a huge difference in how people relate to you.
https://www.boldgrid.com/boldlife-episode-6-bridget-willard/#more-14611
They have made it a really big deal to encourage each other not to describe themselves as “just” anything… (just a blogger, just a designer, just a writer, etc…) They work hard to validate each other. Wherever you are in your journey – it matters! What you are doing matters.
Ages at their local WomenWhoWP meetup range in ages from 22 – 70! You can’t have mentorship if you only hang around the people who are your age. They’ve even had visiting 12-yr-olds!
It’s amazing what every individual who comes contributes to the group! They all have something unique to add. The group spends time each month also sharing the new things that each of them learned.
Amy Hall in the chat: “It’s the acceptance that makes it awesome” – it’s so true – that’s what make the WordPress community special. Women at the WWWP meetups get to really know when another – they know you when you walk in the room and they care if/when you show up.
There was one time where Bridget wasn’t going to attend one month (she was late, having a bad day, etc.) but then she went anyway and when she walked in everyone was excited to see her and made a big deal out of welcoming her into the group. They treated her like family and made her feel wanted/needed and made her day.
They have a general, business, design, developer and WWWP meetup in their area – all specialty meetups that all cater to certain people. As a community grows, and if it’s big enough and invested enough, it’s a great way to help grow and expand specific skill sets.
Make sure to get your meetup connected to the WordPress meetup Chapter Program so that people will be able to find it more easily.
Zeek Interactive sponsors the Women Who WP meetups by providing the location.
At WCUS, they have a special LGBTQ afterparty – sometimes it’s just great to connect with your tribe – the people you identify with.
The original meetup started by Zeek spawned a whole bunch of spin off meetups that followed a similar format. It’s important to have a format and a plan – when Jason visits other meetups, sometimes they can feel a little aimless. It’s such a big difference to attend one where there is a schedule and format. That’s what makes the meetups at Zeek Interactive and WWWP meetups so great!
As Jason’s meetup grows, he’s noticing there is a growing divide between those who are on a developer level and those who are just beginning and figuring their way around. It’s around this time in any meetup where it’s a good time to ask yourself – is it time to start a specialty meetup?
They encourage every Women Who WP chapter to have 3 organizers. That way if someone needs a month off, they are able to take the time without worrying about the group. That way they are able to keep continuity in the group and keep things flowing.
It helps to have a team and share the responsibilities (and the spotlight!) It helps balance the load and plays to each individual team members’ strengths.
Mentoring people and allowing them to grow into the position while they have you as a safety net is really important. The group should be able to continue and move on even when one of the team leaders isn’t available and has to move somewhere else. We should be like “sourdough starters”!
No one likes to say it but a lot of people like to ‘control’, but if you’re controlling, you’re not mentoring and your stifling the development of your community.
They aren’t telling people what to say or how to be a part of the group, they are modeling and mentoring and the group members are learning by example. Jen: “We’re not in this for us, we’re in this for them – for this community”. They’re doing to expand the audience so everyone can learn together.
There are starting to be some specialty WordCamps – maybe someday even a WomenWhoWP WordCamp?! It’s possible! WwWP had a booth at WCUS and because of that visibility, groups in other countries were started.
One of the things they do that’s really different is they invest in the community. When members write on the meetup community page (on Facebook or meetup.com) that they can’t go, the organizers make sure to ‘like’ the comment and reply to them to let them know they’ll be missed!
(sidebar: please put your face (an actual photo) on your Meetup profile so organizers recognize you! And everyone else!!)
We may be meeting once a month, but we’re keeping things going even outside of our meetups.
Intentionally, the organizers choose not to sit together. They’re there for the other people who attend the group, so they distribute themselves around the room. That way, everyone feels like they have access to the leaders. It can be a challenge in some rooms to sit apart but try to be intentional about it! It’s important to make sure you’re always talking to new people in the room.
If you want to be a meetup leader, you have to sometimes go out of your comfort zone – talk to people you wouldn’t normally – stretch yourself!
There’s a twitter thread started by Dwayne McDaniel today talking about “what’s your favorite part of speaking”… Bridget’s answer was: “I speak because I teach. My passion is that moment on someone's face where they get it. When I speak and they feel empowered. When they come up and say, “That's it?” And I'm like, yeah. You just tweeted.”
We try to hit all the topics so that everyone can learn something different. Even seasoned developers. A lot of times in WordPress, we learn what we need for the project, but not in depth.
Jen took a Front End Development course at Udacity through Grow with Google scholarship. She learned to code. She’s been in WordPress for 10 years so she had an understanding of html/css/javascript but never in a systematic approach. It really helped her to see all the parts in an incremental way and gave accountability as she progressed through her learning. It’s been great! She’s learning more and more and that’s not something she always to get to spend a lot of time on. It’s helped her and her community! It made her feel good because she realized any one of the women she’s connected with could also do this! Last week at WordCamp San Diego she actually spoke about Gutenberg!
One of the really interesting things that happened, is during the final project she was having trouble getting some of the code to work. She asked the lead developer to look at it and he sent a message back saying thanks and that “he learned a lot” from her problem because he had to go research it, which helped him to level up too! It raised his respect for her and her for him.
Jen would never have taken this on if WomenWhoWP had never happened. She’s doing it to show people that they don’t need to put themselves in a box – they can learn new skills. Just because they are great in one and feel set, it doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t try to enhance their skills or try for something they don’t think they can get. Jen didn’t think she has the relevant experience to be accepted, but she was! Take the risk – go after something your really want to learn!
Tools of the week: Bridget – https://www.touchnote.com/us/ – it’s an app to send your photos as postcards, prints
Jason – https://www.decksetapp.com/ – a way to do presentations for Mac, makes slide decks really easily without having to do any design work. It is done entirely in Markdown format. Costs $29 – $116 for a team.
Jen – https://www.udacity.com/ – she loves their learning style and they do so many different subjects in their Nanodegree program | https://codepen.io/ – to store all of her code snippets (includes editor that allows previews too)
______________
Show notes contributed by:
Cheryl LaPrade – @yaycheryl
Sherie LaPrade – @heysherie
The post WPblab EP99 – WordPress – Do we really need a specialty Meetup? appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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You have a brand but how are you handling it? Maybe you are self-taught and have a few gaps. In this episode, Jason and Bridget are going to cover the basics of using Facebook for your business. Bring your questions in the live chat.
What not to do: Do not create a Facebook profile that is not you as a real person! If you create a false profile to manage your FB page and FB takes your fake profile down, you’ll no longer have access to your Facebook page.
A Facebook Profile or Timeline must represent a real person.
https://www.facebook.com/help/community/question/?id=10151510422339065
The worst offenders in this area are churches.
The reason why you don’t want your profile to be your ‘page’ is because profiles have mutual ‘viewing’ privileges. Would you want a business page to see your personal details when all you want is to follow them on Facebook? Bridget: It’s lazy, it violates the FB Terms and it compromises the privacy of your fans/users/customers.
Tagging accounts and people on facebook to let them know you are sharing info about their services / business /photos is great – tagging people just to get their attention on your random post is not great. Think carefully before you tag!
Pages allow you to have insights, advertise, host events, and much more. There are 6 different types of pages available. Note, that you have the ability to use Facebook ‘as your page’ – allows you to interact with other pages and people as your page, instead of using your personal profile. This is a great way of getting exposure for your brand from other brands!
Create a Page here:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/create/ – you can make as many pages as you like!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/feed – see a list of the pages you’ve liked as your page
You will need a Profile photo and a cover photo for your page. Profile should be 500 x 500 pixel square. It’s a good idea to have a square version of your logo for this reason. Cover photo should be 851 x 315 pixels.
You can create both in Canva.com for free.
You can also use Pablo from Buffer: https://pablo.buffer.com
Think about who you want as Page Roles, too. Bridget wrote a blog post on things to consider on that here:
https://bridgetwillard.com/how-to-setup-a-facebook-page/
When you create featured images on your blog (1200 x 628), make sure there is less than 20% text. Facebook will accept your ad dollars, but is kind of a jerk about this rule. Even your video thumbnails need to follow this rule.
One of the benefits provided to facebook pages is stats & analytics. Very helpful for advertising.
“Data without context means nothing.” Looking at the stats content matters, but you need to understand what you are looking at it and what it means for you and your business.
Don’t spend more than 10 minutes looking at your data … it’s too easy to get distracted or lost in the weeds. Glance at it, gather the information you need and move on.
There is no way to play a YouTube/Google Hangout live video directly on Facebook. If you want to do something like that, you could use something like Zoom/LiveStream. Live video to Facebook is easiest using Facebook Live – one really good method is using your phone. You can interact and respond to viewers live.
You can also schedule your video, allows you to set it all up ahead of time. It will notify the people who said they want to watch, so they’re able to tune in when it starts.
Facebook Live Video- https://live.fb.com/about/
Youtube has a similar feature and will notify users who have expressed interest in your video.
You’re also able to download your videos from YouTube, Facebook, etc. and then upload them to the other platforms that you use. That way it can natively play within that platform.
If you can create events, do so 2 weeks ahead.
Guide
https://www.facebook.com/help/116346471784004
You can embed your Facebook videos on your WordPress blog – DO share your other content on your WordPress blog!! Facebook now also lets you record in landscape mode which is better for websites.
After you run your facebook live, Facebook will also give you an option to “Boost” your video post – this is a great way to advertise! Facebook has really powerful tools to help you ‘target’ your ads to the ideal audience.
When you choose send people to your website, you are able to set up targeting based upon:
- Location
- Interests
- If they like your page
We are human beings and humans are ‘social animals’ – people will relate to your business better if you post actual images of you and your team. People want to know you and know about what you’re doing. Everyone has a sphere of influence and everyone's an expert in something. Share that!
Don’t stream live, have a chatroom and then ignore your viewers and their comments – you might as well not even bother! You’ll never get away from the fact that our brains are wired for social interaction.
When you post something on your facebook page, the very least you can do is like it and if you’re really trying hard, you’ll reply to them! If you react and interact with your fans, you’ll build loyalty! Treat them well, be friendly, be kind. Stop chasing big “influencers” – go after the people who are already your super-fans and engage them. Be authentic – don’t say BS – say what you mean!
If you’re just broadcasting out and not looking at the live chat, then you’re wasting your time. People want interaction with you and your brand. You need to have someone managing these interactions. This can easily be done from home or anywhere.
You can hire transcribers or use transcription services to transcribe your videos for you.
Tools/Tips of the Week: * Bridget – Freshbooks (30 days free trial): not just for accepting payments; awesome at tax time! + Jason used Gravity Forms with a Freshbooks add-on – can create auto-estimates based on what they fill out on the from and it will pre-populate Freshbooks for you.
- Jason – Disc Drill: from CleverFiles.com (there is a free version – https://www.cleverfiles.com/ ), also part of the SetApp collection – helps you to recover files from SD cards.. It will scan them and offer ways to recover even partially corrupted data. https://wpwatercooler.com/setapp
Show notes contributed by: * Cheryl LaPrade – @yaycheryl * Sherie LaPrade – @heysherie
The post WPblab EP98 – Social Media And Your Brand: Facebook appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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In this episode, Jason and Bridget get back to marketing basics. You have a WordPress site. So? How are you getting email subscribers? What types of strategies work and which WordPress plugins do the best job. Tune in this week to find out and join the live chat to chime in.
The post WPblab EP97 – WordPress Plugins – Building Your Mailing List appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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Tonight on WPblab, Jason Tucker and Bridget Willard speak with James Tryon about the pros and cons of fragmenting your brand. Should you keep all of your products together under a company umbrella or have separate identities? Let’s talk business goals and marketing tonight.
James Tryon is Lead Ambassador for Wapu.us – helps promote brand recognition for the WordPress project
His company: Easily Amused Inc.
https://easilyamusedinc.com/
Salesman Rick – Rick and Morty affiliate links store
https://salesmanricks.com/
BlocksWP – resource for learning about Gutenberg blocks
http://blockswp.com/
Runs @TheGutes twitter account (Gutenberg related)
https://twitter.com/thegutes
A lot of his companies are DBA’s under his main company
It seems to be a relatively common practice for businesses to ‘fragment’ their brand and keep separate social accounts for each part of their business – Bridget thinks this is a really terrible idea…
Don’t launch a product on a squeaky clean account with 0 followers and no brand recognition!!!
Sometimes it makes sense to fragment yourself, such as splitting business and personal accounts where something is not appropriate or doesn’t belong on your single account. But remember, you are doubling your work!!
Bridget – it’s like a ‘stock split’ – you have twice as much stock, but it’s worth half as much
If you have lots of products and each product has its own accounts, then every time you launch a new product, you have to start over from scratch!
James doesn’t necessarily like being as fragmented as he is, but it kind of made sense to do so. The current brand he is working on now happens to be in a different industry. Sometimes fragmenting makes sense as a way to protect each of your ‘products’ or ideas from each other.
If you are selling a very low value product with one part of your business but then also selling custom site development for several thousand with your agency, you may want to separate them to the cheaper solutions don’t devalue your main brand
Sometimes there are also business, financial, tax reasons to separate out as well
Bridget wonders what happens if she changes her name – her brand uses her current name, so can she keep her brand name or does she need to change it? …Should you have a company name instead of using your name? Should you consider using a middle name instead of a last name? There are many factors to consider!
The same thing happens with your company – The company, the product, and you are all identities – what is the best way to brand yourself?
Do you want to be a house of brands or a brand of houses? (Chris Lema)
When you’re a giant company – you can have multiple separate teams for each of your products, but if you’re a small business, it’s hard to have the necessary resources to work on building each of those separate brands successfully and it likely makes more sense to concentrate your efforts on one brand!
You don’t want to find yourself in the position where you realize you haven’t tweeted or posted in several days on one of your brands – fragmenting yourself creates that risk
If you have 5 different plugins and you’re only 1 person with maybe a couple helpers, you would start stretching yourself too thin. If you’re questioning whether to fragment your brand with separate social accounts – go ahead and reserve the twitter (social media) handles and/or website domains and then you can phase in your efforts later as your company grows. Essentially ‘flag planting’.
If you’re going to fragment – go ALL in. Be cognizant of how much time it takes to build an account from scratch; it takes a LOT of time!
If you are fragmented with 2 or more accounts, another question is whether it makes sense to merge them and delete one of the accounts. The risk from merging is that you’ll lose followers from both accounts.
James has an individual domain name and social account for all of his brands
CONS: Money, resources, obscurity (starting from scratch can be good if you have a bad reputation, but not so great if your reputation is a good one)
When you have multiple brands, sometimes there is brand confusion – where clients will say “oh, I didn’t know you did that too” …. They could have used you to help with another need, but the brand recognition wasn’t there
Last 15 mins
James – https://minddoodle.com/ – mind mapping tool, completely free!
Jason – https://pasteapp.me/ – manage your clipboard on your Mac
Bridget (tool/tip requests)
— starting to use Windows computers more often – wants a Mac standard keyboard that works with a Windows computer!
— stop using crappy CMS’s!
— ask people (customers) where they come from and don’t accept “the internet” as the answer!
Show notes contributed by: * Cheryl LaPrade – @yaycheryl * Sherie LaPrade – @heysherie
The post WPblab EP96 – Pros and Cons of Brand Fragmentation appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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It's easy to jump on trends, try to be extreme to get attention, but what price do you pay? Do you get eyes or alienate your audience? Join Jason and Bridget with Guest Amy Donohue this week on WPblab where they will discuss it. If you have some strong opinions, watch live and join in the chat. We're all learning, right?
Show sponsored by PressedLinks
Amy Donohue
- http://gethybridsocial.com/
Know when to take a break on your social when something bad happens. Your business is not going to fail if you take a day off to when tragedy hits.
The evolution of social can make your brand anti-social with comes to auto posting.
Make sure you’re not tweeting from the dead.
Show more compassion when bad things happen and take a break from your agendas.
http://halfstaff.org/
https://github.com/Nomikxyz/flag-at-half-mast
Social media managers during a crisis, retweet relevant information
Amy doesn't let her clients know when she is pausing their campaigns
Marketing calendars should be flexible.
In cannabis filling tweets 2 weeks in advance could create problems because things change on a daily basis.
Respect the hashtag. Don’t hijack trending hashtags to promote your business when not related.
Use trending topics for what they are for… trending topics.
How long should a social media campaign say paused?
- It depends, how bad was it?
- If you use a location-based hashtag for marketing, pause use until after the news has stopped.
- Taking selfies of yourself volunteering is not good for your brand, says Amy. Put the camera away and use 2 hands to help.
Sell hurricane equipment before that season, not after.
If you have a local business during a local emergency don’t go silent. Use your blog and social media to share resources or help others. – Jen Miller
When in doubt, lay out.
- Bridget
Came from when planing in a band and not feeling a song.
Look to OREO – they were prepared and made their team aware. Be responsive and it can be a win for your brand. – Bridget
Tip of the week * Bridget + Make.WordPress.org/marketing started using google docs more. + Suggest mode in google docs. suggest let you make changes and someone can accept it and the changes just happen.
-
Amy
- Linkedin is a networking group. Also Cannabis friendly. Be genuine, small conversations
-
Jason
- Audiogram app (apple only) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/audiogram-sharing-voice-for-instagram/id1071562490?mt=8
Show notes contributed by: James Tryon @JamesTryon
Jen Miller @jenblogs4u
The post WPblab EP95 – Situational Awareness: When to Pause Marketing Campaigns w/ Amy Donohue appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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Ethics in marketing? Yes. Marketing needs ethics, too. After all, many people say “marketing” like it's a four-letter word. Senior Staff Instructor at LinkedIn Learning, Morten Rand-Hendriksen joins us this week on WPblab to talk about ethics in marketing. With a passion for learning new things (including ballroom dancing with his wife), philosophy, and accessibility, Morten is well-known as an advocate for all things forward-facing in tech but realizes the ethics implications. Join us this week for the live chat to ask Morten your questions.
Twitter: @mor10
Site: http://mor10.com/
LinkedIn Learning & Lynda.com
Studied Philosophy at University
Ethics 101 (definition) … there are two terms you hear all the time – ethics & morals – two different aspects of the same thing (two sides of the same coin)
Morals – internalized understanding of what is right and wrong
Ethics – a human definition of systems that you use to define what is right and wrong
If you look at Ethical Theory, you are looking at Moral Traditions – confusingly!
There is often a disconnect in understanding the terminology between the two
“Cryptomining is a good example of why the web design industry needs ethics”
Ethics (as defined by Moren) – the rules that we create to allow us to judge individual actions and see if they are justifiable in a moral context
“Why don’t people in the WordPress community copy each others themes and release them in a different name” – there’s nothing that explicitly prevents it, but there are ethics that keep them from doing so
Kant’s Categorical Imperative (wikipedia) – act as if you want your act to be a universal law – this is how people should always behave
We need ethics in marketing – as you release this thing into the world, how do you want it to be handled
There’s a common misunderstanding that ethics provides you a list of dos and don’ts – it doesn’t – that is dogmatic moralism. Rather, ethics give you the tools to at least attempt to think through the decisions you make, before you turn those decisions to action (and see what the consequences might be)
Example: There is code that you can currently install on your site that runs crypto mining processes on the computers of everyone who visits your site – generates money and sends it back to the owner of the site
- Salon is using adblocking readers' CPU power to mine cryptocurrency
- Salon to ad blockers:Can we use your browser to mine cryptocurrency?
- Salon has every right to hijack your laptop to mine cryptocurrency while you read it – businessinsider.com
- The JavaScript Supply Chain Paradox:SRI, CSP and Trust in Third Party Libraries
- Donate Your Tab
Consequentialism – what are the consequences of your actions and do those consequences improve the common good? It is okay if some people are disadvantaged as long as the large majority are advantaged.
In the case of the Crypto code – everyone is disadvantaged but the website owner, so Consequentialism would say – don’t do this!
Duty ethics – you have to perform acts in a way that you would want every other person to behave in that same situation, not because you have to, but because you actually believe that’s how it should be done
You have a duty of care to everyone who interacts with your website – unless you explicitly state that you are doing this, you are failing your visitors
Virtue Ethics – what kind of person do you become by performing the act. This is the oldest of these theories. The idea is that a human can only become virtuous by aspiring to a set of virtues.
Is this the type of person that I want to be? That I would want everyone else to be?
Capability Approach – the morality of an act has to be judged on what capabilities it grants the person it is acted upon. Does it improve their capabilities?
Start thinking about how what we are doing effects the ends user. What kind of future am I building for the people who are using this site?
A tiny toolkit to help you answer your own questions!
- What kind of world am I building for the end user?
- Who do I become by doing this?
- Do I want every other person to do this in the same circumstance?
- Am I increasing the overall utility for everyone? (everyone might be end user)
What is the value of getting an influencer to say something about your product?
You think they have more authority (there is value / money in that)
It’s because people innately believe what they say – even if not true – and respond to that influence
If you “ghost write” a review and make it seem as if it’s written entirely from the influencer, then the whole trust equation falls apart – your duty of care (ethically) would require you to disclose that information to your audience
The “Milli Vanilli” effect
100% GPL – if you aren’t 100% compliant, you can’t sponsor a WordCamp – how do ethics apply here
Someone has to make a decision about who is affected and who is not, it can become a very subjective decision. In WordPress, that person is often Matt Mullenweg – we are granting him license to do this by following along
The WordPress community largely rises and falls based on whether people are willing to buy into the importance and need of GPL
Ethics is complicated – every single person who is in the conversation will have a different viewpoint – if it’s a good ethical conversation, you touch on all the pain points enough that people are satisfied and everything has been accounted for
If we start over – what capabilities should we grant the end user and how do those capabilities help them improve their lives. One of the big values is that WordPress is free and (relatively) safe to use … you can formulate some overall idea. We are granting the capability to publish to the internet anyone who has access to any internet connection
There is a constant battle between wanting to be the type of person who creates things for the WordPress community to freely use (open source) and also needing to be able to provide an income for yourself and your family – what is our ethical responsibility to ourselves and the end user?
Bridget: If you’re going to build a product and you decide to start with those 4 ‘toolkit’ questions as part of your branding standards, then you would already be about 70% of the way there
We are building a world for our end users – what kind of world do we want to build for them? What are the consequences of our choices? Ethics should not be a wet blanket on our creativity, it should be a hearth that keeps all that creativity from ‘burning down the house’
What did we do wrong here? How did we end up in the place? What can we do to keep it from happening again?
Tools of the Week
—
Bridget: HemmingwayApp.com
Jason: still using SetApp – but wishes it had Magnet (allows you to move items around on the screen to the edges and makes the windows snap)
Morten: Pocket – save articles to read later – strips out all the ads and just gives you the text – it can also read it back to you! Even works with the Kobo e-Reader!!
Suggested reading for everyone: Virtual Reality As Possibility Space
Let us know who helped us out with the show notes (we’ll link to you)
- Cheryl LaPrade @yaycheryl
- Sherie LaPrade @heysherie
- James Tryon @jamestryon (but not enough for a true bi-line)
The post WPblab EP94 – Exploring the Ethics of Marketing with Morten Rand-Hendriksen appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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Amish-born artist Meg Delagrange has always approached social media in an unorthodox way. She’s now in a venture of Design and Marketing at Urban Southern. This week on our show we’ll talk about taking an alternative approach to marketing can sometimes be the best play.
- https://www.twitter.com/megdelagrange
- https://www.instagram.com/meg.delagrange/
- https://www.instagram.com/urbansouthern/
- https://www.urbansouthern.com/
Bridget: “To me, the people that really stand out in marketing are the ones who do it a bit differently” (examples, Robert Nissenbaum, Rob Giles, Meg Delagrange)
Meg has a unique background that really stands out. She’s helping to build a brand and can provide ‘unorthodox’ advice! She puts a lot of her personality into her marketing.
How much of yourself should you put online?
- Meg used to put almost everything online, but now that she knows herself better, she gives herself time to process first
- There are guidelines … you may talk about dating, but best not to drop names – you have to know what is and isn’t okay to show …Ask yourself, “will this be valuable to someone else?”
- You can share interesting/crazy stories that happen in your day, especially your mistakes – they can really resonate with people
Don’t be afraid to share benign / seemingly unrelated things about yourself (hobbies, etc) … they will give you more dimension
Started building her personal brand years ago (but wasn’t aware that she was at the time)
It takes time to learn … watch and learn what’s working and what isn’t and ask yourself why different posts work better than others
Shared a post on LinkedIn today about how to write your personal bio
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-write-memorable-bio-brand-statement-stands-out-meg-delagrange/
Who are you – Who is your audience – Who does your brand benefit >> Brand statement
If you are having trouble describing who you are – write out a bunch of things about yourself and then pick the ones that stand out to you
What’s the value in people knowing you, what’s your ‘thing’?
- Meg was born Amish, she’s a single mom… she hopes she brings a bit of grittiness and honesty to her brand
There are so many facets of us as people, that spinning out a giant, generic ‘elevator pitch’ just comes off sounding unnatural
You’re bigger than your job and the tools you use to do your job – what makes you who you are?
Be careful of ‘elevator pitches’ – don’t use jargon that doesn’t resonate, use words that makes sense and that are true to who you are
How do you fight against the system and go against the tide? If everyone is doing something a certain way, and the same way – how do you break that mold?
It starts with the knowledge of who you are and then you start to build a culture around that. Pick something and start with it, you can change it up later and build on it – the truer you are to yourself, the more you are attracting the right kind of customers/people to you
You become so passionate about what it is that you’re doing that every part of you bleeds it
Everyday, you’re scrolling past the people you could be reaching and you’re trying to come up with smart, clever marketing to hook people… but it’s the real moments, the connection with people, that matter more than anything else
Urban Southern desperately needed a new website – they hired Alex Vasquez … they had many references, but they chose Alex because she met him at her 1st WordCamp and told her she was “a really intimidating but fascinating women” and it felt so cool and authentic and she remembered him – He had established a ‘moment’ with her
In the beginning Urban Southern had no engagement with their customers – they’ve worked on it a ton and now spend quite a bit of time connecting and replying and commenting
You need to make your social accounts & interactions something worth sticking around for
When she was with WannaPixel (??) they used a lot of clever social talk in the beginning but it wasn’t really connecting with people. On Colorado Gives Day – they would be really intentional about interacting with hashtags …. that day she went on their facebook and commented very specifically and intentionally on the people who were raising money – it made an impression and someone decided that day, they were going to use WannaPixel
If you’re starting and you have a young agency… plan to be in it for the long game, it takes work and it takes time to build a brand and to build up relationships – there is no “Growth Hack”
Being authentic vs. being rude
We all have challenging interactions with clients – if you can authentically but gracefully express the struggles you are dealing with (take time to process and calm yourself down first) – it can become a relatable lesson for your followers. Don’t make it super personal. Vent, but “vent with value!!”
Try to take the finger that you’re tempted to point at someone and turn it back to yourself and frame the issue around your response and what you learned from it – try to turn a negative experience positive
The painting on her wall (behind her on video) …if you look from afar, it’s interesting, but if you go up close, there is still a whole world more to discover that’s interesting. Think about that in your marketing
Did I do at least 2 things today to make an impact and move my business forward?
Everyone should have at least 3 ‘traction strategies’ going at a time (email newsletter, social media campaign, etc.)
45 sales in first year to over 3000 products sold this year… over 9000 people on email list
Read a book on Amazon called “Traction” … implement strategies and keep developing new ones. Don’t stop the old ones, add to them! Layer your strategies. https://www.amazon.com/Traction-Startup-Achieve-Explosive-Customer-ebook/dp/B00TY3ZOMS/
Come up with your own unique ideas if you can – you can copy and see if that works for you, but originality stands out
The poppies in her painting – within the pod of one poppy there is an average of 10,000 – 60,000 seeds – they have the potential to create countless more poppies! All of us human beings are like that poppy flower, we have unlimited potential!!
Cool pick of the week * Jason – SetApp “Netflix for Mac Apps” – https://go.setapp.com/invite/oau6xr8a
* Bridget – she wants to go to WordCamp Europe in Serbia … she found a curriculum to learn Serbian through an app called Memrise! https://www.memrise.com/ – Burnout is real… You need a hobby that’s not related to your job – she’s enjoying learning languages!
* Meg – App to save money and reach your goals – http://www.mindbosa.com/
A Design Kit by A Beautiful Mess https://www.instagram.com/adesignkit/?hl=en
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/a-design-kit/id1292829069?ls=1&mt=8
Show notes contributed by:
- Cheryl LaPrade – @YayCheryl
- Sherie LaPrade – @HeySherie
The post WPblab EP93 – Unorthodox Marketing with Meg Delagrange appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week's guest Isaac Irvine, a personal branding expert, will talk to us about how we can balance the promotion of our employer's brand (or clients) without neglecting our own. Be sure to tune in for this show, which will be sure to have tweetable nuggets. Join the live chat for an opportunity to ask Issac your questions, too!
Isaac Irvine
@theisaac
https://isaacirvine.com/
Social and Community Manager at GoDaddy. I love talking about #PersonalBrand | #EmployeeAdvocacy | #StarWars. #Podcast host. Opinions are mine.
Bridget: Sometimes working for a brand is like a marriage – if you get divorced, then what becomes of your identity?
Shawn Pfunder told Isaac his personal brand is ‘cheerleader (for the company)… no one really knows what you’re about’ – he was devastated at the time, because he realized he didn’t have an identity outside of what his personal facebook friends saw
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/isaac-irvine-the-unexpected-personal-brand-coach_us_59371d69e4b04331b6694a4d
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dad-teaches-9-year-old-son-important-lesson-about-bullying/
Ask yourself “what do I really want to be known for” … talk about what you are passionate about! If it lines up with your brand, that’s great, but don’t hide who you are! Bridget: “Don’t be a paper doll.”
Sometimes we forget, as people, that it’s okay to talk about ourselves
A good place to start – Google yourself and see what comes up – ask if those are the things you want to be known for … if not, it might be time to start giving more attention to your personal brand
Think about a few things that you’re passionate about and make a list – then go from there, pick a few topics that float to the top and ask yourself “Can I come up with 10 articles/blog posts about this subject?”
For Isaac, the thing that stood out to him that he loved was ‘Star Wars’! He could come up with articles, videos, cosplay etc.. endlessly – it takes 0 effort for him to talk about it! If he is going to be authentic, he is going to talk about Star Wars and engage with others about it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB0wzy-xbwM
Naturally people will want to talk to you on social media about your job because they perceive you as an expert, but you need to remember to open up and be yourself too
If you run an agency/business, it’s a really good thing to have your employees active on social – if people are connected to your employees, then they are more likely to trust your business – because they trust their friends and their authenticity.
People can immediately tell if someone isn’t being authentic – you can’t fake that sort of thing. The more employees talk authentically about what they’re passionate about, the more it reflects positively on your brand.
If you want people to share your content… 1) make it good and worth sharing 2) be authentic
Don’t talk about your official job/roles too much on your social accounts, no more than 20% – talk about what makes you – YOU! What are you interested in, what do you care about? That’s what people need/want to see! Get comfortable sharing your stuff! Don’t self-censor so much that you’re no longer who you are.
His son started growing out his hair so he could donate it. He was having some trouble getting bullied at school. Isaac asked him what was going on and asked him to talk about it – he only agreed when Isaac offered to record it and share it! (he loves the idea of becoming a popular YouTube video personality). Isaac posted the video and didn’t think anyone would watch it, but the next morning, his phone was overflowing with notifications – the post went viral! Over 14,000 views in 8 hours!!! By that night, there were 2 news trucks outside to interview his son. By the next day it was on CNN, Fox News and Yahoo! By the end of that week it was all over the globe.
A lot of people suggested he should start blogs / video series about bullying – there was the temptation to think “this is part of my brand now”. But he’s not an expert on bullying – he’s not going to capitalize on that because it’s not authentic to his brand – it was a great parenting moment, but it’s not a passion of his.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dad-teaches-9-year-old-son-important-lesson-about-bullying/ When building your brand, ask yourself “is this something I can really carry forward – am I passionate enough about the subject to keep this going?”
A lot of people will give you advice about what you should share or how you should communicate – be sure to be true to your own brand – if it doesn’t feel right for you, don’t pursue it.
Isaac’s biggest advice is use what feels natural to you – don’t force it. Find the platform that works best for you. It doesn’t have to be Facebook or Twitter, etc…. If you’re comfortable with it and you’re engaging with your followers then stick with it.
Don’t be afraid to share who you are on LinkedIn too! People may be following 100 other people in their industry and they are all posting/sharing the same things – if you post something different / unique – you stand out!
Jason’s dog instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lincydincydoo/
We live in a world where people change jobs on average every 2 years, so your personal brand matters more than ever!
Try asking yourself “If you could do anything – what is it that you’d really want to do?” Listen to that and pursue those passions, make that part of your personal brand
“Make your content so good that they want to share it!” – Isaac
“Find your tribe, hang out, and make yourself welcome!” – Isaac
Cool pick of the week https://www.ILovePDF.com – tools to help you do everything you need to do with your PDFs
https://Unsplash.com – free stock photos for creative use / blogging, also have a wallpaper app
Instant Images plugin – One-click Unsplash images for your blog!
https://droplr.com/ – lets you capture and share instantly what’s on your screen
Show notes contributed by:
- Greg Shaw – @greg1usa
- Cheryl LaPrade – @YayCheryl
- Sherie LaPrade – @HeySherie
- James Tryon – @JamesTryon
The post WPblab EP92 – Maintaining your personal brand while building another. appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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Iteration is exciting and Jason and Bridget are definitely stoked about the new way you’ll interact with WordPress with Gutenberg. Let’s chat about marketing to clients and the WordPress Community, managing change and budgets.
Gutenberg Tour by Bridget Willard
Tour of Gutenberg Women Who WP January 17, 2018 from Bridget Willard Tour of Gutenberg Women Who WP January 17, 2018
What is Gutenberg?
WordPress Plugins
“ Gutenberg is more than an editor. While the editor is the focus right now, the project will ultimately impact the entire publishing experience including customization (the next focus area).
Discover more about the project.
State of the Word, 2017
Morten Rand-Hendriksen
Gutenberg Hangbook Reference FAQ
How can I send feedback or get help with a bug?
WordPress/gutenberg
A way to disable Gutenberg editor in code? #4409?
Issue #4409
How can I contribute?
gutenberg/CONTRIBUTING.md at master
Gutenberg Theme
Showcasing Gutenberg:a theme to show the potential
wordpress.org ^ the theme in use.
A minimum Gutenberg Theme Theme Directory
When will it be out?
Slated to be part of core in WordPress 5.0 (Currently available as a plugin in the repo)
WordPress Plugins
Bridget’s Marketing Plan
Freeze Development, build an RC and give everyone a solid 2 months to update content. Make things compatible.
All lynda.com, WP Beginner and all that old 4.9 and before WP content will now be outdated.
Give the community 2-3 months to catch up before releasing it.
WordPress 5.0 Development Cycle – Make WordPress Core
Cool pick of the week * Bridget Walking as Creative Fuel * Jason 30 Chrome Dev Tools Tips by Jon Kuperman
Set Up Persistence with DevTools Workspaces | Tools for Web Developers | Google Developers
Show notes contributed by: Greg Shaw @greg1usa
James Tryon @JamesTryon
The post WPblab EP91 Marketing Gutenberg: Awareness & Education appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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New Year presents new goals and new opportunities to either make them or fail. It can go either way, so with our community, we thought we'd do what community does: support one another. This is why Jason created “Just Create January.” Every day of this month in our Facebook group, we have an opportunity to be accountable, share, and even brainstorm with one another. On this week's show, we'll chat about the motivation and results so far and what we'd like to see from all of us in 2018.
BridgetWillard.com | Gutenbridget.com
JasonTucker.blog
There are lots of accountability & challenge groups that start at the beginning of the year; Jason and Bridget thought it would be a great idea to create something like that for marketers/creators
Jason joined a blogging group – they would provide a prompt and members would write about it each day.
#JustCreateJanuary was started to help encourage ‘creation’ of all kinds – blogging, design, video, web, etc. They didn’t start it to build a community – the WPblab community already exists – they did it so we all can create and encourage each other. It’s different from other challenges because we are already all connected.
Sometimes you just need another person to say that should be a blog post or that should be a video, etc.
Using Facebook to manage the challenge since everyone uses Facebook – one post per day in the group (at 5am) will encourage group members to participate
Submit your creations to the group each day and then others can comment and share and encourage you
https://www.facebook.com/ThingDotDo/
Talking with other people in a group and brainstorming together can help you realize that you have something to share. The point is to ‘do something’!
Sometimes you just get in a rut, but as you share and talk it out with each other, it can make creation easier
https://lorennason.com/category/create/ – Loren Nason’s curation of the responses to the #JustCreateJanuary challenge
There’s a vulnerability involved with creating – it’s yours and it comes from who you are (very personal). It’s nice to have a place where you feel psychologically safe to share your content with before posting.
Ways of Sharing Content
- Share a Draft Plugin – https://wordpress.org/plugins/shareadraft/ “share a draft with your friends or colleagues for either review or approval.” – you can also set it so the link expires after some time
- www.Dribbble.com | www.Behance.net (Adobe) – designers share & get inspiration from each other
- Better Click to Tweet – https://wordpress.org/plugins/better-click-to-tweet/ – allows you to easily create tweetable content for your readers. Using a shortcode, your selected text is highlighted and made tweetable.
- https://codepen.io and https://github.com for sharing code (or just post it on your blog)
- Make a private board on pinterest and only share it with people that you choose, and make public later. Or, if you don’t want to share on a public site like Dribbble, CodePen, GitHub – share it on your personal website
It can be intimidating to post on sites where other designers / developers can see your work, but it’s a great way to improve your skills and show how far you’ve come
Another option is to share on #JustCreateJanuary and get feedback from a smaller community or message one of the members for feedback/advice
It’s fun to experiment and remember why we’re creators and why we do what we do – we’re all makers!
Sharing with the group can help build confidence by seeing and commenting on each other’s work in a safe space, where you can get feedback and encouragement
At the end of the day, WPblab is about people who are trying to market themselves, market their customers – #JustCreateJanuary is an extension of that
Bridget’s first GitHub repo was about women’s shirt sizes (and inconsistency) at conventions – it’s not just for code. Anyone can comment on repo’s – it’s like commenting on a blog.
#JustCreateJanuary can help keep you out of the ‘rut’!
Go ahead and write something on a piece of paper and share it to the group – all creation is encouraged! Choose whatever medium works best for you! It can just be code .. it can just be the start of a blog post … or if it’s something private for a client, you can just say what you are working on, even if you can’t share it
Thanks for helping with our show notes!
- Cheryl LaPrade @yaycheryl
- Sherie LaPrade @heysherie
- James Tryon @jamestryon
The post WPblab EP90 – Just Create January – An Incubator and Accountability Group appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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Some businesses take a break, others avoid celebrating any specific day. With our increasingly diverse and global economy, how do you handle marketing around the holidays?
BridgetWillard.com | Gutenbridget.com
JasonTucker.blog
Hashtags are your friend! Use as many as you can! There are many different holidays occurring this time of year.
Know who your clients are (or who your audience is) – it may be winter here in the Northern Hemisphere but it’s summer south of the Equator
Respect your unique culture – what makes sense for you/your business – your brand should be a reflection of your collective personality
Scheduling during the Holidays:
- Be careful with automation … you may schedule something that posts at a really inappropriate time
- Either schedule and respond, or don’t schedule and choose to ‘go dark’ instead (many businesses choose to close between Christmas and New Year’s), but communicate either way
Buffer example: https://twitter.com/joelgascoigne/status/943024640473030657
Oftentimes, social media is the last recourse for people looking for support – tweeting shows that you are available. If you aren’t there to actually respond, you shouldn’t have automated tweets going out
The trick to scheduling is to make it look like your tweets aren’t scheduled
Make use of the social platforms that make sense for your demographic – if you know that your customers/users use Facebook far more than Twitter, focus heavy marketing efforts on that platform
Don’t miss out on using Facebook Events to help promote … if someone likes or shows interest in your event, it will show in their friend’s notifications and help promote it further. Also, Facebook will show users events happening in their area and they are searchable!
When you tell your fans to like your event, make sure you also ask them to invite their friends to join them!
Another bonus – When people take photos at your event, Facebook will also ask them if they want to share their images to your page/event!
At the holidays, don’t worry about blasting out a lot of information – there is so much going on, it’s easy for people to miss things
https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
Holidays are all about love and belonging – if you can tap into that, and help your customer feel ‘that’ – your brand is winning
For email marketing, make sure to let your customers know early and often about shipping deadlines for the Holidays (standard mail, priority mail, express, etc.)
You can create your own holidays / events – but be sure to promote them properly, just as you would with any other event
Come up with creative ways to get people to buy – Old Navy: “don’t need it by Christmas, pick slower shipping and we’ll donate $1 to charity”
If you understand your audience and what matters to them, communicate those shared values to them through your marketing and it will have a much greater impact
Whatever your marketing is throughout the year, your marketing during the holidays should just be an amplification of that – you shouldn’t change your company’s message just to get attention
Instagram is no longer in chronological order so it’s not the best for promoting time-sensitive deals, it’s better for the soft sell … one good example: https://www.instagram.com/campbowwow/
Be careful with big cultural holidays that are ‘like’ standard holidays in size and scope, but more commercial (such as the SuperBowl) – many words and phrases are trademarked and can’t be used in your marketing – you may need to get creative with your phrasing!
Also, remember your culture and your brand – don’t advertise for a cultural/commercial holiday that doesn’t make sense for who you are.
Don’t forget to make use of Snapchat, and custom Snapchat filters – if your customers post images with your custom filter, it will give them the option to share to your company ‘story’ on Snapchat
A great way to get user-generated content/participation is to ask fans to submit their best photos/videos (using branded filters) etc. and offer something in return – a great example is ElfYourself from Office Depot which started as a marketing campaign and has become a cultural norm and tradition
“Merry Kiss Me” arch at Dana Point Holiday Lights – they created a contest to get people to take and share their photos taken there
Plan your marketing early (September at the latest) and build it up slowly as you approach the holidays – use a broad approach – everything in your social media arsenal. (maybe also remind your users to keep their accounts public .. private account content is locked down and unavailable for sharing)
You don’t want your ads to feel like ads – make them so good and so relatable – that people share them and retweet them just like they would a friends tweet!
Big Takeaway: User-generated content is the way to win at holiday marketing!
Thanks for helping with our show notes!
Cheryl LaPrade @yaycheryl
Sherie LaPrade @heysherie
James Tryon @jamestryon
The post WPblab EP89 – Marketing Around The Holidays: A Conversation appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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You wrote something. Now what? You can automate. You can schedule. What works best? How do you start? In this episode, Jason and Bridget will give their tips and tricks to help get you going.
Jason Tucker and his 12-yr-old daughter Jessalyn ( https://jessalyn.blog/) will be attending WCUS together for the first time! (https://jasontucker.blog/10107/wordcamp-us-2017-eyes-12-year-old)
WomenWhoWP will have a booth at the WCUS Community Bazaar! – Bridget will be there, say hi!
Sharing and content management go hand-in-hand – whatever info you put into that CMS you are going to need to share – to get your story out there!
Too many of us have a “shoeless joe” approach of “if we build it they will come” – it doesn’t work that way in real life – you need to be intentional
When blogging (and communicating on social) your voice and tonality need to match – that’s what makes you authentic. Don’t use authenticity as an excuse to be a jerk though! How you treat your audience matters.
Automation can be a problem – it can lack authenticity, you need to pay careful attention to what is being shared/posted – does it match your tone / your voice? Example: a politician that has a search that auto-posts any tweets mentioning her name (with no oversight!) … even bad tweets got retweeted! Or another example is if someone has automation and they’ve passed away.
Automating is not a bad thing if it’s authentic to who you are (i.e. if you’re a programmer/coder, etc.)
Only 2 things automated on BridgetWillard.com – Postmatic (for commenting) and Revive Old Posts (auto tweets her own articles in a specified time period). Bridget believes in a hybrid solution of automation and hand-edited posts.
Another option (though controversial!) is to take advantage of the bots that auto-retweet hashtags of interest to your audience! The risk is that many people won’t follow them because the account is obviously a bot!
If Bridget really likes an article, she’ll pull a sentence and share it on social media, and then choose another sentence and share it on a different platform, etc. (twitter, facebook, linkedin…)
Bridget would love if Revive Old Posts would make a meta box with alternate titles so it could reshare the same content with different text!
Scheduling posts can be helpful too – can also rearrange your info for repeat posts manually.
Better Click to Tweet plugin – helps you pull out quotes
Each social media platform has it’s own culture, you need to tailor your posts to that platform and not post the same thing on all of them
Setting automation is not a bad thing if it’s in a controlled environment – if you have it set to pull from your own content or from sites that are trusted.
MashShare https://wordpress.org/plugins/mashsharer/ – social media share buttons
There’s nothing wrong with clicking your own buttons/links! Go ahead and click the share buttons on your blog posts – half of what Bridget built into her site was for her own use, to make it easier to share her content!
How you share means the “full context” or the “30,000 ft view”
- Snowbird ad: utilized a 1-star review saying that their slopes were “too advanced” to market their ski slopes (full 2-page ad w/ large photo of the mountains and valley)
- https://medium.com/words-for-life/a-ski-resort-used-a-1-star-review-in-its-brilliant-ads-so-now-im-inspired-945ba7f31fe9
- Snowbird prides themselves on being an advanced ski resort so a 1-star review stating it was too hard was the perfect and most simple advertisement! They restrained themselves from adding a lot of design or copy and just let the review (and a powerful photo) speak for itself.
When you’re sharing content, don’t forget to also share other people’s content – it shows that you care about more than just yourself, and encourages others to share your content (don’t live in a vacuum)
Pay attention to what people are saying about your brand and leverage it! Rachel Cherry posted she had “tattoo-level” love for Slack HQ and they caught wind of it and created an ad around it! Rachel Cherry https://twitter.com/ruder/status/676165067549900800
When you are sharing content multiple times, try reframing how you present it – say it in a different way to catch a new audience.
Gary Vaynerchuk makes content for Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, etc. that’s similar but different enough that it works best for each platform
Tailor your content for your audience! When you are traveling to a different country or city, like Paris, you behave differently because of what the ‘natives’ expect. Think the same way with your content. If you sharing on twitter, post one way, on facebook, post another way. The same content presentation does not work for all audiences and you run the risk of fatiguing them!
Carol Stephen: http://yoursocialmediaworks.com/social-media-different-platform-different-language
Swipeable on the iOS App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/swipeable-instagram-panorama/id1209900326?mt=8
Instagram is not for memes – they’re really best on facebook!
Snapchat is a bit more casual/natural – don’t need to be as polished
Just start somewhere – start with one platform and use it for a few minutes each day. When you get used to it, add another platform and go from there!
Don’t try to imitate the biggest person on social media that you can find – 9 times out of 10, they have a team behind their account and you’ll run yourself ragged trying to catch up
There is no crazy secret to getting a lot of followers – be kind, be polite, be conversational, be interested. Reply to people! What would you say to people if you were having a conversation in person? Build relationships! From relationships come referrals Win-win!
Show notes contributed by:
Cheryl LaPrade – @YayCheryl https://merrymintdesigns.com/
Sherie LaPrade – @HeySherie
The post WPblab EP88 – Content Marketing: How you share makes the difference appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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In this episode, Jason Tucker and Bridget Willard, along with you in the chat room, will reminisce on the show, the community, technology, and even their own careers. We'd love to have you join in.
Celebrating Two Years!!
Late September 2015 – Bridget was working as an office manager for a construction company. Jason said there was a new video / chat platform called Blab.im and decided he wanted to give it a try and suggested Bridget join him!
Bridget said “I don’t know anything about WordPress” and Jason said “That’s why I want you to do the show!”
Started as a 90 minute show and has since been trimmed back to an hour
Blab.im allowed anyone to pop in as a random guest during the show and they had guests from countries all over
Was originally just a WordPress focused show, so any topic around WordPress was fair game, has since evolved to focus on WordPress marketing and social media
Just as Jason was starting to get tired of / annoyed with Blab.im … it went away! It was the perfect time to try a new platform – tried Firetalk and eventually landed on Google / YouTube
Jason has been using Google Hangouts for about 5 years, so decided to keep using the platform for WPBlab
Having a show whose content is totally dependant on people showing up and asking questions proved very challenging, so moving to have a set topic with guests just made sense
Originally almost felt like a virtual meetup, where the audience was heavily involved in the content of each show
Bridget will be appearing in the Women Who WordPress panel at WordCamp Seattle this weekend (as a freelancer). She will also appear at WordCamp Rochester and will be at WCUS for Contributor Day with the Marketing team.
Both Jason and Bridget have switched jobs since starting and Bridget is now freelancing. Bridget has also now travelled to two different countries!
Started ‘Community Connections’ spin-off this year with Bridget Willard and Jen Miller – highlighting members of the WordPress community
Where do Jason & Bridget want to be in the next 2 years?
- Bridget hopes her life is personally and professionally drastically different! She also hopes she’s seen Iceland and learned how to do something WordPressy, like make a plugin! She hopes she finally understands DNS
- Jason is looking forward to some big new projects at work
Where did you think you’d be now, 20 years ago? Are you there, did you surpass it, fail to meet it?
- Bridget – I’ve exceeded my college education, but I don’t believe in 10, 20-year plans – when you meet people and experience things, your goals/dreams keep changing! “The more you experience in your life, the more your dreams change!”
- Jason – knew he’d be married and have a couple kids and be doing the kind of nerdy stuff he does! He’s happy with where he’s ended up and enjoys doing the podcasts and keeping up with his friends without having to be in the same room
The coolest thing Bridget has learned is that she can do whatever she wants to do and succeed if she sets her mind to it, and her friends believe that she can
Show notes contributed by:
Cheryl LaPrade – @YayCheryl
Sherie LaPrade – @HeySherie
The post WPblab EP87 – A Look Backward in Time appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week Bridget Willard and Jen Miller speak with Adam Silver, Lead Organizer of #WCLAX on Creating Community at WordCamp
The post WPblab EP86 – Creating Community at WordCamp w/ Adam Silver #WCLAX appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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In this episode, Jason and Bridget are joined by Josh Pollock. We’ll discuss the pros and cons of co-branding your WordPress products.
Josh Pollock – Caldera Labs – Caldera Forms – Caldera
@Josh412, @calderaforms, @CalderaWP, or @CalderaLearn #catdera
http://calderawp.com, http://calderalabs.org/, https://calderaforms.com/, & https://learn.calderalabs.org/
Co-branding is when you leverage the audience of two different brands by teaming up together to help elevate both brands or gain a new audience segment. (Like the Eddie Bauer Ford Explorer)
Caldera and Give did a co-branding with a tutorial on using Caldera Forms to submit a fundraising campaign
“Create a Peer-to-Peer Give Campaign with Caldera Forms” – http://bit.ly/2vdvrxH
Caldera & Aspen Grove – DIVI landing page co-branding with Caldera
Prerequisite: Get involved in the community
At some point, you just sit down with someone and say “Hey, I need something” and then figure out what it is that you can offer them in return – how can you benefit each other?
The WordPress community is often resistant to a hard-sell, but you do at some point need to move a friendly conversation to a professional-friendly if you are interested in partnering with them – try not to be too aggressive though!
Go ahead and put your business contacts in a CRM, but make sure you keep the relationships natural – don’t always follow up on the 2nd Tuesday of the month!
One of the benefits of co-branding is you get to play off each other’s strengths
If one company does a post featuring the co-branding, it’s a good idea to do a follow-up post with your brand as well and link back
We’re ALL co-branding with WordPress – WordPress.com now allows users to install plugins and that’s a big deal for plugin authors
WordPress benefits from the volunteers that give back
Make partnerships even when you are just starting out – but start by GIVING, don’t worry so much about what you’ll get back – make yourself useful to other people, give of your time
If you know that you have a conflict with your plugin and another plugin – maybe reach out to the company on behalf of your customers instead of sending the customer to them with the problem – then you both benefit and your customers are all happier!
Great partnerships shouldn’t require a lot of effort from either side – they should be a natural give and take
Reminder – a logo is not a ‘brand’, it’s the relationships that you build with the people who use your product that makes the brand
Co-branding is to leverage the individual relationships that each brand has built with people
Whether it’s going to WordCamps, emailing, or talking on twitter, it’s all about building relationships w/ people
Brand / values matter – don’t co-brand with a company that violates your brand or what you stand for, you need to pay attention to their ‘voice’
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In this episode, Jennifer Bourn, lead organizer of WordCamp Sacramento (among other things), will discuss encouraging public speaking from the meetup to the camp and beyond.
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This week on WPblab we speak with Andy Lara on how he build an in-person community online for the Vox Podcast with Mike Erre
Andy Lara – Creative Director – VOX Community
Cohost of Vox Podcast – http://www.voxpodcast.com/
@andy_lara twitter
Mike wanted to create a place where he could talk about and say the kinds of things that aren’t as easy when you are bound by the rules of a church so he thought a podcast might be the way
Started out first online, but grew into an a community
Evangelism / Doctrine / Theology … conferences, meetups, retreats etc … there is a lot of commonality between how churches function and how the WordPress community functions
In marketing nowadays, people don’t want the hard sell – the way you evangelize a product or a community is much the same
Podcasts are one of the best things out there for transparency / reaching your customers & audience that a lot of small businesses aren’t doing. It’s a very low-budget way to create authenticity.
Mike and Andy started a podcast in Mike’s office where they were looking and talking to each other and not at the camera. He moved away and they had to move to talking directly to the camera and it increased the audience exponentially! People want to see faces, they want you to be talking to them!
Especially in the tech industry, a lot of people are isolated, working remotely or on their own and are missing out on the human connection which makes it even more important to reach them on a personal level
If you are just listening to a podcast and not doing something with it, you’re wasting it … you need to use the info, interact, give back
Started a church via the podcast … started with 80 church ‘planters’ and was able to launch with over 300 people because they were already engaged via the podcast. They knew the culture and the DNA before they ever showed up in person.
About 50,000 downloads per month for their podcast – people all across the nation tune in
The podcast is largely discussional, two guys hashing out the issues of the day
Their ability to sit down and do a podcast, helps them to take these big philosophical discussions and make them more accessible and conversational … it’s also a resource that they can point people to in the church
When we put our souls into our brands – that has meaning. When we offer up who we are in our podcasts, that has meaning. It’s like when Matt Mullenweg sits down and does his talks at WCEU or WCUS. It puts a human face on what he does.
Giving integrity back to the audience – they believe their listeners are actually smart, they keep the podcast real and don’t try to hard to make it perfect and glossy
They built in a hefty feedback model where any member of the team can give feedback to Mike, even though he’s the pastor … everyone has something valuable to offer
In a community, it’s important to create a space where people can feel like they belong – you have to allow people to speak and be heard – when they feel safe and they have trust, they will speak up
Conversations and relationship are the things that transform us and make us into better and healthier people
Treat your community volunteers like real people, make them feel that their contribution is meaningful
Give your volunteers roles a real job title to make them feel important. Also limit trials to 6 months to show how people fit. Give them ownership in the process.
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This week on WPblab Bridget and Jason explore Twitter demographics and how you can use them for your WordPress business.
Bridget got a new microphone – YAY!
Twitter > Analytics (available via desktop twitter site)
Analytics.twitter.com
Audience – discover user interests and general statistics, such as marital status and education. If you were a dating site, you would want most of your audience to show as “single”. If they were mostly married, you might reaching out to the wrong audience (or offering the wrong service!)
How long should your content be? What grade level is your writing aimed at? Check your analytics and see what kind of education your followers have – what would be best for them?
Newspapers generally aim at a fifth grade reading level (WSJ – ninth grade). Most people, don’t read – they scan. You don’t want to make people feel stupid by speaking at a level beyond their reading/vocabulary skills.
Analytics shows stats on Audience, Demographics, Lifestyle, etc.
Go to Analytics > Tweets and choose to view “Top Tweets” – it will show you your top-performing tweets from the last 28 days — as long as the content is evergreen, you can recycle it and retweet it back out to your followers
Try viewing your Google Analytics and comparing to your Twitter Analytics – do the demographics align or not, and if not, why don’t they match?
There is a whole culture in your industry – find out what they say and how they say it – speak to them the way that they speak if you want to reach them. Social media marketing is like being a sociologist, you have to study the culture. Tweak your writing to reach them.
You can also use your demographics to determine how much to charge for your work and if/when you should raise your prices.
Ben Collins – http://www.benlcollins.com/spreadsheets/import-social-media-statistics
Why care about twitter? Regardless of how you felt about the election, tweets and people reading them had an incredible impact on the election. Celebrities and thought leaders, writers, artists, musicians, all use twitter to reach their audience.
If you are looking to cross-promote a work-from-home writer job, you are going to want to look for people and accounts that have a larger number of homemakers as their audience
The post WPblab EP82 – Digging into Twitter Demographics for your WordPress Business appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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Segmentation FTW.
Christie Chirinos email marketing as an intelligent combination of transactional emails & direct emails in part with a multi channel promotion strategy that exists as a part of a larger marketing strategy that also takes the other 3 P's into account… also FTW
Personal twitter – https://twitter.com/cicichirinos
Partner of Caldera Labs https://calderaforms.com/
https://twitter.com/CalderaWP
She started in the nonprofit sector learning by doing.
https://mailchimp.com/ (should tag with affiliate link)
They use convertkit on CalderaForms now. https://convertkit.com/
ConvertKit is a great tool from segments but not user friendly
ConvertKit = Photoshop
MailChimp = Canva
Segmented lists
Many lists can create problems with subscriptions. Consider consolidating your lists and segmenting them out.
Example of a segmented
Is this for you or your clients on checkout
Focus your copy
“Or this” or “if that” = Segment
Bridget loves old navy
Use case
Goals for creating one and done leads
1st a month
1 segments
Questions
- Who is clicking
- What are they clicking
- What time of day are they opening the emails
Try for 3 months, Look what happened and change things after that
Don’t talk at people when writing content
Freelancer personal
- Collect emails, Build your list
How to segment your list?
- You can just ask in your next newsletter
I think bridget said a couple weeks ago to think about when you are sending out newsletters. In the morning things get purged. IF you send it later in the day, someone might spend the time to read it b/c no one wants to work after lunch.
The post WPblab EP81 – Data-Centric Email Marketing for WordPress Businesses with Christie Chirinos appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week on WPwatercooler we'll be discussing what to look for in a good WordPress theme.
https://apppresser.com/ & Holler Box https://hollerwp.com/
Challenges of collecting email addresses
It’s much easier to get someones email when you already have a blog and can get them to provide emails to get updates and downloads/goodies, etc.
Generating great content is super important for any site, but even more so for an e-commerce site, makes it easier to get people to opt-in if you have content they need/want
Oh average, It takes 7-10 interactions before you win a customer.
If you have a small audience and low traffic to your site, getting people there and generating sales can be really difficult. Doing content halfway won’t get you there.
Have a plan before you write your post – need a strategy about what you’re going to write and who you’re aiming to reach
- Writing for people that will share it(influencers)
- Thinking of them by name
Being intentional about what you write and who you write it for makes a huge difference
Holler box
https://wordpress.org/plugins/holler-box/
1 article – 10-20 hours writing per post(with research and planning)
Spending time up front will pay you back in spades!
Content is long-term and the internet lasts forever – it doesn’t matter so much if it takes a while to gain traction, it’s still going to be there
Include people in your posts by linking to them or mentioning them by name – they’re much more likely to share and interact with the post than your average reader
Be around and be active – people will notice and reach out to you
Write/share (videos too) with authenticity about your brand and who you are.
Create content that is not only good but is also based on your personal experience – it shows authenticity and builds trust between you and your audience / customer.
Live chat can cause your customers to become lazy. If you take it away, they will spend a little more time looking around your site for the answers to their questions.
Great idea to include a feature on your site that let’s people know what others are buying – leads to a feeling of FOMO (fear of missing out) and encourages people to purchase **feature of Holler Box
Bridget: “When customers talk to you, it’s good to get the insight.” You know where everything is on your site, but your customers don’t often know how to find it.
Write content about your core competencies and it will help you to attract the right kind of customer
If you want more shares and more traffic , don’t think as much about writing or creating content for your ideal customer – write content aimed at the people who you know will share it and who are influencers in your area. A lot of times the customer will consume what you sell but may not share it.
Don’t look for the biggest people but instead for the consistent users who post often and engage with their audience. Build on the relationships you already have.
Brian Dean backlinko
http://backlinko.com/blog
You can write a fantastic post that you’re really interested in, but that doesn’t mean anyone else will be. You need to be a resource to your audience and offer what they’re looking for.
7 Ways to Use Discounts Without Hurting Your Brand
https://hollerwp.com/discount-without-hurting-your-brand/
If you use discounts the wrong way, it’s bad for you and it’s bad for your business. If you offer them to often, they will just wait for the next discount. You need to space them out and make exclusive discounts available only to people who sign up for certain packages.
Don’t offer discounts to get people on your email list. You are basically being Walmart. You’re the low-price discount guy after that. Or you can be more strategic. (and you should be)
What are you offering people with your opt-in? It needs to be something of value to your customers/visitors, or the message won't’ matter.
Evenings are often a good time to send emails because inboxes are not as full.
_________________________________________
Thanks for helping with our show notes!
Cheryl LaPrade @yaycheryl
Sherie LaPrade @heysherie
James Tryon @jamestryon ;c )
The post WPblab EP80 – Boosting eCommerce with Opt-Ins with Scott Bolinger appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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In web design, brand creation, and even creative, the psychology of color matters. In this episode of WPblab, Designer and Developer Meagan Hanes will talk us through some of the considerations on how color affects us as consumers.
Meagan Hanes
Designer/Developer since the 2000’s
Developers often struggle with design color can be one of the most challenging aspects
Take a design magazine, rip it up and start making a pinboard in real life it’s a great way to start training your eye
http://colourlovers.com
Communicating meaning in your brand’s colors
- There is a lot of symbolism in color choices
- Generally speaking, reds are passionate, greens and blues are soothing, nature colors
- Happy and generous can be shown with warm yellow colors
McDonald’s chose red and yellow because they make you hungry but they are also bold, agitating colors that cause customers to leave quicker, which is desirable in fast food!
When communicating your branding, the colors you pick can make or break your message. Best to pick a color or two and stick with them! Keep it simple!
Orange and Green have the highest click-thru rates
Contrasting color is important you can get color fatigue when faced with a page or design that is based all on one color. Your users may not notice a button if it’s in the same color as everything else on your page.
I use this a lot http://paletton.com/
WCAG is important too Making sure there is enough contrast for visually impaired people can see it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Content_Accessibility_Guidelines
If you removed the color from your design, it should still work and communicate clearly in black and white
There are sites where you can test colors for accessibility to make sure people with different color blindness challenges can see it as intended
If you take off your glasses or squint at your page and can’t see what the page is doing because of color distraction, etc. you need to rethink your design
Everyone’s perception of color is ultimately different.
People are starting to understand warm and cool light and what that means.
Pinterest is a great tool for exploring branding and colors, use it for yourself and your clients
You can choose green for your eco-friendly company, but if you don’t back up your marketing with action, no one will believe you
Pick a main color and then maybe a secondary or tertiary color and stick to those it gets especially hard to change colors as a company gets bigger
Supreme Red
http://www.colourlovers.com/color/D02120/Supreme_Red
Heineken Green
http://www.colourlovers.com/color/0A7A06/Heineken_Green
Brand Guidelines
“Like a reference guide to your company’s soul
- Standardized color definitions
- Layout, sizing, fonts, etc.
Maybe go to art shows and listen to how people react to get a better idea of how people respond to art and color
Design should be somewhat rigid (color) but it should also be iterative with feedback/time, sometimes your ideas/direction will change
Tiffany Blue
https://www.pantone.com/crazy-about-tiffanys-the-story-behind-an-iconic-brand-color
Colors also convey feeling and emotion beachy colors can bring to mind memories of the smell of salty air or the feeling of sand between your toes and the sound of waves
Pinkest Pink
https://culturehustle.com/products/pink-50g-powdered-paint-by-stuart-semple
http://stuartsemple.com/
The Blackest Black Exclusive Rights
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/anish-kapoor-vantablack-exclusive-rights-436610
http://www.colourlovers.com/palette/2390263/WordPress_Rocks
https://wordpress.org/about/logos/
Orange
Pantone 1665
CMYK 6, 86, 100, 1
Hex #d54e21
RGB 213, 78, 33
Official Logos and Typeface
Your color palette on your website should follow what you’ve established in your brand guidelines. If you don’t have one yet, you need to develop one or get help creating it! Fonts, logo usage, size, proportions, colors, accepted uses, etc. Even if you don’t have the money to hire someone to create it, you could even just start a google doc and start documenting the colors, fonts, etc that you decide to use.
Document what you use and save a record of what you do for your clients. If they come back for repeat business (which they should!), it will save you a lot of time!
The post WPblab EP79 The Psychology of Color in Design w/ Meagan Hanes appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week Jason Tucker is joined by Verious Smith to discuss how you can market your Meetup.com group using WordPress.
Both Verious and Jason run WordPress meetups
- Inland Empire WordPress Meetup (Verious) since 2012
Decided to try a Google Hangout and see who would show up – met Jason, Russell Aaron was there too (met Russell in Vegas before moving to California)
Meetups are how you build community – finding people who share a common interest. If you want to do something cool and need someone to do it with, check out Meetup!
Meetup is great, but communities aren’t built instantly. Make sure you have a website for your meetup!! There is only so much that you can include on meetup – a website gives you more control over the content you can share with your members and the appearance.
People that you meet and interact with each month in your meetup can quickly become your friends, coworkers, etc… great for if you are new to town!
You can offer learning/training resources on your WordPress site for your meetup members.
Example from Verious: https://philoveracity.com/wp-theme-setup-guide/
https://inlandempirewp.com/
https://wpnyc.org/
Organizing/running special events is a great way to market your meetup to the community – i.e: hackathons, do_action events, ‘Website Weekend’, etc.
https://doaction.org/about/
http://websiteweekend.la/
Verious will be promoting WordPress and his local community at “Startup Week”. It’s a good option if you want to promote your meetup to a wider, non-WordPress community
https://riverside.startupweek.co/
Plugins
- Events Manager for WordPress Events Manager for WordPress – Event Registration, Bookings, Calendars, Locations
- Import Meetup Events
- Meetup Widgets
- R3DF Meetup Widget
_________________________________________
Thanks for helping with our show notes!
Cheryl LaPrade @yaycheryl
Sherie LaPrade @heysherie
The post WPblab EP78 – Marketing your Meetup using WordPress appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week on WPblab we talk with Eric Tracz & Brad Bihun of PeepSo about how you can build a social network on your existing WordPress website.
Why do we need a social network on WordPress?
We all live in our own little niche communities – we can translate that into online communities – with very detailed content that is relative to a very specific group / niche
Facebook groups are great, but you don’t get the feeling of a small close-knit community that you would from a social network built on a niche site
There are a lot of people that prefer not to post/share on Facebook due to privacy
When you create your own community, you have more control and you can empower your users – they can help each other and answer questions or give advice to fellow community members
Private social communities can be especially useful for people who want to share sensitive and private information (such as communities built around a support group)
Building community takes time and effort regardless of the method you choose. No matter where you build community, you have to be welcoming. You need to greet people; you need to genuinely care. People can tell if you aren’t authentic.
It’s important to keep in mind having proper security on your website if you’re going to implement a social network/community – https is a necessity
If you need to really lock things down and keep them private, you could take the approach where only members can invite new people to join, that way they are already known and they can vouch for them. You could also charge a nominal fee for membership to keep things more exclusive.
PeepSo Whitepaper free download “The Secrets of Successful Online Communities”
When building a community, try to think ahead about what you will need and the next evolution of your site. Will you need forums, will you need chat? Try to think of the future and not just what you need right now.
You have a choice as the website owner whether or not you want to build a community around transparency with users sharing their real names or anonymity with users relying on screen names
For examples, check out the PeepSo website, which uses the technology – they will also be creating a Community Showcase in the next couple of weeks. There are also demos available on the site.
- PeepSo|Open Source Social Network Software
- PeepSo on the WordPress Plugin Repo
_________________________________________
Thanks for helping with our show notes!
- Cheryl LaPrade @yaycheryl
- Sherie LaPrade @heysherie
- James Tryon @jamestryon
The post WPBlab EP77 – Building a Social Network on Your Existing WordPress Site appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week on WPblab Bridget and Jason discuss taking on volunteers for a nonprofit and how to keep them interested in working as a volunteer webmaster for your WordPress website.
Inspired by Should You Work with a Volunteer?
Jason works for a nonprofit and Bridget works with nonprofit businesses
With volunteers, you need to give them encouragement (“Yes, you can do this!”), but there are limitations
- They need to know the software (WordPress)
Communication is important, even if you enable your volunteers, you need to communicate with other departments, employees, etc. that the volunteer has the authority and ability to get/share information
Volunteers should be empowered & equipped – make sure they have the right access to everything they need and the right tools to get the job done. (ie. don’t have a Hackathon without making sure your participants have laptops!)
Don’t require all of your volunteers to be in the office when they volunteer – they may be stay-at-home moms/dads or have other work-related obligations and their availability and schedule will vary
If you can trust a volunteer with your website, you should be able to trust them with borrowing a $200 chromebook!
If you aren’t sure if they can be trusted yet, WordPress is great in that you can control their level of access and perhaps only allow them to draft posts or pages but require approval before they are posted.
Editorial Calendar
In the WordPress project, everyone involved from WordCamp organizers, to Meetup organizers, to contributors to different teams … is a volunteer! We need to remember that volunteers are giving of their time because it’s a cause that is important to them and that their time is worth something.
Maybe someone who wants to volunteer doesn’t have all the skills – try pairing them up with people who can fill in the gaps and encourage them to do what they are able to do, rather than discourage them
Add or delete users from your Campaigns organization
Give them a “sandbox” that they can just ‘play’ with and learn how things work and make mistakes, then give them enough access to be able to do what they need to do, but not so much that they can do damage
- Be very careful with young interns to instruct on ‘behavior’ and ‘voice’ for social media
Social media is typically the primary way people will use to get in touch with you and your organization
- Try not to answer/fix everything publicly, use DM and email as well, redirect to proper channels
Part of equipping people is giving them the information they need to know how to answer questions or who to contact to get them answered properly
The worst thing you can do on social media is ‘never respond’ to someone trying to contact your organization
Have a plan in place for after your “summer interns/volunteers” leave to go back to school. Don’t let those social accounts die.
If you’re relying on automated tech, make sure it’s working, especially if you’re using it during a crucial campaign – make sure that replies are getting to your audience
WordCamp Atlanta – WordPress TV – Mallie Hart – Automation vs. Scheduling – be intentional even with your automation, and be sure to respond to questions
If you need to, divide and conquer – set up a team where someone handles facebook, someone else takes care of instagram, etc.
Have volunteer work-days – gives you a chance to get them all together and observe how they work and what their unique skills are – they may think they fit in one area, but you might find they are really skilled in another area that you weren’t aware of
Don’t put your volunteers in a “silo” – make sure they are communicating – maybe once a month have a meetup or a hangout with coffee/snacks – they will feel more connected and more valued & excited to keep contributing
Referring and bringing your friends is a great way to grow the volunteer base
Thanks for helping with our show notes!
- Cheryl LaPrade @yaycheryl
- Sherie LaPrade @heysherie
- James Tryon @jamestryon
The post WPBlab EP76 – WordPress & Nonprofits- Tips on Keeping Your Volunteer Webmaster appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week on WPblab we'll be discussing how to market your WordPress niche with Twitter Chats. It should be a fun episode learning how to interact with a twitter chat and how to run one yourself using your own hashtag.
Twitter Chats – using hashtags: (#) + ‘keyword’ to filter/track related posts on a specific topic
Back in the 90’s AOL had chatrooms with names where you could talk to people about a common topic. Anyone was welcome and it was public. Twitter chats are the modern day version of that.
Hashtags help you to filter and search twitter – Twitter chats are “LIVE” versions of that search where people are commenting and participating in real-time
You can register your chat on twubs.com but NO ONE can own a hashtag (since anyone can type and use them). It’s important for your hashtag to be unique. If you see a hashtag that was once used but is no longer, you can always ask the original parties who used it if it’s available, but better to select something no one is already using.
Twitter chats can take 3-4 hours a week to manage.
If you are starting one from scratch, ask some friends to join you when you launch!
You’ll need 6-10 questions – extra brownie points if you post them in advance to blog/social media for people to see and plan ahead!
Try to set a specific time for your chat every week & hold them regularly so people always know when to tune in – don’t forget that people need to be reminded, too
Also, do a recap / summary post after the chat for people who missed out.
You want to pick good questions that will produce good answers to help further the conversation! It’s like reverse engineering a blog post. Know what answers/discussions you are looking to have and work backwards to develop the questions that will get you there.
Consider adding a category to your blog for the twitter chats to keep an archive of the recaps
If you get stuck looking for a topic, ask your audience and give them credit for the idea
Be committed – it can take up to a year to develop a solid chat
A twitter chat is a lot like a talk show except everyone gets to answer at the same time – you need to keep things organized or a busy chat can easily get out of control. Use a format like Q1) … Q2)… and encourage your participants to use A1)…. A2) for their answers. Try to discourage hitting ‘reply’.
Twitter Chat tools
==================
Twubs.com
example: http://twubs.com/NPChat
Tweetchat.com
example: http://tweetchat.com/room/npchat
Tchat.io
example: http://www.tchat.io/rooms/npchat
TweetReach.com – get stats on last 100 tweets
When you attend a twitter chat and interact, you know you’re chatting with real people, not bots – you will usually pick up followers and not just random followers, but quality ones
Make a Twitter List based on your chats to help track people who are participating. Then you can engage with them during the week when the chat is not happening.
The main purpose (from a strategic viewpoint) of attending or running a twitter chat is to establish yourself as a leader or expert in that niche
Don’t be afraid to ask higher profile twitter users or users with a lot of influence who are related to your topic to join you in hosting one of your chats!
Oembed -allows you to embed tweets on your blog and/or website
Favorite your own tweets – it’s “bookmarking”! Then when people answer your questions, heart all of them. As soon as chat ends, take another 30-60 mins to go back to your profile “likes” and work backwards to find the answers to the questions. Right-click and select “copy link” and then unfavorite and then go to the next. Pick the 3-5 best answers!
Project on GitHub called ‘T’ sferik – twitter client for terminal: https://github.com/sferik/t
If you do host a chat, it’s highly recommended to add that information to your Twitter bio – when people click the hashtag, it will suggest people for them to follow
Promoting:
use the right social network to promote – think of your audience.
Best promotion is blog post. In your blog, try to include a feature/plugin that allows them to add the chat to their calendar.
Post about it in relevant groups, but ONLY if you are a giver / active participant. A little bit of generosity goes a long way.
Find out what your ‘niche’ is – what is that you do that makes you special! What is that you love, what kind of clients do you take on the most? Is there a theme or a pattern to how you spend your time or who you work with? Are there things that you are really good at?
Look at your twitter analytics – what do your followers / friends have in common? Is your account the right account to run this specific chat on? Make sure if you are going to run a chat – make sure it’s line with you, your areas of expertise, and your audience.
Repurpose content – look back at your old blog posts
_________________________________________
Thanks for helping with our show notes!
Cheryl LaPrade @yaycheryl
Sherie LaPrade @heysherie
James Tryon @jamestryon
The post WPBlab EP75 – Marketing Your WordPress Niche with Twitter Chats appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week on WPblab Bridget Willard and Jason Tucker share some tips and tricks for effective social media campaigns for your nonprofit's events.
Nonprofits are often short on time, money and are reliant on volunteer assistance to help things run
Geocoding and hashtags are two great ways to curate your event’s photos/marketing, etc.
Things that make crowdsourcing photos really easy:
- Smartphone
- Selfie stick (possibly with tripod!)
- Public-facing social media
Re-gramming on Instagram is against the TOS so Twitter is often a better choice for sharing and re-sharing of photos. You can however, share links to the Instagram posts (on FB, Twitter, etc). Here’s an example. https://www.facebook.com/SoCalHiker/posts/10155307306634344
Both Twitter and Instagram posts can be embedded into your blog posts, which is a great way to get the word out and continue to motivate your attendees/volunteers and/or thank them!
You can also create an event gallery on Flickr that everyone can contribute to. Dropbox or Google Drive that multiple people have access to is a great option as well.
Be sure to thank your volunteers/contributors!!
You want to provide good information on social media because people will be looking for updates about the event, answers to questions, and wanting to know who is attending and what the event will be like. Think of the things that you take for granted and that someone new would not necessarily know. Always think “hospitality”.
Make sure your social media avatar shows your real face. People love to see faces and helps people to relate – it humanizes an event. Remember the names of your frequent attenders or volunteers and mention them by name when they arrive at your event.
Use ‘urgency’ in your marketing and peer sharing / FOMO (fear of missing out) factor
Tell a story: all non-profits exist to help humanity in some way and storytelling is a powerful marketing tool that resonates with people
When attending an event, always have an external battery or 2 or 3.
When doing photography for your event, keep in mind that you don’t have to edit every single photo. Make a few quick edits as needed, but then just share what you have.
Also remember that volunteers may not always have the tools available that they need to help out. Ie. photographers – you can have disposable or affordable cameras / phones available to let your volunteers use to contribute.
Ask your volunteers what they are into and see how that intersects with what they enjoy and are good at
Invest in your volunteers and they will stick with you!
There are lots of social media managers who are willing to do pro bono work for non-profits, so reach out to your networks and ask people you know to find someone to help you.
TOOLS:
Media Release form
Nonprofit Chat #npchat
- Ripl.com – Create eye-catching animated posts and share them on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
- Adobe Lightroom – digital photography software for desktop and mobile
- Camera+
- Panasonic Image App
- Pro HDRx – helps with backlit photos
- Skitch
- Tagboard.com – Good for aggregating hashtagged content from FB, IG, Twitter.
- Pablo
- Canva
- Apple Clips for iOS – for automated closed-captions
Sponsors
- Corporate Sponsorship
- The 2017 Guide to Event Sponsorship
Thanks for helping with our show notes!
Cheryl LaPrade @yaycheryl
Sherie LaPrade @heysherie
Doug Knoyle @dougster123
James Tryon @jamestryon
Jeff Hester @jeffhester
The post WPBlab EP74 – Nonprofit Event Marketing On Social: Tips & Tricks appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week on WPblab Bridget Willard and Jason Tucker will be discussing the ways in which you can manage social media using 3rd party tools to help you the WordPress freelancer spend less time doing more.
-
Sharing buttons on your blog/site are super important – not everyone is going to have or install extensions to help them share your posts
-
Facebook https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/
- Twitter https://cards-dev.twitter.com/validator
- Mashshare https://wordpress.org/plugins/mashsharer/ — social media share buttons
-
Social Warfare https://wordpress.org/plugins/social-warfare/
-
Yoast SEO Plugin — Allow Open Graph Data (Social Settings — Enable Facebook)
- Don’t install with another SEO plugin, just use it by itself!
- Make sure to use and update your metadata!!
- Don’t forget your feature images
- Use iOS to grab the featured image on a iPhone or iPad https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/imagedrain-download-all-images-from-safari/id932866396?mt=8
- Buffer.com — Social sharing and scheduling for Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google Plus
- Even the free account will allow you to set a schedule
- shares your content at the best possible times throughout the day so that your followers and fans see your updates more often
- Can choose to share posts immediately or save it to your queue
- 10 social profiles in the Awesome Plan for $10/mo
- https://buffer.com/awesome?utm_campaign=footer
- Supports campaign tracking and analytics
- ReBuffer – find what’s performing well and reschedule it for posting again!
- Using the right tools for the right reasons is how you optimize your time
- Automation vs. Scheduling – automation does not involve human interaction, scheduling is a human carefully crafting posts and setting them up for optimal times
- https://2017.atlanta.wordcamp.org/session/smarter-social-sharing-for-killer-content-marketing/
- Hootsuite.com / Hootsuite Pro is $14.99
- (Bridget’s affiliate link: http://signup.hootsuite.com/signup-upgrade/?utm_campaign=partner_commission_junction&utm_source=commission_junction&utm_medium=partner )
- Will either automatically schedule posts or you can choose a time
-
Link Shortening: Bitly.com
- Branded short domains from Bitly – https://bitly.com/pages/landing/branded-short-domains-powered-by-bitly?
-
Question: Scheduling Tweets, why do them at different times?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0e3tsZeBw0&autoplay=1
“Dispatch Content with Intention #GuruMinute” - How to Post to Instagram and Twitter
https://ifttt.com/applets/aVxGRrtD-tweet-your-instagrams-as-native-photos-on-twitter - Keep social media content relative to the network your own – be aware of your venue
- i.e. – People generally don’t want to read a blog post on instagram, they want photos
- UTM codes: A UTM code is a simple code that you can attach to a custom URL in order to track a source, medium, and campaign name. This enables Google Analytics to tell you where searchers came from as well as what campaign directed them to you.
- Google Analytics Campaign URL Builder
https://ga-dev-tools.appspot.com/campaign-url-builder/
- Google Analytics Campaign URL Builder
- Google Analytics – Acquisition Reports – social media
- 11.4 is the average pieces of content that most people engage with before they decide to make a purchase
- How to strip UTM Codes https://shoehornwithteeth.com/ramblings/2015/11/strip-analytics-url-parameters-before-bookmarking/
- If you see someone is a referrer to your site and their referrals are converting, make sure to reach out and recognize them in some way! Make them an affiliate or send them a mug/gear as a thank you!
- Classic Retweet for Chrome https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/classic-retweet/mejfljhfeahhhicjefeehikaooffggmf?hl=en
(keep in mind when retweeting w/ the new ‘Retweet’ button, people can turn off your retweets) - WPArmchair now Conferencia — https://www.conferencia.io
- https://www.google.com/alerts
- Ifttt.com – tweet when your local wordcamp posts something
https://ifttt.com/applets/52396035d-if-new-feed-item-from-https-2017-oc-wordcamp-org-feed-then-post-a-tweet-with-image-to-jasontucker/edit - Use Google alerts to search for you or your company and have it sent to your email first, so you can preview the content before sharing it to your website
- How to share your friends posts on Twitter w/ an image
https://ifttt.com/applets/33067038d-if-new-feed-item-from-http-zeek-com-feed-then-add-photo-to-twitter-buffer-jasontucker
https://ifttt.com/applets/12169307d-tweet-when-a-new-video-from-your-wordcamp-is-posted-on-wordpress-tv
Thanks for helping with our show notes!
Cheryl LaPrade @yaycheryl
Sherie LaPrade @heysherie
Doug Knoyle @dougster123
The post WPblab EP73 – WordPress Freelancers: Optimize Your Time With Social Tools appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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WPblab EP72 – WordPress Plugins – If you build it, will they come? w/ Russell Aaron
Russell Aaron – Web Dev Studios
Bridget – Actions do things, Filters change things
What’s a plugin? – File inside directory. Adds or enhance website, or de-enhance, Simmer down down.
Finish plugin, ship it and call it a day!
Built & tested and released, people are installing and then white screen the site
First step in marketing, believe in product. Use it every day. Plugin solves his own problem.
His marketing – let me to take it to a competition at a WordCamp ( Plugin-a-Palooza ) and get an idea of who is my core demographic
How do you promote?
No good marketing thing on the repo… The repo has copy… Real people don’t know repo. Directory good compromise for users.
Have a good call to action. Make sense in your copy. Have someone else write the copy. Don’t use terms dev terms. Use words your audience will understand.
No one is looking for the product by your name.
Users look for Automatic scheduling twitter. “Revival posts” not the name you’re searching for.
Use descriptive copy in the repository listing… it may sound like an infomercial but you need to use words that the audience will easily understand.
Listen to people in meetup groups. People want to see a top level view of their site, top “query all the posts types” came up.
What are people saying about your plugins and how do you tap into that?
Get close to pain points essential to marketing. Finding the thing that people ask about over and over again is a good guide to what you should be talking / posting about.
Word of Mouth. People willing to try things. WordCamp people will experiment about things and new products.
Intro with “Hi my name is russ and you might like my plugin ‘query all the post types’”
Use your community to make your plugin better.
User feedback. Take it to meetup group. Discounts for early adopters
First step of marketing is help evolve the plugin
“I need something to do – how can I solve a problem?” Combine those things together and a plugin is born!
Don’t get too used car salesman. Somewhere between peace corps and something…..
If you make a plugin and put it in the repo, you’re going to get a lot of questions and suggestions for changes to make it better
For a tweet about styling gravity forms. Meghan said “shutup and take my money”. Had an idea and built a plugin to just enqueue a stylesheet.
Don’t wait tooo long to make premium version of plugin
You need a marketing brief – Set achievable, measureable goals. I want 10 downloads a month.
Goal 500 or 1000 active installs – figure out how to get that.
- Get on twitter.
- Tweet 3 times a day.
- Make sure to hit ‘reply’.
- Be a human being
- Organic content marketing
- Community advertising
- Be on every front possible
- 4 times a week posts on the blog
Have a strategy
Tell people you exist. You won't make a living for at least 3 years on only the plugin.
Russell: If you write something that solves a problem and you tweet it with the right hashtags and get it in front of the right people – it can almost promote itself! People are going to share it.
Bridget: Be a Human Being. Develop relationships. Then it will matter to people when you share projects you are working on.
James Law ( Ninja Forms ) charge what it is. Don’t do discounts.
- Plugins Admin Bar – WordPress Plugin Adding Plugin Link To WP Admin Bar Sub Menu
- Hashtag URL Placeholder
- Query All The Post Types – WordPress Post Type Scanner Plugin
- Maintainn Tools
Russell’s marketing strategy – I want to help people. If I can get on a show or got to a meetup and share something that helps, I’m doing my job
Show people that you are not one-dimensional – that you are more than just WordPress – that you have interests and other activities that people can connect to — people gravitate towards authenticity
A plugin should do one thing and one thing well.
We all need each other – no WordPress website has only one plugin.
Russ: Jetpack does many things, but it does them reliably. If people would stop bashing it and just give it a chance and see what it really can do – they’d see its worth.
Russ: you have to be willing to have conversations and be interested in what they're saying. Bridget need help, how can you help her?
Russ: Be a better role model. Write plugins, reach out to AWP group and answer valid questions. Success = Help someone out there that needs to help without being there.
Success in a nutshell – plugin solves a problem and the community is better off for it.
Bridget: Tooting horn is marketing
Marketing is a necessary part of any business model.
Plugins need to be seen as legitimate.
Everyone who participates elevates the brand!
Bridget: Leo Laporte. Follow him! TWiT|Netcasts you love from people you trust Leo Laporte – Broadcaster, podcaster, tech pundit. Founder, TWiT Netcast Network. The Tech Guy on the Premiere radio network MacBreak Weekly. This week in Tech
As you become a better role model you get a stamp of approval. Seen as trusted.
Bridget: Start blogging about events
Let people know that you’re involved in the space
Start talking about your plugin on your blog
Search Results for “brad parbs”
bradp (Brad Parbs) / Repositories
Marketing is kinda like SEO. target a group or someone well, then you can change it later.
Marketing is telling something instead of pitching
Let me tell you how this car is going to help your family down the road.
Wrote a plugin, enter it into a contest and the marketing solved itself.
Doing stuff in the community and WordCamp talks is allowing you to pimp your brand.
Do twitter for 5 minutes. Be successful.
Sing Papa Roch!
- Blog Tool, Publishing Platform, and CMS-WordPress
- Make a backup. @jpurpleman seconds that statement.
- Jason Tucker-Geek, Dad, IT Manager & WordPress Dev
- RusselleNVy
- WordPress Support and Maintenance Services by Maintainn
- Webdevstudios.com
- Pluginize-High performance WordPress plugins
- WordImpress:Impressive WordPress Plugins and Support
- @enqueue_russ
- WPwatercooler 11am PST
Thanks for helping with the show notes:
Jonathan Perlman – @jpurpleman
Cheryl LaPrade – @YayCheryl
Sherie LaPrade – @HeySherie
The post WPblab EP72 – WordPress Plugins – If you build it, will they come? appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week on WPblab we're talking with Sherie & Cheryl LaPrade about using Twitter to market your WordPress side hustle. If you run your own business and you are looking for ways to market it, this show will be perfect for you.
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This week on WPblab we're at a new time 7-8pm Pacific and will be talking with David Blackmon about his Divi Chat podcast and how he used his show to build community around Divi page builder and Elegant Themes.
David Blackmon – Divi Chat http://divi.chat/
How to start a WordPress podcast
Started in a Facebook group, many folks helping one another in there talking about WordPress and Divi
Decided to have a meetup and 15-20 people showed up from around the world! Nick – founder of ElegantThemes – came down with his team and hung out as well.
David had a great love for podcasts and saw the potential in it – great medium, easily consumable, a great marketing vehicle to get a message out
Was originally going to start his own podcast, but when he met up with a bunch of his online WordPress and Divi friends in person, he decided to start a show similar to WP Watercooler, but about the Divi platform (Using YouTube Live – also uploads the audio to iTunes)
Google Spreadsheet with topics listed for upcoming episodes – 30 to 90 days out
Getting guests can be tricky, especially if you like to plan ahead – be prepared for cancellations
http://roadtreking.com/category/podcasts/ – Mike Wendland (great example of a well put together podcast)
His new show: wpthepodcast.com
Podcasts are a great way to meet and get connected with the larger community, make new friends and network – often get recognized by your voice in a crowd!
MacCast – Adam Christianson – has a very distinctive voice! Met many people because they recognized his voice from his podcast.
Soundcloud is another good site to upload your podcast audio to and get greater reach
Some very ‘Festive’ episodes with Google’s effects, ie. Party Hats etc. Had lots of laughs, but probably lost some of the audience in the audio version because they couldn’t see what was happening on screen – have to remember the audio audience when doing your podcast
YouTube is great because it shows you the exact viewcount of who saw the video when it aired. You can also see comments, interactions, and how much they saw of each episode
If you aren’t doing closed captioning, you may miss out on some of the people trying to watch the podcast video www.Rev.com – transcription, captions and translations
Facebook live is useful because it will alert people when something goes Live … people may not be looking for it, but it pops up and they go “Hey, I’m gonna watch this!”
Know where your ‘community’ watches you from … if most of your people find you and watch you via facebook, focus your efforts there …. If most follow you and interact via YouTube, focus there instead
Facebook – comments matter – make sure you are engaging. Not just liking. “You have to use words to build relationships” – Bridget … Sharing is important and helpful too, but it’s still not engagement – you still need to comment to build those relationships.
If you genuinely want to build engagement on Facebook, you need to spend at least an hour a day commenting and replying to comments – furthering the conversation & relationship!
www.yt2fb.com “Make your YouTube Video look BIG and AWESOME on Facebook” -makes YouTube videos look semi-native when posted to Facebook
When you are starting a podcast, people are expecting perfection from the get-go … you should take some time to record “Episode Zero” – you know you are going to throw it away, but it gives you a chance to do a run through and feel out what works and what doesn’t and possibly shift direction if needed
http://wpmedia.pro/
http://wpmedia.pro/the-10-commandments-of-podcasting-that-work/
https://omnystudio.com/ On demand audio publishing platform – podcast hosting and tools
Enhanced podcasts – post-production is about 30 minutes on average
David – cofounder Aspen Grove Studios http://www.aspengrovestudios.com
Thank you for helping us with the show notes this week: Cheryl LaPrade – @YayCheryl on Twitter
Sherie LaPrade – @HeySherie on Twitter
The post EP68 – Podcasting to build WordPress Community w/ David Blackmon appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week on WPblab we'll be speaking with WPShout about learning to do WordPress development. If you are looking to be a WordPress developer this should be the perfect episode for you.
http://www.wpshout.com
David B Hayes and Fred Meyer – WordPress developers, contributors, and enthusiasts. Our goal is to make the world of WordPress accessible to everybody.
Alex Denning – started publishing about WordPress development on WPShout in 2009
One of their projects for meditation – http://medivate.com
WPShout – mostly writing for people who are learning or who already are developers – not aimed at beginners
David writes a quick guide every Thursday for simple tips and suggestions
Good starting place for someone wanting to get into development – Up and Running – step by step introduction to WordPress development
Up and Running – Discount code: WPBLAB – 20% off any package!! If you purchase before end of 3/24, you’ll also be entered to win some cool prizes!
Up and Running starts with the core technical fundamentals (and terminology) and breaks it down into a factory analogy to make it easier to understand the process … (Up and Running synthesizes WordPress development into a cohesive package)
The goal is to go from knowing about the concepts (html, css, php, wordpress basics, etc.) to becoming proficient and knowing how to use all the pieces and parts, and why & how they work, by the end of the program
“Everyone should use CMS’s and WordPress is the best one, so use it!”
Recorded a number of interviews with well known WP devs about how they got to where they are – Pippin Williamson, Helen Hou-Sandi, etc.
Screenflow is used for their video screen capture
Even if you never do the coding stuff or that’s not your focus, the hope is that Up and Running helps make it easier to understand the concepts and why it works the way it does – great for Designers too looking to level up their understanding
David started using WordPress in 2007 – learned how to be a web developer by having a website and wanting to make little changes here and there and beating his head against the wall – it was something he cared about strongly so making it better was important to him
WordPress is a great way to break into the entire field of Web Development
Learn WordPress Plugin Development
Some of the best ways to learn are to use Google to search for answers and to really dig through the Codex or the Code Reference
- https://codex.wordpress.org/
- https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/
- https://learn.calderalabs.org/
People come to WordPress from so many different backgrounds – sometimes it’s a nurse or an educator or a business person who was the most tech savvy in their office and they ‘inherited’ the site and the responsibility to market it
- Udemy.com
- Lynda.com
- Stackoverflow
- Carl Alexander
- AdvancedWP
One of the most under-valued skills that most people in the tech field have is that they know how to use Google just a little bit better than everyone else!! You might have the ability to get an answer in 2 minutes that may take a non-technical person an hour to find. That’s worth a whole lot!
One of the first and easier plugins you could tackle is a shortcode plugin – will teach you some of the basics of the hook system / registering a plugin, etc.
One of the greatest ways to start learning PHP is to start with creating a child theme – it’s pretty safe and pretty easy to get started
If you can safely “cowboy code” your website – it’s one of the best first steps to getting started with WordPress development… you get immediate feedback from the work you put in – a local development environment is great and you should use it as a professional, but for the beginner dev, it can be overkill
Local Development – DesktopServer
Text editing * Netbeans * Brackets * PHPStorm * SublimeText * Coda2
Thanks for helping us with the show notes Cheryl LaPrade – @YayCheryl on Twitter
Sherie LaPrade – @HeySherie on Twitter
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This week Bridget and Jen Miller discuss how you can market yourself by live tweeting a WordCamp
Live Tweeting at WordCamp
Bridget Willard
You Too Can Be A Guru
Jen Miller @jenblogs4u
Offering Lead Conversion Tools and Blogging
Need Someone To Blog? 100% Unique Website Content. Need Safe Blog Posts? Hire a Ghost Blogger…
Jen – been using twitter for 6 years
finally realized twitter is a relationship building medium
Jen wanted to be a Guru too
Bridget – in 2012 was helping with a political campaign
She would listen over the internet and tweet out quotes with relevant hashtags to help with exposure
When she finally made it to a WordCamp, it seemed so obvious that Live Tweeting would be a thing you should do
Bridget’s tips & tricks:
You Too Can Be A Guru
Find out the official hashtag for the conference you are at, and if there isn’t one, make up one that makes sense, but try to make sure it’s not already being used
Find out who speakers are and their Twitter handles
Some WordCamps have speaker twitter lists that you can follow
A good plan to have a document local on your device with your information / schedule – not all
WordCamps have wi-fi and not all wi-fi is dependable! Also bring a powerstrip – good for you and is the ultimate “friend-maker”! Take your own personal hotspot and name it well – brand it with your business name – may bring new contacts.
WHAT YOU DON’T DO – be careful not to mistype the twitter handles of the speakers
Copy the hashtag of the event and the twitter handle of the speaker and load it into the tweet box and wait for those “tweetable moments. Then when they come along, you can just add in the text and send!
These speakers are giving of their time and are unpaid – If you can amplify what the speaker is saying to that room and get it to more people – not only are you helping them, but you are helping yourself too!
Live-tweeting doesn’t make it harder for you to pay attention – if you are listening carefully for those tweetable moments, you are paying even closer attention than normal and potentially absorbing more than you would without live-tweeting
Live-tweeting is also really helpful for those “Armchair WordCampers” who weren’t able to make it to the event, but still try to follow along during the weekend
Twubs Is good for following hashtags twubs.com Follow Hashtags. Discover Conversations.
If there is closed-captioning at the event, you can use it to double-check your tweets and make sure you’re not misquoting anyone
Make sure that you are using an accurate photo of yourself on twitter so that people will recognize you when you attend WordCamps! Also, start watching the hashtag for the camp as soon as it’s available so you can interact with other attendees and develop relationships!
Get to know your fellow attendees before the event, what your interests are, the work you do, and even just general chit-chat — helps to break the ice when you finally meet in person! Especially if you are from out of town and don’t know anyone.
Save a list of great quotes from the different sessions you attend, especially ones that are too long or just too good to use for only Twitter and use them as the base for a blog post/recap of the event
If you can get images of the person speaking as well as a quote, that’s very valuable. Lots of people will tweet quotes, but not everyone will get a good picture!
You can even help WordCamp organizers by tweeting out the WIFI name, and location of afterparties, etc.
Make your goals achievable – Try to find ONE thing you can quote – the one thing that resonates with you…. And tweet that out
If you’re not quick enough to get the exact quote from a speaker, it’s okay to rephrase or summarize it in your own words, and even add your thoughts
Make sure to give context to your tweets – if someone doesn’t know what you are talking about, then they can’t respond!
The Next Chapter-Blog
Bridget: My friends, my family, my career are all at WordPress. It all started in June 2013 at WordCamp Orange County. If that’s not convincing, I don’t know what could be!
“I found my tribe” via WordPress and live tweeting
___________________
Show Note Contributors
Sherie LaPrade – @HeySherie
Cheryl LaPrade – @YayCheryl
Paul Oyler – @PappyOyler
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This week on WPblab we'll be speaking with Nathan Porter on how you can use WordPress effectively to market your nonprofit. Nathan is CEO wannapixel and cofounder of ukuupeople. Interact with him on his personal blog.
Components of a Nonprofit running WordPress Intranet – their internal company site
Nonprofits are just like companies in that they have specific niches they are working with
Nonprofits have two separate spheres they have to operate in – one is fundraising – the other is their cause, can be difficult to balance
Marketing – “Who is it that we are trying to target online and what action is that we want them to take?”
GiveWP only runs with WordPress – it is difficult to market something that only works if you have something else – important to educate (how do you start a site, buying a domain name, setting up WordPress) https://givewp.com/
Build Infrastructure CRM plugin for WordPress – help to keep your contacts updated. Everytime they interact with your WordPress website and provide more information, their contact info is updated. http://ukuupeople.com/
You need to have the infrastructure in place to be able to do good marketing for your nonprofit
Storytelling When you are close to the organization, it can be harder to tell your story in a way that makes sense to outsiders, so….
Landing page content is important – needs to make sense. What is it that you (or your company) does? It needs to be clear … not ambiguous. Know who you are targeting. If you are trying to talk to everyone, you are talking to no one.
Put your fundraising message front and center. Tell your story effectively – have to figure out how to get someone from just discovering your organization, to understanding, to connecting and to wanting to be a part and to support it
Don’t just assume you know your audience – track your stats, check analytics, find out who your real demographic is and then you can figure out the best way to reach them
Kevin Hoffman: I think sometimes WP devs choose proprietary software because they need out-of-the-box solutions and don't have time for setup/integration.
So my question is, what can marketing do to make the benefits of a WordPress solution more appealing than the convenience of an alternative?
Screen recording QA solutions * Usersnap.com * Hotjar.com * Validately.com
Marketing with WordPress.org
Donations The thing that can be hardest for nonprofits to understand is the investment in marketing and the return they will get for that investment (often a long term investment)
Don’t increase your donation levels to increase donations, it’s counter-productive. Instead, lower the donation levels, make it so easy to do that people don’t even think about it and your donations will increase. Also, think about offering subscription donations, so that people don’t have to remember to come back and donate.
Most common reason ppl didn't donate: weren't thanked previously, says Turnkey's Otis Fulton #P2PForum17
— P2P Forum (@P2PForum) March 2, 2017
CRM Having a CRM allows you to keep track of who’s giving what, and who’s been in contact with who – very important to keep track of who’s given during a campaign so you don’t ask twice. Also helps you track personal details and help you to make a more personal (“Human!”) approach.
Website is the center of the spoke – focus on the core
Social is the outer edges
Google Grants
Social Media Landing pages for non profits?
Think strategically about where you efforts are best placed, is a landing page the best idea for your organization?
Stay true to who you are as an organization, if it feels uncomfortable or awkward – don’t do it!
The way that you engage with an audience is much the same as the way you engage with your friends – don’t go for the “shiny new thing” – think of it on a personal level, how you would relate face to face
Marketing is a long term investment – you may not immediately see the payoff, but need to stick with it
Use Hootsuite for social media and do post approvals from your social media volunteers
Google Sheet for building out posts for social media
When developing your ‘voice’ for social media, it’s a good idea to do ‘peer reviews’ of the posts at the beginning to ensure consistency
Wendy’s Roast me
It’s hard to be trustworthy and snarky on social – better to avoid posts that would lead your trustworthiness to be questioned. Exception would be if you are an edgy company that deals in snark on a regular basis.
By 2030 You Will Lose Your Chance to Engage Millennial Donors
Millennials are largely interested in furthering their own personal cause – they are not interested in an organization that has been doing something for 100 years unless it fits with their own specific cause. They are not likely to be won over to another cause – it’s much easier to target them based on their specific (niche) interest
Special thanks to all these folks helping us with our show notes this episode James Tryon – @jamestryon
Cheryl LaPrade – @YayCheryl
Sherie LaPrade – @HeySherie
Marisa Porter – @VirtuallyMarisa
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This week on WPblab we'll be talking with Roy Sivan about the best thing to help you level up your WordPress career.
Name Factoid:
Celtic Meaning: The name Roy is a Celtic baby name. In Celtic the meaning of the name Roy is: Red haired.
WP Crowd – WordPress community mastermind group / video show
Mastermind sundays at 6pm PST
WordPress community is very unique among tech communities because of the level of sharing … you can come in without knowing anything and level up from the ground up. Other communities can be judgy about beginner / entry-level questions.
Got a gig working for Disney because of a talk he gave at a WordCamp
Teaching other people in the WP community also helps you to level up because you get to know your subject matter better as you prepare to teach it
Church IT Roundtable http://citrt.com
Epoch – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_time
Being open source makes WordPress and it’s community unique – people are more open and more generous with their knowledge and time. A great example: WordCamps – only $40 for a whole weekend (with lunches!) and you learn so much for so little
Having one code mentor is a great way to learn! But with the WordPress community you have hundreds of mentors!
MasterMinds:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/chicceo/2013/10/21/7-reasons-to-join-a-mastermind-group/#535c4ddb5deb
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/how-to-start-and-run-a-mastermind-group.html
Masterminds help you keep accountable – good way to level together in a smaller, more focused group
Try participating in local hackathons to push yourself a little further and learn more quickly
Get involved in your local meetup, they are always looking for speakers of all levels and you can learn so much from the other members.
Meetups can help you get out of shell – get used to speaking to a smaller group. It’s a good place to work on a new topic that you might want to one day present at a WordCamp in front of a larger audience.
Spend sometime outside of the WordPress spectrum – expose yourself to authors, podcasts, books, experts, etc. in adjacent interest areas that can help broaden your understanding (Get out of the bubble!)
Folks that helped us with our show notes * James Tryon – @jamestryon * Cheryl LaPrade – @YayCheryl * Sherie LaPrade – @HeySherie * Adam Silver @heyadamsilver
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This week on WPblab we’ll be talking with surgeon Dr Andy Fragen about how he builds WordPress plugins as a hobby.
Andy Fragen
Geek Surgeon / Plugin Developer
- thefragens.com
- afragen (Andy Fragen)
- Andy Fragen (@andyfragen)
Andy doesn't do WordPress during the day, he does it as a hobby
- CSS Zen Garden:The Beauty of CSS Design
- The Events Calendar Category Colors
Scratching your own itch has lead to making some plugins for favorite things
- Github Updater
- Software Licensing-Updater Implementation for WordPress Plugins
Some people go home from a crazy day at work and do puzzles to unwind…
Coding is a puzzle – figuring out how to accomplish something or meet a need with a plugin
Started using Git/GitHub mainly for version control for his own purposes … not primarily seeking help/input to start
Rachelle Wise: I've written a bunch of plugins, but they've been mostly specific to client sites and haven't submitted anything yet, but I've been thinking about it. Any tips for submitting to the WP directory?
Andy Fragen: Use some batch script to make it easier – but definitely go for it! What’s the worse that could happen? You’ll have to support it
Use hooks, use filters, use the WordPress API
Try to test plugins in both single site and multi-site environments
Bridget: How do you handle support when it’s just a hobby / side job?
James Tryon: Brian Hogg had great advice about saying in the warranty “you only support the plugin on base WordPress with no other plugins installed and a default theme”… so you are not stuck with all the support
– WordPress – Profiles – Andy Fragen
Great plugin:
– Local Development
No meetups in Palm Springs?
There are some people who livestream their meetups – good alternative for people without a local meetup
Bridget: How do you start contributing?
Andy: Hang out in support forums and answer questions – if you have a product you really like, start there … more than one person has gotten hired by volunteering their time in support!
Use the proper tools – PHPstorm is a good one
- PhpStorm IDE
- Local Development
- Pippins Plugins
- Tom McFarlin | A Perspective on Professional WordPress Development
- Deploys a WordPress plugin from Github (git) to the WordPress Plugin Repostiory (svn), taking account of git-flow usage.
Thanks to these people for helping us with these show notes!
Jen Miller @jenblogs4u
James Tryon – @jamestryon
Sherie LaPrade – @HeySherie
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EP62 – WordPress Social Media Marketing for Seniors
On this episode of WPblab we speak with Cemal Tashan about Social Media Marketing for Seniors.
Cemal Tashan: Designing for Seniors WordCamp OC Talk
- Seniors use Facebook to spy on their kids and grand kids
- Confusion on how social media works
- Color contrasts are important
- Interactions are difficult for seniors, looking photos and such are easier for them.
- Have two accounts on Amazon, one for search and one for purchasing
- Photos of oceans, palm trees, dogs, cats are attractive to seniors
- Senior abuse laws for the Internet?
- Unaided brand awareness
- Social Marketing branding bombardment
- Keys to Being Social – The Series – You Too Can Be A Guru
- A real person, a lot like you
- Seniors are writing bios in long form
- Microgrants Program
Thanks for helping out with the show notes!
Jen Miller @jenblogs4u
James Tryon – @jamestryon
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This week on WPblab we'll be joined by Adam Silver to how you can use public speaking to build your WordPress Freelancing business.
Adam Silver – Relax. We Got This|ConciergeWP.com
Podcasts
- Everything about WordPress except the Kitchen Sink! | Kitchen Sink WordPress
- It's Not A Hobby
Adam Silver came to WordPress as a photographer because he needed to convert his own html site. Found he had a gift as a teacher – podcaster – speaker and started sharing his knowledge. One of his keys in warming up a room is sending softball questions to get conversation going.
Speaking to a live audience can be a benefit due to the immediate feedback you are able to get but scaling comes with online courses. Adam chose to get his own space and charge per student versus going through Adult Ed. The benefits of teaching a course are that people join his Meetup, take the class or hire him. People generally find him on the Meetup, on meetup.com and through his podcasts. He started using Ad Espresso to run Google adwords. Doing 25 miles within his location.
Bridget reminds that images without text perform better in Facebook advertising and says Twitter ads may be less expensive.
1st step if you want to talk at a WordCamp – Pitch it at a Meetup – reach out and ask if you can give your talk. Adam has adamislive.com and uses it anytime he speaks.
BTW WordPress has Speaker Training
Make WordPress Training
Adam’s “It’s Not a Hobby” Podcast coming soon – It's Not A Hobby
– sign up to be notified!
Class coming up in 20 days.
Self-advertising: Once a month Adam sponsors his own show – wouldn’t allow ads for the first 100 shows – wanted his audience to trust him
Adam loves to travel & loves to share and speak – he and his wife decided the best way to honor those two passions was to travel to more WordCamps – an investment but also a sacrifice (time away from family)
Your Website Engineer – Dustin Hartzler
“Helping you create a high quality WordPress website, by teaching you the skills to master WordPress.”
WordPress Resource:Your Website Engineer with Dustin Hartzler
The specific episode Adam was on: WordPress Resource
Show Note Contributors Jen Miller @jenblogs4u
Cheryl LaPrade – @yaycheryl
Sherie LaPrade – @HeySherie
James Tryon – @jamestryon
Verious Smith – @verioussmith
Robey Lawrence – @robeylawrence
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This week on WPblab we'll be talking with Verious Smith III who is Creative Director of Philoveracity Design out of Riverside California. On this episode, we will be speaking with him about marketing your WordPress business using Instagram.
Verious and Bridget met talking abouteyelashes and instagram waiting for a food truck at a WordCamp
Helped an elderly couple get out of a sticky situation where employees more knowledgeable about the web tried to steal the company out from under them by taking over domains, etc. – the couple (70 & 80 years old) remembered him down the road and approached him to help with the Marketing for their business and give him a percentage. Verious decided to learn how to grow an Instagram account for their business – grew it from 22,000 – 34,000 followers
Instagram Tips
- Instagram is a unique platform that lets you interact more casually and naturally with your followers
- “Be a bit of a voyeur,” per Jason Tucker. Take a peek at how others are using instagram. See what people look at in the grocery store line. What engages?
- InstaLikes https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/instalikes-for-instagram/id906899349?mt=8
- Look for hashtags within your niche market and push out posts on that subject, using the tag
- Influencer Marketing – look for influencers on Instagram – people with 60,000-90,000 followers (those with much larger fan bases won’t usually interact). Send them products you are trying to sell and in exchange, suggest that if they like it, they share it with their followers
- Learn to develop your ‘voice’ – get comfortable with talking as your brand and making connections
- Formed Oh My Lash Beauty Council – Created a group and spoke directly to them using terms of endearment and had fun with it.
- Think about sharing your Instagram photos on your website to show a personal side – so clients can see more about your personality and who you are
- Social media is a ‘small talk’ medium – don’t be afraid to talk about non-business topics, get to know people’s personalities
- If you want to grow your account and get extra followers, connect with people who like what you like and help promote each other
- Take time to develop your own style for your instagram account, some people post alternating text and images, some do all black and white, consistency can be visually appealing and build trust.
- Marketing is really staying at the top of someone’s mind. You can post 12x a day, as much as you have time for.
- Jab Jab Jab Right Hook – Gary Vaynerchuk – How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World https://www.amazon.com/Jab-Right-Hook-Story-Social/dp/006227306X
- The 10X Rule – Grant Cardone – mentioned by Verious
https://www.amazon.com/10X-Rule-Difference-Between-Success/dp/0470627603/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485491425&sr=8-1&keywords=10x+rule - Follow that model – “ Share, share, share, share, ask!”- Bridget Willard
Instagram accounts to check out: * https://www.instagram.com/ukuupeople/ * https://www.instagram.com/hockleyphoto/ * https://www.instagram.com/wordcampatlanta/ * https://www.instagram.com/bmess_wordpress/ * https://www.instagram.com/apppresser/ * https://www.instagram.com/yannibmbr/ * https://www.instagram.com/wpshrug/ * https://www.instagram.com/bridgetmwillard/ * https://www.instagram.com/jasontucker/ * https://www.instagram.com/verioussmith/
Tweet your Instagrams as native photos on Twitter – Instagram photos will show up in your Twitter feed as a full image rather than a link. https://ifttt.com/applets/103249p-tweet-your-instagrams-as-native-photos-on-twitter
Looking for WP pickup, lines? Watch the show or contact Bridget Willard.
Did you help us with our notes? Leave your name below
- Jason Tucker – WPwatercooler @jasontucker http://www.jasontucker.blog
- Sherie LaPrade – @HeySherie
- Jen Miller @jenblogs4u
- Cheryl LaPrade – @yaycheryl
- James Tryon – @jamestryon
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This week on WPblab we’ll be speaking with fellow podcaster Roy Sivan of The WP Crowd & WPLife.
Check out The WP Crowd
- The WP Crowd – YouTube
- The WP Crowd|A WordPress Community – Website
Watch WPLife
- WordPress Life #WPLIFE
- wplife Archive
- Jason Tucker ? (@jasontucker)
- Roy Sivan (@royboy789)
Notes Formats * Audio only * Video only * iTunes
Misc Notes & Terms “Doubleender” – two people record their own voices and one person puts it all together
“Evergreen” – Timeless and how topics never die out. A 3 year old episode still relevant
Name the show before or name the show after
Record live with google hangouts on air
Create topic before you get the people
Roy does: Pre-recorded shows and iMovie to edit and launch to youtube from iMovie
Jason does: Youtube-dl, and then bash script
Jeffrey Bradbury: go with the guest … not the script
Seriously simple podcasting – Seriously Simple Podcasting
Pull video and put it on Facebook
Tasks: Marketing, Tagging, Sharing
Adventures in Angular – Adventures in Angular Episodes
102 AiA Angular and WordPress with Ryan Sullivan and Roy Sivan
Microphones * Headphones Sennheiser hd 300 series * Scarlet USB audio mixer * Blue Microphones – Products – Yeti * iPhone headphones
Recording with Zooom.us, basic package
- Hangouts but better
- Stores recording, mp4
Show Notes * Speakers throwing in things into internal chat in google hangouts * Titler …. BrettTerpstra.com * No one click annotations of the show
Traffic * From website not really youtube * Seriously Simple Stats – Seriously Simple Stats * blubrry – Podcast Hosting, Statistics, WordPress hosting, PowerPress, Directory, and more!
Hosting * Audio on SoundCloud – SoundCloud–Hear the world’s sounds
Free Listening on SoundCloud
Editing the video * Youtube vid in draft * Download and edit * Youtube video editor not good * Add an outro with subscribe messages
Camera * Good for recording meetups – Mevo Camera by Livestream * Jason Tucker – Mevo Crowdfunding Give Story – Jason Tucker-Mevo Crowdfunding Give Story * Logitech C920 Logitech C920 HD Pro Webcam for Windows, Mac, and Chrome OS
Backdrops * Coffee cup hooks * Wool fabric with eyelets
Sponsorships WordPress podcasting has potential but don’t expect much
More Misc Carlboard! #carlboard hashtag on Twitter
WP Watercooler image from Phoenix
We’re streaming live here at #WCPHX at the WPwatercooler table. Check out the stream at WPwatercooler-30 min weekly live WordPress talk show
https://scontent-yyz1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/23719_10151237768822807_1454478604_n.jpg?oh=d1807f1ff2cba11674b6781386f7bb0a&oe=58DA2411
WordCamp US elevator people
Hallway Track – Hallway Track
The #hiroy origin story Level Up as a Developer, Building for pure joy
Hi Roy! * HiRoy.club * Have you said Hi Roy today? T-shirt (Dark Ink) * Have you said Hi Roy today? T-shirt (White Ink) * Hi Roy t-shirt
What’s next? * Good content will stay, people with passion * Devices people use and how they listen * Be in the trend * WP Crowd Episode 011: How to sell WordPress – WP Crowd Episode 011:How to sell WordPress
Even more Misc * Digging deep with GoDaddy * yayQuery Podcast-A jQuery Podcast
Thank you for helping with the show notes * Jonathan Perlman – @jpurpleman * James Tryon – @jamestryon
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Building Your WordPress Business Relationships Locally – Ross Gile. Ross is owner of DigiCal a web development company in Whittier California. Ross is very involved in his City Council and Chamber of Commerce, we want to explore what the benefits are with connecting with local groups and how it as helped his business.
http://twitter.com/jasontucker
http://twitter.com/youtoocanbeguru
http://twitter.com/rossgile
Notes * Ross' Website DigiCal – http://www.digical.com * Join the chamber of commerce * Our local Chamber of Commerce https://www.whittierchamber.com/ * Attend the events at your local chamber – get to shake hands and network with the right people * Chambers are for networking, meeting local businesses and talking with great local people. * Membership often includes free services such as monthly newsletters and promotions * The meetings can be a lot like a ‘meetup’ in style/atmosphere * There are side benefits too – making new friends, people remembering you when special events and opportunities come up – building relationships * Whittier Chamber of Commerce Business Expo * BNI – business networking international – forced leads needed to participate * DigiCal on Facebook * Make Notecards and HANDwrite thank yous to send to people. * Try to send out at least 5 notecards a week * Ross Dancing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pWit6WWVRQ * Offer to teach a class at the local ‘adult learning’ center or college * Give yourself and your services away from time to time – great exposure * Don’t just ‘build business’ – build friendships too, networking is not the same as selling * Give back to your local community * Build a local events website like Ross did http://www.whittierevents.com/ + Time.ly calendar plugin for WordPress * Leveraging your time – try investing 10 hours in your community/networking and you’ll get that much + more in return, can start with only 1 or 2 hours per week * Start small – don’t say yes to everything (work/life balance) * Outsource when you feel overwhelmed or underskilled – you don’t have to do everything yourself
Thanks to these fine folks to helping us with our crowd sourced show notes Jonathan Perlman – @jpurpleman
Cheryl LaPrade – @yaycheryl
Sherie LaPrade – @heysherie
James Tryon – @jamestryon
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This week on WPblab Jen Miller of needsomeonetoblog.com will be discussing how to get started with effectively starting a blog for your business.
- Jason Tucker (@jasontucker)
- Bridget Willard (@YouTooCanBeGuru)
- Jen Miller (@JenBlogs4U)
Notes * GiveWP Channel
* Jen Miller – Need Someone To Blog?
* Be Seen Blogging
* Need Someone To…
* Women in WP
* How can people find you as a business that blogs for others? Jen uses SEO, has a solid website name and people find her based on the type of work she does for others.
* How much should you share on the blog of yourself? Who you are and what you stand for, let people know who are you and what you do. Let yourself stand out. If you are a better fit than the client will go with you.
* Should there be a theme in your blog? Definitely. Bring a common element into the story. Dogs, volunteering. Build common ground with potential clients.
* Hobbies and work can be tied together and can be talked about on the blog
* How do you find themes for clients? Their hobbies and activities they do.
* Not being in front of the computer means brain chills out and idle and have a great idea.
* Do you recommend you follow / stalk clients before helping. No, they won’t have social in place.
* Interviews and judging characters really helps to get ideas for the blog
* How does the small business person sell the one t-shirt? You need a platform. Blogger,
* WordPress, medium. Ideally starting with Facebook Page.
* Own that space
* Custom domain, memorable, keyword filled
* Keywords tools:
+ SpyFu
+ Google Adwords
+ KeywordPlanner
* Tell the backstory on the about page, tell the juicy tips. Tell the story behind the story
+ Dollywood
+ #hiroy
+ HiRoy T-shirt
* Tell the backstory of Rachel Carden setting it up…
* Show how your clients are using your product in unique ways with case studies.
* Some give out the secret sauce on the blog. Clients won’t go through it all
http://noahelias.net/
* Sells the product by telling a story through the blog
http://noahfineart.com/blog/life-it-requires-some-assembly/
* How do you get a story? Write a post it note and write up of why the product started, how it started.
* Do website first. Then do twitter, then do facebook then do blog. Build in layers. Need copy!
* The blog needs to match the supporting content that must have been been in a book 40 years ago.
* Update website and revise all copy with keywords
* Analyse support tickets, write about what people have issue with. Write about what people are searching for https://givewp.com/blog/
* Write the blog post in google docs or a shareable medium. Not in WordPress
* Looking for grammatical errors
* More eyes on the words
* Distraction free writing and revisions not really used in WordPress.
* Blog posts need to be shared on social media platforms. Social proof gains value
* Gravity form takes in user-generated content and saves it to draft
* Google Docs are good for collaboration on blog posts
* Google Alerts will keep yourself current
* Podcasts are fuel for blog posts
* How to find if you’ve got original content? Copy paste paragraph into google
* If your content was stolen and the original site is down, then you have the original.
* How long should the post be? As long as it should be to get the point across.
* How often should you publish? Once a week. Posting on friday is actually okay
* Don’t steal content. 70% original for ranking well. Google might hurt you for it.
Plugins, Themes and Software * Yoast SEO Plugin * WordPress App * Postmatic * Constant Contact * MailChimp * Copyscape
Our show notes were prepared by: Jonathan Perlman – @jpurpleman
The post WPblab EP57 – The Nuts & Bolts of Effective WordPress Business Blogging w/ Jen Miller appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week on WPblab Carol Stephen will be joining us to discuss how you can expand your WordPress business on Pinterest.
You can find Carol Stephen on Pinterest and her company Your Social Media Works she also runs the #DigiBlogChat on Tuesdays at 1pm PST.
- Pinterest is a visual discovery “search engine”
- Best to keep most popular boards at the top of your account since most people access via mobile
- People on Pinterest are often there to buy or plan future purchases
- Pinterest is ‘very sticky’ which means people tend to spend a lot of time on the site
- Make sure you use very well-written descriptions, utilizing keywords
- Using meta descriptions on images for your website ensures that when photos are pinned to pinterest they have the correct information
- Very important to sign up for a ‘business account’ to get access to analytics
- Pinterest is especially important to focus on if a majority of your audience is women
- Timing is important; 6-7pm is when most people are active – there are apps to help you determine the best time to pin / keywords
- Group boards can be helpful to create or join because they get a lot more traffic/interest
- People want long skinny pins – got it
- You can use a pinterest account to curate work you’ve done as a portfolio
- Very important to click on the pin to follow the link and make sure you find the source – it may not link to what you think it is linking to!
- Make sure if you are commenting on pins, you tag the Pinner … many accounts have thousands of pins and will miss your comment if you don’t tag them
- Use your secret board as a draft or backlog.
- Put the board with your blog posts or where you want to direct your traffic right next to your most popular board. People may come to look at one and click through to the other!
- Also use some of your Pinterest boards to share your personality and hobbies
Links * http://www.canva.com – Amazingly Simple Graphic Design Software * http://www.getstencil.com – Ridiculously simple image creation for social media marketers, bloggers and small businesses. * https://wordpress.org/plugins/pinterest-pin-it-button/ – Pin-it Button plugin * https://wordpress.org/plugins/mashsharer/ – Social Media Share Buttons * https://wordpress.tv/2015/10/10/brianna-privett-rich-pins-twitter-cards-and-facebook-super-charge-your-social-media-strategy-with-wordpress/
These folks helped us with the show notes this episode Cheryl LaPrade – @YayCheryl
Sherie LaPrade – @HeySherie
Jason Tucker – WPwatercooler @jasontucker
James Tryon – @jamestryon
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This week on WPblab we're joined by Robert Nissenbaum consultant & speaker at Tactical Social Media to discuss how you can create visibility and authority through social media.
- The Power Of A Single Comment – Why You Need To Engage More
- Social Networking: How I Generate Leads Without Content
- Social + Media = Success – Tactical Social Media
Our crowd sourced show notes * New Give Blog layout – https://givewp.com/blog/ * Remember you are writing for “people” not for search bots – over time your keywords will recur naturally when you are writing what you know * Authority – an indication of your site’s level of expertise in a given subject, based on quality content + https://moz.com/researchtools/ose/links?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wpwatercooler.com&filter=&source=external⌖=page&group=0&page=1&sort=page_authority&anchor_id=&anchor_type=&anchor_text=&from_site= * The primary purposes of using social media are to drive traffic to your website and build relationships with your target audience * Content is not just what you post on your blog – content is your comments on facebook, others posts, etc – it creates visibility, shows your authority, develops relationships * If you have 2 hours to go and drive to a networking meeting, you have time in the week to take 10-15 minutes here and there to network online through social media * You still need to be/act like a human on social media, don’t just schedule messages, interact with people – start conversations, include some personal content * Relationships trump price and convenience, breeds loyalty * As much time as you have available you should be spending on social media marketing, building relationships take time * Utilize twitter lists! Excellent curation tool * http://nuzzel.com/ News from friends and influencers * Put on a timer for 15 minutes (you can do anything for 15 mins)! Focus on your social media interactions until the timer is up and then stop, the more you do it, the easier it will get. * https://www.rescuetime.com/ – big brother that cares * It’s really important to have a social media presence for your business on every major platform + Especially for tracking conversations about your business & to reply to customers + Start on the platform where you’re most comfortable and work up from there
These folks helped us out with the show notes
- Cheryl LaPrade – @YayCheryl
- Sherie LaPrade – @HeySherie
- Jason Tucker – WPwatercooler @jasontucker
- James Tryon – @jamestryon
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This week on the WPblab we're going to have our community on the show to talk about and recap the events that occurred at WordCamp US.
Joining us on the show: Sherie LaPrade, Cheryl LaPrade, Jonathan Perlman, Josh Pollock, James Tryon, Paul Oyler, Justine Pretorious, Jen Miller, Jon Brown, and your hosts Bridget Willard & Jason Tucker
再アップ #wcus pic.twitter.com/g0hpuMXTxi
— 高橋文樹@文フリ東京D-1 (@takahashifumiki) December 4, 2016
- San Diego Comic-Con
- WordPress Growth Council
- Plugin Directory – Plugins extend and expand the functionality of WordPress.
- WordPress Plugins
- Get Involved-WordPress
- Matt Mullenweg:State Of The Word 2016
- Pantheon’s $100K WordCamp US Sponsorship Revoked the Night Before the Event – WordPress Tavern
- The Value of Sponsoring a WordCamp from a Business’ Perspective – WordPress Tavern
The post EP54 – WordCamp US Recap Show – WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week on WPblab we'll be talking with Russell Aaron about the good and bad of building your WordPress website using only info you find from google searches.
https://russellenvy.com/google-built-my-website/
- How to google for answers for WordPress questions
- Googling will get you a lot of different answers, but the benefit is that you’ll learn many ways to accomplish a WordPress task or to answer a WP question
- WordPress.tv – great resource for answers / tutorials
- https://codex.wordpress.org/
- Google Search Operators (for advanced searching)
- Russell – “Most everything on my blog, I learned from Googling, so Google built my website.”
- Oftentimes when you Google search a WordPress feature, the Codex will be your first result
- WordPress TV YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpJf6LGZ0a4n9Lj4aVt9spg
- As developers, we sometimes forget that not everything is as easy as we think it is
- When Google using error messages remove your domain and file directories from the error message for better results.
- Bridget – “part of our problem is we can be impatient with the learning process”… sometimes we are tempted to think we can go to a single meetup and have all our problems solved
- Russell – the reason I know about “changelogs” is because I googled it … because of all my google searching I’ve learned a lot about how to build my WordPress sites … I didn’t go to college for what I know
- https://developer.wordpress.org/themes/getting-started/
- Russell – if you want to learn, read! Start with 1 new article a day, then 2, then 3 … never stop learning – by the end of a month you’ll know a whole lot more than what you started with
- Searching for things and learning how to search for things is a necessary skill
- Russell – good developers know how to ask (and Google!)
- Being specific with your searches can help shorten the time it takes to solve your problem
We crowd sounce our show notes, thank you all for helping us! * Cheryl LaPrade – @YayCheryl * Sherie LaPrade – @HeySherie * Manny Costa – @emanweb
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This week on WPblab we're talking with James Tryon of Wapuus who provides a Field Guide and Trading Post for Wapuus which can be found at http://wapu.us. We'll be talking with James on how he came up with the idea of indexing all things Wapuu and what tools he used to make his website.
- Planning a website using Google Docs
- CPT
- Taxonomies
- Building a budget using Google Sheets
- Building a “wiki” like interface for how the site will work
- Brain dump / research before starting to build the site
- Pre-planning structure and format
- Set up to take github submissions and submissions through website form
- WPblab’s Wapuu https://wapu.us/wapuu/wpblab-wapuu/
- ThePrintful – printing/shipping fulfillment of shirt designs https://www.theprintful.com/
- Rafflecopter for site giveaways https://www.rafflecopter.com
- Poststatus https://poststatus.com/
- Wapuu Challenge Coins: http://marktimemedia.com/project/wapuu-challenge-coins-2/
- Everyone in the community can get involved via the website
Thank you all!
Show notes contributors:
- Cheryl LaPrade – @YayCheryl
- Sherie LaPrade – @HeySherie
- Jason Tucker – WPwatercooler @jasontucker
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This week we speak with Marc Benzakein and Gregg Franklin of ServerPress the makers of DesktopServer about why you should develop your WordPress powered website locally using DesktopServer.
Show airs November 3 at 7:30pm PT / 10:30 ET / 2am UTC
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This week on WPblab we'll be discussing how you can customize the WordPress Media Library to work better for you and for your clients. We'll be talking with Rachelle Wise on how she's going to be customizing the WordPress Media Library to make it easier for her clients to use and manage their media files. The show starts at 7:30pm Pacific.
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- Introduction of guest Scott Buscemi – WordCamp Speaker, WooCommerce Ninja, avid drone pilot (unofficial creator of the Dronie (drone selfie!))
- Luminary | eCommerce Consulting Partners in Los Angeles
- Don't use OS Commerce
- Installing WooCommerce and it’s extensions won’t magically bring you sales / success
- You need to market yourself / your business / your site – create relationships
- EDD Enhanced eCommerce Tracking
- stripe.com
- Dealing with Abandoned Carts on WordPress e-Commerce Sites
- WooCommerce Google Analytics Pro
- TaxJar-Sales Tax Automation for WooCommerce
- WooConf:Learn. Develop. Sell.
- It doesn’t matter what platform you are on, or how beautiful your site is – it’s about smart marketing – understanding who your customers are, what they want
- ZMOT
- You need to use SSL – doesn’t matter what kind of site (even if your site is small – helps build your reputation/trustworthiness) – LetsEncrypt is a great option
- Let's Encrypt
- Should you use a CDN (content delivery network)? Yes, speed matters. Amazon found that even a delay of a tenth of second in their speed decreased the number of orders.
- Cloudflare-The Web Performance & Security Company
- Bouncehelp – Increase Sales Calls by 20-30%
- Square – Create Your Free Online Store
- Once you have data where you can start understanding how people interact with your business, then it’s more appropriate to move to a more sophisticated platform such as WooCommerce
- If you leave a marketplace (like Etsy) to create your own shop on WordPress with WooCommerce (or similar) to save money, you have to ask yourself – what does that actually cost me? How will I market my site if I’m on my own – what will marketing / migration cost me?
- Cost of plugins / extensions doesn’t just cover the code, it covers the support as well as updates
- What are some methods/plugins to streamline the cart process and avoid abandoned carts?
- Consider at all times what the user is expected to do next
- There are extensions available to help manage abandoned cards (emails customers)
- CartHook for WooCommerce
- Jilt for WooCommerce
Shownotes prepared by: Jason Tucker – @jasontucker – http://www.jasontucker.us
Emanuel “Manny” Costa – @emanweb – https://blog.emanuelcosta.com
Sherie LaPrade – @HeySherie
Cheryl LaPrade – @YayCheryl
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This week on WPblab we'll be talking with Natalie MacLees and Alex Vasquez of Website Weekend.LA a non-profit hackathon that pairs digital creatives with local non-profits.
- vegasgivecamp.org
- GiveCamp.org | Coding for Charity
- www.seattlegivecamp.org
- Website Weekend LA – A Non-Profit Hackathon in Los Angeles
- Girl Develop It
- Los Angeles – Girl Develop It
- Giving Back | Branding & Digital Marketing Agency
- 48in48.org
- do_action – Using WordPress for good
- Volunteer Wait List – A Non-Profit Hackathon in Los Angeles
- Soylent.com – Healthy, convenient, affordable food
- Sponsors – A Non-Profit Hackathon in Los Angeles
Training and Empowering the client to do their own updates
Projects get a project manager and prep work happens before the event
Teams include volunteers with a range of skills (writers, content creators, UX, etc)
Non-profits provide content as well to save time
Issue is often lack of storytelling – people connect with stories (content is important)
Some clients want whole new sites, others want refresh
Dreamhost offers free hosting for 5013C organizations
GiveWP offered licenses
Sponsors help (food, etc.)
Important to take momentum from these events and do something positive with it
Find a local non-profit that you can partner with and can benefit from funds raised
It helps to be a prolific networker – knowing what organizations / people to connect with
Need to convince non-profits that a quality site can be built well, in just a weekend
Everyone can contribute, it’s not just about coding – need writers, designers, developers, etc.
Show notes generated in part by:
Jason Tucker – http://www.jasontucker.us
Tara Claeys – http://designtlc.com
Cheryl LaPrade – http://twitter.com/yaycheryl
Sherie LaPrade – http://twitter.com/heysherie
The post WPblab 048 – WordPress Community: Giving Back at a Nonprofit Hackathon – WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week on WPblab we'll be speaking with Kitty Lusby about blogging for your target demographic with WordPress.
- Documenting the WP Culture: Introducing Jason Tucker – kittylusby.com
- WordPress, Podcasts, & Community: Introducing Adam Silver – kittylusby.com
- The Evolution of Online Teaching: Introducing Kim Shivler – kittylusby.com
- Las Vegas Bloggers – meetup.com
- How To Stop Getting Hit On While Networking – kittylusby.com
- FAQ – kittylusby.com
- Noah Scalin
- Seventeen Media Kit
- Link Building Case Study: How I Increased My Search Traffic by 110% in 14 Days
The post WPblab 047 – Blogging for your Target Demographic with WordPress – Kitty Lusby – WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week on WPblab Bridget Willard and Jason Tucker will be discussing how you can level up your content with podcasting.
- I Love Green Guide Letters Podcast – Hosted By Steele Saunders – Warning Explicit Language ‚Äî I dooooooo…
- James Bonding
- The Bitterest Pill
- Monkey See
- Keys to Being Social – The Series – You Too Can Be A Guru
- Keys to Being Social: Diversity – You Too Can Be A Guru
- Probably Science
- The Wood Whisperer-Education and Entertainment for the modern woodworker.
- 269-Pet Steps
- EP001-Forms, Giving and Dating oh my!
The post WPblab EP046 – Leveling up your WordPress content with podcasting appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week on WPblab Bridget Willard and Jason Tucker will be speaking with Krystle Herbrandson of Sucuri Security. If you are dealing with hackers, hacking or securing your WordPress website you should watch this episode.
4:30pm HST, 7:30pm PDT, 8:30pm MDT, 9:30pm CDT, 10:30pm EDT, 2:30am UTC 8:00am IST, 10:30am GST, 11:30am JST, 12:30pm AEST, 2:30pm NZST
The post WPblab EP045 – Securing your #WordPress site w/ Krystle Herbrandson of Sucuri Security appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week on WPblab we'll be discussing attending a WordCamp as a sponsor, speaker or an organizer. Join us!
The post WordCamp: Beyond An Attendee – WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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On this episode we'll be joined by @bamadesigner Rachel Carden. She's Senior Software Engineer for Disney Interactive, Founder/Organizer of WP Campus and wA11y which is a new initiative to contribute to web accessibility by providing information, education, resources, and tools. we'll be talking with her about accessibility concerns you should have about your website and how you can make your website more a11y friendly.
- bamadesigner.com
- Color Contrast Checker
- Theme Directory
- Setting a New Standard: Utility Pro
- Are you using the best tools for WordPress accessibility?
- Rachel Carden:Tools and Techniques for Evaluating Accessibility
- Episode 06: Accessibility in WordPress
- wpcampus.org
- My Day in a Wheelchair
- Videos of screen readers using ARIA, updated
- Getting started with ARIA – The A11Y Project
- wA11y – Working To Improve Web Accessibility
- WPCampus:Where WordPress Meets Higher Education
The post EP42 – #A11y, WordPress and Your Website w/Rachel Carden @bamadesigner – WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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The post EP41 – Your #WordPress Site Why Mobile Responsive Is Important – WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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On this week's live broadcast Bridget Willard and Jason Tucker discussed how to find your voice for blogging. Chris Lema, and Kyle Maurer join the discussion providing insights into what they do as WordPress users, bloggers and public speakers.
- Tickets | WordCamp Los Angeles 2016
-
GuruMinute – Social Strategy in a Minute – You Too Can Be A Guru
- What Drives Matt Mullenweg of WordPress? – TechCrunch Disrupt | TechCrunch TV
- Matt Mullenweg Becomes Automattic CEO As Toni Schneider Shifts Focus To New Products | TechCrunch
- Boots and Cats – YouTube
- How to Stop Search Engines from Crawling A WordPress Site
- “I Found My Voice” Music Video & Lyrics // Lost & Found Music Studios – YouTube
- Why does backward compatibility matter to your nonprofit? – Give
-
1510 (Add full transcripts to videos on WordPress.tv) – Making WordPress.org
- Mac Mouse Clicker with Keyboard Shortcut
- 100 Blog Topics I Hope YOU Write – chrisbrogan.com
- How to Blog Almost Every Day – chrisbrogan.com
- Hashtags are for searching. #GuruMinute – YouTube
-
wordpress on Tagboard
-
WCOC16 on Tagboard
WPwatercooler records live Mondays at 11am PT and WPblab record 7:30pm PT Thursdays and archives on YouTube, SoundCloud and our website https://www.wpwatercooler.com
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Bridget Willard, and James Tryon
Links mentioned on this episode
- www.facebook.com
- Organize Your Twitter Stream – Use Lists – You Too Can Be A Guru
- twitter.com/PappyOyler/lists)
- jasontucker/lists
- wpwatercooler/lists
- wpblab/lists
- youtoocanbeguru/lists/
- @jasontucker/WordCampSD2015 on Twitter
- @WPwatercooler/Our Biggest Fans on Twitter
- @WPwatercooler/WPwatercooler Past Guests on Twitter
- @jasontucker/Has nice hair on Twitter
- @billprady/BigBangActors on Twitter
- Revive Old Post (Former Tweet Old Post)
- UNKNOWN
- Revive Old Post WordPress Plugin by Revive Social
- ImageInject
- Take Your WordPress Blog to the Next Level with These Plugins
- Social Media Share Buttons|MashShare
- Postmatic | Engagement and community building for WordPress
- Lockedown Design:WordPress Web Design in Sacramento CA
- Ted Rubin (@TedRubin)
- Brian Clark (@brianclark)
- Minideck
- Copyblogger-Content Marketing Mastery
- Instagram Feed
- Show off other Instagram Feeds on your WordPress site. – You Too Can Be A Guru
- Mike Erre (@mikeerre) • Instagram photos and videos
- John Keller (@jwk2366) • Instagram photos and videos
- Facebook Reviews Plugin for WordPress
- Yelp Widget Pro – The Best Way to Display Yelp on WordPress
- Local SEO for WordPress
- Yelp for Business Owners
- How to Add SlideShare to WordPress oEmbed without a Plugin
- Highlight and Share
- Insights from 100 SaaS Companies:Why It's Time to Rethink Your Packaging Strategy
- Jason Tucker:What Is oEmbed and Why You Should Use It.
- Pinterest • The world’s catalog of ideas
- Jason Tucker on Pinterest
- Bridget Willard on Pinterest
- WordPress, Contact Form and Drop Cap
- Social Media, Cooking Classes and Content Marketing
- Orange County, WordPress and Countdown Timer
- Woocommerce:How to add pinterest button to the product images
- Plugin Installation: Product Rich Pins for WooCommerce – Pinterest Plugins for WordPress
- Article Rich Pins WordPress Plugin
- Post your Instagram photos as native Twitter photos when #twitter is in the caption by djbentley
- WordPress Short code to generate list of donors using Give plugin
- Too Many Requests
- Piggers are number one
-
WPblab-A Weekly #WordPress Q&A Show
- Smoking Dagners
- jimmydiresta
- R2-Wapuu – Wapuu
- wapuus (@wapuus)
- “Last chance for a photo with Wapuu here @WordCampBTN #WCBTN https://t.co/2QPQTsUVYS”
The post EP38 – #SocialMedia tips for a #WordPress Website Owner – WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Russell Aaron, Bridget Willard, and alex vasquez
The post EP37 – Building #WordPress Community Through #Meetups appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Bridget Willard, Kevin Hoffman, Verious Smith III, and Adam Thomson
The post EP36 – Securing your #WordPress website with #SSL – WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Bridget Willard, Adam Silver, David Margowsky, and Made Better Studio
The post EP35 – Your 1st #WordCamp talk – What to know to share your Passion of #WordPress – WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week on WPblab, Bridget Willard & Jason Tucker speak with Jon Brown about his life as a nomad, being the remote boss and working with remote workers. We also get into travel, dealing with slow wifi, having redundant internet access when abroad and his collection of cellular phone sim cards.
Later in the show, we are joined by Russell Aaron and Made Better Studio to ask some questions live on the air.
The post EP34 – Freedom of Remote WordPress Work with Jon Brown – WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, John Locke, Bridget Willard, and William Bay
- WordPress Sherpa – Pixel Perfect WordPress.
- moz.com
- Google Analytics
- Google Search Console
- Open Site Explorer:Link Research & Backlink Checker|Moz
- Ahrefs SEO Tools:Backlink Checker & SEO Report
- Google Analytics by MonsterInsights
- moz.com
- Yoast – Focus on lont tail keywords
- AnswerThePublic.com:that free visual keyword research & content ideas tool
- Accelerated Mobile Pages Project
- AMP — WordPress Plugins
- Facebook Instant Articles & Google AMP Pages by PageFrog
- Google My Business
- Search Engine Watch
- Meet Wil Reynolds
- Seer Interactive:Industry-leading SEO, PPC, & Analytics Consulting
- Fat head, chunky middle, long tail
- moz.com
- ScrapeBox-The Swiss Army Knife of SEO!
- Use rel=”nofollow” for specific links – Search Console Help
The post EP33 – Where to start with #WordPress #SEO – WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Bridget Willard, Robert Dall, and Russell Aaron
- My name is Bridget Willard.-You Too Can Be A Guru
- WordCamp Central
- Women Who WP-Blog
- WordCamp Central|WordCamp is a conference that focuses on everything WordPress.
- WordCamp Vancouver 2016|August 27, 2016 in Vancouver, BC
- WordCamp Orange County 2014
- Speaker: Jason Tucker wordpress.tv
- SEO Search Results
- advance custom fields Search Results
- central.wordcamp.org
- Hallway Track (@hallwaytrack)
- Cemal Tashan: Senior-Friendly Design
- How to connect Github and Asana
- conferencia – a site for conference junkies
- WordPress › Profiles » jasontucker
- Jason Tucker, Whittier, CA
- Asheville Happiness Bar
- St Louis Happiness Bar
- “@HouseofGrays Stop judging me because I am different. http://t.co/pPzJE2dxSv”
- WordPress will change your life if you let it
- WebDevStudios Contributes to Open Source WordPress
- Schedule – WordCamp Orange County
- Favorite Battery for iPhone or Android
- Become an Organizer
- WordCamp Denver
The post EP32 – How to get the most out of WordCamp? #WordPress – #WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week on WPblab we're going to be talking about WordPress backup solutions. From hosted ones to plugins we'll be discussing them all. Come by and learn something or if you know of a solution join our discussion.
The post EP31 – What are the best #WordPress backup solutions? – #WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week on WPblab Bridget Willard & Jason Tucker speak with Sé Reed of Sé Reed Media about how small businesses can use WordPress. There is much ranting and raving about the difficulties of getting small businesses to choose WordPress over companies like Wix and Squarespace. Sé shares her perspective on educating new users to WordPress and her quest for making the entry level of self hosted WordPress easier for small businesses.
The post EP030 – Using #WordPress for Your #SmallBiz /w @sereedmedia – #WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week on WPblab we're going to be doing a collaborative show with Jeffrey Bradbury of TeacherCast discussing WordPress in the education space.
On this episode:Jeffrey Bradbury of TeacherCast join Bridget Willard and Jason Tucker.
- Jeffrey Bradbury | about.me
- TeacherCast: Educational Professional Development Network
- jeffreybradbury.com
- OC WordPress Meetup Live Streaming Donation Campaign
- TeacherCast Live Broadcasting · TeacherCast Educational Broadcasting Network
- Padlet is the easiest way to create and collaborate in the world
- Google Spaces Is a Pointless Exercise | John C. Dvorak | PCMag.com
- Our Padlet
- Get DesktopServer and save time! • ServerPress, LLC.
- Bloxels
- Official GoldieBlox Store
- Anybody can learn | Code.org
- Join the largest learning event in history, Dec. 7-13, 2015
- Welcome to the Highlands Family Success Center – Highlands Family Success Center
- Amazon.com: Livescribe 4 GB Echo Smartpen: Computers & Accessories
- Add Media — Support — WordPress.com
- Beautiful and easy to use newsletters | Smore
-
DigiBlogChat – CrowdChat
- tlk.io
- Auphonic
- Mixlr is a simple way to share live audio online. Broadcast using …
- www.meetup.com
- WordPress › Profiles » jasontucker
- Admin Columns — WordPress Plugins
- WordPress Plugins
- WPMedia.Pro – WP Media Pro
- Sé Reed | Speakers | WordPress.tv
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On this episode of WPblab we chat with a local nonprofit group Women Who WP about their group, why they started it and what they see coming in the future for the group.
Participants this week: Jen Miller – needsomeonetoblog.com
Elizabeth Shilling – orcawebperformance.com
Brianna Privett – technosiren.com
Robert Dall – robertdall.com
Hosts: Jason Tucker – jasontucker.us, WPwatercooler.com, WPmedia.pro
Bridget Willard – bridgetwillard.com, WordImpress.com, GiveWP.com
The post EP028 – Chatting #WordPress with “Women Who WP” – WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Bridget Willard, Roy Sivan, Kevin Hoffman, Verious Smith III, and Adam Thomson
Page Builders Discussed * Beaver Builder * Visual Composer * Divi * Headway * ACF Flexible Content Fields
The post EP027 – Is using a #WordPress page builder “cheating”? – WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Bridget Willard, Jonathan Denwood, and Jacob Arriola
The post How to pick the right #WordPress theme -WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Bridget Willard, and Jen Miller
The post #WPblab – Chatting with the founders of Women Who WP -WordPress appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Jen Miller, Russell Aaron, and Bridget Willard
The post EP026 – It's the post length that counts — or does it? #blogging #WordPress – #WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Bridget Willard, Roy Sivan, and Adam Silver
The post EP025 – How to #podcast using #WordPress – WBblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week on WPblab Jason Tucker, Bridget Willard speak with James Laws and Josh Pollock about their WordPress Form Plugins. They share a brief history about each and compare and contrast on the features each provides. We spend some time discussing the other players in this space and breakdown the pricing models and what lead them to go with the fremium model (Free core plugin, paid addons).
Form plugins we talk about on this episode: * Gravity Forms * Ninja Forms * Caldera Forms * Formidable Forms * Jetpack Forms * Contact Form 7
Link List: * WordPress Forms Plugin – Ninja Forms WordPress Form Creation Plugin * Caldera Forms – Drag and drop responsive form builder — WordPress Plugins * Downloads Archive – Ninja Forms * Caldera Forms Add-Ons – CalderaWP * Sending Email with Mailgun – WP Ninjas * wpMandrill — WordPress Plugins * Stud or Dud? 4 Ways to Spot Quality WordPress.org Plugins – WP Ninjas * Easy WordPress Contact Form Plugin – WPForms Lite — WordPress Plugins * Build and Analyze: Please, Go to Starbucks – Marco.org * Instapaper Set to Be the Free Starbucks ‘App Pick of the Week’ | iPhone in Canada Blog – Canada's #1 iPhone Resource * Freemius – Monetization for WordPress Plugin Developers * Ninja Demo – The only complete demo solution for WordPress! * Front-End Posting – Ninja Forms * Front-End Editor – Ninja Forms * Caldera Forms Custom Fields – CalderaWP
The post EP024 – What are the best #WordPress forms in 2016? – #WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Bridget Willard, Russell Aaron, Adam Silver, and Made Better Studio
Meetups
- Arizona WordPress Group – meetup.com
- The Las Vegas WordPress Meetup Group – meetup.com
- OC WordPress Group – meetup.com
WordPress.TV
- WordPress.tv | Engage Yourself with WordPress.tv
- Jason Tucker | Speakers | WordPress.tv
- Russell Aaron | Speakers | WordPress.tv
- April Holle | Speakers | WordPress.tv
- Sé Reed | Speakers | WordPress.tv
- Bob Dunn | Speakers | WordPress.tv
Websites
- WP Elevation | Building exceptional WordPress businesses
- great work by great people for a better tomorrow
- home – Sé Reed Media
- Denton TX Web Design & Development Company | Custom Logo & Branding Design | Marketing Services
- Blog – ChrisLema.com –
- Blue Steele Library Presentation Series
Online Courses
- Home | Carrie Dils
- Carrie Dils — Web, WordPress: training, tutorials & online classes
- Morten Rand-Hendriksen — Web, WordPress: training, tutorials & online classes
- My Secrets – Rainmaker Course – ChrisLema.com –
- Blog More Regularly – ChrisLema.com –
- The Business Track – ChrisLema.com –
- How to Survive WordCamp: a Guide for n00bs | Carrie DilsWPSessions.com – WordPress Video Tutorials
Online Publications
- Torque – WordPress News, WP Community Experts | @thetorquemag
- WordPress Tavern – Where Every Drink Is On The House
Podcasts
- WPwatercooler – 30 min weekly live WordPress talk show
- Everything about WordPress except the Kitchen Sink! | Kitchen Sink WordPress
- Podcast – WordPress Tavern
- dradcast.com
- Matt Report – A WordPress podcast for digital business owners
- Marketing Press TV WordPress Videos
- Apply Filters – WordPress Development Podcast
- WordPress Resource: Your Website Engineer with Dustin Hartzler
- The Best WordPress Podcasts (Ultimate List) | David Gray
Other Links
- Genesis Framework by StudioPress
- Everything about WordPress except the Kitchen Sink! | Kitchen Sink WordPress
- Devin Walker | Entrepreneur & Creative Technologist
- Give | a Free WordPress Donation Plugin that Works Beautifully
- Shayda Torabi: How Giving Back to WordPress Grows My Network | WordPress.tv
- What Happens At WordCamp Las Vegas, Hopefully Won't Stay In Vegas
- Innevation, powered by Switch
- Everything about WordPress except the Kitchen Sink! | Kitchen Sink WordPress
- Strong Random Password Generator
- Theming Your WordPress Dashboard: Admin Tools That Should Be Added Into WordPress Core – WordImpress
The post EP023 – #WordPress resources. How to learn more – #WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Bridget Willard, Jen Miller, and Colin Porter
- Boost Up Your Visual Storytelling with Instagram Feed – WordImpress
- Ingot: WordPress A/B Testing
- Nugget by Ingot: Easy, automated and native A/B testing for everyone — WordPress Plugins
- SiteGround: Quality-Crafted Hosting Services
- WordPress Hosting, Perfected. WP Engine®
- WordPress Hosting by Pagely®. VPS and Enterprise Managed WordPress
- Sucuri Security — Website Security, WAF, Website AntiVirus
- iovideo – Home
- Namecheap.com • Cheap Domain Name Registration & Web Hosting
- GoDaddy
- Bridget Willard on Pinterest
- WPblab on Pinterest
- WPblab – WordPress Optimal Posting Times 7:30pm PDT Tonight | Jason Tucker | LinkedIn
- Tweet Jukebox
- Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) • Instagram photos and videos
- Marketing and Content Calendar for Blogging, Marketing + Social Media
- Publicize — Jetpack for WordPress
- WordCamp Baltimore 2015 – The Official InMotion Hosting Blog
- Revive Old Post (Former Tweet Old Post) — WordPress Plugins
The post EP022 – #WordPress Optimal Post Times – WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Bridget Willard, and Cemal Tashan
The post EP021 – #WordPress Posts – Beyond Featured Images – WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Matt Cromwell, Dawn E. Carter, Adam Silver, and Bridget Willard
The post EP020 – “Enhancing content with #video on #WordPress” #AskWPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Jacob Arriola, Bridget Willard, and Raz
The post EP019 – “New Post Notifications” #WordPress – #AskWPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Robyn Wright , and Bridget Willard
The post EP018 – Marketing with WordPress – #WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Bridget Willard, and gregdyer
The post EP017 – Learn #WordPress by doing – #WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Matt Cromwell, Roy Sivan, Bridget Willard, and Devin Walker
The post EP016 – Answering You WordPress Questions – #WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Jonathan Denwood, Robyn Wright, Dinodemetro, Jacob Arriola, Bridget Willard, Clint – Olympia SEO, Bob Malloy, and Raz
The post EP015 – Answering #WordPress Problems – #WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Russell Aaron, Jonathan Denwood, and Bridget Willard
WordPress › Advanced Ads « WordPress Plugins
Announcing My JavaScript for WordPress Master Course | WordPress Teacher Zac Gordon
EP169 – Beyond Learning JavaScript Deeply – Jan 4 2016 WPwatercooler
WordCamp Central | WordCamp is a conference that focuses on everything WordPress.
Schedule | WordCamp Central
WordCamp San Diego 2016 | Make Waves
CodeNewbie
De:comments
EP171 – Cleaning up your WordPress website WPwatercooler
The Sustaining Heart of the WordPress Community | WordPress Teacher Zac Gordon
WordPress Hosting, Perfected. WP Engine®
PageSpeed Tools | Google Developers
Official Google Blog: Introducing the Accelerated Mobile Pages Project, for a faster, open mobile web
bridgetwillard.com
WordPress › ImageInject « WordPress Plugins
WPblab Jingle Stinger by bridgetwillard | Bridget Willard | Free Listening on SoundCloud
Theme song for WPblab by bridgetwillard | Bridget Willard | Free Listening on SoundCloud
Jason Tucker: Podcasting 101 | WordPress.tv
Mixlr is a simple way to share live audio online. Broadcast using …
The post EP014 – Plugin licensing and theme songs – #WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Jonathan Denwood, Jacob Arriola, and Bridget Willard
The post EP013 – Responsive Images & Documentation -#WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Russell Aaron, Adam Silver, Jonathan Denwood, and Bridget Willard
The post EP012 – Answering your #WordPress Questions #AskWPblab – #WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Driving Maul, Russell Aaron, Roy Sivan, Adam Silver, Kevin Hoffman, Bridget Willard, and Josh Pollock
The post EP011 – Forms, REST APIs & RSS – #WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, ©sirleaf®, Roy Sivan, KitchensinkWP, Kevin Hoffman, Bridget Willard, and gregdyer
The post EP010 – #WordPress Accessibility and sliders – #WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, KitchensinkWP, and Bridget Willard
The post EP009 – feature heavy themes, social media, WordCamps – #WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Russell Aaron, David Margowsky, and Bridget Willard
Jason's site http://www.jasontucker.us
Bridget's site http://www.bridgetwillard.com
Show Notes * Perfect Pullquotes * Jason's Favorite WordPress Plugins in the plugin repo * Bridget's Favorite WordPress Plugins in the plugin repo * White Label CMS * WP Better Emails * Digest Notifications
✩ Twitter – http://twitter.com/wpblab
✩ Blog/Website – https://www.wpwatercooler.com/wpblab
✩ Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/wpwatercooler
✩ Podcast RSS Feed – https://www.wpwatercooler.com/feed/audio/
✩ iTunes – https://wpwatercooler.com/itunes
✩ Stitcher – http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/wpwatercooler
✩ Soundcloud – https://soundcloud.com/wpwatercooler
✩ Google+ – https://www.google.com/+WPwatercooler
The post EP008 – talking WordPress, Social & Plugins – #WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Robby McCullough of Beaver Builder, Verious B. Smith III of Philoveracity, Bridget Willard, and Leon Henry
Notes and Links * Tickets | WordCamp US 2015 * Best Times to Visit Philadelphia | U.S. News Travel * www.meetup.com * WPSessions.com – WordPress Video Tutorials * WordPress Page Builder Plugin | Beaver Builder * If I change my Facebook avatar, update my Twitter avatar as well by nrturner – IFTTT * Jason Tucker, Whittier, CA – Gravatar Profile * verioussmith, Corona, California – Gravatar Profile * Bridget Willard, Dana Point, CA – Gravatar Profile * bridgetwillard.com * WPblab – WPwatercooler * Divi Builder Plugin | Just another WordPress site * Recommendations – WordPress plugins, services, software, & hosting * EP98 – Everything you need to know to start & run a successful WordPress meetup – WPwatercooler – YouTube * tlk.io * WordPress XML & CSV Importer Plugin – WP All Import
The post EP007 – #WordPress #WordCamps #PageBuilders – #WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Kevin Hoffman, Verious B. Smith III, Bridget Willard, gregdyer, and Austin Iuliano
https://www.wpwatercooler.com/click/beaverbuilder/
https://business.pinterest.com/en/rich-pins
https://yoast.com/rel-canonical/
http://www.learndash.com/
http://chrislema.com/elearning-on-wordpress-wp-courseware-learndash/
https://www.wpwatercooler.com/click/dynamik
https://blogvault.net/
https://wordpress.org/plugins/duplicator/
https://wistia.com
https://www.wpwatercooler.com/click/wpengine
https://www.siteground.com/tutorials/wordpress/transfer-wordpress/
https://www.wpwatercooler.com/recommendations
https://wordpress.org/plugins/wistia-wordpress-oembed-plugin/
The post EP006 – eLearning, #CSSHero, & #beaverbuilder – #WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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We asked people on Twitter to submit their questions using the hashtag #AskWPBlab
What are the most effective SEO WordPress plugins?
Are there plans to integrate better security measures in WP core? For example, not allowing ‘admin' as a username?
What's your weekly maintenance routine look like for your sites? Beyond backup and run updates, what else do you do regularly?
What's your best tip for meeting wordpress people IRL? How do you find where people are and make yourself part of the group?
What is it about the #WordPress community that makes it different from or better than or worse than other similar communities?
What are the benefits of using #WordPress over others like Wix, Weebly, etc.?
What are the most popular WP frameworks and how do you go about choosing the best one?
Is there a place for newbies in the WordPress community?
This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, Oscar Gonzalez, Adam Silver, and Bridget Willard
The post EP005 WordPress SEO, Security, Maintenance & Meetups – WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Jason Tucker, JennyWrites, Bridget Willard, and Devin Walker
The post EP004 WordPress, Algebra, Coding, Themes & FooPlugins – WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This is a replay of the live broadcast with Bridget Willard, Jason Tucker, Tracee Loftus, and Jonathan Denwood.
We're testing SimpleLivePress
Question is Vaultpress a good backup plugin? – @joel_birch * WordPress › Duplicator « WordPress Plugins * BackupBuddy – The Original WordPress Backup Plugin :: iThemes * WordPress › UpdraftPlus Backup and Restoration « WordPress Plugins
Question what do you mean “a tweet lasts 60 seconds”? * How to Embed Actual Tweets in WordPress Blog Posts * WordPress › Click To Tweet « WordPress Plugins * Getting your business online isn't costly with WordPress
Looking for solid webhosting? * SiteGround: Quality-Crafted Hosting Services
Question I just bought Genesis Framework, with the Altitude Pro child theme. Any thoughts/opinions? * Altitude Pro Theme by StudioPress
Question Does Genesis framework lock you into using Genesis web developers if you need customization? Does that become an issue? Is Your New Website Layout Killing Your Engagement? * Is Your New Website Layout Killing Your Engagement? – Neuromarketing
We discuss user testing * www.usertesting.com
How to disable remote styles using a bookmarlet * Edit Bookmarklet | Edit Bookmarklets at Marklets.com Search Engine
Going oldschool with a guestbook plugin * WordPress › Comment Guestbook « WordPress Plugins
Building your own guestbook with Gravity Forms * WordPress Forms – Gravity Forms Contact Form Builder and Lead Data Management Plugin For WordPress
Displaying a guestbooks of images using Foo Gallery * WordPress › Foo Gallery « WordPress Plugins
Check out WP Tonic * We Specialize in Supporting & Maintaining WordPress Websites
The post #WPblab EP003 WordPress Backups, Twitter & Web Hosting appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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This week on WPblab twitter nerd Bridget Willard and IT Manager and WordPress Web Developer Jason Tucker answer the following questions:
Q: My website loads slow, what can I do to speed it up? Try changing the following:
- Use a caching plugin, we like WP SuperCache if that doesn't work then…
- Get a new webhost, we like
- Small to medium sites: Siteground
- Medium to Large sites: WP Engine
- Try a CDN, we like MaxCDN
Q: What is a CDN? Content Delivery Network
Q: Who is the best CDN? We like MaxCDN
Q: What is a good CDN for photos that is cheap? Photon a module that is part of the JetPack plugin is great for a free CDN that optimizes your images.
Q: Whats the best way to make sure my featured images and social images show faces in the images and won't cut them out: My Eyes are Up Here Plugin
Q: I want to use Adsense on my WordPress site but I'm on WordPress.com Move to another webhost because WordPress.com doesn't allow adsense on their sites. We recommend Siteground and WP Engine, they are both great hosts
- Small to medium sites: Siteground
- Medium to Large sites: WP Engine
Q: What is the best way to manage Adsense? Advanced Ads is the one Jason uses on large sites, it works on smaller one stoo!
They have a pro version too: Advanced Ads Pro
Q: I want to run an accessibility Blab.im, should I get a WordPress site? Should I post the Blab on the site? Get a YouTube channel going and make sure to look at this site for tips on making your website accessible: http://accessiblejoe.com/
This week's WPblab can be viewed here on blab.im
https://blab.im/d80cbcdb813d428198c9e646fcc7b21f
The post EP002 – Adsense, Blogging, Fast Hosting, CDN, Accessibility – #WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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- WordPress Essentials episode of WPwatercooler
- SMMOC
- Chris Lema
- Sé Reed Media
- How to use Child Themes in WordPress
- Commerce.io – text based ecommerce
- Commerce.io – example
- WordPress Podcast Themes
- Kindrid – Text to Give
- Give – WordPress Giving Plugin
- Caldera Forms
- What plugin is best for Podcasting? PowerPress
- Jason's talk on Podcasting 101
- WP Dating – Build your own dating site using WordPress
- What podcast player does Jason use? OverCast
The post EP001 – Forms, Giving and Dating oh my! – #WPblab appeared first on WPwatercooler.
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