Matt Report

AppPresser: Launching a product with zero competition

WordPress business toolkit part 1

4 Content marketing tips for startups

The Impact of Public Relations

WordPress through Google Glass

Sometimes I should learn to keep my mouth shut. But if I did,  we wouldn’t get awesome interviews like this one with James Schramko of superfastbusiness.com. I was listening to James interview on another podcast and he lead in to how easy it is to launch a WordPress website. Even more so, how fast and cheap it is. Call it passion or call it crazy - but I called him out on why folks launching their new website shouldn’t just skimp out because they can. Long story short, he contacted me and this episode was born. Join us to discuss the steps it takes to build a great WordPress website! How to build a great WordPress website with James Schramko I like to think that these sort of lists are subjective to the type of website you’re building. In your case, you might focus more on the pure design aspects of the site or the mobile usability. Either way, I hope you find this list and collection of links useful for your WordPress business -- or even more important -- your customer's. Speed Speed is an important factor across the board. It will improve our bounce rate and help mobile networks tolerate the access to your content. Oh, Google loves speed too. Plugins that help: W3 Total Cache Smush it Cloudflare Other services: WebPageTest.org Your Web host - This should be your first stop ;) Usability When a visitor lands on our site are they able to use it properly? I don't just mean they can scroll or links work (though do make sure that is possible!) but that they can find the content and resources they intend to. We need them to take action because that's how we measure the success of our efforts. Plugins that help: Google analytics by Yoast Yet Another Related Post Plugin SearchWP Other services: CrazyEgg Google Analytics Mobile If you don’t have a mobile accessible site you could be losing out on revenue. God forbid you're a restaurant or brick and mortar store surviving on foot traffic. Luckily WordPress makes this easy -- but not too easy, right James? Plugins that help: Jetpack Wptouch Other services: Viewport resizer Content Have you heard of content marketing yet? Don’t cringe at the word "blog" or "podcast" - it’s new media publishing. Use your WordPress site as your homepage for all things online publishing. Plugins that help: Yoast SEO Watch our review on EditFlow Other services: Scribe Value proposition So many sites have become "owner" focused -- we do this, we won that, we're awesome. You forgot about one thing -- the customer! What's in it for your them or the visitor to your blog? Make sure you're properly addressing what it is your content solves or the pain point your product aides with. I don't have any plugins or services for this area. The great thing is, you can keep fine tuning that value prop over time! Call to actions This could fall under usability, but call to action or CTA can come in many shapes and sizes. It could be a burning red button at the top of your header or after a post. IT could come in the form of a pop-up or in between the content of your latest post. No matter where you place it, make sure it's clear and visible. Plugins that help: MaxButtons Other Services: HelloBar Got more actionable advice? I'd love to hear it! Leave your tip in the comments below. How do you build the perfect WordPress website?

24 Ways you can build a better WordPress website

Am I the only one that has an urge to start writing a book when the winter time rolls around? Brian Casel returns to The Matt Report to discuss his latest Launch Design for Conversions. This isn't a typical interview, we're getting right to the good stuff including planning your book, marketing, sales expectations and supporting customers. Learn from Brian's success and failures in episode 55!  Episode 55: Brian Casel & Design for Conversions Listen to the audio version or subscribe on iTunes! There's a long road ahead Brian set out with a very rigid scheduled -- then chopped it by 2 months. When he looked at the project from a 30-thousand foot view, he was a bit overwhelmed. Who wouldn't be when all you see is a blank canvas needing to be filled with all of your thoughts. But what did he attribute his success to? 1. Blogging Brian has been bogging for some time now. If he wasn't already producing content regualrly, this book writing task probably would have been a touch harder. On the flip side, guest blogging also helped him find success with marketing the book. So get your blog on already! 2. Planning Planning every step of the way. Admittedly this is my weakest point. He sat down and formulated a strong plan and mapped out milestones for himself. Along the way, he crossed off these accomplishments which became great motivating points. He drilled down to the day, which I don't think I could do, but certainly on a weekly or monthly basis. How would you plan your book? 3. Hard work There's no other way around it. This is going to be hard work. We chatted about the days that he had to sit down and just write. Mentally exhausted from the day or just not in the mood, he still stuck through it and pounded through the hard turns. I've heard this from a lot of authors out there and it's quite a challenge that I'm wondering if I could live up to. There's a whole heck of a lot more in the interview so be sure to tune in. A special offer for you Brian is giving you 20% off any book plan you purchase. You must use the special link and the coupon code below. Because of this nice gesture, I'm giving you $10 bucks off the Socialize theme that powers this site! Both offers are good for 1 week only.  Save 20% on Design for Conversions Use link: http://casjam.com/mattreport Use offer code: mattreport Save $10 off of Socialize Use link: Socialize Responsive Blogging Theme Use offer code: MATTREPORT10 Hope you enjoy this episode and the special offers. Don't forget to subscribe to my mailing list for all the great stuff going on in the WordPress entrepreneurial world!  

How to write your first self published e-book

The moment is finally here! The first episode of the WordPress Startup Challenge! Hope you really enjoy this series please share it with friends!

Episode 1: WordPress Startup Challenge

Well, it's finally happened. I interviewed Brian Gardner. If you don't know who Brian is, where the heck have you been? He's the first WordPress entrepreneur to pioneer the premium theme business as we know it today. He started StudioPress over six years ago as a passion project and soon became the de facto site to purchase premium WordPress themes. We're not just talking selling themes in this interview. We're talking about becoming an "accidental business owner" and team leader to a large distributed staff. See, Brian didn't set out with plans to scale, grow a a multi-million dollar business or partner with Copyblogger media. These pieces of the puzzle sort of fell together and we're going to learn what that ride is like. Interview with Brian Gardner of Copyblogger founder of StudioPress Listen to the audio version Subscribe on iTunes Can there be another StudioPress success story? There's no doubt about it, the theme market is a big scary place. With the likes of Woo and Brian's CopyBlogger market cache, how can you compete? Brian provides some great advice to those of us up to (crazy enough) for this challenge. One key takeaway, that I feel gets overlooked often, is partnering with other shops. Either designing child themes for a framework like Genesis or getting a helping hand from another designer/developer type if you need it. But what about the customer? Can we find a niche to exploit? The answer is, yes. Even CopyBlogger's audience is fairly diverse, so pinning down a vertical is still a totally acceptable strategy. Finding Inspiration Spoken like a true founder, Brian says anything is possible with Genesis. That makes starting a new canvas to a design much more attractive. Couple that with a desire to publishing his thoughts and getting bored of looking at the same old website, he's constantly under the hood tinkering with his theme. When asked if he looks to any other designers for inspiration, he confessed he tries to keep his blinders on. He doesn't want to get labeled as too inspired or down right copy another design. The power of a personal blog Being transparent is healthy. For those of you following Brian, you know he wears his heart on his sleeve and that's a good thing. His passion for writing isn't that of his partner Brian Clark either. This is growing an audience for other reasons than just business. If you're not focused, you're not efficient It's an outlet for any form of emotion, be it creative or personal. It's an audience for the gut check you might ask for from time to time. I love this concept and I think it's over shadowed by the typical web marketing crowd blogging for dollars. I really enjoyed talking to Brian in this episode and I hope you feel the same. Take a moment to subscribe to my e-mail newsletter and share this with a friend.

Episode 54: Brian Gardner of Copyblogger founder of StudioPress

Just getting back from PressNomics and flipping through my Rolodex of awesome new connections. Oh and catching up from jet lag -- sorry Rebecca. :) If you're interested in attending PressNomics or learning what it's all about, check out my review here. Loads of good comments there too. So what's up in episode 53? I had a chance to sit down with Josh Strebel founder of Page.ly at the event and chat with him to find out what's going on in his world. If you're thinking about starting your own managed hosting WordPress service you'll want to tune in. Episode 53: Joshua Strebel of Page.ly and what's going on at the Matt Report Listen to the audio version PressNomics founder Josh was super busy at the event so I really appreciate the time he took to share his thoughts with us. He's seemingly playing the long game -- heck, he was the first in the managed WordPress hosting space so he knows a thing or two about historical trends. I even asked him what happens when 3 managed WordPress hosting providers walk into a bar -- you might be surprised with his answer. But here's my take away from the event and my time with Josh: Give back to people however you can and good things will happen.  In a world of lean startup, MVP and analytics we get blinded by all of this data. We are trained to think our customers are 1's & 0's driven by keywords and algorithms. If you do get a chance to attend his WordPress business conference, you'll see that's not the case. Handshakes, hugs and laughs is what spread around. No mention of partner or white label accounts for his business. Just put out really good stuff and connect people. Which is just amazing and a motto I try to follow. Matt Report listener survey If you're on my newsletter, a while back I pinged you about what your #1 challenge was. I cover the top 3 in today's episode and provide some of my own feedback within their respective areas. So here we are a few months later -- are these still your #1 challenges? Have you found a new one? Let us know in the comments below. Loving what I do here It's not a question, it's a statement. I met so many awesome people out in Arizona last week that tune in week after week. THANK YOU! It was great hearing that I've connected with so many of you and have helped in some small way or another. I really want to kick things up a notch and create even better content for you. Stuff that you really want every week -- heck every day! Let me know what I can do better around here. A lot of folks asked me if I had been charging for anything and I said no. That's not to say it hasn't been on my mind and I would love to introduce a "Pro" version of Matt Report. I don't know what it is yet, aside from my 1 on 1 consulting I've been doing. A membership or mastermind of sorts is the first logical step -- but I don't want to be just another drop in the bucket. I want to make lasting impressions and provide real return on an investment. So have any thoughts? Drop me a line. Guest blogging Want to publish your WordPress business case study? Contact me. I'm looking to grow this community of WordPress entrepreneurs and invite you to use this blog as your platform. I chat more about that in today's episode so give it a listen. Til next time!

Episode 53: Josh Strebel of Page.ly, PressNomics and Matt Report Pro