One of the things that I really love about WordPress is that I can do it from anywhere, anytime. When I started developing simple HTML websites, all I had was my laptop, basic Photoshop skills, and a head full of (what I thought were) great ideas. There was just one “minor” thing that stood between me and creating my dream business: I didn’t really know how to get there all by myself.
After I built some sites and really fell in love with WordPress, I decided to develop my first plugin – WP Simple Giveaways. Soon, I discovered that running my own business is super challenging, as there are so many decisions you need to make by yourself, often without any outside guidance or help.
Starting from Scratch
Back in the day, as a starting developer, you could only learn how to do it from only a few people who were selling courses online. The abundant content on how to become a WordPress business owner, which is very much available to everyone today – just wasn’t there when I was an eager starting developer looking for knowledge.
There were only a handful who had really seen success, and as a complete beginner with no connections or a network of colleagues in the ecosystem, the only way for me to learn from the best in the community was to go to conferences like WordCamps and attend as many networking events and lectures as possible. Since it wasn’t that easy for me to build a network of fellow developers, especially in Croatia – that was a frightening task.
At that time, I didn’t have any spare cash to spend on traveling to WordCamps, which can be quite a big expense. Additionally, even if I had the money to attend all the conferences I could at the time, I don’t think I had the guts to approach an all-star and to ask for their advice on how to build plugins the right way. It just didn’t feel realistic.
Over the years, I learned a ton through trial and error. I’ve given lectures, written books, and created many tutorials for the benefit of other developers – tutorials I wish I had available to me when I just started. Along the way there were many times when I said to myself: “I wish I could get coaching from an experienced business owner on conversion rate optimization & pricing (or many other aspects of my plugin business) to save me time and experimentation.”
Granted Full Access
Today, the internet is overflowing with content on how to create a profitable business, still I meet a lot of young entrepreneurs facing a different problem: They are struggling to discover content worth their while in this ocean of knowledge.
Why am I telling you this story about my struggles at the beginning of my WordPress career? The guys over at Freemius just launched an awesome project called the Experts Corner – where a selected group of WordPress product masters share their best tips and advice for starting and growing your own WordPress business.
They’re sharing insights and best practices to questions I wish I heard the answers to when I was just a WordPress newbie. The videos address issues that any plugin developer should be aware of! Some examples are:
- Would you recommend selling multiple products or focusing on a single product?
- Is it worth distributing my plugin or theme through the WordPress.org repository?
- What’s the best way to offer coupons and seasonal discounts?
- How can I protect my business in light of the GPL framework?
- And much more!
VIP Access
To sum it up – if you’re launching a new business or digital product, there are so many things to do, and it’s almost impossible to keep up with all the tasks. Freemius’ Experts Corner videos will help uncover a lot of the strategies you have overlooked. This is a very precious chance to get access to the VIPs of the community!
I am an avid fan of Freemius’ content and I keep learning from their educational videos on selling plugins and themes all the time – I’m already subscribed to their YouTube channel and recommend you do the same 😉
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