WPcast.fm - The Professional WordPress Podcast

David Hehenberger and Doug Yuen
  • 5.0 (24)
  • TECHNOLOGY
WPcast.fm - The Professional WordPress Podcast

David Hehenberger and Doug Yuen discuss their experiences with running WordPress businesses.

  1. 09/16/2015

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

    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

    28 min

  2. 09/03/2015

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

    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)

    26 min

  3. 08/17/2015

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

    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!)

    18 min

  4. 07/16/2015

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

    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

    27 min

  5. 06/08/2015

    Balancing an Agency and a Premium Plugin (Beaver Builder), with Robby McCullough – WPCAST041

    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

    28 min

  6. 04/15/2015

    Our Goals for 2015 (Q1 Progress) – WPCAST040

    Now that the first quarter of 2015 is over, we talk about our progress on our goals for the year. The Core We previously discussed our 2015 goals in episode 30. This is our progress so far, after Q1: * Business financial * Doug: Double revenue, recurring revenue, and profit * Status: Revenue is currently on track to be less, but recurring revenue and profit are up * Plan: Concentrate on website in a day packages, new SaaS * David: Double Easy Pricing Tables revenue * Significantly increase LTV by experimenting with pricing, info products * Figure out additional channels for Easy Pricing Tables (affiliates, biz dev) * Status: Done (big difference was v2.0, not much going on in terms of channels and LTV) * Plan: Later this year, release v3.0: new UI, better shopping cart integrations (and opportunities for cross promotions), more designs * Business development * Doug: Launch at least 2 premium plugins * Premium version of iTunes podcast review plugin? * Audio player styling plugin? * Multisite management plugin? * Status: In progress – working on podcast review SaaS * Plan: Launch within a month or so, maybe do the premium plugin in Q3 * David: Get traction with Easy Opt Ins * In repository, affiliates * Possible rebranding/renaming * Build it to the level where it can support a full-time developer * Status: Not there yet, but made significant progress, rebranded * Plan: * Product roadmap: * 1.3 Analytics, mobile popups, offers * 1.4 UI overhaul * 1.5 Integrations and targeting * 1.6 New designs and more advanced features * Marketing * Content marketing * PR * Affiliates * Publish additional plugins, 1 or 2 in Q2 * Content * Doug: Produce 100 pieces of content for the year (podcast episodes, blog posts, etc.) * Status: Fail – just 8 (WPcast) * Plan: Probably not going to meet the goal, not the right use of effort * David: 5X our WPcast downloads, promote the podcast, USP, differentiate * Status: Fail * Plan: 2 pieces of content per week (starting a new podcast – marketing podcast with limited episodes) * Health * Doug: Run a marathon in under 3:45 * Status: Fail – didn’t run any marathons this year * Plan: 1 or 2 in Oregon this year * David: Work out 5 times/week (StrongLifts, yoga) * Status: Fail – only worked out 3x/week * Plan: Continue StrongLifts, work on yoga and mobility * Reading * Doug: Read 50 books * Status: Not on track – just 7 * Musashi * Zero to One * Traction * Plan: Continue * David: Read 30 minutes/day * Status: Probably reached 30 minutes/day on average, completed 10 books * A Guide to the Good Life * Stranger in a Strange Land * Plan: Keep going What are your goals and progress for 2015? We’d love to hear what you have to say in the comments below!

    18 min

  7. 04/01/2015

    Building Mobile Apps for WordPress with Pietro Saccomani of Mobiloud – WPCAST039

    In this episode, our guest Pietro Saccomani discusses how his business, Mobiloud, builds mobile apps for WordPress sites. The Core What Is Mobiloud? * Mobiloud builds great looking, native mobile apps for your WordPress site. * Full service solution (iOS and Android developer licenses taken care of). * Most used as a retention tool for publishers with existing audiences. * Push notifications for content, including categories and custom post types. * The free WordPress plugin allows you to design, configure, preview, and test it. * Pricing: subscriptions from $69-199/month, or lifetime licenses. About the Business * Started out as a consultancy, and this service evolved from a client’s project. * Over 2 million downloads across all customer apps. * Marketing channels: content marketing, email course, SEO, WP plugin directory. * Future plans: expand to platforms outside of WordPress. Connect with Mobiloud * Mobiloud.com * Blog * Twitter * Facebook

    23 min

  8. 02/25/2015

    How To Handle Refunds & Quick Update on WPcast – WPCAST038

    In this episode, we we answer a listener question about refunds and discuss the future of WPcast. The Changelog * Zapier t-shirts received, pictures on Twitter: * David: Easy Pricing Tables 2.0 is now out * Doug: returning to the US for a while The Core Listener Question: How To Handle Refunds for a Premium WordPress Plugin Part 1: “In your business, how do you handle customers who take a few hours of your (of your assistants) time and then ask for a refund?” * Support should be built into the price of the plugin * Sometimes you need to write it off as the cost of doing business * Some people will be a lot of trouble, but most people will probably never require support * Consider refunding people if they seem like they will require a lot of support work * See Episode 36 with Brad Touesnard Part 2: “I am thinking I am going to separate the plugin from the support, so two products. The support will be optional. This way for people who don’t need support, I can offer a lower price. For those who do, and eventually need a refund. I still make money off the time spent on them, because support will not be refundable, only the plugin.” * We don’t think this is a good idea – everyone expects at least a certain level of basic support * Consider adding a priority support option like Easy Digital Downloads WPcast Update * We might go a while between episodes, since we won’t be publishing on a weekly schedule anymore * Stay in touch – subscribe on iTunes * Sign up for our list – we’ll be mailing the list when we post new episodes * We’re looking for more listener questions and episode ideas * We’ll continue to bring in interesting guests * We’ll be doing quarterly reports on how we’re doing with our goals for 2015

    11 min
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5
out of 5
24 Ratings

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David Hehenberger and Doug Yuen discuss their experiences with running WordPress businesses.

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