The Kim Doyal Show

*Disclaimer* I am an affiliate for all 3 tools I mention in this episode and will receive a commission if you buy through one of my links*

This is  kind of a big topic that I haven't written about or addressed on my site in a long time (I hadn't realized how long it had been since I'd written about sales pages, squeeze pages or landing pages).  There are two different elements I'm going to focus on for this episode:

The copy, reasoning and importance of these pages

The options and technical set up of these types of pages

There are a handful of different tools available for creating landing pages and sales pages in WordPress, but for the sake of time and my sanity we're going to focus on only three today.

Optimize Press2

LeadPages

Premise

But of course before we get into to talking about each of these tools, let's simply talk about these pages and why they're important, shall we? (no idea why but I totally got an image of the 'Church Lady' from SNL... thank you Dana Carvey).

I've had a handful of different landing pages and squeeze pages that I've put up for different events or products over the years, but it wasn't until I took the time to understand WHY they were important and really look at the value they created for my business that I started taking them seriously (I've already told you I have a tendency to learn things the hard way, so this probably isn't a big surprise, is it?).

For me it was all about not wanting to be "smarmy".  I was so worried about coming across like a cheesy marketer that I was hesitant to put up any type of landing page or squeeze page because I simply could not bring myself to write the type of copy that people used on these pages.

Fortunately I stayed away from the smarmy, highlighted, bolded red headlines (like how I did that? well, most of the time anyways, I can't say I didn't try a couple here and there). Unfortunately I didn't do enough testing and trying of what would have been more true to who I am, until this year. If you've been following the podcast you probably know already that a lot of things have changed in my business this year (for the better) and I'm implementing and testing things pretty frequently.

Squeeze Pages and Landing Pages

First let me save you the time from Googling squeeze pages and landing pages, you're not going to get a clear answer and it will probably just confuse you more. So I'll go ahead and give you my version. ;-)

A squeeze page or landing page is simply a page with one call to action - to capture your visitors name and email address (or just email address).

What I've starting doing with squeeze pages (and I'll just call them squeeze pages so I don't have to keep writing both, but you know what I mean) is creating different pages on different platforms and testing driving traffic to the pages through ads (Facebook ads) or sharing the links socially.

AND.. guess what? My subscribers are going up! Imagine that! (yes, that was MUCH sarcasm totally directed at myself).

The thing with these pages though is that you don't need to limit yourself to just one squeeze page, the purpose of these pages is to try different things. Test them, change the headline, see what works. I'll be brutally honest here and tell you that I've never been a big fan of "testing" things (I tend to be more right brain than left brain), but absolutely understand the value in testing and measuring what works.

I'm now becoming squeeze page machine (doesn't that sound like there should be a song for that.."squeeze page machine").

There are the obvious types of squeeze pages you can set up:

Squeeze page for report/ebook/offer

Squeeze page for something that's 'coming soon'

Squeeze page for some type of one on one session

BUT...

there are also a handful of additional pages you can set up that aren't as obvious (well, to me they weren't as obvious) but are missed opportunities if you don't implement an opt-in.

*Disclaimer* I am an affiliate for all 3 tools I mention in this episode and will receive a commission if you buy through one of my links*

This is kind of a big topic that I haven't written about or addressed on my site in a long time (I hadn't realized how long it had been since I'd written about sales pages, squeeze pages or landing pages). There are two different elements I'm going to focus on for this episode:

The copy, reasoning and importance of these pages

The options and technical set up of these types of pages

There are a handful of different tools available for creating landing pages and sales pages in WordPress, but for the sake of time and my sanity we're going to focus on only three today.

Optimize Press2

LeadPages

Premise

But of course before we get into to talking about each of these tools, let's simply talk about these pages and why they're important, shall we? (no idea why but I totally got an image of the 'Church Lady' from SNL... thank you Dana Carvey).

I've had a handful of different landing pages and squeeze pages that I've put up for different events or products over the years, but it wasn't until I took the time to understand WHY they were important and really look at the value they created for my business that I started taking them seriously (I've already told you I have a tendency to learn things the hard way, so this probably isn't a big surprise, is it?).

For me it was all about not wanting to be "smarmy". I was so worried about coming across like a cheesy marketer that I was hesitant to put up any type of landing page or squeeze page because I simply could not bring myself to write the type of copy that people used on these pages.

Fortunately I stayed away from the smarmy, highlighted, bolded red headlines (like how I did that? well, most of the time anyways, I can't say I didn't try a couple here and there). Unfortunately I didn't do enough testing and trying of what would have been more true to who I am, until this year. If you've been following the podcast you probably know already that a lot of things have changed in my business this year (for the better) and I'm implementing and testing things pretty frequently.

Squeeze Pages and Landing Pages

First let me save you the time from Googling squeeze pages and landing pages, you're not going to get a clear answer and it will probably just confuse you more. So I'll go ahead and give you my version. ;-)

A squeeze page or landing page is simply a page with one call to action - to capture your visitors name and email address (or just email address).

What I've starting doing with squeeze pages (and I'll just call them squeeze pages so I don't have to keep writing both, but you know what I mean) is creating different pages on different platforms and testing driving traffic to the pages through ads (Facebook ads) or sharing the links socially.

AND.. guess what? My subscribers are going up! Imagine that! (yes, that was MUCH sarcasm totally directed at myself).

The thing with these pages though is that you don't need to limit yourself to just one squeeze page, the purpose of these pages is to try different things. Test them, change the headline, see what works. I'll be brutally honest here and tell you that I've never been a big fan of "testing" things (I tend to be more right brain than left brain), but absolutely understand the value in testing and measuring what works.

I'm now becoming squeeze page machine (doesn't that sound like there should be a song for that.."squeeze page machine").

There are the obvious types of squeeze pages you can set up:

Squeeze page for report/ebook/offer

Squeeze page for something that's 'coming soon'

Squeeze page for some type of one on one session

BUT...

there are also a handful of additional pages you can set up that aren't as obvious (well, to me they weren't as obvious) but are missed opportunities if you don't implement an opt-in.

One thing that has become crystal clear to me (and this may seem totally obvious) is that when I set my mind on something with clear intentions the validation and support shows up left and right! I know... a little 'woo woo' maybe, but that's O.K., a little 'woo woo' never hurt anyone.

As my business has grown so has my knowledge and skill level (how else do you grow a business, right?). What I've found MOST interesting during this process is how something that I've learned, heard or "should have" implemented earlier (but didn't), now makes sense. Let's look at a few examples of what I'm referring to (in no specific order):

Build Your List

It's All About Relationships

You Have to Create Valuable Content (and lots of it)

You Need To Share Your Work

Support Other People

Measure What's Working

What Do You Want To Accomplish With Your Site?

Some of these things I've talked about quite a bit on the site and in some of the more recent podcast episodes. What I want to focus on is the very last point:

"What Do You Want To Accomplish With Your Site?"

If you haven't answered this question yet, you need to. I can guarantee that if you don't know what you want to accomplish with your site,  your visitors and readers certainly won't have a clue!

Unfortunately this says a LOT about you.

Of course I'm speaking from experience having learned ALL of the above points the hard way (well, maybe not the hard way, just the LONG way). The kicker with this though is that it isn't something that most people know right off the bat. It takes time and commitment to figure it out. You may have an idea of what you want to accomplish with your site - and that's great. Start from there.

BUT...

You HAVE to be willing to course correct along the way!

I was working with a coaching client last month and she was mentioning a product she wanted to create (she does WordPress site work, training, etc.) and when she mentioned an idea for a product she was going to create I asked her ONE simple question that shifted things for her (and she decided NOT to create the product):

"How do you know people want that?"

You probably know that her answer was, "I don't".  Just because we have an idea doesn't mean it solves a problem for other people (and by other people I mean our audience, but more on that in a minute). I came up with an analogy that to me, perfectly describes creating something when you have no idea if it's needed. It's like going to the grocery store and buying food for a dinner party for 20 people when you haven't invited them. You're just hoping they'll show up?

Kind of cookoo, don't you think?

The difference is that with the dinner party you know you're wasting time, money and food. With the product you're wasting time and money... IF you value your time.  I can't tell you how many people I've talked to that do things without equating the value of their time to the project. I'm not saying everything you do needs to have a price point attached to it (that's just ridonkulous), what I am saying is that you're running a business and if you're not making money it isn't much of a business is it?

When people land on your site for the first time, what's the message you're sending out?

And before you answer this in defense of what you're doing and how you're doing it, I just want to remind you that it's quite alright for this to be something that evolves, grows and changes along the way, as long as you're conscious of the message.

O.K., you want another example. I get it.

I had a client who hired me to do a new site for him for a side business he was starting (he had a full time job). SUPER nice guy, seemed to have a clear understanding of what he was doing and why he was doing it. We go through the normal process - logos, select logo, mockups, select mockup, code the site, etc. I should have known as soon as the site was coded and some of the requests started coming in that this was going side...

One thing that has become crystal clear to me (and this may seem totally obvious) is that when I set my mind on something with clear intentions the validation and support shows up left and right! I know... a little 'woo woo' maybe, but that's O.K., a little 'woo woo' never hurt anyone.

As my business has grown so has my knowledge and skill level (how else do you grow a business, right?). What I've found MOST interesting during this process is how something that I've learned, heard or "should have" implemented earlier (but didn't), now makes sense. Let's look at a few examples of what I'm referring to (in no specific order):

Build Your List

It's All About Relationships

You Have to Create Valuable Content (and lots of it)

You Need To Share Your Work

Support Other People

Measure What's Working

What Do You Want To Accomplish With Your Site?

Some of these things I've talked about quite a bit on the site and in some of the more recent podcast episodes. What I want to focus on is the very last point:

"What Do You Want To Accomplish With Your Site?"

If you haven't answered this question yet, you need to. I can guarantee that if you don't know what you want to accomplish with your site, your visitors and readers certainly won't have a clue!

Unfortunately this says a LOT about you.

Of course I'm speaking from experience having learned ALL of the above points the hard way (well, maybe not the hard way, just the LONG way). The kicker with this though is that it isn't something that most people know right off the bat. It takes time and commitment to figure it out. You may have an idea of what you want to accomplish with your site - and that's great. Start from there.

BUT...

You HAVE to be willing to course correct along the way!

I was working with a coaching client last month and she was mentioning a product she wanted to create (she does WordPress site work, training, etc.) and when she mentioned an idea for a product she was going to create I asked her ONE simple question that shifted things for her (and she decided NOT to create the product):

"How do you know people want that?"

You probably know that her answer was, "I don't". Just because we have an idea doesn't mean it solves a problem for other people (and by other people I mean our audience, but more on that in a minute). I came up with an analogy that to me, perfectly describes creating something when you have no idea if it's needed. It's like going to the grocery store and buying food for a dinner party for 20 people when you haven't invited them. You're just hoping they'll show up?

Kind of cookoo, don't you think?

The difference is that with the dinner party you know you're wasting time, money and food. With the product you're wasting time and money... IF you value your time. I can't tell you how many people I've talked to that do things without equating the value of their time to the project. I'm not saying everything you do needs to have a price point attached to it (that's just ridonkulous), what I am saying is that you're running a business and if you're not making money it isn't much of a business is it?

When people land on your site for the first time, what's the message you're sending out?

And before you answer this in defense of what you're doing and how you're doing it, I just want to remind you that it's quite alright for this to be something that evolves, grows and changes along the way, as long as you're conscious of the message.

O.K., you want another example. I get it.

I had a client who hired me to do a new site for him for a side business he was starting (he had a full time job). SUPER nice guy, seemed to have a clear understanding of what he was doing and why he was doing it. We go through the normal process - logos, select logo, mockups, select mockup, code the site, etc. I should have known as soon as the site was coded and some of the requests started coming in that this was going side...

Have you ever had a conversation with someone and within about 10 minutes you feel like you've known them forever?

That's how I felt just during the initial conversation I had with Jonathan Perez of SureFire Web Services  (before the interview even started). And he was a great sport about my joking about him not liking Big Bang Theory (you never know what you're going to find on someone's About page... he considers himself a nerd but doesn't like Big Bang Theory OR Star Wars... and kudos to Jonathan for risking the nerd backlash and sharing that little tidbit!).

We even talked about his dance skills.

Jonathan was my first interviewee who had always intended to go into Web Design and that's all he's really done. He fell in love with Photoshop in high school and never turned back. Although initially he was going to be a graphic designer but realized early on that he needed to learn coding (kind of out of necessity when he was hired for a job that required him to have skills he didn't have... nothing like learning on the job, right?)

Story Time

I loved this.

Within the first 20 minutes he breaks out with "O.K., Story time!" Jonathan shared his journey of naming his company, how many times he changed the name and what brought him back to Sure Fire Web Services (yep, he came up with the name out of necessity, changed it, then came back to it! You gotta love the honest learning lessons...).

Freelancing, Pricing and Working With Clients

For anyone who has been through these trials and tribulations, you're going to LOVE this part of the show! I found myself laughing consistently through this part of the episode because I felt like he was telling my story! Jonathan shared the challenges and mistakes he made when he was starting with freelancing and working with clients. I think my favorite 'learning curve' in working with clients was when he mentioned getting too friendly with your client (this was TOTALLY me).

Next thing you know you're doing a bunch of work for something that wasn't included in the initial proposal and you're not getting paid to do the additional work.

Been there, done that.

Hopefully you'll either feel like you're not alone with the challenges you've faced as a freelancers or can shorten your learning curve by taking some of the advice Jonathan gave (setting very firm boundaries with clients and sticking with them!).

Cool NEW Stuff from Sure Fire Web Services

BRAND NEW site!

I won't be completely redundant and go on and on with how much I LOVE his new site (it looks fabulous!), but we have to talk about the new services that Jonathan and his team are providing now.

You get a little preview in the image at the top of the post about the services, but here's a recap and some info. about what they're offering:

White Label WordPress Services

Learning Center

Project-based Support

White Label WordPress Services: This is pretty much exactly what you think it is. Whether you need something done or you want client work to be finished up, you can send it over to SureFire Web Services and they'll do the work for you.

Learning Center: Yep, just like the name says too. ;-) A premium learning center with WordPress tutorials by someone who is excellent at what he does.

Project Based Support: If you're a freelancer or simply working on your own site, you can send over individual projects or tasks and have them do them or finish them for you. You can focus on what you're good at and let them do what they do... really well!

Types and Views

Jonathan is a big fan and user of Types and Views and has agreed to teaching a class in the upcoming months! WOO HOO! If you're interested make sure to leave a comment and let me know (and connect with Jonathan and let him know as well). He talks a bit about Types and Views in the show, who it's good for and how it can help you. So, keep your eye out for that class to be announced in the next couple of months.

Have you ever had a conversation with someone and within about 10 minutes you feel like you've known them forever?

That's how I felt just during the initial conversation I had with Jonathan Perez of SureFire Web Services (before the interview even started). And he was a great sport about my joking about him not liking Big Bang Theory (you never know what you're going to find on someone's About page... he considers himself a nerd but doesn't like Big Bang Theory OR Star Wars... and kudos to Jonathan for risking the nerd backlash and sharing that little tidbit!).

We even talked about his dance skills.

Jonathan was my first interviewee who had always intended to go into Web Design and that's all he's really done. He fell in love with Photoshop in high school and never turned back. Although initially he was going to be a graphic designer but realized early on that he needed to learn coding (kind of out of necessity when he was hired for a job that required him to have skills he didn't have... nothing like learning on the job, right?)

Story Time

I loved this.

Within the first 20 minutes he breaks out with "O.K., Story time!" Jonathan shared his journey of naming his company, how many times he changed the name and what brought him back to Sure Fire Web Services (yep, he came up with the name out of necessity, changed it, then came back to it! You gotta love the honest learning lessons...).

Freelancing, Pricing and Working With Clients

For anyone who has been through these trials and tribulations, you're going to LOVE this part of the show! I found myself laughing consistently through this part of the episode because I felt like he was telling my story! Jonathan shared the challenges and mistakes he made when he was starting with freelancing and working with clients. I think my favorite 'learning curve' in working with clients was when he mentioned getting too friendly with your client (this was TOTALLY me).

Next thing you know you're doing a bunch of work for something that wasn't included in the initial proposal and you're not getting paid to do the additional work.

Been there, done that.

Hopefully you'll either feel like you're not alone with the challenges you've faced as a freelancers or can shorten your learning curve by taking some of the advice Jonathan gave (setting very firm boundaries with clients and sticking with them!).

Cool NEW Stuff from Sure Fire Web Services

BRAND NEW site!

I won't be completely redundant and go on and on with how much I LOVE his new site (it looks fabulous!), but we have to talk about the new services that Jonathan and his team are providing now.

You get a little preview in the image at the top of the post about the services, but here's a recap and some info. about what they're offering:

White Label WordPress Services

Learning Center

Project-based Support

White Label WordPress Services: This is pretty much exactly what you think it is. Whether you need something done or you want client work to be finished up, you can send it over to SureFire Web Services and they'll do the work for you.

Learning Center: Yep, just like the name says too. ;-) A premium learning center with WordPress tutorials by someone who is excellent at what he does.

Project Based Support: If you're a freelancer or simply working on your own site, you can send over individual projects or tasks and have them do them or finish them for you. You can focus on what you're good at and let them do what they do... really well!

Types and Views

Jonathan is a big fan and user of Types and Views and has agreed to teaching a class in the upcoming months! WOO HOO! If you're interested make sure to leave a comment and let me know (and connect with Jonathan and let him know as well). He talks a bit about Types and Views in the show, who it's good for and how it can help you. So, keep your eye out for that class to be announced in the next couple of months.

I had a conversation with a friend a couple of nights ago that spurred today's podcast.

The easiest way to share the conversation with you is going to be via story, which will probably be best understood by listening to the show, but I'll give you the story behind all this so you get a good feeling for what the show is about (if you can't listen to it right now).

Once upon a time...

Kidding. (I don't know what it is lately that I feel this incessant need to amuse myself.)

I don't think I've shared this part of my story before, so this will be new to everyone (yes, I know I'm redundant and repeat myself often). What lit a fire within me to get an online business started was actually a Real Estate Wealth Expo I attended in San Francisco maybe 7 years ago (don't remember the exact date). Prior to that I had heard a little bit about Internet Marketing on a CD program I had bought by Mark Victor Hansen (one of the Chicken Soup for the Soul guys). There was an internet marketer who talked about online business and making money with information products, which I had never heard of before!

People making money selling downloadable digital products???

Being the information whore junkie that I am, I was hooked immediately. And let me just say that at this point in time the ONLY thing I did with computers was email and games, and I'm not talking role playing games. I'm talking solitaire (didn't know I was such a wiz, did you?).

So when I heard what this guy was talking about... Pay Per Click, Title tags, heading tags, copy, sales pages, merchant accounts... it was literally like hearing a foreign language somehow it was melodic, like hearing Andre' Boccelli sing. I have no idea what he's saying, but I love it. Something about what he was saying struck a nerve in me.

Back to the Real Estate Wealth Expo.

There were some big keynote speakers there, Tony Robbins, Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki to name a few. I've read them all.. remember, I was a Tony Robbins convert at the ripe old age of 22... which is what lead me down the path of entrepreneurship (I've since moved on from all the motivational guru's... I have a much gentler approach these days). Besides the keynote speaker sessions you could attend these little side sessions and the topics varied, but needless to say one of the side sessions was on Online Business and Internet Marketing.

Here's the short version: The guy wrote an ebook on Halloween parties for kids. Put up a sales page. Made around $8-9k a month with it. Easy Peasy! (tell me you're chuckling at this point because you probably know where this is going). My friend and I invested in his $1295 program, packed full of CD's and spiral bound training manuals. And since I consider 2008 the year I started my business and this was in 2006, you can probably guess not much happened with this "fabulous special offer" we purchased. It was part the quality and support but more than anything it was execution (and confidence... on our part).

Fast forward a couple of years to 2008 when I started my business. This Business. That I love and adore and am grateful everyday that I get to do something I enjoy so much.

My First Time.

(no, not that first time! get your mind out of the gutter...)

I can still remember the first time I installed WordPress.

Oh. My. God.

It was a manual install (ie, no one-click fantastico or quick install set up) and I had to go get my neighbor, who works at home for a major bank doing networking (or something) for the trading floor, to ask him what the hell a root folder was??? I was using the WordPress for Dummies book and had NO idea what that meant (see why I like pictures so much???).

Obviously we got it figured out (four hours later) and moved onto the next steps.

Here's where the conversation with my friend comes in.

She wanted to start an online business too. She had the same knowledge and skill set I had at the time, which was zero.

I had a conversation with a friend a couple of nights ago that spurred today's podcast.

The easiest way to share the conversation with you is going to be via story, which will probably be best understood by listening to the show, but I'll give you the story behind all this so you get a good feeling for what the show is about (if you can't listen to it right now).

Once upon a time...

Kidding. (I don't know what it is lately that I feel this incessant need to amuse myself.)

I don't think I've shared this part of my story before, so this will be new to everyone (yes, I know I'm redundant and repeat myself often). What lit a fire within me to get an online business started was actually a Real Estate Wealth Expo I attended in San Francisco maybe 7 years ago (don't remember the exact date). Prior to that I had heard a little bit about Internet Marketing on a CD program I had bought by Mark Victor Hansen (one of the Chicken Soup for the Soul guys). There was an internet marketer who talked about online business and making money with information products, which I had never heard of before!

People making money selling downloadable digital products???

Being the information whore junkie that I am, I was hooked immediately. And let me just say that at this point in time the ONLY thing I did with computers was email and games, and I'm not talking role playing games. I'm talking solitaire (didn't know I was such a wiz, did you?).

So when I heard what this guy was talking about... Pay Per Click, Title tags, heading tags, copy, sales pages, merchant accounts... it was literally like hearing a foreign language somehow it was melodic, like hearing Andre' Boccelli sing. I have no idea what he's saying, but I love it. Something about what he was saying struck a nerve in me.

Back to the Real Estate Wealth Expo.

There were some big keynote speakers there, Tony Robbins, Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki to name a few. I've read them all.. remember, I was a Tony Robbins convert at the ripe old age of 22... which is what lead me down the path of entrepreneurship (I've since moved on from all the motivational guru's... I have a much gentler approach these days). Besides the keynote speaker sessions you could attend these little side sessions and the topics varied, but needless to say one of the side sessions was on Online Business and Internet Marketing.

Here's the short version: The guy wrote an ebook on Halloween parties for kids. Put up a sales page. Made around $8-9k a month with it. Easy Peasy! (tell me you're chuckling at this point because you probably know where this is going). My friend and I invested in his $1295 program, packed full of CD's and spiral bound training manuals. And since I consider 2008 the year I started my business and this was in 2006, you can probably guess not much happened with this "fabulous special offer" we purchased. It was part the quality and support but more than anything it was execution (and confidence... on our part).

Fast forward a couple of years to 2008 when I started my business. This Business. That I love and adore and am grateful everyday that I get to do something I enjoy so much.

My First Time.

(no, not that first time! get your mind out of the gutter...)

I can still remember the first time I installed WordPress.

Oh. My. God.

It was a manual install (ie, no one-click fantastico or quick install set up) and I had to go get my neighbor, who works at home for a major bank doing networking (or something) for the trading floor, to ask him what the hell a root folder was??? I was using the WordPress for Dummies book and had NO idea what that meant (see why I like pictures so much???).

Obviously we got it figured out (four hours later) and moved onto the next steps.

Here's where the conversation with my friend comes in.

She wanted to start an online business too. She had the same knowledge and skill set I had at the time, which was zero.

Have you ever come across something or had an experience that has completely shifted the way you look at something?

That's what happened for me this past week, with WordCamp SF, my "a-ha" I had about Training (a completely different model) and my Challenge (that I'm going to share).

A little re-cap from San Francisco WordCamp

... and why I'll probably not attend again.

I know, that's a pretty bold statement. BUT.. before I get into the nitty gritty of why let me say that I had a ball connecting with people I've only met online (@cdils, @bobWP, @OzzyR, @ChrisWiegman and had the pleasure of meeting many more awesome people).

That being said... the tracks that were offered seemed to be one extreme or the other. Very developer oriented or very newbie oriented (except of course for Carrie Dils talk on Saturday, which unfortunately I couldn't attend on Collaboration vs. Competition) with not a whole lot in between and even the newbie tracks seemed to be lacking "something" as well.

There was VERY little in terms of the marketing and business side of WordPress.

Which, when it comes to the WordPress community I feel is still lacking. You have people like Chris Lema who seems to have a firm grasp on it and is talking about it MUCH more often (pricing and marketing for WordPress products), but beyond Chris I don't see a whole lot of dialogue happening around this piece. I was listening to another podcast yesterday (I'm really becoming obsessed with these!), The Fizzle Show, and they were talking about douchebaggery in online business. Literally. I have to remember to think about where I am when I'm listening to this show because I find myself laughing out loud... often. As I did yesterday in the grocery store.

Anyways...

The conversation around douchebaggery was that:

1) It's really hard to define (douchebaggery that is) and

2) We're all probably a douchebag to someone. And my point in sharing this with you is that I think there is this fear within the WordPress community that if you charge for things that you're a douchebag (or charge too much).

Which is kind of why I think we don't see much of this at WordCamp San Francisco. Because it's where Auttomatic has offices and Matt Mullenweg gives his official "State Of The Word" address there's a certain level of perceived expectation around what type of speakers present.

The only other WordCamp I've been to was WordCamp Reno (a few years ago), and it was great too. But outside of networking with people in the community, my audience isn't really at WordCamp. And I haven't really seen any tracks that focus on the things I need to work on in my business... so for now, I'm just not sure where I stand with WordCamp.

[sws_divider_basic]

FINALLY!

WordPress 3.6 is OUT!

WOO HOO!

Which means... that Genesis 2.0 is on it's way too. Brian Gardner posted on Google+ yesterday that it will be out next week, they have a few final tweaks to make (we've waited this long, what's a few more days, right?).

Which ALSO means that I'm going to be releasing WordPress Genesis for Beginners: A User's Guide 2.0 SOON! This is a complete overhaul to the product with new videos, some interviews and a couple of other surprises.. but you'll just have to wait and see what those are. This is not going to be some smarmy internet marketing launch... I so don't have the stomach for that.

I came across something last week that completely turned my perspective upside down on marketing training products. I'm not trying to be sneaky by not sharing this with you (promise), because what I am going to do is track EVERY step of this new process. I'm approaching this totally different and will share what worked, what didn't, etc. after it's done (which will be in a few weeks).

Let's just say that this training is going WAY beyond the basics of using Genesis for the everyday user. You'll see how and why I use Genesis for everything I do,

Have you ever come across something or had an experience that has completely shifted the way you look at something?

That's what happened for me this past week, with WordCamp SF, my "a-ha" I had about Training (a completely different model) and my Challenge (that I'm going to share).

A little re-cap from San Francisco WordCamp

... and why I'll probably not attend again.

I know, that's a pretty bold statement. BUT.. before I get into the nitty gritty of why let me say that I had a ball connecting with people I've only met online (@cdils, @bobWP, @OzzyR, @ChrisWiegman and had the pleasure of meeting many more awesome people).

That being said... the tracks that were offered seemed to be one extreme or the other. Very developer oriented or very newbie oriented (except of course for Carrie Dils talk on Saturday, which unfortunately I couldn't attend on Collaboration vs. Competition) with not a whole lot in between and even the newbie tracks seemed to be lacking "something" as well.

There was VERY little in terms of the marketing and business side of WordPress.

Which, when it comes to the WordPress community I feel is still lacking. You have people like Chris Lema who seems to have a firm grasp on it and is talking about it MUCH more often (pricing and marketing for WordPress products), but beyond Chris I don't see a whole lot of dialogue happening around this piece. I was listening to another podcast yesterday (I'm really becoming obsessed with these!), The Fizzle Show, and they were talking about douchebaggery in online business. Literally. I have to remember to think about where I am when I'm listening to this show because I find myself laughing out loud... often. As I did yesterday in the grocery store.

Anyways...

The conversation around douchebaggery was that:

1) It's really hard to define (douchebaggery that is) and

2) We're all probably a douchebag to someone. And my point in sharing this with you is that I think there is this fear within the WordPress community that if you charge for things that you're a douchebag (or charge too much).

Which is kind of why I think we don't see much of this at WordCamp San Francisco. Because it's where Auttomatic has offices and Matt Mullenweg gives his official "State Of The Word" address there's a certain level of perceived expectation around what type of speakers present.

The only other WordCamp I've been to was WordCamp Reno (a few years ago), and it was great too. But outside of networking with people in the community, my audience isn't really at WordCamp. And I haven't really seen any tracks that focus on the things I need to work on in my business... so for now, I'm just not sure where I stand with WordCamp.

[sws_divider_basic]

FINALLY!

WordPress 3.6 is OUT!

WOO HOO!

Which means... that Genesis 2.0 is on it's way too. Brian Gardner posted on Google+ yesterday that it will be out next week, they have a few final tweaks to make (we've waited this long, what's a few more days, right?).

Which ALSO means that I'm going to be releasing WordPress Genesis for Beginners: A User's Guide 2.0 SOON! This is a complete overhaul to the product with new videos, some interviews and a couple of other surprises.. but you'll just have to wait and see what those are. This is not going to be some smarmy internet marketing launch... I so don't have the stomach for that.

I came across something last week that completely turned my perspective upside down on marketing training products. I'm not trying to be sneaky by not sharing this with you (promise), because what I am going to do is track EVERY step of this new process. I'm approaching this totally different and will share what worked, what didn't, etc. after it's done (which will be in a few weeks).

Let's just say that this training is going WAY beyond the basics of using Genesis for the everyday user. You'll see how and why I use Genesis for everything I do,