Tips Tuesday – WP Engine Updater, Shopify Starter, Pay Later Plan

Tips this week include:

• Setting up my Shopify Starter store
• Setting up Printify
• Where I got stuck making a big image
• Inkscape is great for vector images
• Tracking conversions – new tutorials coming
• Live checks for your GA4 and GSC setup
• I’ve got a wild idea where you don’t pay until you make money
• You may have WP Engine plugins and not know it – see this list
• The irresponsibility and cost of this WP vs WP Engine mess is insane
• Big changes to YouTube Shorts – and how it may cost you money
• Google updates product markup guidelines
• How would you like to get Tips Tuesday?

BlogAid Happenings

Yes, I’m still a tutorial making maniac for another week.

Setting Up Shopify Starter Store

As I mentioned last week, I’m setting up my own Shopify Starter Plan which I will be integrating with my eCreators Hub site to sell the Google Docs templates featured in the EZ Digital Designs course.

And I’m documenting the process as I go because they don’t really tell you all you need to know.

There are a bunch of things that you’ll want to create or gather before you start.

There are also a bunch of questions they ask you right at the get go that you’ll want to already have the answers to.

And then there are the product listings and what you’ll need for those.

With all of these things, you also need to be mindful of SEO and speed. That means preparing for those things ahead of time too.

The setup service I’ll be offering will have a checklist/workbook of all of the above so that you are fully prepared BEFORE you get your account. That way you can hit the ground running.

There are several ways to integrate Shopify with WordPress, including apps on Shopify (that’s what they call plugins) as well as regular WP plugins.

Some work better than others and some offer features that others do not. So, I’ll be looking into a bunch of them and testing out the ones I believe will be most helpful.

I’m putting all of this together because why should anyone be lost for a week trying to figure everything out when you could be totally productive with checking things off in a workbook where everything is laid out step-by-step for you? And then have a live session to show you how it works with the integration type that works best for you and how to test things once they are set up.

I already have a client who is ready to create her store and she is more than happy to give me feedback on that workbook and the setup service too.

The nice thing about doing it this way is that it can be a done-with-you or a done-for-you service.

I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going.

Setting Up Printify

I also want to have merchandise, like T-shirts on my Shopify store.

I’ve decided to use Printify for my POD (Print on Demand) vendor.

There are several POD vendors that I could use, but I’m going with Printify because they have the most native integrations.

Printify integrates with:

• Shopify
• Etsy
• Amazon
• TikTok Shop
• And more

And with the Shopify Starter plan, which is only $5/mo, I can easily put those links on my site, or any social media account too and do direct sales.

Plus, I can sell directly from Printify itself.

Once I get all of this process documented, I’ll be offering it as a done-for-you or done-with-you service too.

Stuck on Making Big Images

The T-shirt I want to make is for Halloween. 

And I used Midjourney to help me create the bulk of the image, then I tweaked it from there.

Upscaling those images makes them plenty good enough for printables or to use as stickers or other such small size things.

But, they need a LOT of cleaning up if you plan to make them big enough to print on something like a T-shirt.

I got delayed with that process because I don’t know Photoshop at the level required to do the tasks.

So, I turned it over to my young cousin who is better at it than I am, and who has made his own art print-ready, and he’ll teach me better methods for what I want to create.

So, I hope I’ll have it ready to sell in the next week or so, but if not, I’ll reserve it for next year and move on to making other holiday themed merch.

Inkscape for Vectors

But, one good thing came of that image tweaking process.

I got a LOT more familiar with using the Inkscape app for creating vectors.

And I’m not sure I will go back to using Adobe Illustrator for such things anymore. So, I’m not regretting having let that license go.

Inkscape is free and can be downloaded to use on my computer.

I made a nice tutorial for it in the AI Images for Profit course.

Plus, when I perfect the T-shirt image making process, I’ll have a tutorial for that in the course as well, as another example of the upscaling type tutorials I already have in the course.

Tracking Conversions

One of the things I taught in my Ultimate GA4 course, back when it was live, was how to set up tracking in Google Tag Manager for keeping tabs on specific clicks, like for your optin, or when folks clicked over to a sales page.

That way you would know exactly which posts were bringing you those conversions.

I had planned to bring those tutorials over to the EZ Metrix course and to create new reports for them.

But, Google has updated the way you set up conversion tracking in GA4 since the time I had my course on it.

They’ve renamed it and simplified it.

So, I’ll be creating all new tutorials on the new way to do it once I get my Shopify links page setup.

I will want to know exactly where that traffic is coming from.

And I’ll update the EZ Metrix course with all of it.

Checks for GA4 and GSC

In the DIY SEO course, I teach how to set up Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.

And when we set up your EZ Metrix reports, we do a check of both of those setups too.

And with some clients, we found mistakes.

I’m betting that a lot of folks would love to do a quick live session to have someone look over their shoulder and check their settings, or even ask questions about what some things mean.

So, I’ve listed a live check in my Done-With-You services.

Your Expertise, My Tech and Teaching Skills

I’ve been contemplating something a little wild.

The fact is, I LOVE teaching.

But what I LOVE even more is figuring things out, making a course on it, and setting up that course.

When I learn something new, I’m very well aware of all the questions and confusion points along the way.

And I document the process of how to do whatever it is in a way that is step-by-step so that you don’t have those same questions and points of confusion.

That’s what y’all love about my courses.

• The steps are broken down into small bites.
• Each tutorial focuses on one, and only one concept.
• Each tutorial is clear and to the point with zero rambling.
• You learn by doing.
• You understand what you are doing and why.
• At the end, you are confident that you can repeat the process successfully.

And then we build on that knowledge and you learn the next logical step in the process.

By the end of the course, you know how to do all the things needed to accomplish the full goal.

Here’s the wild thing I’m considering.

Creating a successful course is daunting to most folks.

They have no idea where to even start with the brain dump of knowledge that they have.

There are LOTS of courses on how to create a course. But they are generic, at best.

What would do you the most good would be to have someone in the trenches with you, looking at your course idea and helping you make an outline and a plan for delivery.

That’s sort of what I already do in membership/course consults now, but those are more focused on how you will make money and avoid expensive pitfalls, plus choosing a platform that can deliver on the plan you made.

What if we take that an extra step and include help with making the actual outline and then the course material too?

You show me what you want to teach, and then I find the questions and confusion points and help you break things down into tutorials that are clear and concise. 

And then I help you set the whole thing up on the platform that best serves your purposes.

Okay, all that seems pretty tame, right?

Here’s the wild part.

What if I only charge on commission of what you sell, up to an agreed upon limit?

I’m thinking the initial consult would be paid. That’s usually just an hour.

And we’ll ensure that you have a viable idea and plan, and come to an agreement about the scope of that plan.

Then, you get busy creating the outline and we discuss as needed.

But, you only pay me for those extra consults and platform setup once you are up and running and selling stuff – sort of like an affiliate commission.

When we reach the agreed upon commission limit, then everything you make is pure profit.

To me, the initial overwhelming feeling of not knowing where to start, and then the start-up costs of time and money are what keep most site owners from offering a paid model of their expertise.

Maybe this wild idea I have is a way around all of those problems.

What do you think?

WordPress Tips

You May Have WP Engine Plugins and Not Know It

As you recall, WP Engine has been cut off from WordPress resources.

There are a LOT more plugins affected than you may realize, including some from Genesis and Delicious Brains, which are both owned by WP Engine.

See this post with a list of the affected plugins plus a video tutorial on how to get and install the special updater plugin, if you need it.

Tell every blogger you know about this tutorial!!!!

The Irresponsibility and Cost of this is Insane!

I don’t mind supporting my peeps.

What I do mind is the sheer greed, by both Matt Mullenweg and WP Engine, that resulted in millions of sites being put into a security risk situation due to outdated plugins.

And it’s costing site owners, and those who support them too.

I spent all day Monday trying to gather ALL of the info on ALL of the affected plugins, including those not affected, like the rest of the Genesis family of themes and plugins, to ensure I was correctly reporting it to you, and then making the post and video.

Why the fuck am I the ONLY person on the planet getting folks ALL of the info they need AND a tutorial on how to do it?

I Am NO Fan of WP Engine

Other reports don’t give you nearly enough info, including those published by WP Engine.

I tried to contact WPE support – nope – only available to their paying clients.

Then I tried their contact form – nope – only connected to sales. It took 4 replies for them to offer to connect me to an account representative to address my concern.

AND, they signed me up for their newsletter even though I purposely left the box on their contact form unchecked to do so.

WP Engine cares about 1 thing, and 1 thing only – sales.

Their proprietary setup is not as great as many folks claim and it’s radically overpriced.

Mad at Matt Too

What the hey, Matt?

Was it really necessary to cause such a rift in the WP community and get bad PR for WordPress in every major business news outlet?

Was it really good for WP to let 159 Automattic employees walk out because they disagreed with you? The severance package they were offered is not the point.

Was whatever you think Automattic is entitled to from WP Engine worth putting millions of WordPress sites at risk just because they are using a free plugin that they don’t even realize is involved in this mess?

Video Tips

Big Changes to YouTube Shorts

YouTube has tripled the length of Shorts videos to 3 minutes.

And they’ve added features inside the app for remixing video clips from across the platform.

Sounds a lot like a TikTok Duet to me.

Here’s what I want to know.

Will any video that is 3 minutes or less automatically be posted to Shorts now?

If that’s the case, that’s going to impact creator’s bottom lines.

I intentionally made my videos longer than 1 minute to stay out of Shorts for that reason.

Here’s what else I want to know.

Are we going to now have a new wave of creators who just kluge together clips from other content creators and call it a new video that they make money on?

If you’re not already turning off the clip remix availability setting on your videos, you seriously need to think about doing that.

See more about the YouTube changes in this post from the nice folks at Search Engine Journal.

SEO Tips

Google Updates Product Markup Guidelines

Google wants you to add your product schema markup in your html, and not in JavaScript.

I’m looking into how schema markup is handled on Shopify.

I know Yoast makes an app (plugin) for Shopify, but I haven’t checked into it yet.

Speaking of, the Yoast Shopify app just included a new AI feature to help you create better product listings.

I’ll keep you posted.

How Would You Like to Get Tips Tuesday?

The last Tips Tuesday Plus went out a couple of weeks ago.

And one of the things I’ve heard subscribers say they miss is getting the whole post emailed to them.

So, I put together a survey to see if you prefer to get just the notification email and then click over to the post, or if you want the whole post emailed to you.

Take the survey now – it has 2 questions and will take you 90 seconds. (This survey has closed.)

Thank you for your feedback!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!