Catch-Up Day: Improving website monetization + I did not see this coming ... 😲

Hey streight, As you already know, I've been using Saturdays as my catch-up day for various website tasks. Last weekend, I was focused on increasing our website traffic using the two resources that I shared. And as a result, my traffic increased over 10 - 20% on my various websites :) If you missed it, don't worry - I'll re-share it at the end of this email. Anyways, several people wanted to know what am I working on this weekend? The answer is ... traffic monetization! It's a big focus for me this weekend and upcoming week. Here are the top two resources that I'm using: - 18 ways to make more money from your existing website traffic - 22 proven power-user tips to boost your conversions Why did I choose this as my #1 priority this week? I'll cover that below in the section where I share the big news that I didn't see coming. But first, my goal during these crazy times is to help you create something amazing that you'll be proud of in the next 6 months. If you haven't started your website / idea yet, then now is the best time.  Some people shared in our Facebook group that they were having a hard time coming up with a blog name / business name idea. You can use this tool called Nameboy.  It's the oldest domain name generator in the world (started in 1999). I bought it and made it really awesome.  Unlike other tools, it also checks whether the domain is actually available, so you will save a lot of time while seeing the best name ideas :) Once you have found the idea, you can use our tutorial on how to learn WordPress for free (in a week or less) to create a website, blog, podcast, membership site, or even an online store. Ok now coming back to the news that surprised me big time!!! Yesterday Business Insider reported that 11 retailers including Amazon were suspending their influencer / affiliate programs with top affiliates like Skimlinks, and others. This is why it's more important than ever for content creators and influencers to not only build their own website, but also build an email list. If you rely on affiliate marketing as your primary source of income, then you need to diversify. Here are 30 ideas that can help. Also hopefully now you understand why maximum traffic monetization is my top priority this week. If you missed my email from last week, here are the two resources that I used to grow my traffic. . - 32 marketing hacks guaranteed to grow your traffic - 27 easy ways to increase your website traffic (proven tactics) Aside from that, I have added dozens of other free resources in my ultimate coronavirus small business guide. With that said, I hope you're staying safe, healthy, and in good spirits :) Syed Balkhi Founder of WPBeginner P.S. Want to learn from WPBeginner experts and other motivated readers like yourself? Join the WPBeginner Engage Facebook group. It's free, and we just passed over 33,000+ members.   You're receiving this email because you subscribed to the WPBeginner newsletter at wpbeginner.com Want to get this information in real time? Click here to move to our daily newsletter. If for any reason you do not want to receive our valuable tips, resources, and insider information about blogging and WordPress, then you can unsubscribe by clicking the link at the end of this email. No hard feelings! Transparency Notice: WPBeginner content is reader supported, which means if you click on some of the links in this email, we may earn a small referral fee. Please know that we only recommend products that we use ourselves and / or believe will add value to our readers. Cheers! Here's to you and an amazing 2020! Our mailing address is: WPBeginner LLC 7732 Maywood Crest Dr West Palm Beach, FL 33412 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

WordPress 5.4 is here + 3 new trends that I'm seeing right now 🤔

Hey streight, In case you missed the news, WordPress 5.4 is finally here. It has a lot of new features and improvements that I really like, even though one feature has raised some controversy. See what's new in WordPress 5.4  Now that the big item is out of the way, I want to address a question that I have gotten recently: "What new trends am I seeing right now?" Well there are a lot of them ... but here are the top 3 that you can learn and benefit from: 1. E-learning is growing really really fast Online content consumption is on a huge rise. I talked with e-learning software companies, and they're seeing record number of people setting up virtual classrooms / courses / membership sites. You can teach almost anything online ... yoga class, mathematics, cooking, etc. Trainers around the world are setting up virtual classrooms. That's why we did a tutorial on how to create a virtual classroom with WordPress. Also since advertising revenues are going down, many online creators are also setting up courses to create a predictable income stream. The team at MemberPress came up with 24 membership site ideas if you're looking for some inspiration. 2. People are investing time to expand their skillsets Over the last two weeks, I have seen a lot of people wanting to learn new skills. Whether it's WordPress, SEO, programming, photography, marketing, or something else. This is why many popular learning sites are offering free training. One of the best ones is Skillshare which has a wide-variety of courses, and you can get all of them for free for 2 months. And, if you want to learn WordPress, then of course WPBeginner content is the best place :) See this tutorial on how to learn WordPress for free (in a week or less). Side note: even the students who earned college scholarships from my foundation are adapting / learning new skills. I'm really proud of them :) 3. Stay at home economy, remote work, and essentials  The world is facing two crisis at the same time, a global pandemic and an ensuing recession. This is leading to a lot of life changes for everyone. Some changes will stay and even grow after we recover such as: remote work, stay-at-home economy, and ecom-essentials. If you're thinking about starting a new blog, or an online business idea, then these are the areas that I believe will thrive. Remote work is fairly self-explanatory. Stay-at-home economy are basically things like video streaming, online meetings, food delivery, tele-health, at-home entertainment, remote services like docusign, etc. Ecommerce essentials are every day items that we all need to live. Typically these are things that you buy at grocery stores (the boring stuff). I believe we're going to see a lot more physical product businesses that are going to disrupt this market just like how Dollar Shave Club did with Gillette. Anyways, if you're thinking of starting something new, these are the areas I'd consider looking into :) With that said, I hope you're staying safe and getting lots done. I am currently working on some cool additions to the WPBeginner website that I can't wait to share with you. What are you working on? Reply to this email and let me know. Syed Balkhi Founder of WPBeginner P.S. We are hiring for my various businesses. If you're looking for remote work and want to work on something awesome, take a look at our careers page :)   You're receiving this email because you subscribed to the WPBeginner newsletter at wpbeginner.com Want to get this information in real time? Click here to move to our daily newsletter. If for any reason you do not want to receive our valuable tips, resources, and insider information about blogging and WordPress, then you can unsubscribe by clicking the link at the end of this email. No hard feelings! Transparency Notice: WPBeginner content is reader supported, which means if you click on some of the links in this email, we may earn a small referral fee. Please know that we only recommend products that we use ourselves and / or believe will add value to our readers. Cheers! Here's to you and an amazing 2020! Our mailing address is: WPBeginner LLC 7732 Maywood Crest Dr West Palm Beach, FL 33412 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Growing website traffic ... here's what I'm doing this weekend! 🚀

Hey streight, This past week, I've gotten so many messages from people asking about what am I working on right now in our business. The answer is ... growing traffic on all my websites! And it's not just me, many of my entrepreneur friends in our group are also focused on increasing website traffic. Since it's a big focus for me this weekend and upcoming week, I figured I should share two of the top resources that I'm using: - 32 marketing hacks guaranteed to grow your traffic - 27 easy ways to increase your website traffic (proven tactics) As I mentioned last week, my goal during these crazy times is to help you create something amazing that you'll be proud of in the next 6 months. If you haven't started your website / idea yet, then now is the best time. SiteGround, the hosting company that I use for WPBeginner, is offering Startup hosting for $0.99 for 3 months to help more entrepreneurs / creators get started during COVID-19 challenging times. After you start, you can follow my guide on how to learn WordPress for free (in a week or less).  Also I have added dozens of other free resources in my ultimate coronavirus small business guide. Have a happy weekend. Stay safe, healthy, and in good spirits :) Syed Balkhi Founder of WPBeginner P.S. Remember, you don't have to figure out how to solve all your problems right now. Just figure out what you can do better in this moment. You're receiving this email because you subscribed to the WPBeginner newsletter at wpbeginner.com Want to get this information in real time? Click here to move to our daily newsletter. If for any reason you do not want to receive our valuable tips, resources, and insider information about blogging and WordPress, then you can unsubscribe by clicking the link at the end of this email. No hard feelings! Transparency Notice: WPBeginner content is reader supported, which means if you click on some of the links in this email, we may earn a small referral fee. Please know that we only recommend products that we use ourselves and / or believe will add value to our readers. Cheers! Here's to you and an amazing 2020! Our mailing address is: WPBeginner LLC 7732 Maywood Crest Dr West Palm Beach, FL 33412 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Rapid Changes? I created an ultimate guide + some GOOD news ...

Hey streight, Rapid changes are happening all around us! There is a lot of uncertainty in the world, especially for small business owners. In times like these, when everything seems uncontrollable, it's extremely crucial for us, small business owners, to focus on what we can control because that's how we will survive and thrive in this season. To help with this, I've created The Ultimate Coronavirus Small Business Guide It contains tips, tutorials, and tools that will help you adapt to the changes, streamline your workflow, and even grow your business. I have split the guide into two sections: First part is for small business owners who're looking to transition to remote work and/or establish a digital presence to grow online. The second part is for small business owners looking for side-hustle ideas to supplement their main income. Of course, it can be used by anyone (including students which would make me very proud). Some GOOD News ... Aside from WPBeginner, a lot of universities and other creators are making their online courses temporarily free to help people expand their skillset. My friend Ryan Deiss has made the entire Digital Marketer Labs course collection available for free until March 31st. My buddy, Cole from Cole's Classroom is offering all his photography training courses for free until April 8th. I have added the links to these along with dozens of other resources in our helpful guide. Also, I'll be adding more resources through out this week and next. Some final thoughts My hope is that by sharing my 17 years of experience, useful tools, and helpful tutorials, we can help others navigate this crisis and succeed once it's all over. The only thing I ask in return is that if you find this guide helpful, then please spread the word. Share it on social media, message the link to a family member, and / or email it to friends who can benefit from it. I'll end the email with this beautiful quote from Maya Angelou: "You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them". Stay safe, healthy, and in good spirits :) Syed Balkhi Founder of WPBeginner P.S. I will be sharing more exclusive tips in our WPBeginner Engage Facebook group later this week, so make sure to join because I don't want you to miss out. It's free to join, and we have over 30,000+ members just like you who're always sharing insights + experiences. P.P.S If you have questions or if there's anything that I can help with, please reply to this email or send a tweet to me personally @syedbalkhi    You're receiving this email because you subscribed to the WPBeginner newsletter at wpbeginner.com Want to get this information in real time? Click here to move to our daily newsletter. If for any reason you do not want to receive our valuable tips, resources, and insider information about blogging and WordPress, then you can unsubscribe by clicking the link at the end of this email. No hard feelings! Cheers! Here's to you and an amazing 2020! Our mailing address is: WPBeginner LLC 7732 Maywood Crest Dr West Palm Beach, FL 33412 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Weekend plans? Learn WordPress and Build ... 😀

Hey streight, With schools shutting down due to COVID19 and remote working on the rise, I had our team update our popular beginner's guide on WPBeginner. How to learn WordPress for Free in a Week (or Less) While it says a week, I bet you can cover a lot of it just this weekend and start building something awesome. I know there's a lot of craziness and uncertainty around the whole world. But remember, in 1665 when Cambridge University closed for a year because of the Great Plague of London, a young scholar named Isaac Newton was sent home. While at home, he discovered Calculus and refined the ideas that later became his theory of gravity. In 1606, Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, King Lear, and Anthony and Cleopatra while quarantined at home. We may not be Newton or Shakespeare, but you can learn how to use WordPress to build your dream and / or improve your site, so you're stronger when all of the craziness pass away. The question is what are you going to build? To give you some ideas, I've created a list of helpful guides: - How to start a WordPress Blog - How to pick the best blogging niche - we shared 7 that are proven! - How to start an online store - How to make a website for your small business - How to start a podcast - How to make a membership site With WordPress, you can create so many revenue streams. Here are some more niche ideas: - How to create a job board with WordPress (and charge for job placement fee) - How to build an online auction site like eBay (and run online garage sales for your neighborhood) - How to create a questions and answers site (and charge for tutoring / advice) - How to create an Etsy-like store with WordPress (and sell your crafts without giving Etsy a middle-man cut) - How to create a marketplace like Amazon (and let others sell goods on your site while taking a cut of each transaction). - How to create a micro-job website like Fiverr (and help provide others with opportunities to sell virtual services while you make a side income) - How to create a Buzzfeed like website (and entertain users while earning advertising revenue). Some final thoughts Anyways, I know this weekend and the upcoming week will be long ... and I hope that these guides help you create something amazing that you'll be proud of in the next 6 months. I will be sharing more exclusive tips in our WPBeginner Engage Facebook group later this week, so make sure to join because I don't want you to miss out. It's free to join, and we have over 30,000+ members just like you who're always their sharing insights + experiences. Wish you and your family a happy weekend. Stay safe, healthy, and in good spirits :) Syed Balkhi Founder of WPBeginner You're receiving this email because you subscribed to the WPBeginner newsletter at wpbeginner.com Want to get this information in real time? Click here to move to our daily newsletter. If for any reason you do not want to receive our valuable tips, resources, and insider information about blogging and WordPress, then you can unsubscribe by clicking the link at the end of this email. No hard feelings! Cheers! Here's to you and an amazing 2020! Our mailing address is: WPBeginner LLC 7732 Maywood Crest Dr West Palm Beach, FL 33412 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

6 Reasons Why WPBeginner Switched to SiteGround + 3 new WordPress tutorials

Hey streight, After 10.5 years of running WPBeginner, I finally switched our web hosting provider. Now you know it has to be a big deal for me to make this decision! Several readers noticed the change and asked me to write about why did we make the switch. Here are 6 reasons why we switched to SiteGround hosting. Hint: it has to do with Google Cloud Platform (they're now offering that to everyone) which means super fast site speed! New WordPress Tutorials on WPBeginner: - We wrote a guide on how to create a multilingual WordPress site (this is super helpful). - We updated our guide on how to make a separate page for blog posts. - Want to show personalized onsite messages based on user behavior? Here's how to do it. Quick Question for You: Which WordPress hosting provider do you use? Is it mentioned on our hosting provider page? If so, I'd love it if you can let others know what you think about them by leaving a review. If your host is not mentioned on the page, then can you please reply to this email and let me know. Thank you for your help :) Syed Balkhi Founder of WPBeginner P.S. We are hiring - come join us and help more people succeed with WordPress. You're receiving this email because you subscribed to the WPBeginner newsletter at wpbeginner.com Want to get this information in real time? Click here to move to our daily newsletter. If for any reason you do not want to receive our valuable tips, resources, and insider information about blogging and WordPress, then you can unsubscribe by clicking the link at the end of this email. No hard feelings! Cheers! Here's to you and an amazing 2020! Our mailing address is: WPBeginner LLC 7732 Maywood Crest Dr West Palm Beach, FL 33412 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list