🌐 Justin's Blog

Visiting family hasn't been easy for anyone in the past year or so due to COVID. So, when family visits do come about, we really value them.

This recent trip we have taken to Michigan and Connecticut has a different feel to it than the same trips we made at the end of last year. We are now vaccinated, so the worry of traveling isn’t there (at least not on the same level). We could also do a bit more than before because of being vaccinated, but overall it was much of the same.

I think 2021 will be a year of unraveling and “testing the waters” globally. It won’t be life as before quite yet, probably not for a couple more years assuming all goes to plan with global vaccination efforts.

Lorena and I plan to make family trips the priority this year, followed by a few personal travel destinations. Places like MI, CT, CA, Mexico, and Germany. I am beyond excited to add these trips into our routine.

#personal

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: think about all that you have to look forward to!

Keep going, and continue to laugh along the way – as you always do.

#personal

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.

#personal

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 don’t?

What if you experience the fate of so many others where you put your heart and soul into your free plugin, create a “pro” version, and adoption rates are low? What is your Plan B?

Most WordPress entrepreneurs don’t realize that there is another way to approach the market, and that’s by creating a paid (premium) offering only. It’s 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.

LearnDash has never had a free version.

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 couldn’t 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 “non-WordPress” markets more easily because the brand recognition wasn’t 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. It’s not impossible by any means as there are plenty of popular plugins and themes that have started this way. But, it’s putting all your eggs into one basket. On top of it, it’s a basket that you have absolutely zero control over.

The rating system on the WordPress Repo sucks.

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!

It’s not the people, it’s 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 it’s 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 it’s 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 “blackmail” creators at the worst, and to “make a point” at best.

Some of my closest contacts in WordPress have great plugins on the Repo. I’m talking extremely robust pieces of software… 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.

There is another benefit to not being on the Repo beyond my opinion of the reviews.

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 isn’t 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 weren’t 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 – and that’s 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.

I’ve seen some outlandish demands and expectations from people asking for support on the WordPress Repo. I honestly don’t understand what people expect… it’s free, of course there won’t be instant access or overly in-depth replies.

That said, you can get a ton of visibility on the Repo.

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. It’s 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: 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 world’s 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:

1. It has features that solve a major pain-piont or makes people money.

2. It has a full-time staff dedicated to replying to every support message.

3. 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 don’t pay — whoops — it’s 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 can’t be bare bones. It needs to provide actual value to people who decide that they don’t 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 “sticky” 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.

The WordPress Repo shouldn’t be avoided, but it most certainly shouldn’t be your only market strategy.

In the end, you should not avoid the WordPress Repo entirely. It’s 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. It’s 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 “people using WordPress”.

Think bigger. 🙌

#WordPress

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!

#personal

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: “Where did that time go?“

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.

#personal

It's done! The wedding venue is booked, and we are working towards our May 31st, 2021 wedding date. 😃

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!

#personal

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:

• Raiti's Rides
• Redline Reviews
• Doug DeMuro

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 “BMW”. 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. 😅

In any event, I have a nice list of cars that need a test drive!

#personal

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 “micro-wedding”. 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 – 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 let’s just do it and then later in Mexico everyone will be able to attend. Besides, at the end of the day it’s about us.

#personal

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.

#personal