Breakdown - A Gravity Forms Podcast

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.

Matt and Dustin recently celebrated the launch of Turnstile 1.0, a solution to the problematic CAPTCHA screens that currently exist. It provides an upgrade over the older version and has received positive reviews from the tech community, with Dustin particularly keen to implement it on his WordPress sites. They discussed Google's surprising business decision to sell their domain registration business, and their trend of launching and then discontinuing products. They speculated on how this might affect sites that rely heavily on CAPTCHA for security.

The duo also discussed updates and plans for Gravity Forms. They noted minor updates to Gravity Forms and Gravity Flow, but the release of Turnstile 1.0 stood out as the most significant add-on. Additionally, a tutorial video on how to set up Turnstile 1.0 is scheduled to be released on the 4th of July. In their conversation about donation form creation and customization with Gravity Forms, Matt talked about his recent experience in creating a donation form and expressed interest in user experiences with selling products or donation forms. Dustin expressed his desire for more customization options in Orbital, highlighting a potential future update for the platform.

Michelle Frechette, one of the co-founders of underrepresentedintech.com, discussed how they use Gravity Forms and Gravity Kit to allow individuals to enter their profiles, making them discoverable through a search function. This project, started with Allie Nimmons, provides an essential community service without requiring extensive development costs.

What's new in WordPress segment:

• WordCamps are set to change - In May 2023, WordPress' Community Team announced a significant shift in the WordCamp format to promote adoption, training, and networking for professionals, with eight pilot events confirmed to launch in 2023. These events, which include the first ever Low-Cost WordCamp in Leipzig, Germany, and a "WordPress Day" in Sevilla, Spain, are designed to be more experimental and flexible than the previous WordCamp format. The Community Team is still accepting pilot events for 2023 and is also scheduling into 2024, inviting prospective event organizers to submit their creative ideas.
• Naming the new Command Center in WordPress - WordPress contributors are debating the renaming of the Command Center, a feature introduced in Gutenberg 15.6 that serves as a quick search and command execution tool. The discussion, initiated by contributor Reyes Martínez, revolves around whether the name "Wayfinder" would better represent the feature's use cases and appeal to a less technical audience. However, many participants argue for a name that clearly describes the feature and aligns with industry conventions, such as "Command Palette," with the final decision yet to be made.

In this podcast episode, Matt kicks things off by talking about the release of the Conversational Forms Add-On. Matt will be hosting more Gravity Forms 101 livestreams on the main YouTube channel.

Matt then delves into the meat of the episode, exploring different avenues to generate income with Gravity Forms. Matt asked ChatGPT to provide us with 5 ways to run a “Gravity Forms agency” and the go to market strategy to use. ChatGPT suggests starting a custom form development agency, a data analytics and reporting agency, a Gravity Forms training agency, a Gravity Forms maintenance and support agency, and a Gravity Forms integration agency. Matt takes the time to rate each opportunity and shares his personal thoughts on their potential profitability.

As the episode progresses, Matt shifts gears and welcomes Joe Casabona to the podcast. They engage in a lively conversation about the benefits of utilizing Gravity Forms for podcasting and content strategy. Joe, an expert in this field, shares his experiences and highlights the advantages of incorporating Gravity Forms into podcasting workflows. Together, they emphasize the importance of repurposing podcast episodes to maximize their reach and impact.

Overall, this episode offers valuable insights and creative ideas for leveraging the power of Gravity Forms while also delving into the world of podcasting. Whether you're interested in monetizing Gravity Forms or starting your own podcast, this episode has something to offer.

Important links
- https://www.gravityforms.com/add-ons/conversational-forms-add-on/
- WordCamp US 2023 – National Harbor, Maryland, August 24-26, 2023
- Gravity Forms 101 livestream
- How I Built It
- https://www.linkedin.com/learning/using-gravity-forms-in-wordpress-a-comprehensive-guide
- https://twitter.com/jcasabona

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

If you’re listening to this on your way to WordCamp Europe, or you’re just watching the livestreams from the comfort of your home, I wanted to let you know that our team is back supporting yet another WordCamp.

Find us in our booth located in the Sponsors section of the venue and say “hi!”

There’s lots to learn about Gravity Forms’ latest add-ons, features, new products like Gravity SMTP and what that means to you and your WordPress business. Come check out a demo of Gravity Flow our systems automation product that helps customers automate actions after forms get submitted into your WordPress database.

Oh, we can’t forget our awesome new t-shirts — a whole new version is out! Customers say we have the best tee’s in the biz, come grab one before they’re all out!

We also are giving away some cool stuff in the booth including:

• A LEGO NASA Artemis Set
• A Gravity Mission Pack (A backpack filled with some awesome Gravity Swag you can’t get anywhere else)
• Or a Gravity Forms and Gravity Flow License Combo!

There’s one stipulation, you have to be present at the booth on Saturday the 15th at 215PM where we’ll announce the winners. If you’re not there, you won’t be able to grab your prize.

It’s come to the attention of the WordPress Community that attendance for new participants at WordPress events are down.

Obviously COVID and the a global pandemic shifted how events are accepted throughout the world, and while we’ve seen a bounce back in participation, it isn’t nearly as high as it once was.

So I wanted to take a moment to share my experiences with WordCamps and advocate for you to attend the next one in your area. By the way, the next major WordCamp I’ll be at, along with the team from Gravity Forms is WordCamp US in Portland Oregon on September 17th - 20th.

Here are my top 3 reasons for attending a WordCamp:

One: The best bang for your buck event in our space

Even with the price point of major WordCamp tickets rising to the $50 level, and general WordCamps hovering around $30 for access — you simply can’t beat this deal.

Another hot event I know many other WordPressers attending, Cloudfest, comes with a general admission price tag of around $525 US dollars for standard access, which ramp up to well over $2,000 if you want access to everything.

When you match the low cost of access to the high value of being in a venue filed with other WordPress users to talk, train, and collaborate with — that $30-50 is going a long way to helping you with your WordPress business or acumen.

Two: All things WordPress

Even if you’re not running a WordPress business, but you’re part of a team tasked with maintaining a WordPress site, WordCamps are a fantastic place to have that aha! Moment.

When I started attending and speaking at WordCamps around 2015, it was the place to learn the software.

Heck, maybe the only place aside from WordPress.org.

Tutorials and blog posts were no where near as accessible as they are today. And as a content creator, there’s nothing more I want than someone listening to my podcast or watching my videos, but that in-person learning is much more magical.

At WordCamps you can show up and learn more about using the software, attend a hyper specific talk ranging from how to blog with our favorite CMS or learn the latest and greatest development standards.

There’s a healthy mix of content available to help elevate your WordPress game!

Three: Community

At the end of the day one of the most valuable aspects of WordPress the software, is the community behind it.

If you’re new to WordPress and WordCamps, getting into the community should be a welcoming experience. Simply being with others on the early start of their WordPress journey can help you break the ice and feel less stressed — as if you’re the only one missing the bigger picture.

As time marches on and you become more involved in the community, you enter the next phase where connections with others can ramp up your professional life within WordPress.

That could be finding other freelancers or agencies to parter with, finding a full-time job in the space, or making connections with potential customers. WordPress has a massive footprint across many digital businesses, sometimes you’ll find WordPress living in the most unique environments — not just a blog or marketing website.

Being involved in any of these phases helps WordPress thrive.

At first you’re a little lost, then you meet your tribe, fully grasping what open source WordPress can for you and for others. A year later, you too are advocating for your friends and colleagu...