So, after many hours of work, your plugin is now ready to be used, but there’s a problem on the horizon. How do you promote it and get WordPress users to use it? For people that are more focused on the technical part, not knowing where to start can cause a headache.
You have created your own #plugin? Congrats! Now learn how to #promote it using the tips listed in this article.
Well, first, let’s go down a checklist to see if your plugin’s even something people might need.
- Does it serve a specific purpose?
- Can it solve a problem many people have gotten so far?
- Does it differ when compared to other plugins?
If the answer is yes to the above-listed questions, let’s proceed!
As a base, you should take the time to write down the basics of your plugin and how it works. Make it as clear as possible and include as much information as possible.
Best would be to set up a website if you haven’t already, and go the extra mile to provide things such as FAQs, demos, support information, etc. on the website. The easiest way to sell a product is to have it sell itself, and providing as much information as possible while making sure it’s clear and easy to understand is surely an easy win in our books.
Once you’ve got that set up, we can proceed with the marketing part.
1. Provide materials such as videos and how-to’s
For something new on the market, this is a must. Making sure you create a playlist of how to do something and showing the basics of your plugin will help out when a consumer is thinking about making the purchase.
Think about it, getting something that you’ll know your way around with is much easier than getting something and trying to use it like you’re building IKEA furniture with no instructions!
Make sure your videos/how-tos are short and easy to follow, and if you’re not really into making a 3-minute video, go for screenshots. Having visuals that relate to the use of a product is half of the battle to sell it.
2. Offer a free demo
This may be the easiest to start with if you don’t have any previous work out there. Giving out a chance to try the plugin for free can be a good way to direct traffic to your work.
Of course, this doesn’t secure your way to fame as building a reputation to your name takes time. But still, give this a go and try listing your plugin on WordPress.org for potential customers to compare and hopefully, try out!
3. Offer support
A big part of the purchase is what comes after it. Offering your support to users is essential and doing so can really help build your reputation if you’re there for the customers.
But this can also go both ways. Not offering support and having generally bad customer service can leave a bad mark on your reputation.
If you speak more languages, make sure you include that in your customer support as well. Some customers may not be as good with relaying a problem in English, so if you can, offering them a chance to do it in their own native language could be more effective.
4. Reviews
As you may have guessed, a lot of consumers look up reviews of what they wish to purchase before doing so. If you strike gold and get a well-known dev to give you a good mark, it’s a good sign that you’ve got a good product on your hands.
Devs are known for making it harder on each other and will try to find a needle in a haystack, so getting good feedback from them could lead you to more clicks than you could imagine.
Make sure that you leave room for criticism, though. If this is your first time marketing your work, keep in mind that some things may not be up to everyone’s liking, and that’s okay as it will help you improve what you do.
5. Use social media
While the thought of using social media as a way to promote your plugin may sound a bit off, hear us out on this one. Many sites such as Facebook are home to dev groups that might need exactly what you have.
The same goes for LinkedIn, Google+, and even Twitter. Also, Reddit is a good idea with its subreddits on which you can market your plugin for free.
In a nutshell, joining the social media communities will open new opportunities for your plugin to be reviewed and to get some feedback from those that use it.
Remember, making connections with other devs lets them explore your work and vice versa.
6. Affiliate programs
While they certainly are popular, word-of-mouth sales will never outgrow quality content. So if you wish to have an affiliate association, make sure you’re being cautious about it.
Your affiliates will receive money by sharing your product on social media, writing about it, and by referring it to new customers. And your job here is to constantly update your affiliates with new information and offer a good commission to them to keep them interested in selling the product.
7. Paid advertising
Yes, this one costs money but it’s still a good way to bring more traffic your way.
While it may be off the list for some (at least for a while), paid advertising is known to spike up your sales records. And doing paid reviews and paid submissions is a great way to get out there, especially when doing them with well-known WordPress blogs and plugin websites.
Extra advice
For a final tip, we want to remind you to let your sales track record be seen by the customers.
Sometimes, showing potential customers that the product has been purchased by many people already could be a push towards making the purchase. Also, make your customer support tickets open for other customers to see, and keep updating the product frequently.
In the end, nothing sells a good product like the product itself. If you worked hard and have something to show for it, we’re sure that your plugin will get the reputation it deserves.
So if you haven’t already, give these methods a try so that you can boost your sales, and keep working as well as improving your work!