Tips Tuesday – Get Off Astra, Metrics Beta Launch, Six-Figure Creator Report

Hello Happy Site Owner!

Tips this week include:

• Why setting a schedule works for some businesses and not others
• Client testimonials that made my day
• New Metrics beta launching this week
• What was in the recent WP 6.4.3 minor update
• Email DNS tips
• How to stop summary emails from Formidable
• Why to get off Astra now!
• Suggestions for Kadence AI
• Watch out for non-techie recommendations
• How to make your own money instead of waiting for others to pay you
• Six-figure product creators report for 2024
• Can you see yourself making six-figures?

BlogAid Happenings

The first month of 2024 is in the books.

How are you doing with your new year plans?

I’m barely keeping up with what’s coming in the door every day, including:

• Theme and plugin research projects
• Client projects that are going longer than expected
• Updates on practically everything I cover for us

And then I have a few new projects that I’m working on for us too.

So, it’s a lot, but I’m keeping pace.

It’s a Service Business

But I’m not complaining. I’m just reporting.

I don’t have a lifestyle business. 

I’m in service.

That means I’m basically on call all and ready for whatever the day brings.

It was the same when I was an electronics engineer in field service for years too.

And it’s the same for first responders, folks deployed in the military, healthcare workers in hospitals, especially the ER, and so many other professions.

I do have down time, but I take it as it comes, not on a set schedule.

And I make the most of it too.

I also know that things normally slow down in the early spring and I’ll likely have an easier pace and I won’t be trying to fill up every minute with something new to do either because I know things will naturally pick back up on their own.

Do You Have a Schedule?

Do you have a set schedule with your online business?

I find that the folks who make the most money have a dedicated schedule for when they will be at their desk and working from a task list.

Some folks do all of their new content creation on a certain day, or all of their social media post making and scheduling.

They also have a set day for checking metrics and getting feedback on their efforts and then taking action based on that data.

This Made My Day

My clients are in a few other blogger business groups and they see folks panicked all the time.

Here’s what one of my clients posted in our Hub Facebook group, and it made my day:

I want to say “Thank You” to MaAnna for all her help with keeping us informed and keeping our websites up to snuff over the years. I’ve been a customer of hers for more years than I want to admit and because of her insight, classes, audits, and help, I’ve pretty much had a smooth blogging life with WordPress. Since we are always ahead of the game with her emails and classes, I know what to look for and NOT DO!!

I follow a few blogging and WordPress groups and see so much frustration with many because of decisions they have made with their WP site and hosts that I know I would never do because I have MaAnna in my corner.

And now with AI creeping up in our WP world, the Kadence AI session the other day was an eye-opener. I don’t know, if ever, I want that on my site, and probably in the future, I may not have a choice. But I know MaAnna will be keeping an eye out for us with this subject to keep us informed.

Here’s what another client said in our group – and it’s so sad and scary:

In one of the blogging groups I’m in, there is a post from a very distraught blogger whose on a host that so many gurus recommend. They have lost her whole account and 10 years of work. According to a number of comments, this is a known issue with this host. This blogger doesn’t know if she has a backup. So, I just wanted to say thank you to MaAnna for helping me set up Updraft and getting me switched to Iridium Hosting. Before I knew better, this could have easily been me.

Tell Your Buddies Where to Get Real Help

My clients stay ahead of the curve and out of panic.

That’s because they get alerted about things way before any deadline, and they get it taken care of on a planned schedule.

Plus, they don’t have constant site issues.

This is the kind of peace of mind that is worth paying for. And it’s not like an expensive maintenance package either. In fact, it’s about 1/3 the cost of those because it’s a partnership between you, as the DIY site owner, and me as the tech. You do your parts, I do mine, and I give you easy to follow tutorials for how to do your parts.

I hope everyone reading this will tell your blogging group peeps who helps you stay out of panic mode and who helps you make and save more money the easy way.

New Metrics Beta Launching This Week

I’m delighted to report that I have all of the initial tutorials written for how to use the Looker Studio reports I created.

And, I’ve researched the best way to build them for my 2 beta tester clients.

I’m testing the best way to have the client get their account, and then for me to be able to load the template of the report, then customize it for their other Google account connectors for things like GA4 and GSC and YouTube, and do the branding to match their colors and logo and such.

Unlike other Google account products that have an Admin and then managers, this one just has roles for Owner, Editor, and Viewer. And loading and then trading ownership of the reports takes a few extra steps.

I’ll be setting the first one up for a client later this week and he’s SUPER excited about it!!

I’ll keep you posted.

WordPress Tips

WordPress 6.4.3 Minor Update Released

Last week, WP released a minor update with some additional bug fixes and 2 long-standing, minor security tweaks.

It should have been an auto update for you.

Email DNS Tips

I got a notification from Mailchimp that my domain needed to be verified – even though it is verified and all of my DNS records are perfectly setup.

Yet it still wanted me to make some changes that may or may not have borked my records. When I didn’t take those steps, I noticed a few days later that it had changed the message, and requirements. It told me to verify with their service that would change my records. Nope!!!

And then it had an option to manually do it.

I clicked that and saw that my domains were still marked as authenticated already and that there was nothing to do.

So, I contacted support to see why there is such confusion.

Folks, if you got your email setup by Dustin Hyle via his email service, don’t take other actions, even if you get a notification from your vendor.

And if need be, email your vendor and tell them their scanner or verification process is inaccurate and you want a way to mark this as Done so it will stop pestering you.

Or, if they show a specific record that is not setup correctly, we can check into that further for you.

The main thing is, don’t trust the email list service’s recommendations at face value or you could risk borking something that is already set correctly.

Plugin Tips

Stop Summary Emails from Formidable

A few weeks ago I mentioned that we suddenly started getting spammy looking emails with the Subject line “How Your Forms Performed” on them.

There was no branding whatsoever, and not indication what site they came from our such.

I finally figured out they were from Formidable, which is the contact form I suggest using.

And because we turn off database collection of info, the performance it showed in those emails was 0.

I contacted their support with my concerns about how spammy the emails look and that they should at least include some branding and the site name they’re reporting on.

I also asked them how to turn off these notifications.

Here’s their reply:

You can disable summary emails on each of your sites if you go to your WordPress Dashboard > Formidable > Global Settings > Miscellaneous. On this page, you will see a checkbox on that page that you can uncheck to stop emails.

I also updated my Formidable Forms tutorial with this info in a note above the video.

Theme Tips

Get Off Astra Now!!!!!

The latest Astra theme and Pro plugin update broke all kinds of things.

I sent a full summary of the issues to my site audit client Hub members, as well as my Webmaster Training members.

That included the hours of troubleshooting done on a clone of a client’s site to see what would break and what it would take to fix it.

There were multiple issues including:

• 2 featured image issues
• Excerpt and Read More settings on archive pages
• Layout on the legacy Advanced Column block

None of the code that Astra provided to make this update backwards compatible fixed any of the issues.

Astra support was nothing less than a total waste of time and an exercise in frustration.

They were sent a full description of one of the featured image issues, along with a Loom video, and they still could not grasp the problem.

After 3 more emails back and forth, we gave up.

Our guess is that so many other folks also reported the issues later that they finally looked into it deeply and said they will fix it in the next update – but we have no idea when that will roll out.

Folks, at some point, I’m going to cut off support for Astra, just like me and my vendor partners have cut off support for Divi and other themes with known issues.

We can’t keep giving away time to test for breaks on every update of the theme and plugins, and take time to investigate what will fix those issues. And I no longer have the patience or desire to tolerate their crappy support.

It’s time to come out of all things Astra – this year.

That includes changing your theme to Kadence, which is the fastest and least expensive switch to make.

Other stable theme choices are GeneratePress and Genesis, but both will cost more in design.

Come out of Spectra Blocks Too

And getting off of all things Astra includes coming out of the Spectra Blocks plugin, which you can do yourself and is not included in a theme swap.

Use the Find My Blocks tutorial I made for us to easily be able to locate every place you use Spectra or other block pluginss on your site.

I’m in the Same Astra/Spectra Boat as You

My money is where my mouth is. 

I paid to get my book site redesigned and put it on Astra. And less than 6 months later I paid to have it switched to Kadence.

That was 2+ years ago. I just couldn’t put up with being on pins and needles for every update.

For the last 2 months I’ve been chipping away at getting Spectra off my 5 sites. And at this point, I’m going to hire a VA to do one of them, as those blocks are on every single page and post. That’s like doing a total rebuild of the site.

So, don’t complain to me about the time, frustration, or cost with this swap.

I’m sick that Astra was our leading-edge go-to theme that turned into a bleeding-edge, break every time you update it theme. And I’m even more sick about the Spectra Blocks going the same route.

But, despite our constent communication with them and best efforts to insist on reasonable beta testing, they are not listening.

They have consistently chosen to be so ahead of the WP curve that during the updates, the theme is unstable and not backwards compatible.

There is a limit to how many years I’m going to suggest you switch themes and block plugins.

At some point, I’m just not going to stay involved with this constant upset and chaos of supporting it during update hoohaa.

Finding Least Expensive Way to Switch

Right now I’m talking to all of my vendor partners to help find the fastest, least expensive ways for you to switch from Astra to Kadence whether you plan to do the new design yourself or if you plan to hire a designer.

One of the most time consuming parts of the process is creating a clone of the site.

I may very well be donating my time to help my clients do that the least expensive way to ensure that $$ is not an obstacle to getting this switch made.

I’d far rather donate my time to helping you switch than donate it to Astra support!!

Plus, I’m super concerned about site owners trying to do the switch themselves. Yes, you can learn how to tweak Kadence. But that’s not all there is to it.

Too many folks have special scripts or CSS or such that they put into their theme, and they will forget to transfer those over. Or they will forget to disable the new schema. Or they will wipe out a security setting migrating back to the live site. Or some global settings will be wrong, like setting all images to display as Large instead of Original, which will goof your performance because it is using a thumbnail and wiping out your progressive render from Squoosh.

So, we’re looking into ways to have someone help check those things for you if you want to design your own.

But, all these things are also why it’s worth paying a designer to just do the new design for you too. Everything will be right.

Suggestions for Kadence AI

Thanks to everyone who attended the live session for Kadence AI and for those who watched the replay.

Your comments and input were very helpful.

I made notes as I watched the replay to ensure I documented all of the questions we had as we went through the process of turning on and using the AI.

It ended up being 2 pages worth of questions and suggestions.

Later this week I’ll be sending Kadence the replay and this document of questions, comments, and suggestions.

And I plan to confront them with how nervous and confused their last 3 live-streams on the new AI have made current theme users as well as designers and folks like me who give recommendations to our clients too.

They need to reassure their current client base that Kadence will remain a stable and reliable theme framework that is not solely focused on AI.

Bottom line: Kadence is fine for us to use. Just don’t turn on the AI part. It’s not harmful, it’s just useless for us.

I’ll keep you posted on what becomes of it.

Watch Out for Non-Techie Guru Theme Recommendations

Another topic that came up in our group last week were the theme recommendations from some six-figure business coaches.

Some of them advocate using a theme builder that is getting popular because so many non-techie designers are starting to recommend it.

Let me tell you something about this.

Those designers are charging $$$$$$$$ yet don’t know a damn thing about site speed, SEO, ADA compliance, much less security.

They use these WP builders because it’s faster, and therefore cheaper, for them to whip together a design for a client.

And just like using Divi, you’ll be sick when you see what it takes to come out of this garbage and into a theme that works much better on all levels except for sheer looks – as they are equal that way.

Monetization Tips

Watch Out for Any Recommendation from a Non-Techie

And I’ll tell you something else.

A LOT of the six-figure business coaches recommend seriously outdated tech because that’s what they figured out how to use and it’s all they know.

Or, they recommend stuff that’s cheap and easy for their non-techie clients to set up.

None of these recommendations have been vetted for anything other than ease.

I’ve worked with some of those six-figure coaches and their setup was on such a house of cards that me and my dev partner both said no to the business.

Ain’t nobody got time for that convoluted mess.

Plus, the money they were leaving on the table because of it was stunning.

And for what business I do take, I have to do a LOT of trickery cleanup from a site “tech” who didn’t really know how to fix anything, or setup anything without a gazillion plugins.

Watch who you’re listening to about what.

Most business coaches and their clients are technophobic.

My clients are non-techies, but not technophobic. 

If given instructions and explanations in plain English, and click-here-do-that tutorials, they can easily handle their sites.

And then they can easily make way more money because their sites are helping them do that!!!!

Monetization Tips

Make Your Own Money

For the last 4 years I’ve been encouraging my blogger-for-ad-revenue clients to move into making their own products as their primary revenue stream and let ads become a secondary stream to the point that they eventually drop it.

The clients who listened are making $$$$$$.

And if you do go this route, you can start with paid trip-wire optins using something like Gumroad.

When you have several products, the last place I would put a shop is on your WordPress site. Shopify is a far better option.

And if you intend to make a course or membership, there are good WP options, but you will also seriously want to consider a 3rd party solution, like Kajabi or such.

The tech you use really depends on:

• what you want to deliver
• How you will get folks into it
• The upsells and bonuses you will offer
• How you intend to retain members

Once you know all that, then, and only then, do you choose the tech.

This is where a consult with me pays for itself.

I help you find more money in your idea. In fact, my clients make 4x more $$$ than they originally had in mind.

And I’ll help you choose the right tech to do it too.

Memberships Make Money

A HUGE chunk of my income is from my courses.

There are folks who have been in my DIY SEO course since it launched 7-8 years ago.

My peeps have purchased every other course I made too, like the GA4 course, the Gutenberg course, and more.

One of my peeps asked me to create the AI Images for Profit course because she had searched all over for the info she needed and she was crazy disappointed.

She knew that I would bring quality info to the topic.

And I did.

And she’s making $$$$$ with AI images now – to the point that she has put her blogging efforts on hold. And she’s not the only one in that course doing the same.

Seriously consider how much you know and how many folks you can help with a course or membership.

Six-Figure Product Creators Report

And then go read this report from the nice folks at Kajabi on the State of Creators ‘24 Report

It covers the real dope on how creators are making their money and why they are moving away from brand deals and into their own digital products.

And then they break down how these folks are making six-figures from those products.

Can You See Yourself Making Six-Figures?

You may or may not have been able to see yourself in that Kajabi report.

If you didn’t, I think you lack imagination.

How can you take tips from that report and apply them to what you do?

How can you move into at least one more revenue stream?

And here’s the really big question – how can you be a person who helps people in a way that feels more 1-to-1?

A blog post ain’t that.

Warm up your newsletter. Start talking to folks so they feel like you are talking to them – as a person who wants to help them. And they’ll start listening to you that way.

One of the things that the creators in that Kajabi report are doing that you may not be doing is letting folks see and hear them.

You are instantly a person who is helping another person when you do that.

While I’m no longer doing a podcast, I do video tutorials, and I meet live with my various groups regularly too. I respond to individuals directly in our Facebook groups too. And I have 1-on-1 time with my Hub site audit clients.

What step can you take to be more personable with your peeps?

You only have to take one to get moving in that direction.