Breakdown - A Gravity Forms Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In the latest episode of Breakdown, host Matt Medeiros sits down with Megan Jones to discuss Gravity Forms' Black Friday plans and share insights from prominent WordPress product owners about their holiday marketing strategies.

Gravity Forms Black Friday Details

Gravity Forms will offer its biggest discount of the year - 50% off all licenses (Basic, Pro, and Elite) from November 25th through December 3rd, 2024. The sale includes Gravity Flow licenses and promotes exclusive deals from certified developers through a dedicated landing page.

Industry Expert Insights

We published a few industry experts as guests this week. Hear what they had to share about their Black Friday promos and be sure to check out their products.

Katie Keith - Barn2 Plugins
Katie shared her experience managing sales across 19 WordPress plugins. Her key strategy involves encouraging higher-value purchases during the sale period. Despite offering significant discounts, Barn2 maintains or increases their average order value by promoting premium license options.

Cole Fraser - Gravity Wiz
Cole emphasized simplification in their Black Friday approach. While email marketing remains crucial, Cole advised against over-segmentation during busy sales periods. Black Friday shoppers typically seek straightforward messaging about deals rather than complex, personalized communications.

Corey Maass - OMGIMG
Corey highlighted the importance of listing products in Black Friday directories and roundups. While direct attribution proves challenging, these listings contribute to overall brand visibility during the sale period.

Zack Katz - GravityKit
Zack stressed the value of email subject line testing, noting that different subject lines not only affect open rates but also influence click-through behavior within the emails.

Key Takeaways
* 50% off has become the standard discount expectation for WordPress Black Friday deals
* Simplify marketing messages during Black Friday to cut through inbox noise
* Focus on growing email lists before the sale period
* Consider bundling products or encouraging higher-tier purchases
* List products in WordPress Black Friday directories for increased visibility
* Test email subject lines when possible
* Balance email frequency to maintain engagement without overwhelming subscribers

Important URLs

* Gravity Forms Black Friday: gravityforms.com/black-friday
* Gravity Flow Black Friday: gravityflow.io/black-friday
* Gravity Forms YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@gravitywp
* Podcast: gravityforms.com/breakdown

In this episode of Breakdown, we dive into exciting updates from Gravity Forms, including the release of Gravity Forms 2.9 Release Candidate and the new Gravity SMTP 1.4.2. We also welcome Timothy Wood, founder of Always Curious, who shares his insights on using Gravity Forms for advanced applications, including a unique Magic Link login solution. Timothy discusses his agency's approach to leveraging Gravity Forms for data management and client solutions, as well as his commitment to giving back to the WordPress community.

Key Takeaways:

- Gravity Forms 2.9 introduces new features that enhance user experience and customization.

- Gravity SMTP offers a cost-effective solution for sending transactional emails, especially for agencies.

- Timothy Wood emphasizes the versatility of Gravity Forms for complex data management and client solutions.

- The Magic Link plugin provides a modern alternative to traditional login methods, improving user experience.

- Timothy's agency focuses on building applications within the WordPress ecosystem, showcasing the potential of Gravity Forms for advanced projects.

- Community engagement and contributions are vital for the growth and improvement of the WordPress ecosystem.

Connect with Timothy Wood:

- Twitter: @codearachnid

- Agency Website: alwayscurious.co

Support the Podcast:

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it on social media or your favorite community platforms. Don't forget to subscribe to Breakdown at gravityforms.com/breakdown for more insights every two weeks!

We're back! The first episode of 2024 has arrived and it's a fun exploration of all things new at Gravity Forms.

We'll explore some updates that have happened before our 2023 seasonal break, what features you can look forward to with Gravity Forms, and our upcoming launch of Gravity SMTP version 1.0.

Matt interviews Tim Brown of Hook Agency, which covers how he's built a large book of business serving the construction industry. Tim and his team help these brands launch WordPress websites to power their online marketing campaigns. At the heart of all of this? Gravity Forms. If you're an agency owner, you won't want to miss today's episode.

If you have a moment, please take a moment to take this short survey about this podcast! Your feedback helps us improve the show. 

On the latest episode of the Gravity Forms Breakdown podcast, host Matt Rechenburg shares highlights from the recent Gravity Forms Summit for agencies and freelancers. He also interviews veteran support engineer Chris Hajer to give listeners a behind-the-scenes look at Gravity Forms support.

Strategies for Using Gravity Forms to Boost Sales
Kathy from the summit presents strategies for using Gravity Forms to close more sales by streamlining the process and removing friction for customers. She explains how Gravity Forms can be leveraged to build genuine relationships by aligning your goals with your customers' goals.

Challenges and Solutions in Project Management
David discusses the exciting challenges of managing both client projects and internal projects with complex requirements that extend beyond standard plugin functionality. With deadlines always looming and limited time, he explains why GravityWiz consulting can help conquer any Gravity Forms project on time.

Interview with Veteran Support Engineer Chris Hajer
Chris has been with Gravity Forms since 2011, before their current office was even built! With over a decade of experience, he provides uniquely knowledgeable and high quality responses to customer support issues. Chris explains that the diversity of Gravity Forms users keeps things interesting - from new users with basic questions to complex systems built around Gravity Forms over 10+ years. He loves helping manipulate Gravity Forms data using add-ons like CRM integrations and Zapier.

The following Gravity Forms add-ons were recently updated:

• ConvertKit 1.0
• Stripe 5.3 and 5.4
• Turnstile 1.1
• Chained Selects 1.7
• Conversational Forms 1.2
• Polls 4.2
• PayPal Checkout 3.0

Black Friday & Cyber Monday deals are still active today only! Visit gravityforms.com no coupon code needed. 

Today's episode is a REPLAY from one of my favorite episodes this year, featuring Jason Resnick and Amber Hinds. Here are the show notes from the previous episode:

Equalize Digital and Its NASA Project: Amber explains that Equalize Digital is a company focused on WordPress accessibility, particularly for people with disabilities. They have developed a plugin called Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker, available in both free and premium versions. Notably, their premium plugin is being used in the development of NASA's website. Lone Rock Point, the company behind the NASA project, decided to use WordPress primarily because of Equalize Digital's plugin. Amber's team also played a crucial role in auditing and user testing the beta site for accessibility.

Gravity Forms and Accessibility: Matt asks Amber about her experience with Gravity Forms, a popular WordPress plugin for form creation. Amber reveals that they have been using Gravity Forms extensively in their projects, including the WordPress Accessibility Day website. She highlights Gravity Forms' commitment to accessibility and how it saves time for their organizing team, particularly in managing user registrations and creating draft posts for event speakers. They also discuss the value of Gravity Forms in creating efficient editorial workflows and how it benefits the event's attendees and sponsors.

Notable URLs and software mentioned:
* Equalize Digital's plugin: ~[Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker](https://wordpress.org/plugins/equalize-digital-accessibility-checker/)~
* NASA's website development by Lone Rock Point
* Gravity Forms: A popular WordPress form creation plugin
* Gravity Forms advanced post creation add-on
* Gravity Forms user registration add-on
* GravityWiz's "Populate Anything" add-on
* Zapier: Used for integrating Gravity Forms with Google Sheets
* WordPress Accessibility Day website: 2023.wpaccessibility.day

These two key points provide listeners with insights into how Equalize Digital is contributing to web accessibility and how Gravity Forms is aiding in the success of WordPress Accessibility Day.

ConvertKit Beta Add-On: Matt mentions at the beginning that they have a ConvertKit beta add-on available for download at the bottom of the dashboard. This is likely important for listeners who are interested in using ConvertKit or existing users looking to enhance their experience with this tool. Find the beta in your Gravity Forms dashboard.

Middle of the Funnel Importance: Jason emphasizes the significance of the middle of the funnel in email marketing, stating that about 85% of sales occur in this stage. He stresses the need for consistency in email communication, a well-planned welcome sequence, and intentionality in writing emails with a clear call to action. This insight is valuable for anyone involved in email marketing, as it highlights the often-neglected middle stage and provides practical advice for improving email engagement and conversion rates.

Important software mentioned:
* ConvertKit: The email marketing platform discussed throughout the conversation.
* WordPress: Jason mentions moving his website back to WordPress, indicating its importance as a content management system.

Overall, this conversation delves into the significance of the middle of the funnel in email marketing and announces the availability of a ConvertKit beta add-on, providing practical insights for podcast listeners interested in email marketing and ConvertKit usage.

Follow Jason on Twitter and download his NurtureKit Blueprint.

In this episode of the Gravity Forms podcast Breakdown, Matt interviews Hazel Quimpo about how she has built a "marketing machine" using Gravity Forms, Zapier, and ChatGPT. 

Hazel talks about how she prompts users to give verbal or text input about their business through VideoAsk, which then triggers a Zapier zap to send the data to Gravity Forms. The data is processed through ChatGPT to extract structured data fields. Hazel then uses Gravity Forms and Zapier to generate marketing deliverables like content calendars based on the structured data.

Top 5 Takeaways:

1. ChatGPT is great at taking unstructured data like text and verbal input and turning it into structured data like brand values, content pillars, etc. (3:37)
2. Hazel built a "marketing machine" that takes user input through VideoAsk, processes it with ChatGPT to get structured data, and uses that data to generate marketing deliverables with Gravity Forms. (6:42)
3. Hazel uses Zapier to connect and automate the flow from VideoAsk > ChatGPT > Gravity Forms. She also uses Gravity Forms as the trigger for additional zaps rather than webhooks. (10:03)
4. There is a free version available at docs.clever.io to try out and get a content strategy doc generated from your business input. (13:21)
5. Hazel is using this approach to generate proposals for clients, taking a sales call transcript as input to autofill a proposal template. (18:39)

Important Links:

• theclever.io
• docs.theclever.io - free tool to try
• Gravity Forms 50% off sale (Nov 21-28): gravityforms.com
• Hazel's LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/hazelq/

In this episode, Matt discusses upcoming opportunities for agencies and freelancers to leverage Gravity Forms headed into 2024. He provides a sneak peek of the Gravity Forms Summit on November 15th and encourages listeners to take the Breakdown podcast survey.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro
0:30 Gravity Forms Summit promo
2:00 Nonprofit payment solutions
4:00 Marketing funnels with Gravity Forms
6:30 AI for tracking form conversions
8:00 Customer avatars and value props
9:30 Gravity Forms Summit details
11:00 Podcast survey promo
12:30 Outro

Important Links:

Gravity Forms Summit Registration: https://www.youtube.com/@GravityWP
Gravity Forms Nonprofit Discount: https://www.gravityforms.com/nonprofit-discount/
Podcast Survey: https://formmmm.wtf/survey
Add Breakdown Podcast: https://www.gravityforms.com/breakdown

Quick episode today! Please take this short 5 question survey about the Breakdown podcast.

Updates to Gravity Forms: 

• Orbital everywhere! https://www.gravityforms.com/blog/gravity-forms-styling-orbital/
• Gravity Forms 2.7.15 https://www.gravityforms.com/blog/brand-new-release-gravity-forms-2-7-15/
• Conversational Forms 1.1 https://www.gravityforms.com/blog/brand-new-release-conversational-forms-add-on-1-1/

If you have 3 minutes, please take this 5 question survey to help us improve the podcast https://formmm.wtf/survey

The Breakdown podcast hosted by Matt Medeiros recently featured two great conversations about upcoming Gravity SMTP service and how one of our customers uses Active Campaign + Gravity Forms in her business. Here are some highlights from each interview.

Conversation with Adam Pickering about Gravity SMTP
The first conversation was with Adam Pickering, discussing the upcoming beta release of Gravity SMTP. This is the first standalone product from Gravity Forms.

Some key points:
* Gravity SMTP will migrate data from Gravity Forms mail add-ons to the new plugin
* The setup wizard is being built to streamline configuration
* Requested integrations like Gmail and Outlook were popular in their product roadmap survey
* An unexpected useful feature they built is disabling email sending during migrations

Key Takeaways:
* Gravity SMTP beta expected in mid-October
* Sign up for their beta program to get early access
* Provides a secure way to send Gravity Forms emails
* Setup wizard will ease transition from mail add-ons
* Disable email sending feature helpful for site migrations

Important Links:
gravityforms.com/beta

Conversation with Kay Peacey on Using Gravity Forms
The second conversation was with Kay Peacey of SlickBusiness.co, discussing how she uses Gravity Forms.

Some key points:
* Kay puts a survey on her opt-in thank you page to learn about subscribers' pain points
* This converts 10% into purchases for her ActiveCampaign Academy
* She also surveys customers after purchase to guide their onboarding
* Kay frequently advises clients on the best WordPress stack with Gravity Forms
* She persistently engaged with ActiveCampaign for 7 years before joining their customer advisory board

Key Takeaways:
* Use Gravity Forms surveys on opt-in and purchase thank you pages
* Identify customer pain points upfront to boost conversions
* Recommend relevant courses based on survey responses
* Advise clients on optimal WordPress stacks with Gravity Forms
* Building long-term relationships with brands can lead to advisory roles

Important Links:
https://slickbusiness.co/
https://www.gravityforms.com/add-ons/activecampaign/

Equalize Digital and Its NASA Project: Amber explains that Equalize Digital is a company focused on WordPress accessibility, particularly for people with disabilities. They have developed a plugin called Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker, available in both free and premium versions. Notably, their premium plugin is being used in the development of NASA's website. Lone Rock Point, the company behind the NASA project, decided to use WordPress primarily because of Equalize Digital's plugin. Amber's team also played a crucial role in auditing and user testing the beta site for accessibility.

Gravity Forms and Accessibility: Matt asks Amber about her experience with Gravity Forms, a popular WordPress plugin for form creation. Amber reveals that they have been using Gravity Forms extensively in their projects, including the WordPress Accessibility Day website. She highlights Gravity Forms' commitment to accessibility and how it saves time for their organizing team, particularly in managing user registrations and creating draft posts for event speakers. They also discuss the value of Gravity Forms in creating efficient editorial workflows and how it benefits the event's attendees and sponsors.

Notable URLs and software mentioned:
* Equalize Digital's plugin: ~[Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker](https://wordpress.org/plugins/equalize-digital-accessibility-checker/)~
* NASA's website development by Lone Rock Point
* Gravity Forms: A popular WordPress form creation plugin
* Gravity Forms advanced post creation add-on
* Gravity Forms user registration add-on
* GravityWiz's "Populate Anything" add-on
* Zapier: Used for integrating Gravity Forms with Google Sheets
* WordPress Accessibility Day website: 2023.wpaccessibility.day

These two key points provide listeners with insights into how Equalize Digital is contributing to web accessibility and how Gravity Forms is aiding in the success of WordPress Accessibility Day.

ConvertKit Beta Add-On: Matt mentions at the beginning that they have a ConvertKit beta add-on available for download at the bottom of the dashboard. This is likely important for listeners who are interested in using ConvertKit or existing users looking to enhance their experience with this tool. Find the beta in your Gravity Forms dashboard.

Middle of the Funnel Importance: Jason emphasizes the significance of the middle of the funnel in email marketing, stating that about 85% of sales occur in this stage. He stresses the need for consistency in email communication, a well-planned welcome sequence, and intentionality in writing emails with a clear call to action. This insight is valuable for anyone involved in email marketing, as it highlights the often-neglected middle stage and provides practical advice for improving email engagement and conversion rates.

Important software mentioned:
* ConvertKit: The email marketing platform discussed throughout the conversation.
* WordPress: Jason mentions moving his website back to WordPress, indicating its importance as a content management system.

Overall, this conversation delves into the significance of the middle of the funnel in email marketing and announces the availability of a ConvertKit beta add-on, providing practical insights for podcast listeners interested in email marketing and ConvertKit usage.

Follow Jason on Twitter and download his NurtureKit Blueprint.