How can you build a more efficient and profitable agency when it comes to offering WordPress maintenance?

A dirty little secret that has been hidden is finally revealed.

In this episode, we talk to Phil Storey, founder of Glow, a product that helps agencies manage multiple WordPress websites from one dashboard. In the episode, Phil discusses how to increase the lifetime value of your WordPress maintenance clients by using Glow and some of the core problems you can solve for your clients.

Episode Highlights and Topics:

• How did Phil get into the WordPress space?
• Avoiding the feast or famine dilemma: Why Phil started an agency to offer ongoing website maintenance
• Business mindset switch: How and why Phil changed from service to product offering
• What does Glow do for clients?
• Pain points—Glow stresses the importance of maintenance via education:
  • Prove value to clients consistently
  • Improve efficiency
  • Understand bad versus good communication
• Benefits: Save time and perform updates for numerous sites with one click
• Common agency mistakes:
  • Using email to handle support requests
  • Not suggesting maintenance early on
  • How reports are delivered and not understood by clients

Resources/Links:

• Glow
• Phil Storey on LinkedIn

The entrepreneurial operating system (EOS) is a simple set of tools and disciplines that have been around for generations and is now used by more than 14,000 businesses. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel to compartmentalize everything in your business to know what needs to be worked on in the right priority at the right time

In this episode, we talk to Andrew Stevens, a professional and certified EOS implementer, about systems. Andrew has more than 20 years of experience working in technology and agencies. He helps entrepreneurs and their leadership teams solve root problems, lead more effectively, and gain Traction® in their businesses through a simple, proven operating system.

Episode Highlights and Topics:

• What is EOS? A system specifically designed for businesses with 10 to 250 employees
• What is the EOS lifestyle? Control your business, do not let business control you
• Why is a system important? Entrepreneurs need the right people and the right processes to move forward
• Vision, Traction, and Healthy: EOS is a methodology/framework that tracks these 3 things
• 6 Key Components of EOS Model: Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, and Traction
• Andrew’s Advice: Find a system that works for you (it doesn’t have to be EOS) to help you and your business

Resources/Links:

• Andrew Stevens on EOS Worldwide
• Andrew Stevens Email
• Andrew Stevens on LinkedIn
• Traction by Gino Wickman
• Get a Grip by Gino Wickman

How do you build partnerships and strengthen business-to-business (B2B) relationships with agencies or introducers to grow your business?

In this episode, we talk to Jonny Miller, WPMaintain Agency Partner and Director/Founder of Outlines Design. Jonny explains his approach to implementing partnership or affiliate programs for his business.

Episode Highlights and Topics:

• Outlines Design: Builds websites for recruitment and professional services
• Why WordPress? Challenges an internal content management system creates
• Niche down or not? Jonny is not a website designer for everyone—started with startups
• Recruitment Route: Greater scope with broader sales approach to expand the network
• Pain Points: Know and understand your clients to offer help and recommend solutions
• Partner Program: Reflects on client referrals and rewarding team experience
• Affiliate Program Structure: Pros, cons, and challenges of exclusivity or not?
• Getting Started: Businesses should keep partner programs as open as possible

Resources/Links:

• Jonny Miller on LinkedIn
• Pay Monthly Websites for Recruitment and Professional Services

If you run a business online, what are the legal essentials for small businesses - regardless of whether you have a WordPress website or not? Startups and small business owners must follow basic legal strategies and methods to grow to the next level. Don’t get yourself and your business in trouble or waste time and money embroiled in some legal drama.

In this episode, we talk to Reena Popat, Managing Partner at Carter Bond Solicitors, about how small businesses can stay legally compliant by sharing guidance and tips for entrepreneurs.

Episode Highlights and Topics:

• How Reena started, built, and grew her legal business from one to 15 offices
• What would Reena have done differently? Hire slow and fire quick
• How to Grow a Business: Learn and acquire management, leadership, and people skills
• Trial and Error: Low barrier to entry to start a business leads to potential legal problems
• Bare Basics: Things business owners need to be aware of when starting a business
• What is the entity? Limited company, partnership, or trader - consider limited liability
• Legal Documents: Shareholder or partnership agreements and wills for your business
• Legal/Website Compliance Requirements: What do you need and why do you need it?
• Terms & Conditions: Avoid cookie-cutter, copy-and-paste methods - could harm business
• Cookie and Privacy Policies: How and why a business collects data and uses it
• Startups and Small Businesses: Your responsibility to stay up-to-date and in compliance

Resources/Links:

• Reena Popat on LinkedIn
• Carter Bond Solicitors
• Carter Bond Solicitors on YouTube
• Gary Vaynerchuk
• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Why are search engine optimization (SEO) techniques important and how do you actually implement them in WordPress to grow your business?

In this episode, we talk to Alex Murray from Tilious, an SEO agency that helps ambitious independent businesses grow with a revenue-focused approach. Alex shares how he helps his customers rank higher on search engines and what it takes for businesses with a WordPress website to get quick wins and long-term success.

Episode Highlights and Topics:

• COVID Pandemic: Positive and negative business impacts on work/life balance
• Tilious: Story behind the name - paying great attention to details in the SEO world
• SEO vs. Ads: SEO gives a better return on investment (ROI) and accumulates over time
• SEO Misconceptions: The majority of WordPress sites are self-built, and handle SEO, as well
• SEO Foundation: Nobody knows what’s going on or how things work - even at Google
• Content, Content Marketing, and SEO: Mistakes made when setting up a website
• Competitive Data: Follow data, conduct research to fill in gaps closest to revenue
• Search Intent: Google doesn’t rank keywords, but ranks website pages for keywords

Resources/Links:

• Tilious
• Google Ads
• Google Tag Manager
• Google Analytics
• Yoast
• Rank Math
• Autoptimize
• Imagify
• UberSuggest
• Ahrefs
• Semrush
• Keyword Planner

Do you prefer a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to build, grow, and maintain a business and its website using WordPress? It’s all fun and games in the beginning, but as soon as something goes wrong or functionality needs to be added, that’s when most challenges arise and people start to struggle or get stuck.

In this episode, we talk to Lee Rickler from Point and Stare, a London-based WordPress agency. Lee shares some of the basics of looking after your own WordPress website properly and building a business website that works.

Episode Highlights and Topics:

• WordPress: Changed from hand-coding everything to a content management system
• Assumptions/Perceptions: WordPress is really simple, but in reality, it’s more complex
• Downsides to WordPress: Maintenance, security, and potential problems afterward
• Misconception: WordPress is free, cheap, and easy, but functionality/features add up
• Best Practices: How to build a WordPress website for a business to not get hacked
• Free vs. Paid: Limitations and restrictions of WordPress.org or WordPress.com
• Hosting: Ask questions, get advice, search Google, and conduct due diligence
• Current Content: Make sure backups, SSL certificates, plugins, and themes are updated
• Pure Luck and Transparency: Be honest about what you can/can’t do and outsource
• Networking: Everyone likes to buy something, but no one likes to be sold to

Resources/Links:

• Lee Rickler on LinkedIn
• Point and Stare on Twitter
• Point and Stare
• WordPress.com
• WordPress.org

WordPress makes it easy to publish blog posts and simple for businesses to thrive online. Why and how does having a blog on your website increase traffic, inquiries, and help you to become an expert in your field?

In this episode, we talk to Angela Squires, Accounts Director at WordHound, which writes WPMaintain’s blog posts using WordPress.

Episode Highlights and Topics:

• Why blogging is important - to tell people what you do and why you do it
• How the pandemic of 2020 impacted WordHound and other businesses
• White Label Services: Copywriters helping copywriters to speed up the content process
• Benefits: Blogging boosts business by being honest, giving people what they want/need
• Potential Pitfalls: Prepare to outsource to get better results faster with insider knowledge
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools: Creates compelling copy but lacks human element/input
• Angela’s Big Takeaway: Just write, you can always change it

Resources/Links:

• Angela Squires on LinkedIn
• WordHound Limited on Facebook
• WordHound

Where should you start when setting up a WordPress website for your business to get it created in just one day?

In this episode of What the ‘Press? Podcast, Suraj Sodha talks to Cheryl Laidlaw, CEO of Website in a Day, who shares tips and ideas about building WordPress websites.

Cheryl is passionate about making accessible and affordable websites using WordPress. She proves that you can quickly get a website built on WordPress to get a business up and running.

Episode Highlights and Topics:

• Eliminate the Gap in Market: How and why Cheryl started Website in a Day
• Why WordPress? Favorite choice for flexible CMS and platform
• Rubbish or Remarkable? Cheryl describes Website in a Day concept and process
• Two Perspectives: Cheryl understands the developer’s and business owner’s POV
• Superpowers: Speed, efficiency, and simplicity are WPMaintain’s core values
• Pain Point: Not starting, finishing, or launching website, but getting content from clients
• Feel Good Factor: Cheryl watches clients go from complete disbelief to confidence boost
• Common Challenges: Make sure clients have managed and maintained hosting services
• Website Necessities: Copy, professional photographs or stock images, and passwords
• How to build a healthy business to attract clients, give good customer service, get paid

Resources/Links:

• Website in a Day
• Cheryl Laidlaw on LinkedIn
• Cheryl Laidlaw on Instagram