WP-Tonic | WordPress | SaaS | Bootstrap SaaS | Startups

We talk about WordPress Membership Websites With Special Guest Mike Morrison Joint Founder of Themembershipguys.com. Mike Morrison is one half of The Membership Guys. Along with his partner Callie Willows has spent years guiding the growth of memberships, e-learning businesses and online communities. Now they run the Member Site Academy, where they teach small business owners and entrepreneurs the skills and strategies they need to build and grow their own successful membership website.

We had a detailed conversation with Amy Porterfield about effective online marketing trends in 2017. Amy the real business and with her team has really built a powerful online marketing business, We talk about email marketing, Facebook and live video in this just amazing show.

Amy really is a "down to earth" smart lady who is all about getting great business results not only for her but also for her fans and people who also sign up for one of her great online marketing courses.

196 WP-Tonic: The Best Landing Page Tools and Services in 2017

Main Topic

“What are the best WordPress plugins and online services for building landing pages that convert?”


This Week’s WordPress News Stories


1 - The Story Behind MOJO Marketplace with Brady Nord

https://bobwp.com/story-behind-mojo-marketplace-brady-nord/ �


2 - WordPress 4.8 Improves Accessibility on Admin Screens

https://wptavern.com/wordpress-4-8-improves-accessibility-on-admin-screens


Even though technically a landing page is any web page that a visitor can ‘land on’, it is a page uniquely designed one call to action or CTA. This of course will vary depending on what your goal is when someone visits the landing page. And if it succeeds in guiding them to your intended conversion goal, then your landing page has done its job.

As a standalone part of your website, creating a good landing page is essential whether you want to monetize your site or not, if your goal is to convert your users.

Creating the right landing page will require the right tool, in this round-table episode we look at a number of WordPress plugins and standalone online services that you can use to make that possible.

Here below is list of some of plugins and services that we discussed during the show.

Leadpages

https://www.leadpages.net/

Unbounce

https://unbounce.com/

OptimizePress

https://www.optimizepress.com/

Instapage

https://www.optimizepress.com/

ClickFunnels

https://www.clickfunnels.com/

ThriveThemes

https://thrivethemes.com/

Inbound Now

https://www.inboundnow.com/

We interview Bill Gadless joint co-founder of emagine, one of the leading digital agencies on the East Coast.

Bill co-founded emagine with Brett Cohen at the dawn of the Web. Primarily focused on emagine’s sales and marketing strategy, Bill’s insights have appeared on various occasions in MarketingSherpa, dozens of industry sites and publications and on the national speaking circuit.Prior to emagine, he developed his marketing expertise while building a highly successful direct marketing venture.  With a focus on emagine’s core industries and regional expansion, Bill has focused obsessively on building emagine’s brand within the B2B, High-Tech and Healthcare sectors.

Starting in the Boston region, Bill has successfully taken emagine from a regional player to a national leader in emagine’s target industries.

emagine

http://www.emagine.com/

Bill Gadless on Twitter

https://twitter.com/emaginebill

Table of Contents for Episode 195

0:00 Podcast intros.

1:38 How did Bill and Brett first start emagine? How did they get their first clients?

9:36 How important is marketing and sales to the financial health of a web agency?

13:58 Why your portfolio is an important asset? How did emagine build their portfolio in early days?

17:55 Differentiating yourself as a small agency. How are agencies limiting your earning potential?

25:41 When it comes to a value conversation with a client, how do you determine what you bring to the table?

30:43 Having fear about picking a niche. Why making The Hard Decision is so important.

35:54 What are Bill's thoughts on inbound marketing? What are other forms of marketing that agencies should be looking at?

43:07 How sales cycles change as you move from smaller clients to larger clients. What factors go into buying decisions in larger organizations?

47:40 What are challenges you might face with solvency as your agency grows? How do you manage cash flow?

51:50 What do you look for at emagine when hiring talent? What things are most important when hiring?

56:46 Podcast outros.

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Links mentioned during the show

SWOT Analysis

The Win Without Pitching Manifesto

HubSpot

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We look at useful and interesting WordPress plugins that you might not know about. Our WordPress panel looks at some lesser-known plugins that we find useful.

Here's who was on the panel this week:

Adam Preiser https://www.wpcrafter.com/

Sallie Goetsch: https://wpfangirl.com/

Jackie D'Elia: https://jackiedelia.com/

Jonathan Denwood: https://www.wp-tonic.com/

John Locke: https://www.lockedownseo.com/

Table of Contents for Episode 194

0:00 Podcast intros.

1:58 WordPress Story #1: What to Expect in WordPress 4.8

11:05 WordPress Story #2: WordPress.com Experiments With Allowing Business Plan Customers to Install Third-Party Plugins and Themes

25:54 Main Topic: Lesser-Known WordPress Plugins that are Insanely Useful

58:40 Podcast outros.

Links Mentioned During the Episode

Real-Time Find and Replace

HTML Widget Text (Easily add HTML to widget titles)

Image Widget (add images to widget areas)

Widget CSS Classes

WP Featherlight

WP Subtitle

SVG Support (Use SVGs in WordPress)

Kint PHP Debugger

Force Regenerate Thumbnails

Wa11y The Web Accessibility Toolbox

Super Side Me

WP Migrate DB Pro

Mergebot

Better Search and Replace

WP Advanced Database Cleaner

Simple Alert for Old Post

Image Regenerate & Select Crop

Related Posts for WordPress

Rich Text Excerpts

Anti-Spam

Term Management Tools

Custom Field Bulk Editor

MashShare

Widget Options

CometCache

WP Rollback

WP Security Audit Log

Yoast Premium

ACF

Say What?

Post Types Order

Admin Menu Editor

Full Width Templates

Reorder Post Within Categories

Imagify Image Optimizer

User Roles and Capabilities

Our guest this week is Unbounce co-founder, Oli Gardner. He’s obsessed with identifying and reversing bad marketing practices, and his disdain for marketers who send campaign traffic to their homepage is legendary, resulting in landing page rants that can peel paint off an unpainted wall. A prolific international speaker, Oli is on a mission to rid the world of marketing mediocrity by using data-informed copywriting, design, interaction, and psychology to create a more delightful experience for marketers and customers alike.

In our conversation, we talk with Oli about landing pages, and conversion rate optimization for pages.

There's a lot of psychology behind what landing pages are, and why they are superior to inner pages for pushing a specific offer. We look at all the things you should know about landing pages, and what makes people click. Guaranteed, you'll learn something new from this interview.

Unbounce

https://unbounce.com/

The Unbounce Conversion Benchmark Report – Average Conversion Rates by Industry and Expert Recommendations

https://unbounce.com/conversion-rate-optimization/unbounce-conversion-benchmark-report/

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Table of Contents for Episode 193

0:00 Podcast intros.

1:13 How Oli got into digital marketing.

2:09 What is the difference between a landing page and an ordinary page on your site? What specific purpose does a landing page serve?

3:21 What is attention ratio? How does it relate to where people click and what action s they take?

4:59 What are some common mistakes that people make with clarity of message?

8:51 What role does design play in optimizing a page for conversion?

11:20 We need data for A/B testing. What is a good sample size for A/B data? How long should those tests run? Defining your ideal customer.

17:47 The power of social proof. Who should you be using in testimonials to influence your target customers?

22:01 How much automation should you use in marketing? How machine learning is going to change everything in the next few years.

25:56 How can designers, marketers, and copywriters work together? What is the ideal workflow for page design, and page optimization?

28:57 Advice for writing headlines.

30:47 Thoughts on videos. Don't do things just because other people are doing it. How to use video in a powerful way.

33:45 Have an open mind when optimizing pages. Trusting the data. Using what you have to improve.

35:20 Some other influencers to follow and watch presentations by. The upcoming Call to Action Conference.

42:30 What would Oli tell his younger self to make his journey easier? What does a modern marketer need to succeed?

44:10 The strengths and weaknesses that Oli sees in the WordPRess ecosystem.

46:00 What are some tips that Oli has for speakers and presenters looking to up their game?

47:47 Podcast outros.

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Links mentioned during the show:

TinEye

Sample Size Calculator

Hotjar

Readable.io

Retirement of AlchemyAPI on BlueMix

Watson Developer Cloud (BlueMix)

Watsonfinds (WordPress plugin)

Qualaroo

Wistia

Call To Action Conference, June 2017

Mathew Sweezey (Salesforce)

Wil Reynolds

Tyler Farnsworth

How To Deliver a TED Talk (Jeremy Donovan)

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Subscribe to WP-Tonic on iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wp-tonic-wordpress-podcast/id893083124?mt=2

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An in-depth look at the Beaver Builder ecosystem, and the new Beaver Themer. After almost one year of development,  Beaver Builder's announce its first official addon. Beaver Themer is a theme builder plugin for WordPress.

What makes Beaver Builder so special? What makes their community unique? Will Beaver Themer change how people develop WordPress websites?

Our WordPress panel this week:

Kim Shivler: https://whiteglovewebtraining.com/

Lee Jackson: https://angledcrown.com/

Mendel Kurland https://ifyouwillit.com/

Sallie Goetsch: https://wpfangirl.com/

Jackie D'Elia: https://jackiedelia.com/

Jonathan Denwood: https://www.wp-tonic.com/

John Locke: https://www.lockedownseo.com/

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Table of Contents for Episode 192

0:00 Podcast intros.

3:07 WordPress News Story #1: New WordPress Plugin Blocks Spam User Registrations Using Stop Forum Spam Database

8:43 WordPress News Story #2: Weglot Multilingual Plugin Closes $450K in Seed Funding

19:11 Main Topic: The Beaver Builder Ecosystem

19:20 What makes the Beaver Builder community so special? Why do people like this plugin so much compared to other page builders?

25:26 What has Beaver Builder done right that other page builders have not?

27:25 What's a good way to handle licensing for clients with Beaver Builder? The importance of a cute mascot in a WordPress product.

29:17 Balancing being user-friendly and developer-friendly.

30:27 Lee describes how they integrate Beaver Builder and Beaver Themer into the workflow at Angled Crown.

33:51 How will Beaver Themer change the development landscape? Particularly in regards to frameworks like Genesis? What are the pros and cons of using Beaver Builder vs frameworks?

45:45 How does Beaver Builder output CSS? What happens when you deactivate the plugin?

47:40 Do Kim or Lee use any third-party add-ons for Beaver Builder? Will Beaver Themer change the WordPress themes landscape? The many ways in which people interact with WordPress.

58:05 A rant about people who complain about tools that cost money (that they then use to make money).

1:05:06 Podcast outros.

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Links mentioned during the show:

Stop Signup Spam

>Stop Spammers

Beaver Themer

PowerPack Beaver Builder Add On

Genesis Extender Plugin

Ultimate AddOns for Beaver Builder

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Find bonus content for this episode on the WP-Tonic website:

https://www.wp-tonic.com/podcast/beaver-builder-ecosystem/

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Subscribe to WP-Tonic on iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wp-tonic-wordpress-podcast/id893083124?mt=2

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WP-Tonic is both a WordPress maintenance and support service, and the publisher of a weekly WordPress business podcast.

We Interview Tenko Nikolov, CEO and Managing Partner at SiteGround.

SiteGround is a successful hosting company with hundreds of employees. Located in Europe, its CEO, Tenko Nikolov, has been fixated on growing his brand by focused on success across the team and for their customers. It's evident that SiteGround knows what they're doing -- and the photos tell a great story about a great company culture.

Tenko has shared his experiences with us in the interview below. We highly recommend you read it to learn how this young CEO has made his company so incredibly successful.

Tenko share with us about the future of hosting, Siteground's commitment to innovation, and what they look for in hiring for their team. We'll also hear the story of how Tenko rose from technical support to being the CEO. Lastly, what huge plans does Siteground have for the future. It's an episode that will give you great insight into one of the leading hosting companies out there.

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Table of Contents for Episode 191

0:00 Podcast intros.

0:29 How did Tenko first come to work at Siteground? What was his start with technology?

3:19 Did Tenko plan on becoming on CEO?

4:10 The three core values of Siteground and the role each play in the company's success.

6:54 Some of the technological innovations that Siteground  have as features, and ones that they are working on.

9:27 What are the qualities that Siteground looks for in hiring team members?

10:23 Why the term "the cloud" is redundant. What the future of hosting will look like. What company is actually pushing web hosting forward.

13:03 What features Siteground has to keep sites secure. Some things they are currently working on to make their hosting environments even more secure.

17:21 Who are Siteground's target customers? How does marketing differ between small business and enterprise customers?

22:03 How is marketing changing for hosting companies within the WordPress space? What word does Tenko want people to associate with Siteground?

25:43 What is Kyup? Who is it built for? What might it be in the future?

27:01 Does Tenko think Amazon or Google will enter the hosting market directly? Where does he see hosting in general going over the next decade?

28:39 What other projects is Tenko involved in besides Siteground?

29:25 Has the technical background in Bulgaria helped Siteground find some talent? What factors contribute to the talent pool in Bulgaria?

32:28 What is Siteground's top priority over the next twelve months?

34:29 Are clients asking more about renewable energy? What efforts are they making towards being eco-friendly?

36:20 Is WordPress more or less secure than other CMS? What contributes to its reputation?

37:20 What marketing efforts are they integrating with their technological innovation over the coming year?

38:46 What events is Siteground involved in throughout the year?

40:21 Podcast outros.

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Links mentioned during the show:

Let's Encrypt

Kyup

WordCamp Europe 2014

WordCamp Sofia (archive list from WordCamp Central)

Bulgaria PHP Conference

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Find bonus content for this episode on the WP-Tonic website:

https://www.wp-tonic.com/podcast/tenko-nikolov-ceo-siteground/

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Subscribe to WP-Tonic on iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wp-tonic-wordpress-podcast/id893083124?mt=2

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WP-Tonic is both a WordPress maintenance and support service, and the publisher of a weekly WordPress business podcast.

This week, we look at learning management systems and building an online course in WordPress.

Our WordPress panel this week:

Chris Badgett: https://lifterlms.com

Kim Shivler: https://howtobuildanonlinecourse.com

Sallie Goetsch: https://wpfangirl.com

Jonathan Denwood: https://www.wp-tonic.com/

John Locke: https://www.lockedowndesign.com/

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Table of Contents for Episode 190

0:00 Podcast intros.

2:21 WordPress News Story #1: 10up Releases WP Docker, an Open Source Docker Configuration for Local WordPress Development

5:30 WordPress News Story #2: Shopify Discontinues Its Official Plugin for WordPress

13:35 Main Topic: Learning Management Systems in WordPress

13:40 What is an LMS? How does it differ from an online course or a membership plugin?

18:36 How much goes into planning the material for an online course?

23:16 Technology is hard because planning the content for students is hard.

26:35 What part(s) of your course should you write first? The answer might surprise you!

32:02 Building in motivation to finish a course. Why gamification is not as important as creating meaning. The importance of community during a course. Mapping fluency to reality in a course.

37:56 Making sure that different learning styles are in the lessons. Following up with a sense of community - why this is the X Factor in the success of an online course.

39:27 How long should each course segment be? How do you determine what each student should be able to do at the end of a learning module? What is the sweet spot for learning modules?

42:50 Estimating what students will be able to do in a certain time frame.

45:11 IS it more difficult to move beginners or intermediate learners forward? Knowing who you are building the class for. Scaling engagement.

55:19 Podcast outros.

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Links mentioned during the show:

Docker

Safe Redirect Manager

Self-Determination Theory

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

The Dip (Seth Godin)

LMSCast

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Find bonus content for this episode on the WP-Tonic website:

https://www.wp-tonic.com/podcast/learning-management-systems-wordpress/

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Subscribe to WP-Tonic on iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wp-tonic-wordpress-podcast/id893083124?mt=2

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WP-Tonic is both a WordPress maintenance and support service, and the publisher of a weekly WordPress business podcast.

This week, our guest is Zack Rosen, CEO of Pantheon.

As CEO & Co-Founder, Zack leads the charge to define what developers need now, & what they and their clients will need 5 years from now—and beyond.

Zack pioneered the first large-scale Drupal website for the Howard Dean campaign in 2003, co-founded the world’s first Drupal development shop, CivicSpace, co-founded a successful Drupal development shop, Chapter Three, and also co-founded Mission Bicycle. What started as a professional website development epiphany—We’re doing it wrong!—evolved into an all-in-one platform after he and a few trusted colleagues got together and started solving problems.

What Salesforce did for sales & Gmail did for email communications, Zack envisions Pantheon will do for websites. How do you build a solution so important it can’t be ignored? Ask not, “How many gigs of storage can we get?” Ask, “How much more scalable can our website become? How much faster can we reach our people?”

Zack discusses the future of hosting, Pantheon's goals, Multidev, WordPress at scale. He also talks about the difference between Drupal and WordPress, education, outreach, and mentorship. During our talk, Zack defines the three different levels of websites, and the level where he thinks WordPress is still early in it's adoption. If you use the web to make a living at all, this is an episode you'll want to listen to.

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Table of Contents for Episode 188

0:00 Podcast intros.

0:19 How Pantheon got started.

3:50 Where Zack sees hosting going in the next decade.

8:11 Pantheon's lofty goal for hosting, and how they came up with that goal.

13:08 What most clients don't know about performant WordPress hosting at scale.

20:59 The effect that education outreach with developers has on the awareness and growth of Pantheon. Discussions about workflow with larger sites with multiple people working on it at the same time.

26:03 What is Multidev? How this feature is unique in WordPress hosting, and the practical use cases for agency team workflow.

29:10 Differences in community and culture between Drupal and WordPress.

32:25 What Pantheon learned about communication from WordPress US.

36:26 Dividing lines between different classes of websites. The expectations for each level. The level where Zack thinks WordPress is still early in it's adoption curve.

43:34 What Zack has done to prepare Pantheon for growth as it moves from one level to the next. Why he believes that the majority of entrepreneurial growth and learning comes down to mentorship.

47:01 Podcast outros.

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Links mentioned during the show:

Chapter Three

Mission Bicycle

ScaleWP.io

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Find bonus content for this episode on the WP-Tonic website:

https://www.wp-tonic.com/podcast/189-zack-rosen-pantheon/

===================

Subscribe to WP-Tonic on iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wp-tonic-a-wordpress-podcast-for-web-professionals/id893083124?mt=2

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WP-Tonic is both a WordPress maintenance and support service, and the publisher of one of the top WordPress podcasts in the space.