Wednesday 5 September 2018 – LIVE Q&A
How to make money with WordPress
This week on our live Q&A session we’ve been talking about how to make money using WordPress and building WordPress websites as a service that you can offer to clients. I also share real Google Analytics data and Amazon commission figures from a couple of my own affiliate sites. Plus, we have our usual live Q&A session where I answer your questions on WordPress, plugins, affiliate marketing and everything in between.
NB: There is a slight recess for around 3 minutes, around the 8 minute mark, where I deal in real-time with one of the pitfalls of working from home – a screaming baby! I inadvertently leave the mic on, so you get real insight into what it’s like working from home with a young family!
Also, I’m excited to announce that I have reached out to the guys at Income School and am hoping we can host some joint sessions to bring you some really valuable stuff. Check out their YouTube channel here and look out for further announcements.
Here's a quick summary of the top tips, for anyone wanting to offer WordPress services and make money offering WordPress websites and support to clients…
- Be honest.
If you are not a developer/designer/coder, don’t say you are. Be honest about how you are going to deliver the website to the client. Tell them you are using WordPress with a premium theme and plugins to enhance functionality. - Build a portfolio.
Use your own sites to showcase your expertise. Offer to build sites for friends or family. Or build a couple for free, to get experience and to pad out your portfolio. - Be realistic about what you can offer and what WordPress can do.
Don’t promise the earth and then find that you simply can’t achieve what you need with WordPress and plugins. This is particularly true of sites that have big ecommerce requirements or sophisticated booking and ticketing facilities. - Have a good developer on speed dial.
If you aren’t a developer, then you will have times when you might need more sophisticated CSS or JavaScript knowledge. Don’t spend hours trying to troubleshoot it. Find a good, reasonably priced developer who can help when you need it. Make sure you charge the client enough to cover any outsourcing you need to do. - Charge what you think you’re worth.
If you’re just starting out, charge less. If you’re an experienced WordPresser, charge accordingly. And always budget for that bit of extra outsourced help. - Put the effort into finding good quality clients.
Build relationships and network. This can be outside of some people’s comfort zone, but it sets you apart from the competition. - Be prepared to offer good customer service.
You will get clients calling you while you are on holiday/celebrating your wedding anniversary/at the weekend. And sometimes they won’t be easy to deal with. - Think long-term.
Once you have delivered your project, you could generate more revenue by offering support, maintenance and hosting services. These can be billed on a monthly or an annual basis. Again, if the site goes down be prepared for the client calls but generally, ongoing support requires less intense input from you. - Steer clear of hosting email.
Steer clear of hosting email with a WordPress website! It is generally a massive ball ache and if someone’s email goes down, it’s the end of their world and the pressure on you to fix it is immense.
If you found this video useful and want more, head over to the WPEagle YouTube channel.
