March 22 2024

It’s the WP Minute! 

Today we ask, “Who’s responsible for WordPress marketing?” 

Coming up next! 

Josepha Haden Chomphosy, Executive Director of the WordPress Open Source project, posted an idea that shifts the dynamics of the WordPress Marketing team. 

A call for a Media Press Corps. Also known as a Dramatic Shift.

It’s still too early to tell if this initiative will stick, so I won’t comment directly on the idea of a Media Press Corps at the moment. Stay tuned to this space as that story develops.

However, this shift begs the question, Who is responsible for WordPress marketing?

[Classified]

Let me TL;DR it for you first, as my boss at Gravity Forms Carl Hancock says, “It’s the entire ecosystem.” Something I agree with, and not just because he signs my paycheck. 

The ecosystem as a whole has always been the biggest driving force for WordPress adoption. Because WordPress is not a product first organization. It’s not a corporate entity. 

It’s open source software & community. 

Sure, it happens to be lead by Matt Mullenweg who founded the software, who also owns Automattic, can irritate us at times, but also pours a tremendous amount of resources into a project that we all enjoy. Still, doesn’t make WordPress.org a product first initiative. 

There’s no budget, there’s no access to crucial data, there’s no access to social channels, and the marketing team has no influence on the direction of the project. I’m sure I’m missing something else. 

How far could an official Marketing Team take it? An insurmountable task I wouldn’t want to take on. 

Which leaves the marketing of WordPress up to you and I: 

• You’re an agency owner, you’re preaching to clients about the advantages of WordPress.
• You’re a blogger, you’re telling people to own their own content & platform.
• You’re a YouTuber, you’re teaching viewers how to use WordPress.
• You’re a Managed WordPress hosting provider, you’re talking about how fast and scalable WordPress is.
• You’re a plugin author, you’re selling on the idea that you’re making a good platform even better.
• You’re a WordPress Media outlet, you’re informing, educating, and entertaining an audience.

Whether we call it a Marketing Team or a Media Press Corps, WordPress biggest marketing advantages — even in the face of Wix/squarespace Super Bowl ads — is us, like it always has been.

So tell me, how would you spread awareness and brand positioning for WordPress? Got a thought about a WordPress Media Corps? Hit reply and let me know.

Together with The Repository

Coming up in The Repository this week: We unpack the announcement that WordPress is getting a media corps and cover Do the Woo’s big move to WordPress.com. Plus, the latest on the upcoming WordPress 6.5 release.

Not a subscriber? Sign up at therepository.email for more on what’s happening in WordPress – and what everyone’s saying about it.

Important Links

It’s that time again! More link goodies for WordPress news!

• Josepha Haden Chomphosy introduces the idea for a WordPress Media Corps.
• WP Umbrella is getting hit with another wide spread phishing attack.
• Marcus Burnette ponders if we have a “versus” problem.
• WordPress 6.5 is next week, here’s what’s new according to Courtney Robertson. Also see the WordPress 6.5 Source of Truth post by Anne McCarthy
• WordPress dot com now supports GitHub deployments.
• Be sure to register for Using Site Editor in Production for Clients.
• Product owners: Optimize your Readme according to Matt Cromwell
• MasterWP newsletter is shifting focus on AI a majority of the time.
• I discussed WordPress Media with Jonathan Denwood from WP Tonic.
• Video: Use This to Change Your Blocks Everywhere
• Video: The One BIG Update Coming to WordPress 6.5