Podcasts about wpbeginner

Forms are a crucial part of any website, but they can also feel static and boring. This episode explores six creative strategies to transform your WordPress forms into interactive experiences that boost user engagement and conversions.In this episode, you'll learn:How to leverage conversational forms to guide users through a natural, step-by-step process, increasing completion rates.The power of visual elements like icons and images to make forms more engaging and user-friendly, especially for mobile users.What conditional logic is and how it can personalize the form experience based on user input, leading to less clutter and higher relevance.How to integrate rich media content like videos and images directly into your forms to educate users and build trust.The effectiveness of multi-step lead generation forms with progress bars to capture leads smoothly and efficiently.Tips for using pop-up forms strategically to trigger user interaction at the right moment without being intrusive.Bonus Recap:Implement conversational forms for an interactive back-and-forth flow.Add visual flair with image and icon fields.Personalize the experience with conditional logic.Educate and engage users with rich media content.Utilize multi-step lead generation forms with progress bars.Leverage pop-ups strategically for triggered interaction.No specific products are mentioned in this podcast, but the call to action mentions WPBeginner's resources:WPFormsWPBeginner YouTube Channel YouTube channelWPBeginner on Twitter Twitter social mediaWPBeginner on Facebook Facebook social mediaIf you liked this episode, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. Or watch our Podcasts on YouTube. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

This episode explores the power of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) in driving significant website traffic growth. SEO expert WPBeginner shares real-life case studies showcasing the impact of well-implemented SEO strategies.Key Takeaways:Building a Strong SEO Foundation:Establish a comprehensive SEO foundation for optimal organic traffic growth.Case Study: Sporked.com boosted traffic by 1,036% YoY using Google's E-E-A-T principles (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness).Essential SEO Tools:All in One SEO: https://aioseo.com/Google Search Console: https://search.google.com/search-console/aboutGoogle Analytics: https://analytics.google.com/Semrush: https://www.semrush.com/Keyword Research Strategies:Conduct thorough keyword research to optimize your content for relevant search terms.Consider a balance between search volume and keyword difficulty (target less competitive keywords initially).Case Study: Content Authority grew traffic by nearly 300% by targeting misspelled keywords.Content is King:Consistently publish high-quality content to attract and retain visitors.Case Study: Golfer Geeks increased traffic by 190% through strategic content marketing, proactive updates, and FAQ schema markup to rank for untapped keywords.Content Optimization Tips:Regularly update existing content to maintain freshness.Implement FAQ schema markup to enhance content discoverability.Optimize images for better click-through rates on search engine results pages (SERPs).The Power of Schema Markup:Utilize schema markup (HTML code) to provide search engines with richer information about your content, improving discoverability.Case Study: Iowa Girl Eats, a gluten-free food blog, achieved a 508% traffic increase by prioritizing user-centric content and schema markup.Link Building Strategies:Internal linking structures help users navigate your site and inform search engines about content hierarchy.Backlinks from reputable websites enhance your site's authority and credibility. Consider:Mentioning and linking to relevant third-party sources.Reaching out to industry blogs for guest posting opportunities.Creating high-value content (industry research, statistics posts, case studies, tools, and infographics) to attract backlinks naturally.Case Study: Explore.com quadrupled its traffic by focusing on backlinks, schema markup, and targeting long-tail keywords that competitors overlooked.Measuring SEO Performance:Track your SEO progress using analytics tools like Search Console, Google Analytics, and Semrush.Case Study: Meshki, a fashion brand, witnessed a 589% increase in UK traffic by leveraging review schema and monitoring branded keywords.If you liked this episode, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. Or watch our Podcasts on YouTube. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

This episode explores push notifications as a powerful tool to drive significant website traffic growth. Push notifications offer greater control and engagement compared to traditional methods like search engines or social media, where algorithms can fluctuate.Key takeaways:Building Your Own Traffic Pipeline:Email: Effective but requires consistent content creation and ongoing costs after trial periods.Mobile Apps: Limited reach unless you're a well-established brand and can be resource-intensive to manage.Push Notifications: Affordable, require minimal upkeep, and offer high click-through rates.Understanding Push Notifications:Permission-based pop-up messages delivered directly to a user's browser.Users opt-in to receive updates and messages directly from your website.Function across devices and boast higher engagement compared to email.WPBeginner's Push Notification Strategy with PushEngage (https://www.pushengage.com/)Two-Step Opt-In Notifications:Increase opt-in rates by requesting permission before presenting the standard "Allow/Block" options.Gather user preferences to tailor notifications and enhance relevance.Drip Autoresponders for New Users:Automated onboarding sequences deliver valuable content at set intervals, familiarizing new subscribers with your website.Targeted messages based on user interests lead to higher open and click-through rates.Broadcast Notifications:Regularly send updates about new blog posts to keep your audience informed and engaged with fresh content.Additional Push Notification Examples:RSS Auto-Push Campaigns:Automatically notify subscribers about new content published on your website.Cart Abandonment Campaigns:Regain lost sales by gently reminding users who leave items behind in their carts.User Behavior-Based Notifications:Deliver highly personalized content based on user actions and browsing habits.Push Notifications vs. Email Marketing:Push notifications excel at urgency, personalization, and driving clicks.Email remains the preferred channel for in-depth content delivery.A combined strategy leverages the strengths of both methods to maximize audience reach and engagement.Further Resources:PushEngage: https://www.pushengage.com/WPBeginner Push Notification Tutorial: https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-add-web-push-notification-to-your-wordpress-site/If you liked this episode, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. Or watch our Podcasts on YouTube. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

WordPress Media Corps — you might even chuckle when you hear the phrase.This experimental initiative is a team that replaced the WordPress Marketing Team. Not commercial WordPress, mind you, but the open source dot org side of the house. If you've been following me for any amount of time, you don't need me to spell out how important this initiative could be.A chance to legitimize the work only a handful of people across the entire globe have dedicated their professional careers towards — myself included.Before we dive deeper into what the Media Corps could accomplish, lets take a look at the outgoing struggles with the Marketing team:How could a volunteer-lead marketing team accomplish the fundamental responsibilities of marketing with no access to website traffic data, survey results, or have a stake in the product? That's right, it's nearly impossible.I know some of the people that were leading the charge with that effort, and lead it with great care and intention — but they were handcuffed. Lets face it: Open source WordPress doesn't function like a commercial product, because it isn't, which is why it has succeeded.Marketing has to come organically. With no budget or access, you're basically building out tasks for a team to accomplish. Tick the box, keep moving, but don't you dare critically think about how you can impact the brand sentiment of WordPress.In my previous post, Who is Responsible for WordPress Marketing, I reported on the Media Corps initiative stating that I'd reserve my opinion until I saw the process mature a bit more. Consider the rest of this my reaction as the dust settles on the Media Corps contributor kickoff call. A North Star I've been following is how do we keep WordPress thriving?This was a call to action put out by Josepha Haden Chomphosy, Executive Director of WordPress in the State of the Word 2023. It's recognized that in order for WordPress to escape a growth plateau, that the community needs to go beyond code quality and features. Humans need to recognize WordPress core worth, importance, and benefits for the greater open web. Simply put: People need to recommend WordPress more.If you can't do it with a volunteer marketing team, forge a bond with the people that have been the biggest cheerleaders for WordPress — WordPress Media.But this is open source WordPress, why do we need an official team to wrangle the media? What even is WordPress Media?I've been covering WordPress for well over 10 years and whenever I needed anything, I reached out to the person and asked. If dot org was releasing something new, I read about it, decided if it was newsworthy for my audience, and then reported on it or shared my opinion.Yes, something like the WordPress Media Corps helps galvanize the work I've been doing here at the WP Minute and my previous podcast Matt Report, but the approach has been opaque at best.Starting with the initial WordPress Media Kick Off Call. Based on the call to action to comment if you want to be involved from the Initial Roadmap post, I was under the impression that the kickoff call was going to include media folk and the contributing team. I wasn't alone on that assumption, check the comments.The kickoff commenced in a private call with the contributing team — and Bob Dunn founder of Do the Woo, who somehow found himself with the "Media Liaison" title.record scratches.Where did that come from? Was it voted on? Did WordPress media folks put Bob's name in a hat? I have nothing against Bob, everyone loves Bob, he oversees some solid content that helps WordPress thrive. That said, this was the Media Corps first shot at launching a meeting and threw transparency out of the window.We'll get to the Media Corps media partnership requirements in a minute, so hold that thought, but there's another issue at hand that I've talked about ad nauseam: “WordPress media” is tiny, impossible to turn into a sustainable business, and largely depends on in-kind sponsorships that genuinely see value in this type of content existing.That's if you define WordPress media like we do at The WP Minute versus what WP Beginner would publish. Remember: The Media Corps team still hasn't released how they will definitively define this.One only needs to look at the lack of effort to turn around the WP Tavern to see the proverbial proof in the pudding. I do this work because I love WordPress and because I think people should be informed on certain topics on the most widely used web publishing software.Do the Woo and WP Minute both jockey for those in-kind sponsors to keep us afloat. To help pay our writers, production teams, and other overhead. To be included in the Media Corps kickoff call is the equivalent to the Theme Team holding a private meeting to change how themes get included and only inviting Sujay Pawar to the Zoom call.But that's just my opinion, which is also my self-imposed job to analyze these community events. I'll reiterate: nothing against Bob, it's just the media business. Brand and trust are really the only things we have — and it goes both ways.This isn't the only time I've seen favoritism play out in WordPress media. I recall my team being rejected as a Media Partner for WordCamp Europe 2023, while I sat back and saw other brands have their logos added to the website with barely a peep out of them on social media or blog posts covering the event.WordPress media is a perfect storm: There's only 10,000 English speaking people in the world that actually care about this type of content, 8 people in the world (myself included) who actually care about covering it, and so few people that know the brands like WP Minute and The Repository who tirelessly cover it. I miss Sarah Gooding.There's only a handful of WP Media types, as I see it:Independent WordPress news sitesPaper of record, The WP TavernGeneral WordPress tutorial and information blogs, podcasts, and YouTube channelsPeople that do it for funsiesPeople that do it because their company tells them to blog about WordPressWhich brings me to the current Media Corps' requirements on how they are evaluating us:Have a focus on producing content that is at least 80% about WordPressReport factual news or produce relevant educational contentMaintain high standards of content quality/journalismAdhere to WordPress community guidelinesRespect information sensitivities (if any)Have you ever come across fake WordPress news? Who decides what the standards of content quality and journalism are? I mean, I lost that WordCamp media partnership slot to a tech YouTuber and I know I barely passed high school, so maybe I won't cut it?There will be another debate: Report news OR relevant educational content. There's a huge gap in scrutiny and body o...

This episode dives into the secrets of crafting high-converting landing pages that turn visitors into customers. Landing pages play a critical role in online business success, and WPBeginner shares actionable tips to optimize yours for conversions.Key takeaways:Minimize Distractions: Prioritize focus by removing unnecessary elements like headers, footers, and sidebars. Landing pages should have a singular goal – driving visitors towards the desired action (e.g., purchase, signup).Streamline the Conversion Process: Frictionless user experience is essential. Reduce clicks by simplifying the buying journey. Aim for a streamlined purchase process (ideally 3 clicks or less) and remove unnecessary form fields. Consider using tools like WPForms to capture partially completed forms.Craft Compelling Copy: Speak directly to your target audience and understand their needs. Craft persuasive content that resonates with their emotions and logic, ultimately motivating them to convert.Headline Optimization: Headlines are crucial – 80% of visitors will read them. Utilize free tools like WPBeginner's Headline Analyzer to craft catchy headlines that integrate relevant keywords naturally. Focus on highlighting your unique value proposition – why should someone choose you?Boost Credibility: Include visuals like images, videos, and testimonials to build trust and social proof. Strategically use contrasting colors and visual cues to direct visitors' attention towards your call to action (CTA).Capture Leaving Visitors: Even optimized landing pages experience bounce rates. Utilize tools like OptinMonster to target visitors with exit-intent popups, special offers, or other incentives to convert them before they abandon the page.Additional Resources:WPForms: https://wpforms.com/OptinMonster: https://optinmonster.com/WPBeginner's Headline Analyzer: https://www.wpbeginner.com/news/introducing-headline-analyzer/By following these steps and focusing on a clear goal, user experience, persuasive copy, and trust-building elements, you can significantly improve your landing page conversion rates.If you liked this episode, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. Or watch our Podcasts on YouTube. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

IntroductionWPBeginner uses its video membership site to grow its email list.The goal is to help people learn WordPress for free while also reaching a wider audience.Why Choose a Video Membership Site?Videos offer engaging, easy-to-follow educational content.Membership sites foster a sense of community, loyalty, and authority.The online membership industry shows huge growth potential.The MissionWPBeginner aims to make WordPress education accessible to all, regardless of budget.Quote from Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner Founder: He believes WordPress knowledge should be free, and that was the motivation behind starting WPBeginner.How the Membership Site WorksUsers browse free videos or sign up for in-depth WordPress training courses.Creating a free account grants access to the curriculum and adds the user to the WPBeginner newsletter mailing list.Tools Used in the ProcessMemberPress: Powers the membership site functionality (courses, content restriction, etc.) https://memberpress.com/Drip: Handles email marketing automation and personalization. https://www.drip.com/Custom Landing Pages: Designed to highlight the benefits of WPBeginner Academy and convert visitors. https://seedprod.comWPForms: Creates user-friendly signup and login forms. https://wpforms.com/OptinMonster: Lead generation tool for popups. https://optinmonster.com/PushEngage: Tool for push notifications. https://www.pushengage.com/Smash Balloon: For embedding social media feeds. https://smashballoon.com/If you liked this episode, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. Or watch our Podcasts on YouTube. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

Want to grow an engaged email list? Discover the tips and techniques we used at WPBeginner to generate subscribers and build a loyal following.Show NotesWelcome and Overview:Importance of building an email list for direct audience communication and marketing.Proven Email Growth StrategiesExit-Intent Popups:WPBeginner's use of OptinMonster to capture abandoning visitors.The value of offering a useful resource like a newsletter or toolkit.Lead Magnets:Definition of a lead magnet (opt-in bribe).Promoting WPBeginner's "Ultimate WordPress Toolkit" to capture emails.Giveaways:Use giveaways sparingly to gain new subscribers and social media followers.WPBeginner's annual birthday giveaway with WordPress-related prizes (plugins, ebooks, etc.)Using RafflePress to manage the giveaway logistics.Quizzes:Creating quizzes for engagement and offering custom results.WPBeginner's WordPress hosting quiz for personalized recommendations.Using Thrive Quizzes for interactive quiz creation.Free Courses:Offering beginner-friendly WordPress courses on your website.Examples include WPBeginner's WordPress 101, WooCommerce, and SEO courses.Utilize MemberPress for course management and access control.Call to Action:Which of these strategies would you want to implement to grow your list? Let us know!Refer to the show notes on the WPBeginner website for the tools and resources mentioned.Additional ResourcesOptinMonster: https://optinmonster.com/RafflePress: https://rafflepress.com/Thrive Quizzes: https://thrivethemes.com/quizbuilder/MemberPress: https://memberpress.com/If you liked this episode, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. Or watch our Podcasts on YouTube. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

Discover how WPBeginner's annual birthday giveaway generates massive growth. Learn the strategies, tools, and insights to run your own contest and achieve your marketing goals.Show NotesIntroductionDiscuss the tradition of WPBeginner's birthday giveaway (over a decade!)Highlight the goals: thanking the community and growing social/email engagementWhy Run a Giveaway?Opportunity to give back to your audience and foster loyaltyChance to reach a wider audience and attract new leadsLessons Learned from WPBeginner GiveawaysLesson 1: The Perfect PrizeMust align with your business and target audienceWPBeginner example: WordPress plugins/themesConsider multiple winners to boost participationLesson 2: The Right ToolRafflePress – flexible, user-friendly WordPress giveaway pluginImportance of features like viral sharing, email integrationLesson 3: Set a Clear GoalDecide your focus: email list growth, social following, etc.Benefits of email marketing (direct audience access, ROI)Lesson 4: Viral Sharing for Exponential GrowthRafflePress "actions" to incentivize sharingCustomize actions and points to promote your desired goalsLesson 5: Promote, Promote, Promote!Dedicated blog post detailing the giveawaySocial media announcements (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)RafflePress rules/terms for clarity and complianceLesson 6: Choosing Winners and Follow-UpRafflePress simplifies winner selectionContacting winners and announcing the resultsImporting winner data to your email marketing serviceKey TakeawaysGiveaways are a powerful way to supercharge your marketing growthPlan carefully and use the right tools to ensure successCreativity and a focus on giving back will attract participantsResourcesRafflePress: https://rafflepress.com/Email Marketing ROI reference: https://www.wpbeginner.com/opinion/tips-to-run-successful-giveaway/Call to ActionHave you tried giveaway contests to support your business growth? What lessons have you learned? Let us know!If you liked this episode, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. Or watch our Podcasts on YouTube. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

Episode 553: Shaan Puri (https://twitter.com/ShaanVP) and Sam Parr (https://twitter.com/theSamParr) talk to Syed Balkhi about the business ideas he would go after if he wasn't already running a unicorn.  Watch Syed's $0 To +$100M story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzHdrQ5pDFo Want to see Sam and Shaan's smiling faces? Head to the MFM YouTube Channel and subscribe - http://tinyurl.com/5n7ftsy5 — Show Notes: (0:00) Intro (3:30) Offshore bookkeeping (6:00) Level it up with reseller and white label (8:30) Sourcing your outsourced talent (12:00) Barnacle on the Whale: Quickbooks plugins (19:00) The most powerful idea of our generation (22:30) X but open source (x= popular platform) (27:30) Creating disproportionate value (31:30) Flavors of capital funds (39:30) Is $10-50M the perfect amount in the bank? (45:30) First you own your things, then they own you (47:30) The true cost of luxury (52:30) Paid marketing vs. acquiring resellers (58:00) Compounding goodwill is the best form of compounding — Links: • Syed Balkhi Twitter - https://twitter.com/syedbalkhi • WPBeginner - https://www.wpbeginner.com/ • Appflowy - https://www.appflowy.io/ • Stability AI - https://stability.ai/ • Cal.com - http://cal.com/ • OSS Capital Twitter - http://tinyurl.com/ynvpmu7j • Automattic - https://automattic.com/ • WooCommerce - https://wordpress.org/plugins/woocommerce/ • CleanShot X - https://cleanshot.com/ • GitLab - https://about.gitlab.com/ • Guy Spier - https://www.guyspier.com/ — Check Out Shaan's Stuff: Need to hire? You should use the same service Shaan uses to hire developers, designers, & Virtual Assistants → it's called Shepherd (tell ‘em Shaan sent you): https://bit.ly/SupportShepherd — Check Out Sam's Stuff: • Hampton - https://www.joinhampton.com/ • Ideation Bootcamp - https://www.ideationbootcamp.co/ • Copy That - https://copythat.com • Hampton Wealth Survey - https://joinhampton.com/wealth Past guests on My First Million include Rob Dyrdek, Hasan Minhaj, Balaji Srinivasan, Jake Paul, Dr. Andrew Huberman, Gary Vee, Lance Armstrong, Sophia Amoruso, Ariel Helwani, Ramit Sethi, Stanley Druckenmiller, Peter Diamandis, Dharmesh Shah, Brian Halligan, Marc Lore, Jason Calacanis, Andrew Wilkinson, Julian Shapiro, Kat Cole, Codie Sanchez, Nader Al-Naji, Steph Smith, Trung Phan, Nick Huber, Anthony Pompliano, Ben Askren, Ramon Van Meer, Brianne Kimmel, Andrew Gazdecki, Scott Belsky, Moiz Ali, Dan Held, Elaine Zelby, Michael Saylor, Ryan Begelman, Jack Butcher, Reed Duchscher, Tai Lopez, Harley Finkelstein, Alexa von Tobel, Noah Kagan, Nick Bare, Greg Isenberg, James Altucher, Randy Hetrick and more. — Other episodes you might enjoy: • #224 Rob Dyrdek - How Tracking Every Second of His Life Took Rob Drydek from 0 to $405M in Exits • #209 Gary Vaynerchuk - Why NFTS Are the Future • #178 Balaji Srinivasan - Balaji on How to Fix the Media, Cloud Cities & Crypto • #169 - How One Man Started 5, Billion Dollar Companies, Dan Gilbert's Empire, & Talking With Warren Buffett • ​​​​#218 - Why You Should Take a Think Week Like Bill Gates • Dave Portnoy vs The World, Extreme Body Monitoring, The Future of Apparel Retail, "How Much is Anthony Pompliano Worth?", and More • How Mr Beast Got 100M Views in Less Than 4 Days, The $25M Chrome Extension, and More

WPBeginner updated an old stats list for 2024... with some interesting findings!Here are a few that stood out to me, and that can validates a few things I'm doing and other info that might have me changing my tune. THE INSIDER MEMBERSHIP IS OPEN AGAIN! Learn more here: https://leslipeterson.com/insider2/If you're a professional blogger (or want to be) then check out my FREE Facebook Group where we talk about the business of blogging everyday! https://www.facebook.com/groups/leslipetersonThe quickest way to increase your traffic? Update your content regularly. Get a free blog post update checklist here: https://leslipeterson.com/Need help understanding your blog personas and getting lead magnet ideas? Get my FREE GPT4.0 Lead Magnet Masterkit here: https://leslipeterson.com/===== FOLLOW ME ===== FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/leslipeterson Podcast: https://podcast.leslipeterson.com/ ** Sometimes I link to additional resources, and they may or may not include affiliate links. I'll never link you to anything I don't use myself!

There's a solid batch of headlines this week that I think you'll find interesting before you head out to WordCamp US next week.Speaking of, if you're headed to WordCamp next week, be sure to say hi! I'd love to hear more about your experiences with the WP Minute and any feedback you might have. The entire WP Minute squad will be there like Me, Eric, and Raquel.Equalize Digital is blasting off into outer space — literally!NASA selected Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker for automated accessibility testing in WordPress. To make reports easier to understand for non-developers, Equalize Digital developed the front-end highlighting feature. This feature adds a “view on page” link to each issue in Accessibility Checker's reports that, when clicked, takes users to the public view of the web page, highlights the element with a dashed pink box around it, and shows a panel explaining the issue and how to fix it.The WP Community Collective Successfully Funds the First Fellowship for the WordPress Contributor Community.The WP Community Collective is proud to announce the successful funding and launch of their inaugural Fellowship program, the WPCC Accessibility Fellowship. Long-term WordPress contributor Alex Stine was selected by the WPCC as the inaugural Accessibility Fellow as a result of his expertise in accessibility and seven years of experience as a WordPress contributor.group.one strengthens WordPress commitment with acquisition of BackWPup.WordPress plugin BackWPup is joining group.one, along with two newly acquired plugins Adminimize and Search & Replace, adding to the group's growing WordPress ecosystem. group.one acquired the three WordPress plugins with a combined base of more than 1.1 million users from German WordPress agency Inpsyde GmbH, bolstering the group's WordPress offering alongside flagship products WP Rocket, Imagify and Rank Math SEO.The Make Team announced a new Blocks page on WordPress.org intending to be a strong starting point for visitors looking to see what blocks can do within WordPress and beyond.Citing the original Github ticket created back in March 2023 from Ben Greeley “Currently, there isn't a page on wordpress.org that explains in a compelling way what ‘Blocks' are or markets it very effectively on the website. We have a filter in the plugin directory, which is useful, but that page is lacking the context of what blocks are, what the block editor is, and why it is so exciting. “My First Million podcast, co-hosted by Sam Parr the founder of TheHustle.co now owned by Hubspot, interviews Awesome Motive founder Syed Bahlki.2023 has drawn a lot of criticism around AM's products and how WP Beginner leverages it's content juggernaut for their products. I thought it was important to include an interview with Syed that didn't revolve around WordPress, but to understand his approach to business and life.We have some fresh new content on the WP Minute!This week Eric Karkovack wrote about what he's looking forward to experience at WordCamp US next week.I sat down with Paid Memberships Pro founder Kim Coleman to help me understand how she uses ChatGPT for her content and marketing needs. ★ Support this podcast ★

Guest Nahuai Badiola Panelists Richard Littauer | Justin Dorfman Show Notes Hello and welcome to Sustain! The podcast where we talk about sustaining open source for the long haul. Today, Richard and Justin are very excited to have as their guest, Nahuai Badiola, who's a freelance WordPress developer, part of the WordPress Sustainability Initiative, the W3C Sustainability Working Group, and a recent recipient of a fellowship at The Green Web Foundation. Today's discussion covers the importance of sustainability in different contexts, including the environmental, social, and economic aspects. There's a conversation on the efforts being made towards sustainability and the challenges of translating environmental and social issues for the digital space. Also, we'll hear about Nahuai's project called, Doughnut Economics, and his fellowship work with The Green Web Foundation. Download this episode to hear more! [00:02:14] Nahuai is a WordPress developer, so he tells us when he started, and he talks about the three pillars. [00:04:37] He tells us about the WordPress Sustainability Initiative he helped set up and its efforts to create guidelines for building a more sustainable CMS. [00:07:05] We hear about the people who are on the Sustainability Initiative. [00:09:08] Nahuai discusses how they plan to work with plugin developers and hosting services to incentivize sustainable practices and possibly implement a sustainability score for plugins. [00:11:54] The conversation is about the need for sustainability in the WordPress community and the efforts being made towards that goal. They also discuss the importance of buy-in from influential people in the community like Matt Mullenweg and Syed Balkhi at WPBeginner. [00:17:23] Nahuai is part of a working group within the W3C that aims to produce evidence-based guidelines for web sustainability. He tells us there's a draft in progress and the group aims to present it at the W3C TPAC conference in September. [00:21:22] We hear about The Green Web Foundation and their fellowship program and Nahuai being a fellowship recipient working on a project to bring the idea of “Doughnut Economics” to the WordPress community through and interactive workshop. [00:25:39] Nahuai is considering how to adapt the framework of 12 social foundations and 9 ecological ceilings for the WordPress community. [00:28:10] Richard wonders if Nahuai has any thoughts about making that translation itself an easier process for future people to go through. [00:30:13] Find out where you can get involved with Nahuai's projects, learn more about him and his podcast you can check out called, Freelandev. Quotes [00:02:47] “I fell in love with WordPress because of the community.” [00:07:24] “We at WordPress Sustainability Initiative can do small things but have a big impact.” Spotlight [00:32:35] Justin's spotlight is Beginner's Guide for WordPress. [00:32:52] Richard's spotlight is the book, Far from Land: The Mysterious Lives of Seabirds. [00:33:30] Nahuai's spotlight is WordPress. Links SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter (https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Twitter (https://twitter.com/richlitt?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) Richard Littauer Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/@richlitt) Justin Dorfman Twitter (https://twitter.com/jdorfman?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) Nahuai Badiola Twitter (https://twitter.com/nahuaibadiola?lang=en) Nahuai Badiola-The Green Web Foundation (https://www.thegreenwebfoundation.org/fellowships/nahuai-badiola/) Nahuai Badiola Blog (Spanish) (https://nbadiola.com/) Freelandev Podcast (https://www.freelandev.com/) Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL) (https://doughnuteconomics.org/) About Doughnut Economics (https://doughnuteconomics.org/about-doughnut-economics) W3C TPAC 2023 (https://www.w3.org/2023/09/TPAC/) Beginner's Guide for WordPress (https://www.wpbeginner.com/) Far from Land: The Mysterious Lives of Seabirds by Michael Brooke (https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691174181/far-from-land) WordPress (https://wordpress.com/) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guest: Nahuai Badiola.

When it comes to adding features to a WordPress plugin, how many are too many? That's the question facing the WordPress Performance Team with regard to the Performance Lab plugin.Recent additions of SQLite and WebP image conversion functionality have resulted in some constructive criticism from WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg. As Sarah Gooding reports at WP Tavern, Mullenweg has asked that these items be spun off into individual plugins.This jibes with Mullenweg's previous call to revive canonical plugins. That is, a plugin that's community supported and adds niche functionality.On the other side of the coin, Performance Team members expressed concern that separate plugins may mean less visibility. As it stands, Performance Lab has over 30,000 active installs. A new niche plugin will have to start from ground zero in terms of publicity.Multiple options are being discussed and the results could mean big changes for similar community-driven plugins.Links You Shouldn't MissAs WordPress has grown to power over 40% of the web, the need for knowledgeable experts has increased. But how can we determine who qualifies? The WP Minute's Eric Karkovack looks at the potential impact of a WordPress certification program.The first major WordPress plugin acquisition of 2023 belongs to Awesome Motive, as they've scooped up Duplicator. A website backup and migration plugin, Duplicator currently has over 1 million active installs of its free version. The deal was announced via separate blog posts at WP Beginner and former owner, Snap Creek.WordPress.com has announced Blaze, a tool that enables site owners to advertise their content on WordPress.com and Tumblr. Websites hosted on WordPress.com have a dedicated page to create their personalized ads, in addition to direct links on their site's dashboard. Self-hosted WordPress sites can access similar functionality via the Jetpack plugin.Make sure your installations are up-to-date, as backdoor malware targeting WordPress is on the loose. WP Tavern reports that the software runs on Linux and looks for vulnerabilities across several plugins and themes. Security researcher Dr. Web has the full list of vulnerable software. The WordPress Five for the Future initiative is looking for feedback. A recent blog post examines the current “contributor journey” for both individuals and companies. Community members are encouraged to suggest improvements and share opinions.ClassicPress, the open-source CMS forked from WordPress 4.9, has been contemplating its future of late. The project recently asked community members to vote on a path forward. By a narrow margin, members voted in favor of re-forking based on WordPress 6.0. Because the margin was so slim, project director Viktor Nagornyy is suggesting a hybrid approach to retaining compatibility with WordPress themes and plugins. ★ Support this podcast ★

Há anos, pessoas pregam que o email morreu como ferramenta de marketing. As pesquisas, no entanto, não se cansam de contradizer essa afirmação fatalista. Post do WP Beginner sobre backlinks: https://www.wpbeginner.com/research/marketing-statistics-trends-and-facts-updated/. Apresentação: Cassio Politi (https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassiopoliti/). Produção: Tracto (https://tracto.com.br/).

Cinco anos atrás, no episódio #042 deste podcast Takeaways, trouxemos o conceito do content shock. De autoria de Mark Scahefer, esse conceito se baseia no fato de que há mais conteúdo sendo produzido do que consumido. De fato, um estudo agora mostra que 90% das páginas dos sites não recebem nenhum backlink. Post do WP Beginner sobre backlinks: https://www.wpbeginner.com/research/marketing-statistics-trends-and-facts-updated/. Apresentação: Cassio Politi (https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassiopoliti/). Produção: Tracto (https://tracto.com.br/).

News Julia Golomb over at make.wordpress.org has posted a new Proposal with Steps to Integrate #WPDiversity into organizing WordPress events. All new WordCamp and meetup organizers would automatically receive an invitation as they are onboarded to make sure the diversity consideration is addressed. Could it be lucky #13 for testing FSE (Full Site Editing)? Anne McCarthy over on make.wordpress.org posted that testers are needed and you can follow the instructions to create a template for author pages and learn how to unlock the UI for blocks. You have until April 21, 2022 to provide feedback. Anne also answers questions from the FSE Outreach Program. The post provides answers gathered through the program that started on March 16th and ended on March 30th. Sarah Gooding over on WPTavern wrote about the most recent changes made on WordPress.com. There were major unannounced pricing changes along with the 500 mb free storage change. It took many by surprise and frustrations were expressed by users on Twitter and other forums. WooFunnels, the popular sales funnel and automation plugin was added to the WPBeginner business through their Growth Fund. Syed Balkhi announced that he will be advising the team on how to expand their WordPress Product business. WooCommerce Beta 1 for the April 2022 release of WooCommerce is available for testing. You can either download it directly from WordPress.org or install it in the WooCommerce Beta Tester Plugin. From Our Contributors and Producers WP Migrate DB Pro is Now WP Migrate. WP Migrate dropped the “DB Pro” in their plugin to better reflect what the product does. The latest release of WP Migrate 2.3 gives you the choice to include or exclude the database. Migrate just the database, just your files, or both. No more workarounds required. David Lockie announced that he has joined the Automattic family as a Web3 Lead in the WooCommerce Transact team. Fast tweeted an announcement that they will be closing their doors. Fast had stood out in the crowded field of one-click checkout startups after it landed a $102 million infusion of cash in a fundraising round last year led by payments giant Stripe. It appears that the product was generating very little revenue. Check out the latest episode of the Matt Report with Joe Howard where we learn you can find someone else to run your business. Joe is stepping aside but is still a majority owner of the business. He is now focused on a new SaaS startup.&n

Syed Balkhi is chief blogger at WPBeginner, and he recently completed a site redesign.When he started WPBeginner in 2009, like most new creators, he changed the website theme design four times in the first three years.Realizing that website redesigns take up a lot of time and resources, he focused on fulfilling our core mission:Help small businesses grow and compete with the big guys through our tools, team, and training.The last redesign of WPBeginner was launched in 2016, and it was finally time for a site redesign that would help move WPBeginner forward.We talked about some design and speed improvements he made to his site during the interview, including some controversial design decisions.Links:WPBeginner v6 – Behind the Scenes of Our New Site Designhttps://www.wpbeginner.com/news/wpbeginner-v6-behind-the-scenes-of-our-new-site-design/How to Properly Change a WordPress Theme (Ultimate Guide)https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/how-to-properly-change-a-wordpress-theme/Plugins Mentioned:MonsterInsights Best WordPress Analytics Plugin https://www.monsterinsights.com/ AIOSEO Best WordPress SEO Plugin https://aioseo.com/ SeedProd Best Theme Builder for WordPress https://www.seedprod.com/ SearchWP Best Custom Search for WordPress https://searchwp.com/You can connect with WPBeginner on our website. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

On January 25th, 2022, WordPress has a major update rolling out. This special episode will help you:Prepare your site prior to the update (don't worry,  it's super easy) and have a smoother updating processGo over what a major update actually isTalk about what features and changes this update is bringingArticles mentioned: WP Beginner: https://www.wpbeginner.com/news/whats-coming-in-wordpress-5-9-features-and-screenshots/WP Developer: https://wpdeveloper.com/wordpress-5-9-features/You can also grab a printable 12-month calendar to help you keep up with updates all year round. Find that at https://wpslinks.tech/calendarAs always, if you enjoyed this episode or have learned something, I'd love a review on your favorite pod app.If it doesn't have ratings and reviews go to https://lovethepodcast.com/wps and pick any of the apps listed there. They all have ways to leave a review!Want to keep up with me between episodes?Find me on Instagram:Podcast and all things WordPress: https://www.instagram.com/wordpresssimplifedPersonal: https://www.instagram.com/jennmeweinerSend an email: jenn@wordpresssimplfied.usCheck out the website:Personal: https://www.jennifermweiner.comAll things WordPress: https://wpsimplified.usFind me on  Buy Me A Coffee:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jennmweinerSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jennmweiner)Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wordpress-simplified/donations

Optimizing your WordPress website is a never-ending job.    But that doesn't mean it has to be hard or complicated.    Syed Balkhi, founder and CEO of Awesome Motive joins Loren Baker for a discussion around tools that will make your WordPress SEO simpler.   With a community-first approach, Syed's team was able to solve users' problems, partner with other tools, or build tools for free. The value at the core of their success? If they helped others win, they won as well.    Learn more about the tools they developed, the secrets of their success, and how Awesome Motive and their full suite of WordPress tools became industry leaders.     “We give people the freedom to do the advanced things that they want to do and that's what we've really built before.” - Syed Balkhi, [14:26]   “I remember the early days when WordPress came out, I was telling people I'm going to become a blogger. They said what are you doing? Why? You have to create new content every day? Are you crazy? I said, ‘Let's do it!'” - Loren Baker, [33:36]   “Our goal is to fight inequality through education. This is why everything you see on WP Beginner is free. We don't charge for courses, there are hundreds of videos for free that we create and I believe that helps level the playing field and creates a better tomorrow.” - Syed Balkhi, [48:56]     [00:00] - A look at Syed Balkhi, Awesome Motive, and their impressive WordPress brands [03:44] - Why is on-site search important? [07:09] - What's unique about All In One SEO? [16:25] - Opt-in Monster & other cross-platform tools [18:58] - Does TrustPulse work? [20:04] - What is Sugar Calendar, and how does it work? [22:15] - How Syed describes most of their plugins [23:02] - Using Seed Prod for faster landing pages and sites [24:28] - How WPBeginner began and what Syed learned doing it [33:57] - The “aha!” moment with WP Beginner [35:04] - How Opt-In Monster started [37:41] - How Syed got into analytics and MonsterInsights [42:06] - The core culture of Awesome Motive [42:47] - How does WPBeginner Growth Fund work? [47:53] - How Syed gives back through Pencils of Promise   --- “The beginner tools, we made it beginner-friendly - that was our first goal. But we also have the power tools because it's really built for us the migrating sites and the redirects.” - Syed Balkhi, [13:26]   “Don't try to be everybody to everyone. You might end up drifting away from your core value. That's when business growth starts slowing down.” - Syed Balkhi, [39:56]   “I might not be the smartest person in the room but I'm smart enough to know what I don't know and smart enough to bring people in that know what I don't know, so we can work together and come to a solution at the end of the day.”- Loren Baker, [40:27]   For more content like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/searchenginejournal   Looking to keep up with what's current and effective in digital marketing today? Check out https://www.searchenginejournal.com for everything you need to know within the digital marketing space and improve your skills as an internet marketer.   Connect with Syed Balkhi:     The mission of Syed Balkhi is for small businesses to have a level playing field. More than 19 million websites use his software to grow and compete with the big boys. More than 100 million people read his blogs every year to increase their website traffic, sales, and conversions!   Connect with Syed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/syedbalkhi/ Follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/syedbalkhi Pencils of Promise: https://pencilsofpromise.org/  Visit: https://awesomemotive.com/about/   Connect with Loren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal: Follow him on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/lorenbaker Connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorenbaker

No Sound Escapes from WordPress It's Episode 514 - We have plugins for Showing Your Sales, Playing with Pinterest, Inserting code, Stock Control..., and ClassicPress Options. It's all coming up on WordPress Plugins A-Z! Presets, Recently Purchased Products For Woo, PI Button, Insert Headers and Footers by WPBeginner, Out Of Stock Badge, Recently Purchased Products For Woo ....... and ClassicPress options on Episode 514. For more articles visit WordPress Specialist with a focus on... - WordPress Training, Classes and Emergency Support... for more articles like No Sound Escapes from WordPress.

Just another check in episode about what I've been working on and thinking about this week. Google sheets, Instagram and job insecurity. WP Beginner is a great resource for building a Wordpress website. My website for CPA candidates is getPERdone.com. You can find coach Monika Becker at cleardirections.ca

Syed is a Multi-Founder, CEO & an award-winning entrepreneur, recognized as one of the top 100 entrepreneurs under the age of 30 by the United Nations. He's also been  featured on Inc., Forbes, Entrepreneur magazine, Fortune, Fast Company, FOX Business, and The Wall Street Journal.  With over 15+ million websites using the software built by his companies to grow, he's become a thought leader and expert in the WordPress industry. During this interview we cover: 00:00 Contentfy, Your On-Demand Content Team (Sponsor) 01:02 - Intro  02:03 - Syed's Background, Past Ventures & Running Various Companies 03:10 - Founding Optinmonster 05:57 - Focusing on WordPress & the Community  07:48  -  Most Common Mistake Founders on their Websites 10:19 - Conception & Creation of AwesomeMotive 12:33 - Selling Soliloquy & Envira to Only Focus on Growth Tools 16:06 - Best Acquisitions & Passing on Opportunities (Red Flags) 21:38 - On Managing Multiple Companies 23:40 -  Scheduling to be Effective & Productive 25:42 - Current Challenges Syed's Facing in Order to Continue to Grow 26:23 - What Advice Would Syed Give To His 25 Year Old Self? 27:38 - Best Advice to Grow Your Business  30:08 - Best Resources Instrumental to Syed Success 31:10 - What Does Success Means To Syed Today? 32:18 - Future Plans for AwesomeMotive & How To Get In Touch With Him Tools: https://blog.rescuetime.com/time-blocking-101/ (Time Blocks) https://fs.blog/mental-models/ (Mental Models) Mentions: https://awesomemotive.com/ (AwesomeMotive) https://optinmonster.com/ (OptinMonster) https://www.wpbeginner.com/ (WPBeginner) https://wpforms.com/ (WPForms) https://www.cloudflare.com/plans/ (CloudFlare) https://memberpress.com/ (MemberPress)  https://aioseo.com/ (AIOSEO) https://wpmailsmtp.com/ (WPMailSMTP) People: https://www.poorcharliesalmanack.com/ (Charlie Munger) https://www.thriftbooks.com/a/john-d-rockefeller/367109/ (John D. Rockefeller ) https://fs.blog/ (Shane Parrish) Books: https://www.victorcheng.com/books (Extreme Revenue Growth) Quotes: “Don't give prob;ems energy to expand” - Syed Balkhi “Consistency in more important than intensity” Get In Touch With Syed: https://www.linkedin.com/in/syedbalkhi/ (Syed's Linkedin) https://syedbalkhi.com/ (Syed's Website) Tag us & follow: https://www.facebook.com/HorizenCapitalOfficial/ (Facebook)  https://www.facebook.com/HorizenCapitalOfficial/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/horizen-capital (LinkedIn)  https://www.linkedin.com/company/horizen-capital https://www.instagram.com/saasdistrict/ (Instagram)  https://www.instagram.com/saasdistrict/ (https://www.instagram.com/saasdistrict/) More about Akeel: Twitter - https://twitter.com/AkeelJabber (https://twitter.com/AkeelJabber) LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/akeel-jabbar (https://linkedin.com/in/akeel-jabbar) More Podcast Sessions - https://horizencapital.com/saas-podcast (https://horizencapital.com/saas-podcast)

WordPress has several solid was to add Head and Footer code to any website. One way is via Theme Options. Most solid themes have an option to add Head and Footer code by just pasting it in. But many themes don't have this option. Two of ways to get around this are with plug-ins. One is called Head and Footer Scripts Inserter by Space X Chimp. Another is called Insert Headers and Footers by WPBeginner. Recently when a client of mine saw a blank screen while trying to add Google Adsense code into Head and Footer Scripts Inserter, we solved the problem by pivoting over to Insert Headers and Footers. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/paulhickey/support

This weeks WordPress news - Covering The Week Commencing 24th August 2020

Today is March 16, 2020, and for this Monday Medley episode we're covering: The CSS Podcast WordPress 5.4 Variable Fonts Performance Effects Let's dive in! ---- Una Kravets and Adam Argyle, two developer advocates at Google, have started a podcast to discuss everything CSS. Aptly named The CSS Podcast, they're covering all aspects of the web's core styling language. So far there has been one episode released on March 12 that discusses the Box Model. The CSS Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more. ---- WordPress 5.4 will be packed with updates and new features. Most notably are the updates to the block editor, including a new social icons block, a new buttons block that allows more than one inline button, and several updates to existing core block editor features. WordPress 5.4 is scheduled for release on March 31st. For more information, check out the Kinsta and WPBeginner blogs for more information, or see the WordPress 5.4 development cycle. ---- Variable fonts are a hot topic in the web design community because they include all the variations of a typeface in a single file, rather than individual files for each variation. However, it is important to recognize the performance effects of a single large file and how to mitigate them. For example, if you're loading 12 variations of a static font, it is typically quicker to load the variable font. Read more about use cases and test cases for variable fonts on the LogRocket blog. ---- Want to know more? Head to fewdaily.com for more of today's topics and other front-end web content! If you liked what you heard be sure to rate, review, and subscribe on your platform of choice. That's all for today, tune in tomorrow! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Despite the rise of social media and unsolicited spam email (which is never a good marketing strategy, by the way), email remains the most effective way to nurture leads and turn them into customers. The Importance of Email Marketing Despite the rise of social media and unsolicited spam email (which is never a good marketing strategy, by the way), email remains the most effective way to nurture leads and turn them into customers. There are many reasons you should make email marketing one of your top priorities, but here are a few of main ones: Email is the #1 communication channel. Did you know that at least 99% of consumers check their email on a daily basis? That can’t be said of any other communication channel. In fact, over half of the population in the US over the age of 15 check their email before they do anything else, including checking social media. (Source: Optinmonster) You own your list. On any social media platform, your account (along with all your fans and posts) could be suspended or deleted at any time, for any reason, without notice. However, you own your email list. No one can take those leads away from you. That my friend is called an asset. Higher Engagement Rate: For the “Big 3” of social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter), the engagement rate isn’t even 0.6%. Compare that to email’s average open rate of 22.86% and even its click-through rate of 3.71%. And that’s assuming that your social media followers even saw your post to begin with. Email converts better. People who buy products marketed through email spend 138% more than those who do not receive email offers. In fact, email marketing has an ROI of 4400%. That’s huge! And if you are wondering if social media converts even better, think again: the average order value of an email is at least three times higher than that of social media. Email is one of the most effective ways to make sales online. According to MarketingSherpa, about 60% of consumers subscribe to a brand’s list to get promotional messages and deals compared to only 20% that follow brands on social media. Use email to connect with subscribers with relevant content. Engage, tell a story. Be authentic to your brand and your message. Be respectful and appreciative. Allowing someone into your email inbox is not unlike inviting them into your home. Be gracious How to Start Email Marketing Your email list. You also shouldn’t just email everyone who’s given you a business card as they’re not necessarily likely to purchase from you. Add a Call-To-Action (CTA) button on your website – SUBSCRIBE! Make it easy for people to click and subscribe. Highlight it in the top navigation bar or header; add it prominently on your home page. I like to have a CTA button in the sidebars of my sites and in the body of the content; that way they’re on every page.  Ask existing clients to subscribe to your email list. Most will be happy to hear from you as long as you don’t bombard them with emails. Back to that respectful thing I mentioned. There are a lot of great tips and tools for growing an email list. I’ll cover that in later blog posts. Email Providers You can’t just mass email people from your Gmail account. I know it seems like the simple, inexpensive place to start, but no, don’t do it. You’ll be quickly marked as a spammer and you’ll find all of your outbound emails being blocked. Again, just no. Effective and “best practice” email marketing requires a reputable email service.   Anti-spam law is changing. In the European Union (EU), a new set of rules called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was introduced in May 2018. These new rules affect every email marketer who sends emails to people in Europe.  Eventually, in my opinion, we'll be seeing rules like GDPR being implemented in the US as well.  A professional email service will give you the ability to manage your email list easily, create opt-out links and follow industry standard protocols. The other benefit of a reputable email marketing provider is that your campaigns will be mobile-friendly. Mobile has surpassed desktop in email readership and will only continue to grow. Don’t miss an opportunity to connect with a poorly designed email. Two of my favorites are Constant Contact and Mail Chimp. Personally, at least for the time being, I’m using Mail Chimp. My larger clients are all using Constant Contact. Constant Contact Constant Contact is one of the largest and fastest growing email marketing service in the world. WPBeginner.com rated Constant Contact as the #1 Email Marketing service in 2019. It is also one of the easiest to use and beginner friendly email marketing services. You can easily manage your email lists, contacts, email templates, marketing calendar, and more. Mail Chimp Mail Chimp is great if you have a smaller list or you’re just starting out. Their platform isn’t as robust as that of Constant Contact’s, but it works nicely for a small organization. Mail Chimp offers a forever free plan which allows you to send 12,000 emails for up to 2,000 subscribers. This plan is fairly limited because you don’t get features like send-time optimization, advanced segmentation, multi-variate testing, etc. You are also required to display their branding in your email. I cannot stress enough the importance of growing and maintaining an email list. And your list doesn’t have to be big to start, just start. Even if it just consists of a few friends and family. They know people… who know people. Get my drift? For me, hey at least I know my mom enjoys reading my newsletters. Hopefully you will too. This post was selected as one of the top digital marketing articles of the week by UpCity, a B2B ratings and review company for digital marketing agencies and other marketing service providers.  

In episode #1176, we share some creative ways to boost your site speed! From online tools to little trade secrets, there are a ton of ways you can get your website loading that much faster and we dive into all the reasons for doing this! Tune in to hear how you can get up and running at the best speed possible! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:25] Today's topic: Creative Ways to Boost your Site Speed. [00:29] How site speed can improve your search engine ranking. [01:03] The tools to measure and help you increase your site speed. [01:38] Creative and uncommon ways to increase speed! [02:28] Using WP Beginner to challenge yourself to even faster speeds. [03:30] All the different ways and small things you can do to speed up. [04:05] Finding a developer on UpWork to do all of this for you. [04:58] Reasons why people go after these improvements in the first place. [05:22] That is it for today! [05:26] To stay updated with events and learn more about our mastermind, go to the Marketing School site for more information. Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Amazon Shopify GTmetrix Lighthouse Pingdom WP Beginner UpWork Leave Some Feedback:   What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review.   Connect with Us:  Neilpatel.com Quick Sprout  Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel  Twitter @ericosiu

In episode #1176, we share some creative ways to boost your site speed! From online tools to little trade secrets, there are a ton of ways you can get your website loading that much faster and we dive into all the reasons for doing this! Tune in to hear how you can get up and running at the best speed possible! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:25] Today’s topic: Creative Ways to Boost your Site Speed. [00:29] How site speed can improve your search engine ranking. [01:03] The tools to measure and help you increase your site speed. [01:38] Creative and uncommon ways to increase speed! [02:28] Using WP Beginner to challenge yourself to even faster speeds. [03:30] All the different ways and small things you can do to speed up. [04:05] Finding a developer on UpWork to do all of this for you. [04:58] Reasons why people go after these improvements in the first place. [05:22] That is it for today! [05:26] To stay updated with events and learn more about our mastermind, go to the Marketing School site for more information. Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: Amazon Shopify GTmetrix Lighthouse Pingdom WP Beginner UpWork Leave Some Feedback:   What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review.   Connect with Us:  Neilpatel.com Quick Sprout  Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel  Twitter @ericosiu

In episode #1100, we discuss the best way to market, when you don't have a website. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:25] Today's Topic: The Best Way to Learn Marketing, When You Don't Have a Website [00:33] Neil didn't always have a website, so he built a Wordpress site. [00:38] The best place to learn about Wordpress is at WP Beginner. [01:05] You can intern, volunteer, read blogs, etc. to learn how to build a site, but the best way is to learn by doing. [02:10] We've talked about where to learn marketing before. [02:45] If you work for free, it's a way to learn. [03:10] However, when you pay someone, people are more motivated. [03:23] That's it for today! [03:27] To attend our Growth Accelerator Mastermind, go to the Marketing School site for more information and to apply. Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

In episode #1100, we discuss the best way to market, when you don’t have a website. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:25] Today’s Topic: The Best Way to Learn Marketing, When You Don’t Have a Website [00:33] Neil didn’t always have a website, so he built a Wordpress site. [00:38] The best place to learn about Wordpress is at WP Beginner. [01:05] You can intern, volunteer, read blogs, etc. to learn how to build a site, but the best way is to learn by doing. [02:10] We’ve talked about where to learn marketing before. [02:45] If you work for free, it’s a way to learn. [03:10] However, when you pay someone, people are more motivated. [03:23] That’s it for today! [03:27] To attend our Growth Accelerator Mastermind, go to the Marketing School site for more information and to apply. Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

A couple weeks ago, Eric Siu and Neil Patel hosted their first live event for their Marketing School podcast.  There, they welcome guest keynote speakers that are marketing leaders to talk about the latest and greatest in marketing trends.  Today's featured keynote speaker is Syed Balkhi, CEO of Awesome Motive. Tune in to hear Eric sit down with Syed to talk about how you can design your thinking for unstoppable growth!  Click here to watch the full YouTube video  Leave Some Feedback: What should I talk about next? Who should I interview? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, leave a short review here. Subscribe to Growth Everywhere on iTunes. Get the non-iTunes RSS feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @Ericosiu Instagram @Ericosiu

Syed Balkhi, the founder of WPBeginner, is one of the most recognized WordPress serial entrepreneurs. In our podcast, he tells us about his journey, shares valuable lessons from his acquisitions, and advises to think from the user's point of view​.

In episode #1056, we discuss what you can expect from our live event. Tune in to hear what’s coming up on June 20th. We have committed to throwing a FREE Marketing School Live Event in Los Angeles. Check out the details on this website if you would like to attend. Remember: we are capping the event at 500 people, so sign up now, if you’re interested! DM Eric if you would like to participate in the VIP dinner. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today’s Topic: What to Expect From Marketing School Live (Our Live Event!) [00:35] The event is June 20th! [00:40] There is a pre-event gathering on the Friday before. [01:10] There will be awesome fresh content at the event itself. [02:10] We will be there networking; it’s not a pitch-fest. [02:22] We are going to have mushroom coffee. [02:44] We will be recording a live version of marketing school. [03:30] We’ll also have some great speakers. [04:20] Syed from WP Beginner will be there. [05:21] The livestream will be free, but the recording will be available paid at a later date. [05:45] We look forward to seeing you all there! [06:25] Stay tuned for a secret announcement! [06:30] That’s it for today! [06:34] Our live event is happening in less than a week! We are almost at capacity, so register while you still can: Check out Single Grain for more info. Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

In episode #1056, we discuss what you can expect from our live event. Tune in to hear what's coming up on June 20th. We have committed to throwing a FREE Marketing School Live Event in Los Angeles. Check out the details on this website if you would like to attend. Remember: we are capping the event at 500 people, so sign up now, if you're interested! DM Eric if you would like to participate in the VIP dinner. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:27] Today's Topic: What to Expect From Marketing School Live (Our Live Event!) [00:35] The event is June 20th! [00:40] There is a pre-event gathering on the Friday before. [01:10] There will be awesome fresh content at the event itself. [02:10] We will be there networking; it's not a pitch-fest. [02:22] We are going to have mushroom coffee. [02:44] We will be recording a live version of marketing school. [03:30] We'll also have some great speakers. [04:20] Syed from WP Beginner will be there. [05:21] The livestream will be free, but the recording will be available paid at a later date. [05:45] We look forward to seeing you all there! [06:25] Stay tuned for a secret announcement! [06:30] That's it for today! [06:34] Our live event is happening in less than a week! We are almost at capacity, so register while you still can: Check out Single Grain for more info. Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

Imagine a 12-year-old high-schooler who just came to the US, all the way from Pakistan. He barely speaks English and spends most of his time in the library. Basically, he’s a total geek… all he wants to do is play computer games, but the library computers have their proxies blocked (because school’s not meant to be fun!). So what does he do? He creates his own proxy…obviously! … no wonder he went on to become such a successful entrepreneur, who, might I add has over 2.5 mil YouTube subscribers. Such problem-solving skills are priceless for entrepreneurs. Most of our job boils down to finding solutions and bypassing obstacles. In this episode of Escape Velocity, watch this now grown “high school nerd”, Syed Balkhi CEO of WPBeginner / OptinMonster (and 2 dozen other companies) dive all the way down to the technical details of black-hat SEO, YouTube domination, and the rise of the WordPress giant. It’s rare to hear someone go beyond just scratching the surface with interesting ideas. But Syed drills all the way to the bottom and gives VERY PRACTICAL tips that you can use to grow your SaaS business. And in case you’re wondering, it all started with cricket… It’s hard to list all the gems I got from this conversation, but here are some of the key topics: 1. The role of a mentor 2. Why SaaS is like real estate 3. How to evaluate business opportunities (make sure they NEED it, not just want it!) 4. Getting them to subscribe (retrain the consumer) 5. It’s all about customer mentality 6. Staying competitive with your SaaS product 7. What is the SaaS niche with a big void? (You’ll be surprised) While the practical juice in this conversation is spilling all over our 30+ minute conversation, it’s the insight about staying competitive that can give vitamins for your SaaS business right away. Around minute 22 is where Syed unwraps it all in a 2-pointer response… 1. Customer-driven surveys- Everyone does surveys for their SaaS. But the key is to use them to really talk and understand your customers. One way to do this is through conditional surveys. If you bombard users with automated questions, you are not going to understand why they responded with a 3 and not an 8 to your previous question. So make sure you personalize the follow-up questions based on what they initially respond. 2. In-product marketing- Your product probably has some premium features which are not available for the lower-tier customers. Instead of hiding these features, make sure you add a link, a preview, or a video…You need to explain to your users the value they could get by upgrading their tier. A simple strategy that can easily increase your existing clients’ revenue. It all boils down to the attention to detail. Be sure to catch the full episode here and drop me a comment with any questions you have about maintaining your product competitiveness. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

New to the US from Pakistan, Syed Balkhi was a lonely and isolated 12-year-old. Unable to speak English fluently, he took to communicating with new friends—computers—and quickly found comfort interacting with these non-human companions. Soon Balkhi was learning how to code and build websites, and that very same year he made his first dollar from a website he created. Now 27, Balkhi is the founder of WPBeginner, the first and largest WordPress resource website in the world, and co-founder of many accompanying businesses. He was also named a top entrepreneur under the age of 30 by the United Nations, his websites receive millions of monthly pageviews each month, and his software runs on nearly 8 million sites serving billions of monthly impressions. Listen in as Balkhi takes you through the early years of his entrepreneurial journey and how, brick by brick, he built his empire. Key Takeaways How Balkhi decides which versions of existing software to acquire and improve Why managing four products independently helps his team increase focus and output How to build a business, one small step at a time The key factor behind his companies' explosive growth

First, we would like to thank the Academy… Wait, wrong award. Who we actually need to thank is WPBeginner.com. Our plugin, IMPress Listings, was #1 on their “7 Best WordPress Real Estate Plugins” list. WPBeginner hand-picked our plugin because it’s “easy for beginners to get started, and flexible for advanced users to create powerful real estate [...] The post Best WordPress Real Estate Plugin appeared first on Agent Evolution.

On this podcast episode, I have my good friend Syed Balkhi in to discuss the necessary strategies to scale up your WordPress business. Syed Balkhi is a hugely successful and award-winning entrepreneur running several 8-figure online businesses. He is the founder of WPBeginners, List25, OptinMonster, EnviraGallery, and many others. He started his entrepreneurial journey at 9 with a small snack shop in his neighborhood and has since become one of the most notable online entrepreneurs.  What are you going to learn in this podcast? How Syed started WPBeginners. How to find a partner for your business. How to come up with new product ideas (real-life experiences). Should you purchase an existing company or build something from scratch? Should you stop working on your blog after launching your product? Important tips on managing and growing partnerships. And a lot of other great insights that you can only hear on this ShoutMeLoud podcast. Show Notes 1:22 – Syed remembers how he started WPBeginner as an answer to all the questions his existing clients had. 3:05 – Syed received 80,000 unique visitors from Digg when he first started blogging. 3.24 – Syed talks about launching his products like OptinMonster while running his blog. 4:42 – “Your blog is your media.” 5:49 – Benefits of running your affiliate program on an affiliate marketplace rather than having your own affiliate program. 7:17 – Syed’s ideas behind purchasing a company rather than starting one from scratch. 12:57 – What should be the exit strategy in a partnership firm? 13:24 – Syed’s message to all the bloggers who are starting out and who want to scale up fast. Key Takeaway Know your audience completely. Always solve a problem for your readers. Don’t just create a product because others are doing it. Links and Resources Mentioned OptinMonster WPForms MonsterInsights Envira Gallery WPBeginners.com Subscribe and Comment Love this podcast?  Follow The ShoutMeLoud Podcast on PodBean to stay updated!Rate us on iTunes and leave a review!Subscribe to us on iTunes to receive podcast updates in your email. Follow us on YouTube to stay up-to-date with the latest SML stuff! Do share this podcast with others as it will help them learn more about how to do online business right. Join me at: Website: www.shoutmeloud.comFacebook Facebook.com/ShoutMeLoudTwitter: Twitter.com/denharsh

Syed Balkhi is the Co-Founder of Opt-In Monster, WPBeginner, List25, WPForms and is the President of Awesome Motive, Inc. His philosophy is “People First” and he proudly wears a t-shirt stating this very fact during our Podcast. Syed recently sold a multi-million dollar business and made what many would deem an “odd choice”. He chose a buyer that required a 10% seller note over an all-cash buyer. Both offers were for full price. Why? He explains in detail what his buyer did during the initial conference call that swayed him to choose an offer with a seller note over all cash. Syed, at the age of 27 years old, seems to have the wisdom and experience of someone twice his age. He talks about how partnerships have helped in grow his businesses to heights he could never have gotten to on his own. And how critical hiring the right team and taking great care of them allows one to live more freely and grow their business beyond expectations. Syed's various software and plugins are installed in over 4,000,000 website worldwide. That's FOUR MILLION (just to be clear). He's building an empire the right way with good people, the right corporate structure (for an easy exit) and in an environment that astounds many. He does this with 100% remote employees and works from a home based office. Oh yeah, and he's a Gators fan. Episode Highlights: What the process of selling a multi-million dollar business is like. Why the right buyer is better than the all cash one. Why it is NOT always about the money. How to setup your portfolio of businesses for an easy exit. How to build a better empire with partnerships that last. Why using remote employees and a home office works for Syed. How to use influencers to launch a great product. Links: EnviraGallery.com Soliloquywp.com Optinmonster.com Wpbeginner.com List25.com

In this episode of PressThis, we interview mega WordPress personality Syed Balkhi about lessons he's learned buying and selling multi-million dollar plugin businesses. Syed gained notoriety in part due to WP Beginner, but since those "humble" beginnings, Syed has gone on to purchase and grow popular plugins like Monster Insights WP Forms, build and grow his own plugin Optin Monster, and sell popular plugins he owned which didn't align with the purpose of his business. In total, Syed's plugins are run on 4 millions sites! We'll be talking to Syed about what went right, what went wrong, and how he sees the role his products play in supporting his customers' businesses. If you own a plugin or are looking to create a plugin business, you can't miss this episode of PressThis. Listen now!

In this episode of PressThis, we interview mega WordPress personality Syed Balkhi about lessons he's learned buying and selling multi-million dollar plugin businesses. Syed gained notoriety in part due to WP Beginner, but since those "humble" beginnings, Syed has gone on to purchase and grow popular plugins like Monster Insights WP Forms, build and grow his own plugin Optin Monster, and sell popular plugins he owned which didn't align with the purpose of his business. In total, Syed's plugins are run on 4 millions sites! We'll be talking to Syed about what went right, what went wrong, and how he sees the role his products play in supporting his customers' businesses. If you own a plugin or are looking to create a plugin business, you can't miss this episode of PressThis. Listen now!

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, 2018What 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, 2017Morten Rand-HendriksenGutenberg Hangbook Reference FAQHow can I send feedback or get help with a bug?WordPress/gutenbergA way to disable Gutenberg editor in code? #4409?Issue #4409How can I contribute?gutenberg/CONTRIBUTING.md at masterGutenberg ThemeShowcasing Gutenberg:a theme to show the potentialwordpress.org ^ the theme in use.A minimum Gutenberg Theme – Theme DirectoryWhen will it be out?Slated to be part of core in WordPress 5.0 (Currently available as a plugin in the repo)WordPress PluginsBridget’s Marketing PlanFreeze 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 CoreCool pick of the weekBridget – Walking as Creative FuelJason – 30 Chrome Dev Tools Tips by Jon KupermanSet Up Persistence with DevTools Workspaces  |  Tools for Web Developers  |  Google Developers Show notes contributed by:Greg Shaw – @greg1usaJames Tryon – @JamesTryonThe post WPblab EP91 – Marketing Gutenberg: Awareness & Education appeared first on WPwatercooler. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Syed Balkhi is one of the hardest working, smartest, and most successful entrepreneurs I have had the pleasure of speaking to. He was born in Pakistan and immigrated to the United States at the age of 12. Without a social life due to his lack of English skills, he turned to the Internet and entrepreneurship. Today, at 25 years old, Syed Balkhi is an award-winning entrepreneur and has been recognized as one of the top 100 entrepreneurs under the age of 30. He is the owner of several 7-figure online businesses, and over 400 million people visit his websites annually. Syed Balkhi is the founder of WPBeginner, the world’s largest free WordPress resource site, and the co-founder of List25, OptinMonster, SoliloquyWP, ThemeLab, Envira Gallery, and WPForms. Now, let’s hack… Syed Balkhi In this 36-minute episode Syed Balkhi and I discuss: Creating written checklists and processes in order to be a better delegator How Syed recognized the need for a beginner-friendly WordPress resource site and transitioned from service-based to product-based business Finding the right partner, setting up equity, and not being greedy in the process Using customer feedback to help guide important changes in your business The Show Notes AwesomeMotive.com SyedBalkhi.com WPbeginner.com OptinMonster.com Syed on Twitter Jon on Twitter Show Sponsor:Fiverr: Join the already millions of entrepreneurs who have built their business using Fiverr. Visit Fiverr.com/HTE and use the promo code HTE20 for 20% off your Fiverr purchase. Squarespace:  Ready to start your new business? Make it stand it out. Get started with Squarespace. Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial and when you’re ready to launch, use the offer code HACK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Dig this episode? Wait until you hear these... Making a Positive Dent in the World | Jeremy Choi | WPUP Becoming a Software Entrepreneur | Hani Mourra | Simple Press Plugins Building Something Out of Nothing | Carrie Dils

As an ever-evolving open source venture, WordPress changes a lot, and often, for the better. And it s up to you to make sure you update to the latest version. Listen to Site Success: Tips for Building Better WordPress Websites below ... Download MP3Subscribe by RSSSubscribe in iTunes Important links from this episode: Try StudioPress Sites Sites Weekly Newsletter Subscribe to Sites on Apple Podcasts @JerodMorris on Twitter Original blog post: Automatic Updates for Website Security and Peace of Mind Why You Should Always Use the Latest Version of WordPress The Transcript Jerod Morris: Welcome to Sites, a podcast by the teams at StudioPress and Copyblogger. In this show, we deliver time-tested insight on the four pillars of a successful WordPress website: content, design, technology, and strategy. We want to help you get a little bit closer to reaching your online goals, one episode at a time. I m your host Jerod Morris. Sites is brought to you by StudioPress Sites — the complete hosted solution that makes WordPress fast, secure, and easy without sacrificing power or flexibility. For example, you can upload your own WordPress theme, or, you can use one of the 20 beautiful StudioPress themes that are included and just one click away. Explore all the amazing things you can do with a StudioPress Site, and you ll understand why this is way more than traditional WordPress hosting. No matter how you ll be using your site, we have a plan to fit your needs — and your budget. To learn more, visit studiopress.com/sites. That s studiopress.com/sites. Welcome back to another episode of Sites — another week of unpacking a strategy that will help you build a better, more powerful, more successful WordPress website. Last week, we discussed how to create visually effective calls to action with some sage advice from Rafal Tomal. Hopefully you took the opportunity to analyze the calls to action on your website and figured out a tweak or two that will help you convert better. This week, we re going to discuss a topic that needs to be top of mind for every single person running a WordPress website — and it needs to stay top of mind for every single person running a WordPress website. It s that important In fact, if you are not going to take this seriously, you might as well just toss your hands up in the air and start over right now — without WordPress. I m not kidding. This is that important. What am I referring to? WordPress updates. As an ever-evolving open source venture, WordPress changes a lot for the better. And it s up to you to make sure you update to the latest version. And, while we re on the subject, theme framework updates too. A lot of times they go hand in hand, with theme framework updates following soon after a WordPress update. You might remember back to episode 15, when we discussed plugins, and I implored you to only install plugins that are up to date, and to make sure you keep them up to date. The same is true for WordPress update, and updates to your theme framework. And in this episode I m going to explain the three massively important reasons why this must be, and remain, a top priority for you as a WordPress site owner. Let s start off with the most important and urgent reason why you need to keep WordPress and your theme framework up to date: Security. The number one way that bad guys infiltrate a site is through outdated themes, plugins, and, of course, old versions of WordPress. It s become such an issue that many WordPress site owners pay a decent chunk of money each month to have an outside service keep things updated and safe. Think about it hackers are always trying to come up with new ways to weasel their way into our sites so they can steal data or plant malicious code. If you stick with today s version of WordPress, how safe do you think you ll be a year from now? Not very. The developers of WordPress work hard to stay out in front of the hackers — patching known holes, and doing everything they can to prevent future vulnerabilities. But the only way for your site to benefit from these efforts is to stay updated. Which is why this is a non-negotiable if you re going to run a WordPress website. You have to stay up-to-date — whether you do it yourself, pay a service do it for you, or host someplace like StudioPress Sites that includes an automatic WordPress update option. Speaking of which this leads me to theme framework updates too. Often a WordPress update is followed by a theme framework update. Makes sense, right? If the base code gets an update, the theme framework, which is layered on top of that base code, needs to be updated to maintain compatibility and take advantage of any new features. Plus, theme frameworks also have to worry about security — which means patching holes and preventing future ones. So just as you need to keep WordPress updated, you need to keep your theme framework updated too. However you do this, just make sure you do it. We believe so much in the importance of these kinds of updates that we built both right into StudioPress SItes — automatic WordPress AND Genesis Framework updates. It doesn t cost a penny more. So whether you do it yourself, pay someone else, or go with a host that has it built in — again, just make sure the updates are happening. It s essential to keep your site safe from the Internet evildoers who would love nothing more than to cause you and your website harm. So that s the #1 reason to keep WordPress and your theme framework updated: security. Now let s discuss two more massively important reasons to stay up to date … Reaons #2 is new features and bug fixes. New versions of WordPress aren t JUST about keeping bad guys out. They are also about making it easier and more enjoyable for you to use, and about giving your audience a better experience. If you stay on an old version of WordPress, you miss out on these new features. Plus, sometimes new features roll out and they don t work as intended. These are bugs. And they can be a real bummer. In that way, bug fixes can essentially be like new features because they allow you to fully embrace and use a feature that wasn t functioning correctly before. Let me give you a couple of examples On June 8, 2017, WordPress 4.8 rolled out. It included new features like link improvements, three new media widgets covering images, audio, and video, an updated text widget that supports visual editing, and an upgraded news section in your dashboard which brings in nearby and upcoming WordPress events. Useful features. Then in subsequent months, security and maintenance releases rolled out as well. These didn t include new features, but did fix bugs and update security measures. WordPress is in a competitive market. They want as many people as possible building sites on their platform. And to keep up, they have to keep adding new features that keeps WordPress ahead of the curve. There is no reason for you to not take advantage of those new features on your websites. And the same thing goes for your theme framework as well. Updates often include new features and functionality that you ll want to build on. So that s reason #2 to stay up-to-date: new features and bug fixes, so your site is even more powerful. And reason #1, remember, was security. How about reason #3? It s speed and performance. If you want a refresher on the importance of speed and performance, go back and listen to episode 3 of Sites. We discussed why it matters so much. In short — better site performance leads to a better experience for your users, which leads to more conversions, repeat visitors, and better search rankings, all of which increases your opportunity to build your audience and, ultimately, build a business around it. I d say that s a pretty compelling case for taking performance seriously. Well, with each new WordPress update, all the under-the-hood stuff is made more efficient. As was noted in a blog post at WPBeginner.com, WordPress 4.2 improved JS performance for navigation menus, and WordPress 4.1 improved complex queries which helped with performance of sites using those queries. And the same is true for your theme framework. Its code gets updated to be more efficient and deliver better performance. So, in review, here are the three massively important reasons why you need to keep WordPress and your theme framework up to date: Security — it keeps your site safe. New features and bug fixes — it keeps your site on the cutting edge. Speed and performance — it keeps your site humming along like a well-oiled machine. Now stick around for this week s hyper-specific call to action. Call to action Here is my question for you: what is your current process for keeping WordPress and your theme framework updated? Maybe your host does it for you. Maybe someone manages your site and that s part of what they do. Maybe you have a recurring to-do item that reminds you to check for updates regularly. Or maybe you have resolved to update yourself whenever you log in and see that an update is available. Whatever your process is — just make sure you have one. And if you don t, get one. And if this is something that you just don t want to worry about, that s fine. Totally understanding. But you need to hire someone, or choose a host, that will handle it for you. We ll obviously welcome you with open arms at StudioPress Sites. Just go to studiopress.com to learn more. Okay, that s it for this week. Next week we move on to strategy, and we re going to discuss repurposing content, and why focusing on quality over quantity is a smart idea. That s next week, here on Sites. Finally, before I go, here are two more quick calls to action for you to consider: Subscribe to Sites Weekly If you haven t yet, please take this opportunity to activate your free subscription to our curated weekly email newsletter, Sites Weekly. Each week, I find four links about content, design, technology, and strategy that you don t want to miss, and then I send them out via email on Wednesday afternoon. Reading this newsletter will help you make your website more powerful and successful. Go to studiopress.com/news and sign up in one step right there at the top of the page. That s studiopress.com/news. Rate and Review Sites on Apple Podcasts And finally, if you enjoy the Sites podcast, please subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts (formerly known as iTunes), and consider giving us a rating or a review over there as well. One quick tip on that: to make the best use of your review, let me know something in particular you like about the show. That feedback is really important. To find us in Apple Podcasts, search for StudioPress Sites and look for the striking purple logo that was designed by Rafal Tomal. Or you can also go to the URL sites.fm/apple and it will redirect you to our Apple Podcasts page. And with that, we come to the close of another episode. Thank you for listening to this episode of Sites. I appreciate you being here. Join me next time, and let s keep building powerful, successful WordPress websites together. This episode of sites was brought to you by StudioPress Sites, which was awarded Fastest WordPress Hosting of 2017 in an independent speed test . If you want to make WordPress fast, secure, and easy — and, I mean, why wouldn t you — visit studiopress.com/sites today and see which plan fits your needs. That s studiopress.com/sites.

Jeff sits down with Syed Balkhi from WPBeginner.com to discuss how WordPress can be used as a communication tool for teachers and parents, as well as how it can be used as a powerful digital portfolio tool. About WPBeginnerWPBeginner is a free WordPress resource site for Beginners. WPBeginner was founded in July 2009 by Syed Balkhi. The main goal of this site is to provide quality tips, tricks, hacks, and other WordPress resources that allows WordPress beginners to improve their site(s). Links of Interesthttp://www.wpbeginner.com (http://www.wpbeginner.com) http://youtube.com/wpbeginner (WPBeginner Youtube) http://www.twitter.com/wpbeginner (@WPBeginner) http://www.twitter.com/syedbalkhi (@syedbalkhi) About our GuestSyed Balkhi is the founder of WPBeginner. He is known for his aggressive marketing skills, creative designs, and expertise in SEO. Syed has been in the industry for over eight years, and he has worked with some of the top brands in the industry. He is known as “the WordPress Ninja” among our clients because he is a total WordPress Geek. He used to blog at http://www.balkhis.com (Balkhis.com). Check it out, and follow him on http://twitter.com/syedbalkhi (twitter). Recorded in 2015

In this episode Sam and Corey interview Thomas Griffin from OptinMonster. The discussion is how you can successfully shift your business from a plugin model to SaaS model. Listen to the show Matt Report - A WordPress podcast for digital business owners S5B: E11: Thomas Griffin Play Episode Pause Episode Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 30 seconds 00:00 / 00:46:04 Subscribe Share RSS Feed Share Link Embed Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 00:46:04 Guest: Thomas Griffin is the co-founder of OptinMonster and CTO of Awesome Motive which houses the brand. Prior to OptinMonster, he founded Soliloquy, the fastest WordPress slider plugin, and Envira Gallery, a revolutionary gallery solution for photographers. He is an expert developer with deep knowledge of building products for mass-market. Thomas knows firsthand that software for marketers is generally poor in quality. He's proud that OptinMonster is changing that by creating extremely easy to use and technologically sound SaaS (Software as a Service) that works for users outside of the WordPress framework. Thomas is a frequent speaker on topics of performance and scalability. What you will learn from this episode: The decision was made from Awesome Motive – which houses the OptinMonster Brand to move to a SaaS product in January 2013. (4:56) OptinMonster used to be a WordPress plugin managed through the dashboard. (6:03) The product was tested out from the WPBeginner website when it was realized that there were problems scaling. (7:24) Data portability was available in WordPress and Thomas had that experience from the Soliloquy product. (7:40) The demand to use OptinMonster was coming out of the WordPress ecosystem, so it was profitable to look at the product as a SaaS. (9:15) The host partner for the SaaS is Pagely and they have the expertise to scale the product quickly. (13:00) Your website visitors need to have meaningful data available. (21:18) You can have page level targeting and categories on your site with a lead magnet. (Ex: Target baseball enthusiasts instead of all sports). (21:20) You can segment your list to get immediate value out of your subscribers. (22:18) The technology exists in OptinMonster called the display rules engine with very powerful targeting that can be used by people outside of WordPress. (22:52) Challenges of going from a WordPress Plugin to a SaaS: The onboarding was very critical and the focus is on clear documentation when the product is purchased. (24:49) You bypass the WordPress download, install, etc. (25:00) There is strong documentation on connecting to the WordPress plugin. (25:06) The SaaS provides the user with a dashboard and a guided tour of the product. (25:56) Most questions about WordPress connectivity come through the presales calls.  This is where the education of how OptinMonster works with WordPress is handled. (11:36) There is a strong user base that uses Shopify and other CMS platforms. (28:30) Moving to a SaaS product for OptinMonster was a necessity and an organic migration. (29:28) OptinMonster is powered by WordPress but scaled without “using the WordPress way” with the SaaS product. (30:42) Pricing from the WordPress Plugin to the SaaS: The WordPress payment ecosystem was not mature when the SaaS product was launched. (31:55) There was not a good WordPress solution for subscriptions. (32:00) The SaaS subscription model was difficult. OptinMonster was established from the start as a premium paid product so you started by buying a one-year license with support. (32:46) It was discovered that the yearly subscription was not a way to build business and continue to add value.  A subscription service was added where you paid every month or for the year. (34:09) As the application was updated it added more value by providing subscribers with features and support. (35:08) Users transitioning from the lifetime plugin purchase of OptinMonster were grandfathered into the SaaS product. (35:50) The Business decision was made for lifetime users because it was the right thing to do. People and customers come first. (37:00) You need to manage expectations when moving from a WordPress plugin to a SaaS. Communication is so important. (39:30) The best marketing is having a great product with great customer service. (40:19) Episode Resources: Awesome Motive WPBeginner OptinMonster API connector plugin OptinMonster Thomas Griffin Twitter To stay connected with the Matt Report, head on over to mattreport.com/subscribe. If you like the show, please leave a 5 Star review over on the Matt Report on iTunes. Sponsors: Pagely Gravity Forms ★ Support this podcast ★

In this episode, I talk to Russell Aaron of WebDevStudios who shares his story from originally wanting to become a world-changing journalist and ended up as a WordPress expert. Russell, who is currently based in Las Vegas, works at Maintain which forms a part of WebDevStudio and a die-hard WordPress advocate who believes in its power to both transform businesses and lives. Here are just a few things we talk about: The generosity of the WordPress community How learning a little bit every day can make a huge difference in the short and long-term The reasons on why Russell wants to be a better role model "Start small. Read one article a day on WPBeginner and another one on Torque. So you're reading two articles a day. By the end of the week, you've read 14 articles and you've learnt. Now you know 14 different things about WordPress that you didn't know when you first started. And when you do that consistentl

Link Building Tip - Generate Hundreds of Links for Your Blog in 5 Minutes a Day In today’s lesson, you are going to learn a simple technique that has generated 100 new links for my blogs in the last month. This technique is fairly simple, and it only takes me about 5 to 10 minutes to do it. Yet, this technique is quite powerful. Incoming links to your blog are important because they drive traffic to your site from other parts of the web, and they also help you to rank higher in search engines like Google. Higher rankings also lead to more traffic. So, if you want more traffic and a bigger profile in the search engines this episode is for you. Further Resources on How to Generate Hundreds of Links for Your Blog in 5 Minutes a Day The Simple Tip That Gained Us Over 200 Backlinks WPBeginner Find Readers for Your Blog Through Commenting and Relationships 5 Mistakes Bloggers Make with SEO and What To Do About Them Full Transcript Expand to view full transcript Compress to smaller transcript view Welcome to episode 159 of the ProBlogger podcast. I’m your host, Darren Rowse, the founder of problogger.com, a blog, podcast, event, job board, and a series of ebooks all designed to help bloggers to grow their audience and make money from their blogs. If you want to know more about ProBlogger, you can check it out at problogger.com. In today’s lesson, you’re going to learn a simple technique that has generated 100 new links for my blogs in the last month. It only takes me about five to ten minutes a day to do it so it’s fairly simple and yet it’s quite powerful. Incoming links to your blog are important because they drive traffic to your site from other blogs, other parts of the web. They also help you to rank higher in search engines, Google in particular, which again leads to more traffic. If you want more traffic and a bigger profile in the search engines, this episode is for you. Let’s get into the tip for the day. Today’s tip is really quite simple. It’s not rocket science at all yet it’s incredibly effective as I mentioned in my introduction today. I first came across this one from our friends over at BuzzSumo. I’ll link to the blogpost because it is a few weeks old now, actually it’s probably a couple of months old now. They in turn got the idea from Syed Balkhi from WPBeginner. The tip is really simple and in essence it is to look for mentions of your blog or keywords that are relevant to your blog and articles on your blog on other people’s blogs and to reach out to those bloggers to see if there’s an opportunity for them to link to you. As I said, this is not rocket science but it really does work and I want to walk you through the little system that I’ve built, the workflow I guess that I’ve built to do it. This is something that I think many bloggers probably have done once or twice but what I want to suggest to you is that it’s useful to put aside five or ten minutes a day, longer if you’ve got it, to do this because it really is quite effective. I use a tool called BuzzSumo. I use the paid version but there’s a 14-day trial as well so you can see if it suits you. There are other tools around that do similar types of things. For example over at Mars, they also have a tool as well. I think there is this called Link Opportunities. It doesn’t really matter what tool you use, but I use BuzzSumo so that’s what I will refer to in this episode. I’ve got no affiliation with them whatsoever, it’s just a tool I like and it is a tool that has other features as well. What I do with BuzzSumo, they have a little monitoring tab and in that monitoring tab I plug in a few things. I’m monitoring a few different words. Firstly, I’m monitoring my brand names, ProBlogger and Digital Photography School. And then I’m also plugging in some keywords that are relevant to my niche. As I’ve said before,

How does a high school kid who speaks no English immigrate to America, overcome racial tensions, graduate from college and go on to earn millions with WordPress (among other things)? That is just part of the amazing story of Syed Balkhi. I had the honor of meeting Syed two different times in 2015. He joins me on today's podcast to talk about his impressive entrepreneurial journey. Syed is a 25- year-old, award-winning entrepreneur with several 7-figure online businesses. He was recognized as a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 30 by the United Nations. Today, Syed is a partner in numerous companies, including WPBeginner, OptinMonster, ThemeLab, SoliloquyWP, Envira Gallery and WPForms.

Syed Balkhi is the creator of WPBeginner, the world's largest WordPress resource site, and in 2013 he launched his product OptinMonster. OptinMonster helps businesses grow their email list and has over six billion impressions per month. You can find Syed on Twitter @syedbalkhi.   EPISODE While using a pop-up or opt-in box can be a great way to grow your list, the majority don't convert very well. Syed Balkhi explains how to convert your website visitors into subscribers with irresistible offers and perfectly timed pop-ups. We Discuss: The mistakes you may be making, and how to fix them. How to create a content upgrade to see your subscriber rates skyrocket. How to get around ad blockers. The WordPress tips that will make your life easier.   For complete shownotes and more, please head over to www.marketingspeak.com/syed   LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED WPBeginner OptinMonster Syed Balkhi YouTube Channel The Optimized Geek The Pomodoro Technique Travis Ketchum on Marketing Speak 14-Point Blog Post Checklist to Use Before You Hit Publish Rev.com OnlineJobs.ph Stellar Life LeadPages David Vogelpohl on Marketing Speak Compact Archives Edit Flow Syed on Clarity.fm SyedBalkhi.com   STEP UP YOUR MARKETING GAME! 1) Use additional offers with your content upgrade to boost interest. For instance, an article on 73 types of blog posts that are proven to work could have a bonus of a download with 50 catchy headlines formulas. 2) Check Google Analytics for the 10 pages on your website that get the most visitors. Disregard the home and about page, and then create personalized pop-ups for the others. 3) Try OptinMonster to start converting your visitors into subscribers today-They have a no question asked money-back guarantee for 14 days.   THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! As always, thank you for tuning in. Please feel free to drop by the website to contact me or leave a comment. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it! -Stephan STAY CONNECTED 10 Point Facebook Ads Checklist - Free eBook | Twitter

Syed Balkhi is the Founder of WPBeginner, a WordPress resource site that helps beginners for FREE. He's also launched List25, that offers curated lists of information on a different subjects.  Syed also serves as a writer for The Huffington Post and Entrepreneur, where he has authored several articles.We discuss; We deep dive into his products WPBeginner.com, List25.com and Optin Monster. Which is meant to get you started and or see how easy it is to launch. The downside to being a serial entrepreneur Biggest lessons learned on his entrepreneurial journey Some of his business failures and what it's meant to move forward. Tools (outside of his) that he thinks are game changers and much more!.....

In this episode, I interview Syed Balkhi Creator of WPBeginner, List25 and OptinMonster. List 25 has videos with 120 million views. His work has been featured in NYTimes, Wired, Yahoo, Mashable, Business Insider and more. A fantastic story of a

This week Ben and I talk about customer education. What exactly do we mean by it, and how do we do it. Ben also tells a fascinating story about cables, listen out for that! Out Toolstar this week is Lynda.com, which has many courses that end users and clients could find useful: http://www.lynda.com My read of the week is 'How To Successfully Educate Your Clients On Web Development' by Aurimas Adomavicius, It's a bit long in the tooth but still relevant: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/04/educating-your-client-on-web-development-successfully/ Ben's Jukebox track for this week is 'i' by Aphex Twin. Mine is 'Midnight Feast' by Mr Scruff. Both tracks are added to the Relative Paths Spotify Playlist (http://relativepaths.uk/pl), and while it exists, the Apple Music playlist too (http://relativepaths.uk/am) The music we use for various intro bits, stings and outro is ‘Vitreous Detachment’ by Origamibiro, used with kind permission. If you like the show, please leave a review or comment wherever you like to listen to us, it helps us to keep the podcast going. We’d particularly love an iTunes review: http://relativepaths.uk/it – Mark Shownotes: Brian Duffy - WP Applied (http://wpapplied.com) WP Beginner (http://www.wpbeginner.com) Let me Google that for you (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=how+do+I+write+a+blog+post) Subscribe and keep in touch: iTunes - http://relativepaths.uk/it Stitcher - http://relativepaths.uk/st SoundCloud - http://relativepaths.uk/sc Twitter - http://twitter.com/relativepaths Facebook - http://facebook.com/relativepaths

Syed Balkhi is an award-winning 24-year-old entrepreneur with several 7-figure online businesses. He was recognized as one of the top 100 entrepreneurs under the age of 30 by the United Nations. His businesses include WPBeginner, which is the largest free WordPress resource on the planet and OptinMonster a popular lead generation SaaS product that you see on so many sites around the web. Links, Resources & People Mentioned OptinMonster WPBeginner List25 Syed Balkhi Envato Tutsplus Infusionsoft Ontraport Matt Mickiewicz - @MattMickiewicz Syed Balkhi - @syedbalkhi Omer Khan - @omerkhan Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to the podcast Leave a rating and review Follow Omer on Twitter Need help with your SaaS? Join SaaS Club Plus: our membership and community for new and early-stage SaaS founders. Join and get training & support. Join SaaS Club Launch: a 12-week group coaching program to help you get your SaaS from zero to your first $10K revenue. Apply for SaaS Club Accelerate: If you'd like to work directly with Omer 1:1, then request a free strategy session.

Syed Balkhi is an award-winning 24-year-old entrepreneur with several 7-figure online businesses. He was recognized as one of the top 100 entrepreneurs under the age of 30 by the United Nations. His businesses include WPBeginner, which is the largest free WordPress resource on the planet and OptinMonster a popular lead generation SaaS product that you see on so many sites around the web.Links, Resources & People MentionedOptinMonsterWPBeginnerList25Syed BalkhiEnvatoTutsplusInfusionsoftOntraportMatt Mickiewicz - @MattMickiewiczSyed Balkhi - @syedbalkhiOmer Khan - @omerkhanEnjoyed this episode?Subscribe to the podcastLeave a rating and reviewFollow Omer on TwitterNeed help with your SaaS?Join SaaS Club Plus: our membership and community for new and early-stage SaaS founders. Join and get training & support.Join SaaS Club Launch: a 12-week group coaching program to help you get your SaaS from zero to your first $10K revenue.Apply for SaaS Club Accelerate: If you'd like to work directly with Omer 1:1, then request a free strategy session.

Syed is the Founder of WPBeginner, the largest free WordPress resource site for beginners, and List25, which is a popular site of curated lists of lesser-known intriguing information on a variety of subjects. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Huffington Post, Yahoo, Business Insider, Mashable, and more. Below are two free resources to IGNITE your Entrepreneurial journey!FreePodcastCourse.com: A free 15-day course that will teach you how to create, grow, and monetize YOUR Podcast!TheWebinarCourse.com: A free 10-day course that will teach you how to create and present Webinars that convert!

It’s been some time, but I’ve been catching up on re-podcasting some of my conference and WordCamp presentations. This one was originally done at WordCamp Orlando in 2014. I want to thank Syed Balkhi of WPBeginner for last minute inspiration on adding a question to my presentation that is often asked in regards to making Related posts: Podcast Presentation: Making Money With WordPress

Syed is an entrepreneur who has been working online since the age of 12. He has a strong marketing background and is the mind behind WPBeginner.com, List25.com, and OptInMonster among others.

Do you want to attract a bigger audience to your blog? Are you wondering how you can write content that will generate more comments, shares and subscribers? In this episode, I interview Syed Balkhi, founder of multiple popular websites, including WPBeginner and List25. He's also the founder of OptinMonster.  Show Notes: https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/71

Syed is the Founder of WPBeginner, the largest free WordPress resource site for beginners, and List25, which is a popular site of curated lists of lesser-known intriguing information on a variety of subjects. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Huffington Post, Yahoo, Business Insider, Mashable, and more.

I can't believe it took 51 episodes to get the guy who puts the hustle in being a WordPress entrepreneur. Meet Syed Balkhi the man behind WPBeginner.com, one of the world's largest free WordPress resources. How does he manage this publication, monetize and build a team around it? He's also spearheading a new SaaS app built on WordPress and managing two other web properties that he's managed to monetize and become profitable with. Tune in to find out the full story from a true WordPress entrepreneur! Interview with Syed Balkhi of WPBeginner.com Listen to the audio version Matt Report - A WordPress podcast for digital business owners Episode 51: A true WordPress entrepreneur Play Episode Pause Episode Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 30 seconds 00:00 / Subscribe Share RSS Feed Share Link Embed Download file | Play in new window The art of hustle Syed shares some great insights for those of us looking to land that next opportunity. “It's not rocket science, just go out and do it.” He once called Robert Scoble's phone to talk about his WordPress site. Shocked that Robert actually picked up the phone, but it worked! I've talked about not attending a WordCamp to find your next client and this rings true for Syed as well. Spend time where your clients are and not just networking for the sake of networking. Don't be afraid to approach folks and be approachable at the same time. The OptinMonster SaaS app & giveaway! When we recorded this, his SaaS app OptinMonster was right around the corner. We'll talk about the benefits of running a SaaS service on WordPress and what that means to the bottom line. The giveaway! Leave a comment below about how using OptinMonster could benefit your business and we'll chose a winner! What you will win: A free “Basic” version of OptinMonster good for your site, unlimited forms and 1-year of support. My very own Minimize Pro theme great for powering your blog or next WordPress project. Example: “If I had OptinMonster, I could capture leads for my __________ business!” So what are you waiting for? Comment below and enjoy the show! ★ Support this podcast ★

I can’t believe it took 51 episodes to get the guy who puts the hustle in being a WordPress entrepreneur. Meet Syed Balkhi the man behind WPBeginner.com, one of the world’s largest free WordPress resources. How does he manage this publication, monetize and build a team around it? He’s also spearheading a new SaaS app built on WordPress and managing two other web properties that he’s managed to monetize and become profitable with. Tune in to find out the full story from a true WordPress entrepreneur! (more…)

Today's topic is Learning resources – What's the best way to get started with WordPress?Chris’ best tip for any and every WordPress beginner question is to go to google and type in “WP Beginner” and then write your question.Sarah suggests getting offline and going to a local reputable WordPress meet up. Instead of just reading blog posts and tutorials, get in front of people that know WordPress. Have a conversation in person.Go to wordpress.com, set up a site and just start playing with it.About WPBeginner – 95% of articles come from users submitting questions.You’re always going to be a beginner of sorts because WP is always changing. You’ll always have to be learning.If you really do know WordPress, be a resource yourself! “Know enough to know what you don’t know.” If you don’t know something, don’t give out bad information.Resources for WordPress beginners:* WP Beginner (free)* Lynda.com (paid)* Suzette’s Speaker Deck from WC Vancouver* teamtreehouse.com* WordPress for Dummies by Lisa Sabin-Wilson* WP101* carriedills.com for more advanced beginners* wpsessions.com* chrislema.com* quora.com* wordpress.tv* YouTube video tutorials* Find a local wordcamp* support.wordpress.org* StackExchange[LISTATTENDEES event_identifier=”learning-resources-whats-the-best-way-to-get-started-with-wordpress-5-5223f” show_gravatar=”true”] See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Yes, I jumped Jeff of WPTavern ahead of the line! The orignal WordPress media man has been all in the news lately. One fascinating thing about Jeff is, he never fancied himself an entrepreneur. Like many of us, he stumbled upon WordPress and started using it on his own. He fell in love with writing about tech and then that passion transitioned over to WordPress. Continue on to the show to learn more about his adventure from the ground level to now working for Matt Mullenweg! Interview with Jeff Chandler of WPTavern.com Watch on YouTube Matt Report - A WordPress podcast for digital business owners Episode 39: Accidental Entrepreneur Jeff Chandler of WPTavern.com Play Episode Pause Episode Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 30 seconds 00:00 / Subscribe Share RSS Feed Share Link Embed Download file | Play in new window Is there money in WordPress news? Are you sick of hearing it yet? On my other show, Week in WordPress, I invited Syed Balkhi of WPBeginner.com and Adam Warner of Foo Plugins to dive into this topic a bit more. #DramaPress perhaps — but listen to what Jeff has to say. It's not easy and starting 5+ years ago is certainly no easy feat. I really enjoyed learning about Jeff's journey and I hope you do too. See, he didn't set out with an end game in mind. Times got tough — real tough — but his perseverance pulled through in the end. What do you think of WordPress media? Here to stay, just getting geting started or ready to fizzle out? Discuss! ★ Support this podcast ★