About a month ago my dog died. And I'm not going to lie – it was pretty rough.
Email Marketing Fails
3 Takeaways from Shopify Unite
I've been in the eCommerce world for a while. And generally speaking I'm a fan of open-source platforms because you can customize anything and there are no restrictions.
But Shopify has been growing like crazy. And I wanted to poke my head in and see if it's something to look at. So I attended their 2nd annual Unite conference.
I learned quite a bit. And I got to know the company a little better. If you're thinking about using Shopify for an upcoming project keep reading.
Why High Performing WordPressers are Unemployable
Last week Jake Goldman, founder of 10up, sent out this tweet:
Very high volume of @10up job applicants suggests trends; starting ~2012, it's very uncommon to see job tenures >2 years; most ~1. 😕
— Jake Goldman (@jakemgold) April 5, 2017
Basically wondering why 10up's applicants only seem to stay at their previous job for 1 or 2 years. I weighed in on how employees need to feel in control & they need to be committed.
@jakemgold @10up In Originals Grant claims there are four options when you run into resistance: Exit, Voice, Persistence, & Neglect.
— Patrick Rauland (@BFTrick) April 5, 2017
Which turned into issues in management which turned into issues in employee expectations. And all of these are valid. They all impact how long someone stays at a job. But as I thought about it some more. I think there's another issue.
Equal Pay Day – What’s Good and What Needs Improvement
April 4th is Equal Pay Day. And it's making me think about my impact in the world around gender issues. And if they're positive, negative, or both.
Metorik: The Missing Analytics for WooCommerce
I've written about WooCommerce reporting in the past. And at that time the best solutions were plugins you installed yourself. That's no longer the case. Metorik is a service designed specifically to understand your WooCommerce data.
Metorik was created by Bryce Adams who used to work for WooCommerce. So it's well built, well designed, and it enhances the reporting experience in WooCommerce. And not just a little bit. But a lot.
KPIs for Google Analytics
There's a tool all of us use and just about no one knows exactly what it does. I'm talking about Google Analytics. I've been using it for almost a decade now and I'm still discovering new features. And by “new” I mean features it's always had but I didn't know about.
So to help anyone else out who might be in my shoes I've made a list of useful metrics you can track in Google Analytics.
Have You Heard of Trypod?
The month of March is all about #trypod. It's a month long campaign between dozens of podcast producers to get people who are podcast fanatics (that's me) to recommend podcasts to others (that's you). Since I find podcasts so valuable I'm helping out.
I'm going to share my favorite podcasts and why they're my favorite. I'll also share some podcasts I used to love and why I no longer listen to them. And then I'll share how I listen to my podcasts efficiently.
What do you do?
It's been more than 6 months since I left my job. And when someone asks me what I do I still don't know how to answer. Because I've done a bunch of things.
- I helped a WordPress software company market their products.
- I helped debug a few WooCommerce bugs.
- I helped a WordPress VIP company with a proposal for an e-commerce project.
- I'm helping a hosting company create infrastructure made for WooCommerce.
- I'm helping WooCommerce choose topics & speakers for WooConf.
- And this whole time I've been making e-commerce courses for Lynda.com.
So it's hard to answer. Do I go with what I'm working on today? Do I go with what I've been doing the longest? Or do I go with what I want to be working on?
Mission
I've found that what I do on a week to week basis varies quite a bit. But my mission has been pretty consistent:
Help people build their own business
And e-commerce is an arena where I have a lot of expertise and can help them succeed.
Plans
Some people obsess over plans. They want to have a 1, 5, & 10 year plan. And they stick to these plans even when they shouldn't. And I think this is because many people don't know how to make an impact in this world without large & complicated plans.
But large and complicated plans don't guarantee you make an impact. They just guarantee you'll accomplish some thing at some point. And this resonates with something that Seth Godin said:
A ten-year plan is absurd. Impossible, not particularly worth wasting time on. On the other hand, a ten-year commitment is precisely what's required if you want to be sure to make an impact.
And this is how I'm approaching my business. I have a mission: to help people build businesses. And anything that falls under that mission is something I would consider working on.
I have a 2-3 month plan and when I finish that plan then I start a new 2-3 month plan.
I'm working on different course ideas, talking to companies, and helping individuals. And my plans keep changing. And for right now that's okay. I'm trying lots of things and figuring out where I can make the most impact.
It's still a tough question when someone asks me what I do. But at least now I answer with:
I help people build online stores.
It covers my mission, provides a hook if they're interested, and it keeps my options open.
So if you have trouble answering the “what do you do question” just think about your mission. It's the most true thing you can say anyway. You can always go into more detail if they express interest.
Use Segments to View Historical Data without Spam
If you’ve had your site for a while you’ll likely have experienced spam in your analytics. I know I have.
Google Analytics Language Spam
Habits Over Motivation
Thursday morning was cold. The weather was slightly foggy & overcast, and I foolishly only brought running shorts & a t-shirt. Despite the conditions I ran 3.2 miles and I had an 8:57 minute pace which is the best time I've had in over a year!
This past year I've been hot & cold with running. On average I ran twice a month. But there were months where I didn't run at all. And one month where I ran eight times. There was no consistency. And every time I started running after a break I had to start all over again. Running 12 minute miles which is pretty bad for me.