Hey Justin,
it's April Justin.
You're reading this again (hopefully), and it's October now. Wow, a LOT of great things have happened!
I want to remind you to take a moment, look back, and think about all that you have done so far this year.
Better yet:Â think about all that you have to look forward to!
Keep going, and continue to laugh along the way â as you always do.
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It took some time, but it finally happened. Lorena and I have received the vaccine. What a year has been, amiright?
Remember the beginning of COVID? Back when it was this mysterious illness from overseas? Back when we could actually count the number of people total that had it in the U.S.?
Over the past year Lorena and I were both fortunate that no one in our family died from the illness. Her uncle got it, and my grandma did in her nursing home. Both of them got through it. In fact, my grandma didn't even show any symptoms.
There was so much we didn't know, but over time it became evident that the danger was very real.
I rememember chuckling when Lorena insisted that I wear gloves when in public. Yet not too long after that I was wearing both gloves and a mask whenever going outside. It was the new normal.
Truth be told, we have gotten used to living during the pandemic. We have a routine. But we also were being vigilant about how we could get the vaccine. At a certain point survival instincts couldn't be ignored anymore.
We are now vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine. I personally feel the same as before. I plan on still being cautious (wearing masks... the gloves have long been a thing of the past).
It will be interesting to see the world slowly unravel from all of this. As far as I can tell, COVID vaccines will probably be a regular thing for the foreseeable future. But not all bad has come from this on a personal level. Something I plan on reflecting on in the near future.
For now, Lorena and I rest a little easier knowing that we have made it through the toughest part.
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The answer may surprise you.
If you are creating a WordPress plugin today, then you probably have just assumed that you should have a free version. I mean, it makes sense. You can potentially get a ton of exposure right away from the WordPress Repo.
But what if you donât?
What if you experience the fate of so many others where you put your heart and soul into your free plugin, create a âproâ version, and adoption rates are low? What is your Plan B?
Most WordPress entrepreneurs donât realize that there is another way to approach the market, and thatâs by creating a paid (premium) offering only. Itâs more work, but the work that you do can pay off big just like if you had a free version that became popular on the Repo.
I should clarify that this post does not necessarily apply to plugin creators who have created an add-on to another plugin. That said, it could apply as I have seen folks have success with this approach.
This comes as a surprise to some folks. LearnDash has never had a free version. The choice was out of necessity more than anything.
When I started LearnDash, I was working as an e-learning consultant. My days were full already, so I couldnât spend my time supporting free users. I honestly never even considered having a free version.
Instead, the year prior I spent all of my time building up a search engine presence though blogging, and that paid off. But not just in a monetary sense. It allowed LearnDash to venture into ânon-WordPressâ markets more easily because the brand recognition wasnât dependent on the WordPress Repo.
What I often see today is that folks will create their free version and really depend on it for getting traction. Itâs not impossible by any means as there are plenty of popular plugins and themes that have started this way. But, itâs putting all your eggs into one basket. On top of it, itâs a basket that you have absolutely zero control over.
Before you jump all over this comment, let me say that I am not implying the volunteers who manage and monitor the reviews are doing a bad job. They are doing the absolute best that they can, and we owe them our thanks!
Itâs not the people, itâs the process. I have never been a fan of it.
From both a business and consumer standpoint, the ratings on the WordPress Repo are getting close to the point of being completely useless.
That may seem harsh, and perhaps it is to some degree. But itâs the byproduct of the simple fact that the Repo ratings are so easily gamed.
Off the top of my head, I can think of at least five plugins that are gaming it for bogus five-star reviews. You know, the ones where the reviewer just opened the account and that same day left a four word, five-star rating.
It would be so easy to add some measures in place to help combat this. For example, just have a waiting period on an account before it can be used to make any kind of review.
Fake reviews aside, there is something else frustrating about the review system, and itâs a major reason why I have avoided it. In WordPress there is a subset of users who will use plugin reviews as a way to âblackmailâ creators at the worst, and to âmake a pointâ at best.
Some of my closest contacts in WordPress have great plugins on the Repo. Iâm talking extremely robust pieces of softwareâŚÂ for FREE!
They pour their entire energy into creating best-in-class functionality. Yet, every month they get 1-star reviews because someone has a misunderstanding about a setting, and they blow up on the reviews giving it one-star in the process.
My opinion of the Repo review system is just that, my opinion. Some people agree with me, while others understand that this exists but see the upside to it.
But there is a very real business reason why the Repo isnât ideal for software creators. It reinforces a certain perception of the software: that its only use is in the WordPress ecosystem.
Since the very beginning, I positioned LearnDash to be a competitor against the other LMS options out there, outside the direct WordPress space. This meant I had to be where my competitors were located, and they werenât located on the WordPress Repo.
I found that this switch in focus also helped drive the sales messaging and framing of the LearnDash value proposition. It gave a great degree of clarity to the User Models that I targeted in the last brand refresh.
Today, LearnDash competes with the biggest brands in the online course creation and LMS space â and thatâs not accidentally. That was 100% intentional from the very beginning of the project.
Again: all about message focus.
This focus extended to support as well. With no free version, the support team could focus on helping only paying customers.
There is something very refreshing about this. The relationship is more clearly defined in that context. Customers (most anyhow) are far more committed.
Iâve seen some outlandish demands and expectations from people asking for support on the WordPress Repo. I honestly donât understand what people expect⌠itâs free, of course there wonât be instant access or overly in-depth replies.
Today is a lot different from 2012.
When I started LearnDash from a blog in March 2012, getting rankings was a lot easier. Search engine optimization was a different beast. Itâs a lot harder today. Not impossible, but harder.
So if I am 100% honest, if I were to launch a new piece of software today that relied upon WordPress, then I would consider the benefits of a free version and gaining visibility from the Repo.
But with a (very big) caveat:Â the upgraded versions would be SaaS.
This is going to become the next evolution in WordPress in my opinion. We see it to some degree today, but this will start to become the norm. Especially true as we see more and more investment into the open source project from the worldâs biggest brands.
The most successful solutions will SaaS-up their offerings, so they can have a little more control over the environment, and more insight into their users. In turn, their products will be better, both from a feature standpoint and support. The businesses will be more profitable and hold higher valuations than plugin and theme businesses today.
So if it were me, my intent would be to use the free version on the Repo to allow for a quicker path for obtaining users and getting real-time feedback. This in turn would help drive the development roadmap for the SaaS.
To make the free version a good sales tool, I would make sure that:
It has features that solve a major pain-piont or makes people money.
It has a full-time staff dedicated to replying to every support message.
It has an eloquent way to nudge people to the pro versions.
Since it will be a SaaS, a two-week free trial of upgraded features would be effortless to do and allow for additional customer nurturing campaigns during that time.
Imagine installing a free plugin and allowing folks to get a free trial of all the Pro features (on the SaaS) with a single click in the dashboard. They get used to the cool functionality and if they donât pay â whoops â itâs gone. Not against GPL because this cool functionality is being delivered from the SaaS platform. The plugin is merely the conduit.
In order for this approach to work, the free version canât be bare bones. It needs to provide actual value to people who decide that they donât want to upgrade.
Right now, there are plugins on the Repo that attempt to do this but their free versions are so limited that it feels like a bait-and-switch. This has to be avoided to gain trust upfront from users.
I like this model a lot because a traditional SaaS is also more âstickyâ so renewal rates will be a lot higher than in the traditional WordPress business model. More predictable long-term revenue allows businesses to deliver a positive experience in a more efficient manner for their users.
In the end, you should not avoid the WordPress Repo entirely. Itâs a great marketing channel that can give you visibility quickly compared to the traditional marketing efforts.
And you know what? I have faith that the gripes I outlined earlier will eventually be addressed by the great folks who give their time to the WordPress project, making those complaints a moot point (which would be a great thing).
The key takeaway here is not that the WordPress Repo is bad. Itâs that you really need to think bigger about how you market software on WordPress. Who exactly is it that can benefit from your product? And that answer should 100% not be âpeople using WordPressâ.
Think bigger. đ
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Something new and excited has happened the past couple weeks: Lorena and I are starting to make travel plans!
A couple of weeks ago, we got our first shot for the COVID vaccine. It's a weird feeling in many ways because while we are still living life as we always have for the past year, we can actually start to make plans for traveling.
To be fair, we did travel during the holidays last year to visit family. While the experience wasn't bad on the airplanes, it was a bit stressful at times. Well, that will no longer be the case. Of course, we still plan to do all the proper COVID things like wearing masks, sanitizing our seats and hands, and keeping our distance. But it will be from a place of confidence.
Initially our travel plans will be confined to the United States. But as soon as we can we'll be heading off to Mexico to visit her family. I have yet to go with her, and I can't wait!
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I am old enough to know that I am still young. Time is not lost on me anymore. In fact, quite the opposite.
I have reached the age where I am not just coasting through the years of my life, but instead looking at both the years behind and ahead of me. And I clearly see how much more life there is to live!
I try to live with intent. I refuse to look back 30 years from now and wonder: âWhere did that time go?â
No. I won't take this greatest gift for granted.
Time is all we have. We have so little, yet we live like it will always be there.
Time slips away when you're distracted. It sneaks out the door when you let life happen to you rather than making life happen.
This is my self-reminder to keep living with passion, intention, and direction... and to laugh along the way.
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It's done! The wedding venue is booked, and we are working towards our May 31st, 2021 wedding date. đ
The Winfield Inn (the original venue we wanted) dropped the ball. We tried to book them but they are so incredibly unresponsive that we just moved onto another one. I called on a Saturday to follow-up on an email I sent to the coordinator. She answered the phone and told me that they handle that stuff during weekdays, and that she would see it on Monday.
So yeah... they lost us as potential customers. Funny thing is, if she would have just been a little nicer then probably we would still be booking with them.
Doesn't matter though because I am actually more excited about the new venue, the South Congress Hotel!
The modern, urban design is really cool. So many great spots for pictures that include the city in the background. It also has indoor and outdoor spaces available for pre-ceremony, ceremony, cocktails, and reception.
Their micro-wedding packages are all-inclusive and cover items like flowers, food, cakes, set-up, takedown, sound, and more. Zero hassle.
Here's to May 31st!
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It's that time again! Time to get a new car, and the research phase is part of the fun!
My dad and brother love cars. Me? I really like them, but I think I love the research process more than what's under the hood. And just as cars have gotten better over the years, so too have the research options.
YouTube is the best for car shopping. My favorite channels:
There are countless others that I have watched as well. I have literally spent hours upon hours these past few months watching reviews (there are just so many options).
I have really enjoyed my time with my BMW 330i GT, but I'm moving away from BMW. Their design language in today's models is... weird. Not very âBMWâ. They are going through a phase it seems. Plus, they have this new subscription pricing for everything which feels very unnecessary (such as for heated seats...wtf).
I think I've narrowed it down to a Mercedes or Lexus, but the model... well, I'm not sure yet. Something sporty seems fun, but I also like to be comfortable as I'm not a pure sports car kind of person. I'm also leaning towards a sedan. I know that Lorena has a slight preference for SUVs. I could be persuaded to a small-sized SUV... and if anyone can persuade me of something, it's her. đ
In any event, I have a nice list of cars that need a test drive!
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I need to vent...
Lorena and I are getting married, but are so frustrated that we have not been able to set a date thanks to COVID.
We downsized the Austin (legal) wedding so that it would be a âmicro-weddingâ. Only immediate family will be coming. Or so we thought...
We were inclined to have the wedding sooner in 2021, but my parents were uneasy about travel without a vaccine. So we pushed it out. Now my brother (who lives in Germany) is unsure he can travel for a late spring wedding since Europe has a different timeline. They are currently behind in distribution apparently, and they have more border regulations which could make his return challenging after his visit.
So, do we move forward with a date or postpone again? It's like we are unable to plan something that we are so excited about â and that's really starting to weigh on us. We have the religious ceremony in Mexico to look forward to, and at that time my brother would be able to come (hopefully), in addition to my sister-in-law and nephews.
Honestly, I say letâs just do it and then later in Mexico everyone will be able to attend. Besides, at the end of the day itâs about us.
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Lorena and I looked at a wedding venue today for our Austin wedding, and it looks like a good option.
This one is going to be on the smaller side, with just close (immediate) family. Even without COVID this would be smaller than the event in Mexico, but the pandemic is tightening our numbers a bit more, for sure.
The Winfield Inn is located about 30 miles south of downtown Austin. It's really accessible and the property is really pretty (though when we visited it was still showing some wear and tear from the snow storm a few weeks back). Still, it looks like a great backdrop for our micro-wedding.
We first became interested in this location because they offered micro-wedding packages (events for under 25 guests), and well, that's what we're interested in for this legal ceremony. It also makes it a bit easier to plan since the package comes with ceremony location, dinner, wine, cake, table setup and takedown. We just need to find a photographer, florist, a little music, and someone to administer the ceremony.
So while it's not yet set it stone, this venue is looking like it'll be the one.
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Have you ever been tricked out of your money?
I know that I have.
When I was a teenager I fell victim to the internet marketing hype, handing over whatever money that I had so that I could learn âthe secretâ. The sales messages, the stories, the glitz⌠it was all so hypnotic.
Iâm not embarrassed that I fell for these scams when I was a teen. In life you sometimes pay for an education, and these were valuable (priceless) lessons that I got to learn from an early age.
Today I view these stereotypical internet marketers differently. I donât care about their products, I care about their methods!
The truth is that these people are actually very good at what they do. They are expert copywriters, relatable, unshakingly convincing, and just down-right great at B2C sales.
It was like any other normal day. I was taking a break from my standard work tasks to do a little research.
Specifically, I like to keep tabs on what the current trends are in the online marketing space, especially the men and women selling âprogramsâ and âsecret methodsâ. I find it worth studying their ways because clearly they know how to sell. There is a method to the madness.
I canât help but laugh a little because while I am convinced each of these programs thinks that they are original, they all just say the same exact thing. Itâs the same stuff that I fell for back in the day. Yet truth be told they donât really need to change anything because human nature will always be the same. Sure the âmethodsâ they sell may change with the times, but the messaging is consistent.
Even though you may stay far away from the internet marketer types (like the ones who sell get-rich programs), I find that itâs worth looking into their sales process to see if you can learn anything. I did this some time ago and applied it to my own business.
The result? More revenue.
When I do my research into these get-rich program, I watch some videos of an internet marketer that I have known of for some time. The last time I did this, he had a new product â or at least a new marketing campaign. This was great because I could see him in action, particularly his funnel.
At the top of the funnel was a âliveâ webinar. You and I both know that this webinar was not live at all as he was using an automated webinar program instead.
Thatâs not the worst of it thoughâŚ
The hype was real. But all that washed off of me, because behind those distractions I could see the real secret behind all the madness.
Before these folks can sell their products, they have to establish trust â and they are so. damn. good.
I am not kidding you, this guy put on a masterclass of establishing casual trust in a very little amount of time.
The main reason that his messaging worked was because he knew his audience, and he knew what motivated his potential customers. All he has to do is to show them how he can help them accomplish what it is they really want. Once he does that, the sale is made.
Iâm not in the business of lying. But just like this guy, I am in the business of people and emotions.
I realized that this person knew his audience thoroughly, and I too needed to do the same so that I could craft the messaging just right. Iâve done this exercise a few times now in my entrepreneurial career â I created highly (overly?) detailed User Models.
In this process, I created the persona of the individuals who would be looking into my products. I gave them a name, background story, and described their personality. I found that the more detail that can provided into a User Model, the more pointed and relevant I could make my messaging.
This is important, because the next step after establishing a user model is to walk through a Buyer Journey in their shoes, addressing each phase in a way that will resonate with this fictitious person.
At each one of these stages, you need to think from the perspective of your User Model archetype.
Logic helps to a point, but purchases are emotional. You need to understand the ultimate desires of the people looking into your products, and craft the messaging accordingly to address those emotions. This is exactly what the âGet-Rich-Quickâ guru does, and does well.
You may be thinking that this seems⌠hard. Well, yes, it does take a little work upfront. Itâs not hard as much as it is time-consuming because it takes a lot of thought and creativity.
For me, it took a few weeks because I had created a handful of different User Models. From experience, I would say that you should try to come up with at least three, and up to five.
Once you have these vetted out, then you need to make sure that you are creating content with the User Models in mind, on every single section of every single page on your website. Your value proposition for each model should be apparent.
Iâve done this a number of times now, most recently (and in the most detail) with the last LearnDash refresh. Every section of every page is designed with the User Model in mind.
And just like the âMake Money Onlineâ Internet Marketer I admired, the site does a great job establishing credibility and connection, while simultaneously answering the relevant questions for these individuals along the Buyer Journey.
For example, based on one of my User Models, there was a part of the customer journey that I wanted to address. It had to do with getting started with WordPress and LearnDash.
Out of that particular requirement came the âGetting Started in 4 Easy Stepsâ section of the homepage, where we reinforced how the software was powerful, but not difficult to start using.
This has helped the company in a variety of ways, least of which being that there are no longer as many pre-sales questions around the topic of getting started with WordPress and LearnDash. It also lets people know that they too are capable of using LearnDash, even if they donât that they are tech-savvy.
Itâs so good that it didnât take long for one of my competitors to copy it!
Itâs pretty easy to overthink this, so let me wrap-up by summarizing this entire selling approach in a succinct way.
Nailing down your User Models lets you proactively address the questions that will arrive along the Buyer Journey. As you answer these questions, you need to:
Simply explain whatâs in it for your customer if they choose you.
In order to do that, you need to know your customerâs story. If they arrive to your site, and they feel like they âbelongâ (i.e. you are speaking to them directly) then youâve accomplished the hardest part. You gained their trust and the sale is yours.
This is literally how every successful âMake Money Onlineâ internet market has ever operated, and you too can use it to skyrocket profitability.
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