What the ‘Press‪?‬ WPMaintain

How can you build a more efficient and profitable agency when it comes to offering WordPress maintenance?
A dirty little secret that has been hidden is finally revealed.  
In this episode, we talk to Phil Storey, founder of Glow, a product that helps agencies manage multiple WordPress websites from one dashboard. In the episode, Phil discusses how to increase the lifetime value of your WordPress maintenance clients by using Glow and some of the core problems you can solve for your clients. 
Episode Highlights and Topics:

How did Phil get into the WordPress space? 
Avoiding the feast or famine dilemma: Why Phil started an agency to offer ongoing website maintenance
Business mindset switch: How and why Phil changed from service to product offering
What does Glow do for clients? 
Pain points—Glow stresses the importance of maintenance via education:

Prove value to clients consistently
Improve efficiency
Understand bad versus good communication 

Benefits: Save time and perform updates for numerous sites with one click 
Common agency mistakes: 

Using email to handle support requests
Not suggesting maintenance early on
How reports are delivered and not understood by clients     


Resources/Links: 

Glow
Phil Storey on LinkedIn 

The entrepreneurial operating system (EOS) is a simple set of tools and disciplines that have been around for generations and is now used by more than 14,000 businesses. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel to compartmentalize everything in your business to know what needs to be worked on in the right priority at the right time    
In this episode, we talk to Andrew Stevens, a professional and certified EOS implementer, about systems. Andrew has more than 20 years of experience working in technology and agencies. He helps entrepreneurs and their leadership teams solve root problems, lead more effectively, and gain Traction® in their businesses through a simple, proven operating system.
Episode Highlights and Topics:

What is EOS? A system specifically designed for businesses with 10 to 250 employees
What is the EOS lifestyle? Control your business, do not let business control you
Why is a system important? Entrepreneurs need the right people and the right processes to move forward 
Vision, Traction, and Healthy: EOS is a methodology/framework that tracks these 3 things
6 Key Components of EOS Model: Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, and Traction 
Andrew’s Advice: Find a system that works for you (it doesn’t have to be EOS) to help you and your business       

Resources/Links: 

Andrew Stevens on EOS Worldwide
Andrew Stevens Email
Andrew Stevens on LinkedIn
Traction by Gino Wickman
Get a Grip by Gino Wickman

 
 

How do you build partnerships and strengthen business-to-business (B2B) relationships with agencies or introducers to grow your business?   
In this episode, we talk to Jonny Miller, WPMaintain Agency Partner and Director/Founder of Outlines Design. Jonny explains his approach to implementing partnership or affiliate programs for his business. 
Episode Highlights and Topics:

Outlines Design: Builds websites for recruitment and professional services
Why WordPress? Challenges an internal content management system creates
Niche down or not? Jonny is not a website designer for everyone—started with startups
Recruitment Route: Greater scope with broader sales approach to expand the network
Pain Points: Know and understand your clients to offer help and recommend solutions
Partner Program: Reflects on client referrals and rewarding team experience
Affiliate Program Structure: Pros, cons, and challenges of exclusivity or not?
Getting Started: Businesses should keep partner programs as open as possible       

Resources/Links: 

Jonny Miller on LinkedIn
Pay Monthly Websites for Recruitment and Professional Services

If you run a business online, what are the legal essentials for small businesses - regardless of whether you have a WordPress website or not? Startups and small business owners must follow basic legal strategies and methods to grow to the next level. Don’t get yourself and your business in trouble or waste time and money embroiled in some legal drama.   
In this episode, we talk to Reena Popat, Managing Partner at Carter Bond Solicitors, about how small businesses can stay legally compliant by sharing guidance and tips for entrepreneurs. 
Episode Highlights and Topics:

How Reena started, built, and grew her legal business from one to 15 offices
What would Reena have done differently? Hire slow and fire quick
How to Grow a Business: Learn and acquire management, leadership, and people skills 
Trial and Error: Low barrier to entry to start a business leads to potential legal problems
Bare Basics: Things business owners need to be aware of when starting a business
What is the entity? Limited company, partnership, or trader - consider limited liability
Legal Documents: Shareholder or partnership agreements and wills for your business
Legal/Website Compliance Requirements: What do you need and why do you need it?
Terms & Conditions: Avoid cookie-cutter, copy-and-paste methods - could harm business
Cookie and Privacy Policies: How and why a business collects data and uses it
Startups and Small Businesses: Your responsibility to stay up-to-date and in compliance      

 
Resources/Links: 

Reena Popat on LinkedIn
Carter Bond Solicitors
Carter Bond Solicitors on YouTube
Gary Vaynerchuk
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Why are search engine optimization (SEO) techniques important and how do you actually implement them in WordPress to grow your business? 
In this episode, we talk to Alex Murray from Tilious, an SEO agency that helps ambitious independent businesses grow with a revenue-focused approach. Alex shares how he helps his customers rank higher on search engines and what it takes for businesses with a WordPress website to get quick wins and long-term success. 
Episode Highlights and Topics:

COVID Pandemic: Positive and negative business impacts on work/life balance
Tilious: Story behind the name - paying great attention to details in the SEO world
SEO vs. Ads: SEO gives a better return on investment (ROI) and accumulates over time
SEO Misconceptions: The majority of WordPress sites are self-built, and handle SEO, as well
SEO Foundation: Nobody knows what’s going on or how things work - even at Google
Content, Content Marketing, and SEO: Mistakes made when setting up a website
Competitive Data: Follow data, conduct research to fill in gaps closest to revenue
Search Intent: Google doesn’t rank keywords, but ranks website pages for keywords 

Resources/Links: 

Tilious
Google Ads
Google Tag Manager
Google Analytics
Yoast
Rank Math
Autoptimize
Imagify
UberSuggest
Ahrefs
Semrush
Keyword Planner

Do you prefer a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to build, grow, and maintain a business and its website using WordPress? It’s all fun and games in the beginning, but as soon as something goes wrong or functionality needs to be added, that’s when most challenges arise and people start to struggle or get stuck.  
In this episode, we talk to Lee Rickler from Point and Stare, a London-based WordPress agency. Lee shares some of the basics of looking after your own WordPress website properly and building a business website that works. 
Episode Highlights and Topics:

WordPress: Changed from hand-coding everything to a content management system 
Assumptions/Perceptions: WordPress is really simple, but in reality, it’s more complex
Downsides to WordPress: Maintenance, security, and potential problems afterward
Misconception: WordPress is free, cheap, and easy, but functionality/features add up
Best Practices: How to build a WordPress website for a business to not get hacked
Free vs. Paid: Limitations and restrictions of WordPress.org or WordPress.com
Hosting: Ask questions, get advice, search Google, and conduct due diligence
Current Content: Make sure backups, SSL certificates, plugins, and themes are updated
Pure Luck and Transparency: Be honest about what you can/can’t do and outsource 
Networking: Everyone likes to buy something, but no one likes to be sold to       

Resources/Links: 

Lee Rickler on LinkedIn
Point and Stare on Twitter
Point and Stare
WordPress.com
WordPress.org