The Lifecycle of Starting Something New™ (no matter how big or small it is)
2025: The Year The Middle Got Cut
“The web looks different today.” That was a cancellation reason from an agency customer recently. At first I thought… what does that even mean? But the more I considered it, the more it’s been stuck in my head ever since. For years, our target buyer at PMPro was a developer helping someone without tech skills (more…)
What if analytics tools compared your stats to other businesses or social channels similar to you?
Up? Down? Flat? But compared to who? This is the first year at Paid Memberships Pro that we captured cross-team scorecard data in a real, consistent way. I plan to share our averages publicly in early 2026. A scorecard is great… at doing one thing: comparing this period’s metrics to historic metrics. Useful, but that (more…)
AI does not raise the quality of your idea.
With so many people saying AI site builders are going to eat WordPress’ lunch, I had to share my take. A lot of people are excited about using AI for website creation. If you’re in that camp, some part of you must buy into the idea that: That view assumes something I don’t think is (more…)
Something you can stop worrying about? Protecting lead magnets like they contain the recipe for Coca Cola.
You can give yourself permission to stop worrying about this one… I’ve been grabbing more lead magnets lately, partly because I’m curious about what systems creators are using, and partly because sometimes the content actually helps me. You know what I’m seeing 100% of the time? The download/swipe file/mini-guide/etc. lives in one of these “public” (more…)
When we built Paid Memberships Pro, I thought I understood the ecosystem we were creating.
Our target was (mostly) clear: people building their own thing. A WordPress site with memberships, all aimed at building a recurring revenue stream they owned and controlled. A DIY-er that preferred to get their hands dirty vs. hire out. Not only because funds were tight, but because “knowing how it worked” mattered more than the time it took to get there.
What I did not anticipate is what would happen after these creators found success.
Blogging isn’t dead. It just put on a different outfit and started calling itself a newsletter.
Most newsletters today are, at their core, a blog with distribution. Delivered through all-in-one tools like Substack or beehiiv. Meanwhile, the not-so-shiny but incredibly powerful tool WordPress has been powering bloggers for over 20 years. And because it’s my world, I’ve always known how to blend the two: The same outcome on a platform you (more…)
The best part of my job? Helping someone make money from something they built.
The best part of my job? Helping someone make money from something they built. Here’s why I know you can do it: My feed has been staggeringly full of posts on layoffs + months spent applying to roles with no reply. The ‘open to work tag’ on faces it should NOT be on. You live in a (more…)
What if your “hard task” is actually 17 easy tasks squished together?
What if your “hard task” is actually 17 easy tasks squished together? (TLDR; this is another of my ‘tiny moment turned to a worldview’ reframes). I’m new to playing the NY Times ‘Pips’ game, so the other day I was talking about it at a volunteering event and someone overheard us. Their comment has been (more…)
On why we’re the perfect pair for what we’re building, and why friction matters more than people admit.
Last week, Jason and I were on a train to New York City for a two-night midweek getaway. The team was cheering us on. I even reported that I wasn’t bringing my laptop (more cheers). Jason did bring his. Because he knows. About an hour into the ride, something came up. On Monday we’d run (more…)