you created a plugin. now what?

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You Created a Plugin

N o w W h at ?

W o r d C a m p A s h e v i l l e 2 0 1 7


Who Are You?


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Adam W. Warner

•Wo rd Pres s Evan ge l i s t at S i teL o ck• C o - Fo u n d er at Fo o P l u g i n s• D i s covered Word Pres s i n 2 0 0 5•Wo rd Pres s C o m m u n i ty Ad d i c t• Fan o f F rac ta l s• L over o f Meatb a l l s• Prou d D ad !


History of Plugins


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• WordPress Released – 5/27/2003• Mingus – 5/22/2004- Added support of Plugins• Duke – 12/31/2005 - Improvements for Plugin developers• Brecker – 3/29/2008 - Improved plugin system• Coltrane – 12/11/2008 - Auto upgrades and installation/wp-admin• Carmen – 12/19/2009 - Batch plugin updating• Benny – 9/4/2014 - Plugin discovery• Dinah – 12/18/2014 - Plugin recommendations

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• WP eCommerce• Wishlist Member• WPMUDEV - 2007• Gravity Forms - 2008• iThemes (Billboard plugin) – 2008• CodeCanyon - 2010

Premium Plugins


Should You Start?


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Cons:Uncertain incomeHealth insuranceMore complicated financesHigher criteria for loansDoing everything = stressRemote work isolation

Considerations

Pros:Do what you loveIn total controlBetter work/life balance?More efficient than officePrideMore $$$

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Is It a Good Idea?

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Will People Buy It?


My Story


H o w a n o n - d e v e l o p e r c o - fo u n d e d

a p re m i u m p l u g i n b u s i n e s s

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It Started with a Paper Route

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Finding WordPress

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Following My Passion

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Finding a Partner


Before You Sell


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Market Research

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Know Your Business Model

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Solve a Problem

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Don’t Reinvent – Do It Better


Where to Sell


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Existing Marketplace

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Your Own Site


How to Sell


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The Right Tool for the Job

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The Other Right Tool for the Job


Marketing


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It Starts with Free

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WP.org

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The Freemium Sales Funnel

Awareness

Activation

Usage

Purchase

Advocacy

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Upgrades or Extensions


Increasing Active Installs (and Sales)


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Repo Meta Matters

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• Explain what and why• Highlight features• How to use• Include free/pro comparison

Copy that Drives Installs

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Plugin Repository SEO

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• T i t l e

• E xc e r p t ( s h o r t d e s c r i p t i o n )

• D e s c r i p t i o n ( i n c l u d i n g FA Q , c h a n g e l o g , e v e r y t h i n g … )

• Ta g s

• S l u g

• A u t h o r n a m e

• C o n t r i b u t o rs n a m e s

Algorithm Phase One

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• L a s t u p d at e d at e

• C o m p at i b i l i t y w i t h t h e l a t e s t c o re v e rs i o n

• N u m b e r o f a c t i v e i n s ta l l s

• % o f re s o l v e d s u p p o r t t i c ke t s

• Av e ra g e ra t i n g

Algorithm Phase Two

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• T i t l e

• E x c e r p t ( s h o r t d e s c r i p t i o n )

• D e s c r i p t i o n ( i n c l u d i n g F A Q , c h a n g e l o g , e v e r y t h i n g … )

• T a g s

• S l u g

• A u t h o r n a m e

• C o n t r i b u t o r s n a m e s

• T r a n s l a t i o n s

• R e l e a s i n g a n u p d a t e e v e r y 1 8 0 d a y s

• Te s t e d u p t o ( C o m p a t i b i l i t y w i t h l a t e s t c o r e v e r s i o n )

• R e s o l v i n g s u p p o r t t i c k e t s

SEO Summary

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Data Collection is GoodUninformed Decisions are Bad


Streamlining Upgrades


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The Old Way

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The New Way


Marketing, Marketing, Marketing!


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• Opt-in in free plugin• Opt-in when upgrading• Automation • Add value • Ask for the sale• Freemius webhooks + Mailchimp = awesome

Email Marketing

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• Plugin features• Plugin settings• Related tutorials• Use support as inspiration• Customer showcase

Content Marketing

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• Use data/analytics to tell you where• Sources for content• Schedule posts• Reword and reuse• Not a designer? Use this...

Social Media Marketing

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• Incentivize reviews• Increased exposure• Increased website traffic• Better search engine ranking• You control percentages• Opens partnership doors

Affiliate Program


Pro Tips


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Upsells

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Cross Sells

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Exit Discounts

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Recovered Carts

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Cross Promotion Partnerships


Pricing


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What Will the Market Bear?

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Auto Renew

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A/B Testing


Developer Tips


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• Hat tip to John Turner and Josh Pollock• Sanitize and validate everything• Use the WordPress Settings API and native UI CSS classes• Prefix everything• Namespace everything• Properly enqueue scripts

Make Your Life Easier


The Elephant in the Room


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Support Will Make or Break You

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Good

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Bad

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Social Proof

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Support Options

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Knowledge Base

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Encourage Self Help


Now What?


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• Validate your idea• Market research• Choose a platform• Marketing• Marketing• Marketing…

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Thank You – Questions?

• Fo l low at :• @SiteLock

• @wpmodder

• My B log Posts :• http://wpdistrict.sitelock.com

• http://succeedwithwp.com

• https://fooplugins.com

http://wpdistrict.sitelock.com/

http://adamwwarner.com/

https://fooplugins.com/