The WP Minute+

It’s WordPress 6.4 release day, and I’m really excited for this new version of WordPress. I think it’s one of the most important releases for WordPress, especially through its new default theme, Twenty Twenty-Four. I also think this is a first milestone release of an”Apple way” of releases.Meaning, just like iPhones and MacBooks, updates are iterative, and not groundbreaking at every release. I see WordPress settling into a similar feature/update cycle similar to Cupertino. So when I say it’s important, I mean, will this next year of development, building off 6.4, continue to bring WordPress into the future?Read the full blog post here. ★ Support this podcast ★

Katie Keith from Barn2 joins the podcast to discuss her recents success running a WordPress & WooCommerce plugin business.Key TakeawaysTransitioning from client services to product business takes forethought about your ideal lifestyle and abilities.Know if you want to manage a team before diving in. Build a remote team culture by regularly checking in, being flexible, and celebrating shared wins – not just revenue goals.SEO success requires a balance between optimization best practices and creating content real humans love. Don’t over-optimize.Consider both logic and marketing impact before splitting brands and websites. Domain authority has tangible value.Providing bundled offerings can ease plugin pricing fatigue for customers with diverse needs.YouTube and content marketing are powerful sales drivers.Invest in what already works for your business.Chapters0:00 Intro1:00 Katie’s background3:00 Transitioning from agency to product company8:00 Remote team culture10:30 SEO strategies13:00 Document Library Pro success15:00 Evaluating business models17:00 The state of WooCommerce21:00 Matt’s SEO frustrations23:00 Marketing through content25:30 Plugin pricing and bundles28:00 Lifetime licenses debate31:00 Podcasting strategies35:00 Investing in YouTubeImportant LinksBarn2 Plugins – https://barn2.comWP Product Talk PodcastEllipsis Marketinghttps://twitter.com/KatieKeithBarn2https://thewpminute.com/support ★ Support this podcast ★

In this episode of WP Minute+, Justin Ferriman discusses his business ventures, including founding LearnDash and his latest project, BrightGrowth.We’ll also discuss GapScout, an AI tool for software businesses to analyze customer reviews, which didn’t go the way he had hoped. He’s now selling GapScout due to development hurdles and legal issues with review site policy changes, leaving him with a small taste of failure.Ferriman has pivoted to consulting, using his strengths in marketing and strategy to coach startup founders, offering personalized advice and roundtable discussions, despite the approach’s intentional lack of scalability.His key advice for WordPress entrepreneurs is to leverage personal strengths, be passionate about work, and be discerning in client and service selection for maintaining high standards.Key TakeawaysJustin explains how he is now selling his business GapScout after running into challenges building complex AI technology and changes to review site terms and conditions.The GapScout experience left Justin feeling defeated but taught him to focus on what really energizes him in business.Justin has transitioned to coaching and consulting for startup founders, playing to his strengths in marketing, growth strategies and maximizing profits.He is being very selective about who he works with through warm outreach and relationship building vs trying to scale massively.For WordPress entrepreneurs, takeaways are to focus on your strengths, cut out parts of business you dislike, and be selective about services you realistically can deliver at a high level.Justin leverages Medium for content marketing and gets great organic reach without having to worry about blogging or SEO himself.Overall it’s a story of reinvention, lessons learned from failure, and the importance of playing to your strengths as an entrepreneur.Important linksLearnDash – Justin’s previous business that was acquired: https://www.learndash.com/GapScout – Justin’s latest business that is now for sale: https://www.gapscout.com/Bright Growth – Justin’s current coaching/consulting business: https://www.brightgrowth.com/Justin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/justinferrimanWP Minute Slack Group: [https://thewpminute.com/supportMedium – Platform Justin is using for content marketing: https://medium.com/Pressnomics Conference – Where Justin and host previously chatted: https://www.pressnomics.com/ ★ Support this podcast ★

Aaron Edwards, an expert in WordPress with over a decade of experience and the creator of AI products DocsBot.ai and Imajinn.ai, discusses training chatbots with company data, pricing plans, surprises when selling to enterprise customers, and the ethics of competitors using your content in a podcast interview with host Matt Medeiros of The WP Minute Plus.

I recently had Jess Frick, Director of Operations at Pressable, on the WP Minute+ podcast. We had an insightful conversation about Pressable’s relationship with Automattic, how the company differentiates itself, and the benefits of Jetpack.I appreciated getting Jess’s insider perspective on Pressable and how they balance being owned by Automattic while still maintaining their own identity and startup mentality in the WordPress hosting space.Definitely check them out if you want managed WordPress hosting with great performance and infrastructure.Key TakeawaysPressable is owned by Automattic but operates independently with a startup mentality. They have more freedom to be “edgy” compared to other Automattic properties.Pressable builds on top of WP Cloud infrastructure created by Automattic. This gives them performance advantages that allow them to handle large websites.They work closely with Jetpack and see big value in including it for free with hosting plans. Security features are especially important.Pressable targets agencies, freelancers, and site owners who want great WordPress infrastructure without the rigidness of a company like VIP Hosting.They aim to be innovative and regularly improve the hosting experience like the recent updates to make staging -> live site migration easier.Important Quotes“We are thrilled to partner with you on this because I really believe in what you guys are doing. And I love the voice that you have in the community. It’s not like other voices.”“I think going forward, you can expect to see, more opinionated opportunities with [Jetpack] as well.” ★ Support this podcast ★

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Brian Jackson, co-founder of Forge Media and creator of the popular WordPress plugins NovaShare and Perfmatters. Brian has extensive experience building successful products and businesses in the WordPress space.In our wide-ranging conversation, we discussed several important topics relevant to the WordPress community right now:Using AI to Enhance Content CreationBoth Brian and I have begun experimenting with AI tools like ChatGPT and Bard to improve our content workflows. He uses a "hybrid approach", leveraging AI to generate ideas and drafts but still adding his own personal touch. I completely agree that carefully crafted prompts are key to getting good results from AI. Neither of us is yet comfortable publishing fully AI-written content.The Impact of AI on the Future of WordPressWe speculated about how advanced AI could enable automated site building outside of WordPress in the future. However, Brian emphasized that niche complexities of WordPress will be difficult for AI to grasp anytime soon. Monetization and Support for Plugin BusinessesBrian explained why he avoids "lifetime deal" pricing for his products, despite it being common for WordPress plugins. While tempting for short-term revenue, it removes incentive for ongoing improvement. He believes subscribers should continue supporting developers to allow constant iteration. Still, he limits sales to just the major Black Friday promotion each year.Key TakeawaysAI can help generate ideas and drafts, but human refinement is still neededWordPress niche complexity means AI won't replace it soonJavaScript skills are critical for WordPress developers now"Lifetime deal" pricing removes incentive for ongoing developmentLimiting sales promotes sustainable growth over quick cash grabsQuotables"I don't think a lot of people know a hundred percent. You can't say yes or no, you know, will Google know this is written by me or not?""WordPress is just a mess, to be honest, for the people that are in the weeds every day, like grinding, like they know how messy WordPress is.""If you have a good product, like why do you need to constantly push sales? It doesn't make sense. ★ Support this podcast ★

Launching a WordPress website can be daunting for new users. Between learning the platform, choosing templates, setting up your homepage, and establishing an online store, it’s a lot to take on. This is where Bluehost’s WonderSuite comes in.In today’s episode, Matt interviewed Jocelyn Hendrickson, a Senior Product Manager at Bluehost, WordPress Commerce. We went deep into their WonderSuite product, especially how it impacts WooCommerce users. She gave great insight into how this new offering simplifies the website creation process for their customers.In a nutshell, WonderSuite provides tools and guidance to get your WordPress site up and running smoothly. No more staring at a blank page wondering what to do next.Jocelyn explained that WordPress experts like us understand the platform because we’ve been using it for years. But for beginners, it can be really confusing trying to figure everything out.This is where WonderSuite comes in with features like templates to choose designs, placeholder content to match your theme, and a support portal for asking questions when you get stuck.One of the key components Jocelyn highlighted is WonderCart, which makes setting up an online store a breeze. You don’t have to build promotions and sales pages from scratch anymore. WonderCart uses AI and pre-made templates to do it for you.As Jocelyn put it, WonderSuite and WonderCart remove the burden of launching a customized, functional WordPress site. Instead of getting overwhelmed, you have tools to guide you through the process.The next time you’re ready to recommend WordPress to a beginner user, keep Bluehost and WonderSuite in mind. Especially if you’re not going to be there to help them along every step of the way. ★ Support this podcast ★

Jon Clark, Marketing Automation Specialist at StellarWP, shares insights on email marketing automation, creating entertaining YouTube content, and his thoughts on recent video games like Elden Ring. He emphasizes the importance of personalized messaging and entertaining content on YouTube. Jon considers starting a second channel focused on creative film projects and cinematography.

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Nyasha Green about her experiences in the WordPress community. Nyasha is a talented developer, writer, and podcaster who has contributed tremendously to WordPress over the years.In our conversation, Nyasha shared some great insights for new WordPress developers just getting started. Here are 3 key takeaways from our discussion:Learn WordPress development through YouTube and Twitter. Nyasha explained how she learned WordPress and Gutenberg through YouTube videos and people live-tweeting their learning journeys. YouTube is a valuable resource for picking up WordPress skills. Following WordPress experts on Twitter can also connect you with people willing to teach and walkthrough concepts.Contribute to WordPress in small ways. Nyasha talked about how anyone can contribute to WordPress, even in small ways like providing support, designing assets, and testing. Look for teams and projects seeking help wherever your skills allow you to pitch in. The process may seem intimidating but start small.The WordPress community welcomes new developers. Nyasha stressed the WordPress community warmly welcomes both new developers and non-developers. It’s important to make new people feel comfortable when they lack knowledge on technical topics. Go out of your way to support and guide newcomers positively.It was great having Nyasha share her open, honest perspectives on the WordPress community and new developer experience. Be sure to listen to our full conversation on the podcast and follow Nyasha on Twitter! ★ Support this podcast ★

Bluehost's WonderSuite is a new suite of products that simplifies the onboarding process for new WordPress users. It includes tools like WonderTheme, WonderBlocks, WonderCart, WonderStart, and WonderHelp. WonderSuite uses AI to provide step-by-step tutorials and tailored content, while still allowing users to modify settings. The goal is to make WordPress more user-friendly and help users focus on their business. The podcast also discusses the benefits of Wonder Cart for WooCommerce, the onboarding process for setting up a store, and the importance of AI in WordPress.