2. 2
Going from nothing to profits
What We’ll Cover
Getting off the Ground
Going to Market
Expecting Challanges
3. WordCamp Ann Arbor
Justin Ferriman
Founder, LearnDash – WordPress LMS
@learndashlms
Welcome
Ross Johnson
Founder, Project Panorama
@3pointross
4. 4
eLearning Expert Since 1995
Justin Ferriman
Started Career as a Consultant
Consulted with Fortune 500 companies
Created LearnDash in 2012
Industry blogger
12. 12
You can build or design anything, but not sure what?
Finding Your Muse
Scratch Your Own Itch
Scratch Your Clients Itch
Research Popular Free Plugins
Create an add-on
WordPressify a SAAS
15. 15
Before you invest time and money, research the market wants and needs
Validating Your Market
Keyword Research Release a
Free Plugin
Research
Competitors or
Similar Offers
Search the
WordPres.org
Forums
16. 16
Usefull doesn’t always mean profitable
Will people pay for this?
Make / Save Money Vanity Solve a ProblemSave Time
18. 18
Sure you’re a subject matter expert but who can you trust?
Getting it Built
Start with feature list
“Must-have” vs. “Nice-to-have”
Test script & mock-ups
Finding a developer
19. 19
You can build it, but how do you find time?
Finding the Time
Make it a partial client project
Simplify your scope
Small frequent bursts
20. 20
If you build it, will they come? Getting
attention in a crowded marketplace is no
easy task. What works?
Going to Market
22. 22
Using Connections and Current Assets
Going to Market
Use your existing network and audience
Explore low cost paid opportunities
Do giveaways or discounts for sharing
Optimize for search
Create a free version for the plugin
respository
23. 23
Using Content for Pre-Launch
Going to Market
Articles, videos, blog posts
Collect emails (incentive)
Pre-launch contest
Go-Live Discount
Mutually beneficial opportunities
24. 24
It’s not going to be all rainbows and lolipops.
You’re likely to run into some challanages, it’s
best to prepare for them.
Expect Challanges
29. 29
Nightmare Support
its great to see when a company holds true to the promises it makes
to its initial supporters
in case you fail to compute i am being sarcastic
its damn f**kin lucky i find your crud usable or else id be seeing you in
court for false advertising and using deception to obtain funds
honestly pathetic to find dudes with such skills being such scum
surely noted and will be passed along to any who will listen
i hate being lied to by scammers
you will not now ever get another cent out of me you skunks and if
you once more tamper with my licensing and again change the
original agreement you FRAUDULENTLY took my money by selling me
you will be coming in direct contact with my legal advisers
f**king pathetic lowlife crap
and to think i thought you worth even a cent off my hard earned
money
30. 30
attached is the original fucking copy of the license you gave me
TAKE F***KING NOTE OF IT SAYING CLEARLY UNLIMITED SITE USAGE
YOU C**K SMOKING F***KING DOG
YOU REALLY WANT TO MAKE THIS F***KING PAINFUL RODENT GO THE
F**K AHEAD
READ IT YOU C**K SUCKING PIECE OF F**KING S**T
ITS GOING F**KIN EVERYWHERE TO SHOW YOUR F**KING PUTRID
SCAM FOR WHAT IT F**KING IS
EMAIL STATES EXACTLY THE SAME INFO D**KHEAD
QUESTION MY MOTHER F**KING INTELLIGENCE AGAIN DOG
PLEASE
--
might want to seriously think of what your site was representing itself
as around june
as i am fairly certain i will find an archived copy and or screencast and
with such i will see you stripped of every f**king cent your scams
have ever f**king earnt your piece of f**king s**t a**
31. 31
it appears i owe you an apologyif that would measure for the abusive
attitude towards yourself and staff.
i see where my mistake was and see also i was very wrong in my
accusations
as it is i have breached your terms the refund is unnecessary as the
mistake was my own and you should not suffer financial repercussions
due to my suspension for my own misguided and over inflated ego.
i apologize for any inconvenience and any untoward and insulting
behavior and communications.
Long Days And Pleasant Nights
32. 32
Optimizing Support
Take some of the pain out of great support
Resources (docs, videos, faqs, etc.)
Forum & help desk
Set expectations
Avoid timelines
PhraseExpress
33. 33
Optimizing Support
Take some of the pain out of great support
Use a ticketing system
See the value in every ticket
Use forms to your advantage
Attitude is everything
Some souls are not worth saving
42. 42
Competition
Should you be worried?
Competition = market
Control the controllables
Monitor, don’t obsess
Respect goes a long way
Focus on customers first
43. 43
Compitition
Should you be worried?
Focus on a niche
Find ways to be different
Lead, don’t follow
Add value beyond the product
Create an ecosystem