Category: Business Help

Business tools for WordPress site owners. Tips and tools for business sites.

Get Your WordPress Site Tweaked and Fixed for FREE

I know a lot of people don’t want to mess around with their WordPress sites for fear of breaking something. You might want to change your theme or alter the design a bit, but don’t have the coding know-how to do so. Or you’re afraid that a new plugin you add might not play well with the rest of your site.

But I know you still need a bit of help so I’m offering to tweak and fix your WordPress website for free! Yes, that’s right: no payment required, my friend.

Now, you might not want to hand over your site to just anyone. So I’m inviting you to check out my homepage to see what other sites I’ve built using WordPress. Here’s my LinkedIn and Facebook as well so you can get to know me better.

Now let’s get down to business. What are some things that you can get fixed for free? Well, I can:

  • Change your theme and test it
  • Add some HTML to update your site
  • Tweak the site’s design
  • Update the code of the admin area
  • Set up backup systems
  • Configure plugins
  • Do some minor coding

Since my goal with this service is to help as many people as possible, let’s set up some rules.

  1. I’ll work on the simplest requests first. Those would be things that are easy for me to do (like tweaking some CSS or setting up a plugin) or quick to execute (like inserting a couple of lines to fix a problem I’m familiar with).
    TIP: Break down your huge requests into smaller tasks. It’ll help us both, trust me.
  2. I’ll also prioritize working on requests that are more specific. If you explain what needs to be done, I’ll be able to work on it more easily, a win for both of us! I might set up a form for this later, but for now please be as specific as possible in your request. No “please fix my site” requests, of course.
  3. And also, priority goes to those who haven’t made a request before. Give chance to others, as they say. 🙂 This also means I’ll likely only process one request per person at a time.
  4. Yes, you’ll need to give me admin access to your site. You can use this temporary user plugin to grant me access without the need to make a new user. Security is one of my main concerns when managing websites and it should be yours, too.

To start, I’ll probably allot one day a week to work on requests, plus a few hours here and there. Fair warning though: if your request will take a lot of work, we might need to talk it over more and that might mean hiring me or someone else to do it.

If you’d like me to help tweak and fix your business site for FREE, join our Facebook group here!

You can also email me or send me a message if you’re the shy type.

How to Make A Brief WordPress Project Brief

Let’s say you’re introduced to a potential client by a friend. You chat, they seem really interested in the work you can do. Don’t sour the budding relationship by telling them “send me a project brief”!

First off, not all clients know what a project brief is. The ones that do often have an adverse reaction to it, similar to being called to the CEO’s office for no reason.

Those fears aren’t unfounded, of course. Project briefs are rarely brief and are often hard to put together. Often they’d rather off load that work to you, the developer. But of course, you can’t create a proposal if you don’t know what exactly the client wants you to do.

Why not make it easier for them then? Just send a short questionnaire with a few questions and take it from there. Better yet chat with them and ask them personally, or talk it over like an interview. You’ll build a relationship and close the deal much more easily.

You only need to ask these five guide questions (six if you count the optional one) to get the same information you need in a project brief:

  1. What’s your business about?

    People love talking about themselves, and what better way to do this than to ask about their company. If you’re doing this chat-style, you can even ask about a few minor details like their Facebook page, website, or office location. Keep these details in your back pocket since you can learn more about them by visiting them there.

  2. What do you want built?

    Since you’re a problem solver, ask about their problems. Often, they’ll reveal not just what but also why they want it built. If you can narrow it down to specifics, great. If it’s just some lofty goals, that’s also good for now. Just make sure to nail the details and deliverables down when proposal time comes.

  3. Who will be using it?

    An oft-forgotten question, you should also learn about who their targets users are. Are they the Facebook crowd or a more digitally-savvy set? Do they skew older or younger? Are they using it for work or at home? These and more questions will help you in your development, especially in your interface and process designs.

  4. When do you need it by?

    This question, we forget to ask on purpose though. For some of us, “it takes as long as it takes” is the motto. But of course, clients need results and that means having deadlines.

  5. How can I reach you?

    You might think this is a redundant question. After all, you already emailed them (or chatted, as the case may be), so you already know their contact number. But believe me, it’s much better to get all the details including the various contact people you need to reach, including accounting. Especially accounting.

  6. What’s your budget range? (optional)

    I tagged this as optional cause it’s best that you set your own rates, rather than having it dictated upon you. I don’t know about you, but it does motivate me to work if I am comfortable with the price I give. If they do give a budget, offer packages and make the amount of work you do fit their budget.

That’s brief enough for a project brief, don’t you think? You can always drill down to the details in succeeding chats or emails if you really need to. Now go and close that deal!

3 Practical Reasons Why You Should Start a Company Blog for Your Business

I’ve put off writing a blog for the longest time. In my mind, it was a lot of work and a long wait for little reward, if any. Even if you’re writing for someone else, it usually isn’t a long-term gig if the client doesn’t see any lift in their business.

But of course, now I’m here writing a blog against my better judgment. What changed? And why blog now?

I’ve come around because I saw that you shouldn’t be looking at blogging as a new revenue stream or a marketing channel. That used to work before, but with everyone else getting good at blogging, your motivation to stick to your writing schedule will dip if you don’t see any rewards.

Rather than looking at it as a money-maker, look at blogging as a way to improve yourself. Growth in your business will soon follow once you find your own personal growth.

Okay, enough of the pep talk! 😁 Here are three practical reasons why I blog and maybe it’ll convince you to blog, too.

1. Blogging builds your business strategy

Writing a blog requires a lot of thinking. You need to pick a niche, create topics, and think about your readers. As you write post after post and try new things in your blog, you’ll eventually discover a good niche that you both love writing about and people are eager to read.

Having a blog also forces you to stay on top of trends and think about what they mean. After all, you need something to write about. It also opens you to new ideas, since you often need to go and hunt for new topics lest your blog goes stale. It’s a great way to discover hidden opportunities that you would otherwise overlook.

But I think the best part is that you get real data about your readers. The analytics gives you some insight on what your market wants. And if you go beyond blogging by doing polls, creating plugins and apps, and building a community, you get even more actionable information and some potential customers to boot.

2. Blogging builds up your authority

When someone says they’re an authority in something, we often immediately dismiss them. That is unless they show some proof that they are indeed an expert. You can win awards, write papers, or be seen in the media, sure. But you can also build your own authority in your own terms using a blog.

To put it in practical terms, let’s say you’re meeting a client for the first time. You talk about some industry topics and impress them with your well-thought-out opinions, thanks to already writing about them. You get a big confidence boost by being in-the-know and it shows during the meeting. You can even send them a link to your blog.

Yes, it’s a bit of a humblebrag but if I’m trying to buy from someone, I’d rather go with the one that knows what he’s talking about versus the one who’s silent online.

3. Blogging builds relationships

One of the things I personally do after meeting someone interesting is looking up their blog. Sure, a website works if you want to get information about a business. But to know the people behind the business, you need to read their blog. How they write and what they write about gives you a better understanding of their values, vision and ideas.

In the same way, people will discover your site, whether through blogging, searching, or via the referral of others. Add a blog to your site so you can start building a connection with them through your posts.

A blog also helps start conversations with people. You talk about your ideas through your blog, share it with peers and bring it up during discussions. You share links to helpful posts that you made before that can help in someone’s situation. You can even use your blog as a “thank you” to clients by blogging about them.

There are many other ways to build relationships via blogging, from creating media connections to connecting with thought leaders in the industry. Having a blog opens you up to these opportunities that were inaccessible to you before.

 

 

There are actually a lot of other reasons to blog but I kept it to these three since these were the ones that mattered to me.

So if you’re still struggling to find a reason to create a business blog for your company or professional practice, I hope these three practical reasons will resonate with you and push you to start publishing online.

 

Need a Simple Custom Plugin for WordPress? I Can Build It for You

I’ve been writing about how to make WordPress plugins a lot lately. While I encourage everyone to try creating a simple custom plugin on their own, I also realize that not everyone is inclined to do so.

You might not have the time to spend learning and building a plugin. Or you might have tried building one but discovered that coding really isn’t for you.

If you don’t have the time to build a plugin but still want to add a simple feature or function to your WordPress site, let’s talk and I might be able to build the plugin for you.

If it’s a really useful plugin that we definitely need to share to the world, I can build it for free and then upload it here for everyone to download. We’ll work together to iron out the kinks and you have first dibs in installing it.

For plugins that need a bit of extra elbow grease to make or if you don’t want it to be publicly available, you can also hire me to build it for you. I can both create something from the ground up or modify an existing plugin for your company’s private use.

Interested in getting your plugin idea made?
Post a comment below with your idea, email me or send me a message.

Create WordPress Plugins to Promote Your Business

We’re drowning in content, but that doesn’t mean you should stop making it. But what you create definitely needs to stand out, which means making something that’s both different and engaging.

The one thing that I think fits both of those criteria are “apps”.

Apps = Interaction

By app, I don’t mean creating something fancy that you need to publish in an app store. It’s merely a shorthand I use to mean “interactive application”, a small piece of code that encourages visitors to interact with it via taps, clicks, swipes and other actions.

It might be a real mobile app. It can also be a plugin you publish in the WordPress directory, a browser add-on, or even a simple quiz you put up on your site. And since we’re all about WordPress plugins here, that’s the kind of app we will talk about below.

Useful Plugins Lead to Sticky Users

People who use plugins often add it to their site to solve a specific problem. But for you, the plugin maker, the app actually does one additional thing. It helps build your authority.

One adage says that the more often people are exposed to your message, the more likely they are to remember it and take action. Ads were a great way to do that before they became expensive. Content was the next best thing but since it was so easy to make online, you’re competing with a lot of other guys who make better content than you.

While content can easily be discarded after use, plugins have a longer life span. If it’s easy to use and produces results, people will use it time and again. That’s multiple exposures right there without having to make new content each time.

And those users are more likely to recommend your plugin, a nice side effect of using it often. More people using your plugin, the more chances they will use your other plugins and eventually try out your products and services.

Who’s Using Plugins for Marketing?

But I’m not alone in discovering this revelation though. A few other keen minds have thought that publishing a free and useful plugin then adding a few small “ads” is a great way to get customers and clients.

Let me show you some examples:

  • WordFence. A very powerful plugin that guards your site but it also has a small ad at the side where you can hire security professionals in case you get into more trouble than the plugin can handle.
  • H5P. A brilliant plugin for creating interactive content, or in other words: an app that makes apps. Each piece it makes is branded with their logo so if you get curious how you can build a piece similar to the one you’re seeing, one click lets you install the app for yourself.
  • Zotabox. This plugin lets you easily add attention-getters on your site, from popups to countdown timers. Personally, I use it to add Facebook Chat on my pages. It’s easy to configure and try out a few of the free features and once you’re hooked, you can pay for the other options.
  • YITH – if you’ve ever dabbled in WooCommerce, you’ve definitely run into at least one of the dozens of plugins made by this company. Their plugins work well but their upsell is a simple nudge to buy their more powerful pro versions.

So I think this method is quite effective if you’re into selling software, and not just WordPress paid themes and plugins. It’s also a way to share your services in a non-salesy and helpful way.

How to Use Plugins for Marketing

If you’ve already made a useful plugin, the next step is to find out how to insert your marketing message inside the app. Here are a few examples:

  1. Add a can’t-miss link back to your own site in the plugin’s options.
  2. Insert a link to your sales page on your plugin’s description in the user’s list of plugins. You can even put it right beside the Activate link so they can’t miss it.
  3. Add a dismissable notice at the top of the page to lead the user to your homepage.

These are just a few of the ideas that other plugin makers have used to market their other products and services. There also other more unsavory ways to promote within your app but I don’t recommend them if you want to really convert the user to a customer.

I’ll probably be creating a brand new post to cover not just how to market your business within your plugin but also how to market the plugin itself.

It might seem like an extra step versus just promoting your business or services directly, but keep in mind that unlike content or ads, plugins stick around a lot longer. And it’s also easier to market something useful and easy to install.

I’ll be adding a link to the new post here once I’ve made it. You can add me on Facebook if you want to get notified when it’s up (I’ll post it on my feed). Or send me your email below.