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Major ad/cookie blocking updates to popular browsers and the proliferation of ad-blocking browser extensions have left many in the publishing world scrambling for ways to earn income and keep their ad-based content sites alive. Publishers using WordPress or any other CMS are facing an existential crisis with these changes and must deploy a whole host of new strategies to ensure their survival.In this episode of PressThis, we interview Bill Erickson of CultivateWP about his experience helping very large publishers using WordPress develop ad inventory and tracking strategies that account for the increasingly hostile environment around digital advertising. Bill shares his thoughts on the core value of digital ads, how low/no tracking technologies like AMP perform with digital advertising, the role of 1st/3rd party cookies in ad strategies, how ad networks are responding to the changing landscape, and what publishers can do to capture the information they need to be successful in a visitor-friendly way.If you run a publishing site or are building publishing sites for others and are worried about the future of your business, don't miss this episode of PressThis. Listen now!

If you're building community sites with WordPress solutions like LearnDash or Peepso and wondering how the heck you're going to attract members who stay engaged and helping to drive value for the sites you build, don't miss this episode of Press This.In this episode, we interview Moni Jefferson of The Association of Military Spouse Entrepreneurs about her journey using WordPress to build her community, attracting new members to a niche community site, and providing members compelling experiences that make them eager to participate! Moni shares her thoughts on her favorite WordPress tools for building a community and how she markets her very niche audience of military spouse entrepreneurs.If you're looking for ways to drive success in the niche community sites you build or run, don't miss this episode of PressThis. Listen now!

One of WordPress's key strengths is in its ability to power agile and flexible content strategies, but as you build out your content strategies designed to feed sales teams, how can you craft an effective content strategy that drives the best results for marketing and sales efforts alike?In this episode of PressThis, we interview Danny Layzell of AZoNetwork about his thoughts on getting customer insights from sales to help drive your content strategy, leveraging data in your content strategy, activating sales teams to help use & share your content, and how all of that connects to your UI/UX within your WordPress sites.Stop producing random content and praying the SEO fairy drops leads at your doorstep. Learn how to turn your WordPress content strategy into a revenue engine for your marketing AND sales efforts. Listen to this episode of PressThis now!

"Are you thinking of introducing continuous deployment into your development team's workflows, or are you having headaches with your existing continuous deployment workflows across your team?In this episode of PressThis, we interview Rob Humar of Dexerto about how they mastered continuous deployment workflows within their team to have a HUGE impact on their business as a whole. Rob shares his thoughts about agile methodologies, workflow developer tools, and how you can go about deploying and optimizing your workflows to help your entire development team do their best work.If you're looking to up the continuous deployment game of our development team or just improve on your existing continuous deployment workflows, listen to this episode of PressThis now!"

WordPress is used for a dizzying array of use cases thanks to its open nature and versatility, but within this, the ocean of possibilities are stand-out examples of how WordPress is used to create something really positive in the world.In this episode of PressThis we interview Jason Cooksey & Miles Sebesta of BitWise Industries about their recent project to bring OnwardCA online as part of the overarching OnwardUW initiative to put the millions of American workers displaced by COVID-19 back to work as quickly as possible. Jason and Miles discuss how they became involved in the project and how they met super tight timelines with a multi-level multi-site architecture approach. Additionally, Jason & Miles discuss how they then pivoted this approach into a Dynamic Matching Platform they can use with any organization.If you're interested in unique approaches to solving digital challenges with WordPress, or you just want to hear a fun story about how WordPress is being used to help those in need, don't miss this episode of PressThis. Listen now!

Are you running a large WooCommerce store or helping agency clients who are? Would you like to use the SAME personalization AI technology in use on Amazon.com to optimize your WooCommerce sales?In this episode of PressThis, we interview James Jory of AWS and Anthony Burchell of WP Engine about an exciting new set of personalization features to be released in the AWS for WordPress plugin. James and Anthony share details about how the plugin uses Amazon Personalize to deliver a personalization API that developers can use to train Amazon Personalize and deliver personalized product recommendations to shoppers using the same personalization technology Amazon.com uses!If you're looking for ideas on how to use personalization in your WooCommerce stores, listen to this episode of PressThis now!

Are you setting up an eCommerce store with WooCommerce for yourself or your clients, and wondering "Did I do everything I was supposed to do?!?!"? Overlooking key configurations and settings can lead to lost sales, hacked sites, and more.In this episode of PressThis, we interview Sean Conklin of Coded Commerce about what store owners and agencies building WooCommerce stores should do in most, if not all cases. Sean shares his thoughts around brute-force login protection, /wp-admin account management, plugin strategy, and much, much more!If you're looking to beef up your checklist for the stores you build or if you're thinking of creating a WooCommerce store on your own, don't miss this episode of PressThis. Listen now!

If you're anything like us, you've likely worked waaay too long on a WordPress project without realizing there was some critical dependency you didn't catch and now you have to rebuild the entire site. Yikes! Of course, this often happens with hosting environments and so you might be asking, does it help to talk to my host before a large build?In this episode of PressThis, we interview Aaron Onken of WP Engine who has helped hundreds of large sites plan their technical strategy around their move to WP Engine AND site owners who have small sites who have to grow in a hurry. Aaron shares his thoughts and incredible wealth of experience around what to look out for in your hosting environments during a build and strategies for collaborating with your host especially on larger websites.If you're tired of having to undo things because you missed an environment requirement or just want insights into the build techniques that cause problems at scale, listen to this episode of PressThis now!

Do you run a freelancer or agency business? If so, do you often feel more like your business is running you?In this episode of PressThis, we interview Robert Nickell of Rocket Station about Virtual Assistant strategies WordPress agencies and freelancers can use to save time and scale their business. Robert's company Rocket Station specializes in Virtual Assistant services often used by freelancers and agencies. Robert shares his wealth of experience supporting businesses with their virtual assistant strategies so you can dial in on what might be right for you.If you're underwater trying to keep up with running your freelance or agency business afloat, don't miss this episode of PressThis. Listen now!

Building accessibility features into your WordPress site isn't just a strategy for making your site more usable to more people or a moral thing to do, but it may actually be the law depending on where your audience lives!If you've decided to implement accessibility on your WordPress site for growth, legal, or moral reasons, you might be thinking "Isn't there a plugin for that?". Choosing plugins to help improve your accessibility is a tricky business and could actually result in making your accessibility WORSE.In this episode of PressThis, we interview Nick Croft of ReaktivStudios. Nick is a widely-known expert at WordPress accessibility. Nick holds Web Accessibility Specialist (WAS), Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC), Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA), and 508 Trusted Tester certifications and has been working in WP accessibility for 4 years. Nick shares his thoughts on how you should approach your plugin strategy as it relates to accessibility and how to avoid pitfalls that might actually make your site less accessible.If you'd truly like the benefits of having an accessible website and not just throw random plugins on your site to achieve that goal, listen to this episode of PressThis now!

If you find yourself creating more video content than ever, don't forget about adding captions!Captioning your content can be a great way to capture viewers who aren't using audio at the time they are viewing your video or of course making your video content accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing. The bottom line is that captioning makes your videos more valuable and well... captivating.In this episode of PressThis, we interview Meryl K. Evans of Meryl.net Digital Marketing, one of the world's leading experts on video captions. Meryl’s first encounter with captions came in 1983 when she received a closed-caption decoder. Because she depends on captions to follow the video, she has seen the best and worst of captions. Fast forward decades later, Meryl’s digital marketing career has come in handy in educating people about captioning video calls, the benefits of captioning videos, and captioning videos well.Meryl shares her pro tips on making captivating captions in this episode of PressThis. If you're looking for an edge up in your video strategy on WordPress sites or beyond, don't miss this episode. Listen to or read the transcription of PressThis now!

"As a WordPress freelancer or agency you likely often acquire new customers with existing sites that have a whole host of existing problems. If you're running your own site, you may be wondering what agencies often have to fix when taking over a self-managed website.In this episode of PressThis, we interview Tony Wright of Wright IMC about the checklist his agency uses when taking on a new SMB client with an existing website. Tony shares his thoughts on checking for performance pitfalls, hosting configurations, and other common issues that can be draining growth from new customers as they walk in the door.If you're an agency or freelancer looking for quick wins for your clients or a DIY person who just wants to know what they should be doing, don't miss out on Tony's checklist for every single new customer Wright IMC serves based on Tony's over 21 years experience. Listen to this episode of PressThis now!"

The global lockdown has forced many of us to brush up on our virtual event skills in a hurry. If you're like most people, you're piecing together these skills as you go, but you may be wondering "What does it look like to have a thoughtful and effective virtual event strategy?".In this episode of PressThis, we interview long-time mega WordPress virtual event organizer Jan Koch of Virtual Summit Mastery. Jan has been organizing virtual events since 2015 bringing together over 10K attendees from 110+ countries. Jan shares his wealth of experience and methods for hosting awesome AND effective virtual events.If your virtual event strategy has been cobbled together over the last few months and is in desperate need of a tune-up, don't miss out on learning from Jan's incredible wealth of experience. Listen to this episode of PressThis now!

"Open Source software is the dominant form of web technology on earth, but the worlds of open and closed source systems continue to exist together. We often think of these worlds as fundamentally at odds, but there are lessons to be learned from each approach.In this episode of PressThis, we interview Jaki Levy of 10up about his experience using open-source strategies in a closed source context. Jaki spent over 10 years working in WordPress and now spends a lot of his time in closed source systems.Listen to PressThis now to hear Jaki's take on what closed source systems can learn from open source and the other way around. Jaki has a very unique perspective and one you don't want to miss. Listen to this episode of PressThis now!"

If you've ever thought of starting a plugin business or if you have one right now, you might be wondering how you can grow a plugin business into a sustainable AND successful venture.In this episode of PressThis, we interview Adrian Tobey of the popular CRM & Marketing Automation plugin Groundhog. Adrian talks about his strategies for pricing, retention, lead generation, and controlling costs within the context of a plugin business.If you're thinking of starting a plugin business or grow your existing plugin business, don't miss this episode of PressThis now

"As the WordPress block editor "Gutenberg" picks up steam in terms of adoption and capabilities, WordPress tools & frameworks are evolving to take advantage of these new abilities to deliver even more value to their users.In this episode, we interview WordPress community icon Scott Kingsley Clark of Pods Framework about his thoughts on the evolution of the block editor within WordPress and how he and the rest of the contributors to Pods are planning to deliver value within the block editor and page builder contexts.If you're wondering how Pods will evolve with the block editor or are just looking for ideas on how your own technology might evolve, don't miss this episode of PressThis. Listen now!"

"Entrepreneurship is woven into the fabric of the WordPress community via hundreds of thousands of freelance, agency, technology, platform, and even investment fund businesses.Running and GROWING a business is super tough though and creates pressures on entrepreneurs that can have a negative affect on their mental health. How can entrepreneurs strike a balance between developing a winning growth strategy and keeping their mental health in check?In this episode of PressThis, we interview serial entrepreneur Cory Miller of PostStatus. Cory has built and sold multiple successful WordPress businesses including iThemes. Cory shares his thoughts on developing growth strategies within businesses that are also aligned with maintaining a healthy lifestyle and mental state.If you're struggling to find ways to grow your business that don't drag down your mental wellness, then listen to this episode of PressThis now!"

In this episode of PressThis, we discuss news from around the WordPress ecosystem. Listen now to hear exciting news in the world of Gutenberg blocks, WordPress company acquisitions, and more. If you're too busy to keep up with WordPress on your own, listen to this episode of PressThis now!

As technology evolves, so must you. Stagnation in web development isn't an option. Those that do will be left behind. Of course, evolving may mean different things for different people, but for many in the WordPress community, this means finally pushing off from their starting blocks (pun intended) and building cool things with the WordPress block editor!In this episode of PressThis, we interview Tina Granzo of City Beautiful Design about her journey adopting and building wicked-cool things with the WordPress block editor. Tina shares her story of discovery, how she chose her first big-block project, and the resources she used along the way to learn and build.Tina and so many others in WordPress are building cool things with the block editor, so if you've been eyeballing Gutenberg wondering when it's stable enough to dive-in, the time may be now for you to continue your evolution by building cool things with the WordPress block editor. For insights on how to listen to this episode of PressThis now!

We've all experienced the age-old question of "Is my host or my code to blame for errors or performance issues for my website?".In this episode of PressThis, we interview Chris Wiegman of WP Engine about how you can figure out if performance issues or errors on your site are the fault of your code, plugins, and themes or related to your host.Chris shares his thoughts on the type of problems sites encounter where the question arises of code vs. host, how to identify the true root cause of site issues, and what you can do to get out of the blame game & make progress on your fixes.I've you're looking for ideas to escape the circle of blame in host vs. code, then listen to this episode of PressThis now!