In this episode, we discuss some of the best practices and tools you can use to deliver top-notch support in your business.

The Core

* Point of contact:

* Contact form (David uses, see https://fatcatapps.com/support/)

* Use conditional fields to ask pre-qualifying questions, reduce back-and-forth emails


* Forums

* WordPress.org, private (example: Easy Digital Downloads)
* More work, requires setup and moderation


* Email (Doug’s preference for a service-based business)

* Low friction for customers, they’re used to it


* Social media

* Not recommended for smaller businesses


* Live chat

* Getting more popular, more personal feel for customers




* Notification:

* Email
* Zapier
* Slack


* Tools:

* HelpScout
* SupportBee
* ZenDesk


* Hiring:

* 1st level support (non-technical)
* Technical issues (developer)
* Location/timezone issues


* Best practices:

* Improve response time
* Etiquette
* SOPs for standards and consistency




How to Deliver Better Support for Your WordPress Business – WPCAST029

Technology

Tech News

Podcasting

Gadgets

Software How-To

Business

Investing

Careers

Management & Marketing

Business News

Shopping

In this episode, we talk to Barry Kooij about building your own products vs. working for a company, delivering quality customer support as a solo developer, and the benefits of the plugin extension model.

The Core

* Barry Kooij from the Netherlands, develops and sells his premium plugins on Never5
* Organizer of WordCamp Netherlands
* Used to work for WooThemes (on WooCommerce)
* Left to focus on his own projects when WooThemes was acquired by Automattic
* 4 premium products:

* Related Posts for WordPress – caches related posts, works with custom post types
* Download Manager – monitors file downloads, uses the extension model
* Post Connector – connects post types to each other
* WP Car Manager – for managing vehicles


* Handles everything himself, with remarkably fast support response times
* 70-80% of sales come via wordpress.org or the free plugins
* Benefits of extension model (Download Monitor)

* Can add features without cluttering the original product
* Easier to get repeat customers with cross-sells and upsells
* Lower barrier to entry – easier to sell multiple small extensions than a big one
* People may feel like they are paying for more features than they are using


* Website: http://www.never5.com
* Twitter: @CageNL


The Benefits of the Plugin Extension Model, with Barry Kooij – WPCAST045

In this episode, we talk to Peter Suhm, creator of the WP Pusher plugin. We cover a lot of topics: GitHub, version control, deployment strategies, how Doug and David use WP Pusher on their own sites, and alternative traction channels to WordPress.org.

The Core

* Peter Suhm from Copenhagen, Denmark
* PHP and WordPress developer, met David at WordCamp Europe
* WP Pusher originally designed as a SaaS, later turned into a plugin
* Git is a version control system for code, and not just for teams
* GitHub and BitBucket are the common platforms
* WP Pusher allows you to deploy directly from GitHub or BitBucket to WordPress
* Makes it easier for agencies with lots of customer sites
* 5-day Git crash course on http://wppusher.com
* Case studies:

* Doug: using it for his iTunes review plugin – one install for the free plugin version in the WordPress.org repository, one install for the SaaS stable, and one install for the SaaS feature testing, using push-to-deploy
* David: using it for theme deployment on https://fatcatapps.com


* Typical customers: mostly freelancers and smaller agencies
* Traction channels:

* Alternative methods to wordpress.org because of terms of service conflict
* Press – primarily WP Tavern


* Twitter: @petersuhm
* Website: http://wppusher.com (free version and crash course)


Pain-Free GitHub to WP Deployment Using WP Pusher – WPCAST044

In this episode, Doug and guest Troy Dean discuss the importance of quality and keeping your content up to date, the origins of WP Elevation, and more.
Join WP Elevation’s $10K WordPress proposal challenge, and win a MacBook Air and StudioPress Pro theme package! It starts on August 18.

The Core

* Troy Dean of WP Elevation and Video User Manuals
* New changes to WP Elevation membership

* Revamped from the ground up
* Structured courses
* Classmates going through at the same time
* Gamification
* You get a certificate (unofficial)
* Accountability buddies
* Refreshed content – new and up to date


* Frequent speaker at WordCamps in Australia (and in other countries)
* New WP Elevation podcast format coming later this year or early next year … details under wraps, so stay tuned!
* WP Elevation episode with Seth Godin
* The WP Elevation competition

* Starts August 18
* Giving away their $10k proposal template
* Helping people write their proposals
* Win a MacBook Air and the StudioPress Pro theme package!


* Find Troy on Twitter or at WP Elevation (and listen to his podcast, it’s awesome!)


The Importance of Quality Content with Troy Dean of WP Elevation – WPCAST043

This week, Doug and David discuss WordCamp Europe 2015 and share how their businesses have been progressing over the last few months.

The Core

* How To Get the Most Out of WordCamps or Other Conferences – WPCAST003
* WordCamp Europe

* David’s WordCamp Europe 2015 Writeup
* Shouts

* Barry Kooij from Never5

* Check out his plugins:

* https://www.download-monitor.com/
* https://www.post-connector.com/
* https://www.relatedpostsforwp.com/






* Peter Suhm from WPPusher
* Pietro from http://www.mobiloud.com/. Check out our Episode with Pietro: Building Mobile Apps for WordPress with Pietro Saccomani of Mobiloud
* Mark Forrester talked about the Automattic acquisition of WooThemes (click for video)
* Caught up with the “WPMayor” (Jean Galea) – check out our podcast, “A Conversation with Jean Galea, WP Mayor”
* Matt Mullenweg’s WordCamp Europe talk
* WordCamp Europe Swag

* 

Swag from #wceu: @WCEurope t-shirt, @yoast socks, @jetpack bag and notebook pic.twitter.com/UUu2a3Tdm5
— David Hehenberger (@davidhme) July 7, 2015





* Corey Maass made a mastermind progress tracking site built on WP (LittleGoal.com)
* Chad Warner added us to his list of favorite WP podcasts (http://optimwise.com/best-wordpress-podcasts-summer-2015/)
* https://deliciousbrains.com/blog/ – Brad Touesnard & his team have been producing tons of  awesome blog content.
* Doug

* Business

* Paul Colaianni mentioned Doug’s iTunes plugin (http://www.gopodcast.com/how-to-see-all-your-itunes-reviews-from-all-over-the-world-in-wordpress/)
* ManageWP sent Doug a Happy 4th of July mug
* June was best month ever


* Personal

* Doug now in Portland, Oregon
* Caught up with Taylor Pearson, author of The End of Jobs: http://www.amazon.com/The-End-Jobs-9-5/dp/1619613352




* David

* Business

* June was best month ever

WordCamp Europe 2015, Fatcat Apps & EfficientWP Updates And Other Random Ramblings – WPCAST042

Our guest for this episode is Robby McCullough, one of the co-founders of the Beaver Builder plugin and the FastLine Media agency. Beaver Builder is a great drag and drop page builder, which we’ve used ourselves.

The Core

* Available as either a plugin or theme
* Free version: https://wordpress.org/plugins/beaver-builder-lite-version/
* Pro and agency versions: https://www.wpbeaverbuilder.com
* Better than hacking together a combination of shortcodes, widgets, and custom HTML
* Especially useful for clients, who can make edits visually without understanding code

FastLine Media: The Company Behind Beaver Builder

* The company is primarily a design agency
* Located near San Francisco in Campbell, CA
* Beaver Builder started as a “scratch your own itch” project, launched in April 2014

WordPress Networking

* WordPress meetups at meetup.com
* WordCamps at central.wordcamp.org
* In the news: Automattic acquired WooThemes, could mean big changes to WordPress.com and WooCommerce

Connect with Beaver Builder

* Beaver Builder Website: https://www.wpbeaverbuilder.com
* Agency: http://www.fastlinemedia.com
* Twitter: http://twitter.com/fastlinemedia
* Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/FastLine-Media/106732702687887


How to Deliver Better Support for Your WordPress Business – WPCAST029

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