By Gravity Forms
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The podcast currently has 29 episodes available.
In the latest episode of Breakdown, host Matt Medeiros sits down with Megan Jones to discuss Gravity Forms' Black Friday plans and share insights from prominent WordPress product owners about their holiday marketing strategies.
Gravity Forms Black Friday Details
Gravity Forms will offer its biggest discount of the year - 50% off all licenses (Basic, Pro, and Elite) from November 25th through December 3rd, 2024. The sale includes Gravity Flow licenses and promotes exclusive deals from certified developers through a dedicated landing page.
Industry Expert Insights
We published a few industry experts as guests this week. Hear what they had to share about their Black Friday promos and be sure to check out their products.
Katie Keith - Barn2 Plugins
Katie shared her experience managing sales across 19 WordPress plugins. Her key strategy involves encouraging higher-value purchases during the sale period. Despite offering significant discounts, Barn2 maintains or increases their average order value by promoting premium license options.
Cole Fraser - Gravity Wiz
Cole emphasized simplification in their Black Friday approach. While email marketing remains crucial, Cole advised against over-segmentation during busy sales periods. Black Friday shoppers typically seek straightforward messaging about deals rather than complex, personalized communications.
Corey Maass - OMGIMG
Corey highlighted the importance of listing products in Black Friday directories and roundups. While direct attribution proves challenging, these listings contribute to overall brand visibility during the sale period.
Zack Katz - GravityKit
Zack stressed the value of email subject line testing, noting that different subject lines not only affect open rates but also influence click-through behavior within the emails.
Key Takeaways
* 50% off has become the standard discount expectation for WordPress Black Friday deals
* Simplify marketing messages during Black Friday to cut through inbox noise
* Focus on growing email lists before the sale period
* Consider bundling products or encouraging higher-tier purchases
* List products in WordPress Black Friday directories for increased visibility
* Test email subject lines when possible
* Balance email frequency to maintain engagement without overwhelming subscribers
Important URLs
* Gravity Forms Black Friday: gravityforms.com/black-friday
* Gravity Flow Black Friday: gravityflow.io/black-friday
* Gravity Forms YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@gravitywp
* Podcast: gravityforms.com/breakdown
In this episode of Breakdown, we dive into exciting updates from Gravity Forms, including the release of Gravity Forms 2.9 Release Candidate and the new Gravity SMTP 1.4.2. We also welcome Timothy Wood, founder of Always Curious, who shares his insights on using Gravity Forms for advanced applications, including a unique Magic Link login solution. Timothy discusses his agency's approach to leveraging Gravity Forms for data management and client solutions, as well as his commitment to giving back to the WordPress community.
Key Takeaways:
- Gravity Forms 2.9 introduces new features that enhance user experience and customization.
- Gravity SMTP offers a cost-effective solution for sending transactional emails, especially for agencies.
- Timothy Wood emphasizes the versatility of Gravity Forms for complex data management and client solutions.
- The Magic Link plugin provides a modern alternative to traditional login methods, improving user experience.
- Timothy's agency focuses on building applications within the WordPress ecosystem, showcasing the potential of Gravity Forms for advanced projects.
- Community engagement and contributions are vital for the growth and improvement of the WordPress ecosystem.
Connect with Timothy Wood:
- Twitter: @codearachnid
- Agency Website: alwayscurious.co
Support the Podcast:
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it on social media or your favorite community platforms. Don't forget to subscribe to Breakdown at gravityforms.com/breakdown for more insights every two weeks!
In this episode of Breakdown, Matt Medeiros sits down with Gil Amminadav from BrightLeaf Consulting to explore the innovative ways they're leveraging Gravity Forms in their business. Gil shares his "Gravity Forms First" approach, demonstrating how this powerful WordPress plugin can be used to create complex, custom solutions for clients. From building messaging systems to managing finances, Gil reveals how Gravity Forms has become the backbone of their operations, offering efficiency, scalability, and robust functionality.
Key Takeaways:
Important URLs mentioned:
Gil's interview showcases the versatility of Gravity Forms beyond simple contact forms, highlighting its potential as a powerful tool for building custom web applications and streamlining business processes. This episode offers valuable insights for WordPress professionals looking to maximize their use of Gravity Forms and create efficient, scalable solutions for their clients.
Today’s episode is a mix of interviews and highlights throughout the Gravity Forms universe.
Matt interviews Ryan Sullivan from Sitecare, discussing the current temperature in the WordPress client support space. Ryan started Sitecare as “WP Sitecare” over a decade ago, pioneering the “care plan” as it’s known today. Southern Web acquired WP Sitecare roughly 4 years ago, and firmly planted on Sitecare as the longterm brand name.
The duo discussed simplifying your client offerings to not only streamline the delivery of projects, but to also maximize your profit potential in the back of the house.
The second half of the show is joined by Gravity Forms Content Marketing Lead, Megan Jones, to discuss her takeaways from WordCamp Europe where she spent some time with the team connecting with the WordPress community.
Top takeaways for WordPress professionals:
* WordPress 6.6 is set to release soon, featuring updates to the admin UI, grid layout improvements, and synced pattern overrides.
* Gravity SMTP released version 1.1.0 with new integrations (Microsoft, Google) and the ability to set primary and backup connections.
* Gravity SMTP version 1.2.0 added re-send email functionality and migration from WP Mail SMTP.
* Site Care offers a 10% flat rate referral program for agencies partnering with them for WordPress maintenance services.
* Gravity Forms is widely used for various purposes, including spam moderation, simple checkouts, and complex systems like classifieds.
* Gravity Forms integrations (e.g., HubSpot, Salesforce) can help agencies target higher-tier clients with more complex needs.
* WordCamp Europe in Turin was well-attended and considered a success by attendees.
* There's a push to revive WordCamp London, with local meetups gaining traction.
* WordPress event organizers may need to consider how to attract and cater to newer WordPress users at major events.
Important URLs mentioned in the episode:
If you’re listening to this on your way to WordCamp Europe, or you’re just watching the livestreams from the comfort of your home, I wanted to let you know that our team is back supporting yet another WordCamp.
Find us in our booth located in the Sponsors section of the venue and say “hi!”
There’s lots to learn about Gravity Forms’ latest add-ons, features, new products like Gravity SMTP and what that means to you and your WordPress business. Come check out a demo of Gravity Flow our systems automation product that helps customers automate actions after forms get submitted into your WordPress database.
Oh, we can’t forget our awesome new t-shirts — a whole new version is out! Customers say we have the best tee’s in the biz, come grab one before they’re all out!
We also are giving away some cool stuff in the booth including:
There’s one stipulation, you have to be present at the booth on Saturday the 15th at 215PM where we’ll announce the winners. If you’re not there, you won’t be able to grab your prize.
It’s come to the attention of the WordPress Community that attendance for new participants at WordPress events are down.
Obviously COVID and the a global pandemic shifted how events are accepted throughout the world, and while we’ve seen a bounce back in participation, it isn’t nearly as high as it once was.
So I wanted to take a moment to share my experiences with WordCamps and advocate for you to attend the next one in your area. By the way, the next major WordCamp I’ll be at, along with the team from Gravity Forms is WordCamp US in Portland Oregon on September 17th - 20th.
Here are my top 3 reasons for attending a WordCamp:
One: The best bang for your buck event in our space
Even with the price point of major WordCamp tickets rising to the $50 level, and general WordCamps hovering around $30 for access — you simply can’t beat this deal.
Another hot event I know many other WordPressers attending, Cloudfest, comes with a general admission price tag of around $525 US dollars for standard access, which ramp up to well over $2,000 if you want access to everything.
When you match the low cost of access to the high value of being in a venue filed with other WordPress users to talk, train, and collaborate with — that $30-50 is going a long way to helping you with your WordPress business or acumen.
Two: All things WordPress
Even if you’re not running a WordPress business, but you’re part of a team tasked with maintaining a WordPress site, WordCamps are a fantastic place to have that aha! Moment.
When I started attending and speaking at WordCamps around 2015, it was the place to learn the software.
Heck, maybe the only place aside from WordPress.org.
Tutorials and blog posts were no where near as accessible as they are today. And as a content creator, there’s nothing more I want than someone listening to my podcast or watching my videos, but that in-person learning is much more magical.
At WordCamps you can show up and learn more about using the software, attend a hyper specific talk ranging from how to blog with our favorite CMS or learn the latest and greatest development standards.
There’s a healthy mix of content available to help elevate your WordPress game!
Three: Community
At the end of the day one of the most valuable aspects of WordPress the software, is the community behind it.
If you’re new to WordPress and WordCamps, getting into the community should be a welcoming experience. Simply being with others on the early start of their WordPress journey can help you break the ice and feel less stressed — as if you’re the only one missing the bigger picture.
As time marches on and you become more involved in the community, you enter the next phase where connections with others can ramp up your professional life within WordPress.
That could be finding other freelancers or agencies to parter with, finding a full-time job in the space, or making connections with potential customers. WordPress has a massive footprint across many digital businesses, sometimes you’ll find WordPress living in the most unique environments — not just a blog or marketing website.
Being involved in any of these phases helps WordPress thrive.
At first you’re a little lost, then you meet your tribe, fully grasping what open source WordPress can for you and for others. A year later, you too are advocating for your friends and colleagues to take part in their local WordCamp too.
Heck, maybe you even apply to speak at your first WordCamp. But, that’s a topic for another podcast.
If you’re interested in learning more about WordCamps and where the next one is in your area, head to wordcamp.org and join the mailing list.
WordCamp Central will list out all upcoming events, and if there’s not one in your area, you can reach out to the organizing team to see if there’s opportunity to start one in your city. At the very least, you could start with a local meetup to get the ball rolling.
WordCamps are one of the best places to experience WordPress and truly grasp the value of open source within this thriving digital landscape.
It’s why we at Rocketgenius and our family of products continue to support them every year. We hope to see you in our booth in Torino this weekend and in Portland Oregon at WordCamp US this September.
In the latest episode of the Breakdown podcast, host Matt Medeiros shares updates from Gravity Forms and interviews two guests making waves in the Gravity Forms ecosystem. The episode kicks off with news about minor updates to Gravity Forms Core, a new MailerLite add-on in beta, and the Gravity Forms team's upcoming plans for WordCamp Europe.
Matt interviews Blaz from JetSloth, a company focused on enhancing Gravity Forms with beautiful design and functionality. Blaz discusses their latest add-on, Enhanced Choices, which expands on their previous work to provide more customization options for radio and checkbox fields. He shares the origin story of Enhanced Choices and how customer requests and feedback shaped its development. Blaz also touches on JetSloth's commitment to the WordPress and Gravity Forms communities.
Next, Matt catches up with Richard Best, a lawyer from New Zealand who has developed a document automation add-on for Gravity Forms called Gravity Merge. Richard explains his long-standing interest in using Gravity Forms for contract automation and how this led to the creation of Gravity Merge. He breaks down the four plugins that make up Gravity Merge and their various use cases, from legal document generation to creating downloadable articles. Richard also discusses how web development agencies and entrepreneurs can leverage Gravity Merge to enhance their offerings and streamline document creation processes for their clients.
Key Takeaways:
Important URLs:
In today's episode, Matt dives deeper into the value of paid WordPress plugins like Gravity Forms. If you're a freelancer or agency owner, you're solving more issues in your business than just the critical features of our form plugin.
Also, Matt interviews Dave Smith from GravityWiz and Zack Katz from GravityKit about how they are delighting their customers with traditional printed mail marketing. It's a fun episode, welcome back to Breakdown!
We are thrilled to announce the launch of our second standalone product, Gravity SMTP. After nearly 15 years since the release of Gravity Forms, the Rocket Genius team has been working hard to develop a plugin that will revolutionize the way WordPress users send emails from their websites.
Gravity SMTP is a standalone plugin that seamlessly integrates with popular email providers such as SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, and Brevo. Our goal is to ensure reliable email delivery for critical WordPress site notifications, including contact form submissions, lead gen forms, donation forms, and membership sign-ups.
Our team has built Gravity SMTP using cutting-edge development practices, such as a React-based admin interface, a component system for consistent design, and a new PHP architecture that allows for cleaner, more maintainable code. These advancements enable us to deliver a product that is both user-friendly and technologically advanced.
The launch of Gravity SMTP signifies a major milestone for our company. As our first ground-up product since the release of Gravity Forms, it showcases our dedication to innovation and our commitment to meeting the ever-changing needs of our valued customers.
We are excited to offer Gravity SMTP exclusively to our Gravity Forms Elite license holders during the launch phase. This decision reflects our appreciation for our most loyal and committed customers, and we believe it adds a layer of exclusivity and value to their investment in our products.
As we move forward, we can't wait to see how Gravity SMTP enhances email reliability and overall user experience for our customers' websites. We are dedicated to expanding our product suite and continuing to innovate within the WordPress space to better serve our users.
See it here: https://www.gravityforms.com/gravity-smtp/
Welcome back dear listener, excited to be chatting with you again.
Later in today’s episode you’ll hear from Joe Anderson who’s building a new product for Gravity Forms so that you can customize your outgoing email templates. If you do a lot with email notifications, you’ll like what he’s cooking up.
But lets chat Gravity Forms updates for a moment.
Since the last time we chatted, a minor release of Gravity Forms shipped, version 2.8.5. Aside from a minor security patch, there weren’t any dramatic user facing features rolled out.
Some add-ons in our collection also saw some minor updates, including:
Gravity SMTP has reached Release Candidate 5, including new or adjustments to features like:
As always, head to https://www.gravityforms.com/newsletter/ to stay connected for all of the updates, especially if you’re waiting for the full release of Gravity SMTP!
What would make Gravity Forms better?
If you’ll allow me, I’d love to present you with an important question: “What would make Gravity Forms better?”
Let me repeat that for those of you 2X listeners: “What would make Gravity Forms better?”
Gravity Forms was one of the first commercial WordPress products I ever purchased when I started my agency back in 2007-8. It was one of the most important plugins at the heart of a lot of projects we worked on.
Building out business directories and review sites were a type of site I found myself building a lot of. Even real estate sites — because back then integrating into IDX/MLS was a mess — were using Gravity Forms internally to post their properties on WordPress.
Mapping custom fields to custom post types, dynamically displaying those posts on the front-end, with user registration as icing on the proverbial cake meant Gravity Forms helped us push the value of our work even higher.
But it’s been a while since I’ve been in the trenches of building sites for clients.
We get a ton of feedback from our standard channels, but I’m looking for personal feedback from you, a listener of Breakdown. Email me, [email protected] and let me know how you’re using it, and what would make it better for you.
Just because I work at Gravity Forms doesn’t mean I’m no longer an enduser, though.
As you’ve probably heard me talk about before, I’ve been spending a lot of time with Gravity Forms building out donation forms and event registration pages, for the Nick Strong Foundation, a non-profit my best friend started.
I’ve been taking copious notes, to say the least.
I love how flexible our product is, but I’m not oblivious to some of the shortcomings when you really push it — say — into the world of donations.
There’s a lot I’d like to see, too. Specifically for donation forms:
If you have some ideas like this, I’d love to hear from you. Again, reach me at [email protected]
Joe Anderson Interview
Coming up next is my interview with Joe Anderson, the creator of Gravity Forms Email Customizer plugin over at https://www.metaphorcreations.com/
It’s a new way to design email notifications utilizing the default WordPress block editor. You can purchase it from his site for $39year.
I hope you enjoy our conversation, and I look forward to talking to you in the next episode.
This episode of the Gravity Forms podcast features interviews with two developers who have created new products for Gravity Forms.
Derek Ashauer discusses his new plugin Conversion Bridge that allows users to easily track conversions from forms and other actions in alternative analytics platforms beyond just Google Analytics. He highlights how most users don't utilize the full power of Google Analytics and alternative privacy-focused platforms like Fathom provide good enough analytics for most use cases.
Johnathon Williams talks about his new Gravity Forms Global Search plugin that allows searching across all form entries, fields, notes, etc in one place. He built it to solve pain points he experienced when managing large datasets in Gravity Forms. He also discusses his process for rapidly developing and launching the plugin publicly in just a weekend.
Key Takeaways:
* Conversion Bridge plugin enables connecting conversion tracking data to 12+ analytics platforms beyond just Google Analytics
* Alternative analytics tools like Fathom provide good enough analytics for most users without complex setup
* Gravity Forms Global Search allows quickly searching across all forms, fields, notes, and entries in one place
* Useful for managing large Gravity Forms datasets with thousands of entries
* Johnathon built initial version of plugin in just 2 days and launched publicly in 1 hour
* Rapid validation by engaging community publicly on social media
Important URLs:
https://www.gravityforms.com/blog/gravity-smtp-rc/
https://www.gravityforms.com/blog/brand-new-release-stripe-add-on-5-5/
https://twitter.com/DerekAshauer
ConversionBridgeWP.com
https://twitter.com/johnofhousejohn
Oddjar.com
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