The WordPress plugin industry has become quite the cash cow for developers and savvy Internet Marketers alike.

What they don’t tell you, of course, is what to REALLY look for in a plugin. Ignore these suggestions, and you risk having your plugins fail, your blog fail, and a major blow to your online income.

Here’s some tips (taken from my personal 1st hand experience):

1) Support – Does the plugin have proper support? Has it been through at least 3-5 major iterations of the WordPress Blogging platform? You see, while WordPress may be the best Content Management Solution since sliced bread, the development team has a nasty habit of rolling out upgrades in an almost frenetic fashion (welcome to Internet Time, grasshopper).

It seems that every time WordPress has a major upgrade, it breaks whole swaths of existing WordPress plugins. They simply fail to work with the new versions of WordPress.

Make sure that the plugin developers have weathered the WordPress Upgrade storm and HAVE A TRACK RECORD of updating their plugins, not only to fix bugs or address security concerns, but to also deal with the latest and greatest WordPress upgrades.

2) Longevity – Has the plugin been around for awhile? I see a nasty habit with WordPress plugin developers…….they may come up with a fantastic plugin. But over time, they simply get bored with it, or just don’t want to hassle with it any more. Check that the plugin and the author has been around for more than a few months.

3) Have a Coder in your Pocket – Over time, a plugin WILL go abandoned. It may be the key plugin you need to make your WordPress-based site work properly. If the plug-in developer has gone AWOL, you’d better have a backup plan. Be sure you have access to a dependable coder/programmer who has experience in developing WordPress-specific plugins. You can go to the usual haunts to find them (Elance, RentaCoder, etc., etc.), but better yet, get some personal referrals from other Internet Marketers who’ve used a good coder-type.

Your plugin may just need a simple tweak, or it may have to be re-assembled from scratch. Be prepared for this eventuality.

Rather than update your plugin, some of you may just opt to not upgrade your version of WordPress. That might be ok for a little while, but we now live in an age of multiple exploits by spammers and hoodlums. You’ll want to keep your version of WordPress regularly updated, mainly to keep your site secure.

And that, my friends, is the hidden cost of using WordPress as the CMS for your Internet Marketing Website.

Mr. P

He promised to stuff my wallet with a 10-figure income monthly.

His profile mentions that he is currently a Waiter at a restaurant.

Now I have nothing against Waiters and Waitresses…………my wife waited tables for years while she put herself through school, and it is hard, honest work.

But for God’s sake man…….do you see the disconnect here? Isn’t it obvious?

If you’re selling the secret to a 5-figure income monthly, what the hell are you doing waiting tables?

I am constantly amazed that the utter idiocy of some of these people.

Mr. P

The young hotshots who’ve struck gold with their Affiliate Marketing, CPA Marketing, blackhat techniques, and on and on and on…………who’ve made their first million, and subsequently think they’ve become invincible.

Odds are, in a year or two, many of them will be broke, destitute, back at their hourly wage jobs, and bitter………….and some will even be in jail.

Its because they think the money train will last forever. Which leads to sloppiness. Which leads to poor financial planning for the future. Which leads to bitterness. In some cases it leads these people to take shortcuts, break the law, and all sorts of gory, unethical practices.

The smart ones perservere.

They sock money away into all means of conventional investments, whether it be retirement vehicles, real estate, or other securities (yes, stocks, bonds and more).

They hire competent CPAs and Tax Attorneys to advise them accordingly.

They enjoy a quality lifestyle, but avoid wretched excess (while the reckless simply indulge in the closest form of bling to cross their path).

They understand that their revenue streams WILL NOT LAST FOREVER, and so they DIVERSIFY their business.

They donate some of their wealth, not because its a good PR move or a smart tax move…….but because its the right thing to do, and it keeps their ethical lives balanced.

So, young Entrepreneur……..while “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” may have gotten you the short term monetary success you’ve craved, perhaps it is “The Millionaire Next Door” that will get you increased longevity.

Mr. P

I’ve been a member of numerous sites over the years, ranging from small $10 a month sites, to sites charging in excess of $250 per month (you don’t want to know how high I’ve gone).

Here are some things I look for to assess the value of a membership site:

- Many sites have integrated blogs that give members news, commentary, or other information. See how recent the latest blog post is – it shows the owner’s level of engagement with their customers. I joined a membership site today and saw that the last blog post was nearly a YEAR OLD. FAIL. I won’t be a member anymore.

- Lots of these new sites like to stuff their sites with boatloads of training videos. That’s ok, depending on the kind of training the membership site provides. If the information is evergreen and long-lasting, no problem. However, if the information is very time-sensitive, these videos will have a very short useful life. If you see a set of videos that seem to be growing moss in a corner of a membership site that has rapidly changing information, then its time to move on.

- Some membership sites have member discussion forums. Make sure the forum is on-target, well-moderated (trolls and spamsters are neutered), and most importantly – that the owners are frequently VISIBLE and INTERACTING with the members. In many cases the owners/founders talk a good story, then effectively disappear from the site.

- Most important – is the information useful, actionable, timely, and understandable to you?

Lastly, don’t make the mistake of hanging on too long. If the site is not meeting your expectations for whatever reason, CUT THE CORD and leave………you don’t want it becoming a major drag on your time and money.

Mr. P

Just the other day, one of these pseudo-gurus followed me on Twitter………occasionally I take a closer look at who is following me. This particular individual was promoting his software that promised to get you 10 THOUSAND Twitter followers in just 14 days!!!!!!

So I did the obvious thing (maybe not so obvious to the dewy-eyed newbie) and checked to see how many followers he had. He had started twittering about 3 weeks ago, and had a grand total of……………400 followers.

My friend, the chasm from 400 to 10,000 runs VERY deep.

I was struck by the sheer idiocy of this individual………..shilling his wares with numerical proof of his own failure staring everyone in the face.

Good lord………..are the gurus and guru-wannabes that cynical, or that desperate…………that they’d run such an moronically transparent ruse?

Apparently so.

I know you aren’t that stupid.

Right?

Mr. P

I’ve simply been busy, laying in wait, biding my time.

There seem to have been a spate of guru promises lately – fancy, outright self-important declarations, actually. About many things – promising a minimum income level, promising to never take commissions on products they recommend, promising to launch projects on xyz date, promising to hold personal one-on-one consulting calls. Different gurus, different promises.

Many of these promises simply not kept.

Promises broken.

Why?

“Because my guru friends told me I was crazy to make this promise.” – So you succumbed to peer pressure even though you screamed a promise to your customers or your mailing list from the rooftops? How pathetic.

“That wasn’t the exact promise I made.” – Oh yes it was. Interesting that you made this promise in your artfully crafted sales letter, but when you took $xxxx of fees from me, that sales letter simply disappeared from public view right after the “limited sales period” ended. Some kind of scarcity tactic, eh?

“That Guruphobia guy is just a crybaby.” – Oh really? Because I keep my promises to my clients, and because I’m calling you other gurus on promises you break? Or is it because I haven’t rubbed shoulders with you at Internet Marketing Conferences? Or maybe I have……studied you up close………but you simply haven’t realized it.

Reputation is vitally important – don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Keep your reputation radar up and focused before you drop serious coin on any product.

If you’re spending a lot of money on a course, a seminar, or consulting, then you should simply demand a certain standard of excellence from your seller.

Will there be times that you are sorely disappointed in a product or service that you purchase? Of course. But if you are, be sure you learn your lesson. If you go back for a SECOND round of guru purchase disappointment, then its nobody’s fault but YOURS.

Mr. P

What a sweeping statement, by one of the most well-known Gurus around.

And one that I disagree with vehemently.

You see, Mr. Guru, not everyone WANTS to be you, or WANTS to be like you. 

Sorry.

There are marketers who are just happily motoring along, making very good money, staying in the shadows, unbeknownst to the general marketing population at large.

How do I know?  Because I know several personally.

These marketers don’t need throngs of adoring fans hanging on their every word.  They don’t need to be the center of attention.

And what about you, Mr. P?  Isn’t that like the pot calling the kettle black?

Not at all.

I don’t need to be “known”.  My main purpose is to vent a bit, or a lot………..and in the process, perhaps give back a little to the community.

After all, how many of my products have you seen me sell on this site?  How many affiliate links have you seen me post thus far?

So consider that for a minute, before someone tells you, “Every Marketer Wants to be a Guru”.

Mr. P

And you take the bait, buying the product?

I have, and I’m sure so have you.  Now I think many of us can understand when gurus are foisting “worthless” e-book bonuses our way – you know, the ones that you’ve seen percolating through the net since 1972?

What really burns my hide, though, are the other bonuses, many from big name gurus who should really know better.

• The One on One Consultation Bonus – I’ll admit, I’ve been burned by this one twice before.  Guru A promises a “one-on-one personal consultation” with me – in one case, said Guru promised to record the call on Skype and send me a copy, so that I could reference it for posterity.  My posterior.  In one case, Guru A simply failed to respond once my payment for the product went through.  In the other case, Guru B was clearly overwhelmed by the response, and “amended” the bonus after everyone had purchased to a “group teleconference”.  Shame on you.  Mind you, these were “top shelf” gurus, too.
• The “Free Advertising Bonus” – Guru C offers free advertising on his niche publications, that go out to lists in the “several hundred thousands”.  Problem is, when said Guru C is contacted for the ad, he conveniently disappears.

The lesson here?  Never buy on the basis of a bonus.  If you must buy a product, buy it because it is fundamentally sound and well-reviewed by people you TRUST.  You’ll save yourself much disappointment.

Mr. P

I guess it’s been a while since my last discourse, hasn’t it?

Well, I’ve been busy……busy reading, busy working, and busy playing.

I’ve spent some nice recharge time on Sunset Beach and Mokuleia on Oahu (vacations aren’t over-rated).  They inspire some of my most creative endeavors.

The entrepreneurial world can be at times maddening, but when the celestial planets line up, the payoff can be extreme.

No, I’m not getting existential on you.

Just trying to prod you.  Get busy living.

Stop to smell the roses, but don’t get stuck in the mud.

Make time to love the significants in your life.

And ask yourself this question:

What have I done to make the planets align for me today?

 

- Mr. P

 

Mr. Friedman was an influential economist, a leader of the “Chicago School” of economics. He championed Free Market Economics and deregulation, and his theories and teachings helped shape American Economics and Economic policy in the late 20th Century. He even won a Nobel Prize in 1976.

However, as with any Economist, he was adored in some corners and chastised in others. He had his successes and his utter failures whilst advising many Presidents.

Many saw Friedman as a political right-leaner. However, while he served as an advisor to numerous Republican Presidents, his views were much more Libertarian. He served on a panel that helped abolish the draft in the 1970s. He questioned the U.S.’s involvement in the first Gulf War, and vehemently opposed our current Iraq war.

I first met Milton Friedman in a seminar almost 20 years ago when I was still in my University years. I found him articulate, compelling, gracious, and very funny. After the seminar, I approached him, shook his hand, and asked him to sign a dollar bill for me.

“Isn’t this defacement of currency?” he asked me, his dry wit emerging.

“Don’t worry…..this dollar will never return into circulation again”, I answered.

Milton Friedman shaped my views on Economics, Fiscal Policy, and Politics for years to come.

Years later, my home was burglarized, and much of my cash and valuables were stolen. After surveying my missing belongings, I noticed that my “Friedman Dollar”, which had been encased in a protective plastic sleeve, was missing. Out of everything that was stolen, the loss of that Dollar hurt me the most.

I just read that Milton Friedman passed away today in San Francisco at the age of 94.

He might have been a small man in stature, but he was a giant in his field, and I will greatly miss him.