Let’s cut to the chase.
WordCamp’s are great, but it’s a breeding ground for our competition. I know, I know — we’re all friends here. Just hear out my next guest.
John is a master marketer and business builder. He uses WordPress to write his blog which ultimately lead to publishing his book, Brand Against the Machine.
He joins us to talk about improving our business and ultimately our bottom line. If you’re someone who dosen’t want to come out of the basement from coding, don’t bother pressing on to this interview. If you’re ready to kick ass and take names later, potentially saying goodbye to your coding buddy at the next WC — hit play now!
John Morgan on bullshit radars, understanding customers, and quitting your competition
Listen to the audio version
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Are you ready for the cold hard facts?
What do I love about John? No bullshit, straight talking, all around awesomeness.
But he’s not all flash. He’s been marketing and building businesses for 12 years. So yes, there’s plenty to learn from him.
Knowledge vs know how
If you’re someone looking to hire a WordPress developer or designer, listen up.
John makes the point, with WordPress at such a low barrier to entry, there are people that know about WordPress “stuff” and then there’s the people that have the know-how and there’s a big difference.
Ask your next WordPress hire if they have actually built, supported, and launched the knowledge they posses.
Bullshit radars are better than ever
If you’re a freelancer applying for the above job, be on the lookout: people’s bullshit radars are better than ever.
You might not get by with some complex jargon, flashy portfolio of themes, and free shared hosting. People want quality work and if you’re pitching them cheap solutions, you should learn how to raise your rates.
Customers don’t know you have the solution for them
This is a biggie.
We (as in the WordPress community) spend so much time with each other, we never reach our clients. Sure there’s the argument that you might find some low hanging fruit at large WordCamps and I’m sure there’s a case for finding an enterprise client or two.
But John’s point is, if you’re looking to drum up business, spend time at other venues where your clients will be. If your niche is restaurants, is the WordCamp audience good for you? Think about it.
If you want better clients, build a better brand
This is obvious, but overlooked quite often.
Partly because it’s not easy and the other part is we’re so busy working we forget to elevate ourselves.
First you need to be honest with yourself and understand that you want to grow. Second, you need to start taking those action steps to charging more and growing the brand.
I need to know
Do you like hearing from “non” WordPress people? Are you enjoying interviews like this that help you improve your WordPress business?
Are you a freelancer getting some value from the podcast?
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