Episode 491 InfluenceWp With Ryan Logan
Show Summary
This podcast features an interview with Ryan Logan, the founder of Influence WP, a platform designed to build trust and transparency within the WordPress community. Logan discusses the problems of unreliable deals and malicious actors exploiting WordPress users, explaining how Influence WP provides vetted deals and partnerships, eliminating the need for untrustworthy affiliate links. The platform aims to connect vendors with consumers in a trustworthy environment, emphasizing quality and positive relationships. The interview also touches upon the challenges of high-stress work environments in IT and healthcare, highlighting the importance of trust in professional relationships. Finally, Logan describes Influence WP’s partner program, which is primarily credit-based and aims to foster a more ethical and supportive ecosystem.
Show Notes
Hey everybody, Rob Cairns here and today I’ve got my guest Mr. Ryan Logan with me. And how are you today, Ryan?
Hey Rob, thanks for having me. Uh, no complaints. No complaints.
Yeah, you were saying before we went there it’s rainy and I’m looking outside and uh the greater area is overcast and crappy. So,
we can commiserate
relate.
We can relate. I’m sure
you know it. We are in at the time of this record in December. So, we are kind of there. So, I can send you snow if you want it. You know, that’s
Yeah. No thanks. No thanks.
Um before we get on to what we’re here to talk about, um do you want to tell us a little bit about how you got into WordPress and uh how that came about.
Yeah. So, I started my career career in 1997 through 2019. I was in the IT industry. So, I worked myself all the way up from help desk to interim CIO of a high frequency trading company. So, high stress, lots of money, uh, changing hands in real time. And I went from there, started my own IT consulting firm for a number of years. And through that time, I had numerous clients ask me about websites and I kept saying no, no, no, don’t know how to do it. And after about the 10th time, I I locked myself in my apartment at the time over the weekend and taught myself WordPress. So that was about 2014 and then I went full-time in WordPress in 2016 and launched an agency and then since then I’ve launched another agency which specializes in building directories. So both of those are going today and going extremely well. And uh that’s what that’s what’s kind of brought me here to to this project we’re going to talk about today.
Yeah. It’s funny when you mention your IT background because that’s exactly my background. I spent uh the year that uh one of Ontario’s biggest uh hospitals high stress too. Hospital environments are awful. Uh working around patients working uh project managing uh uh projects in the ER and um in the O which is has it challenges in its own. You can be in any in an operating room at 10:00 at night and have a nurse come in and say, “By the way, we have an emergency on the way in and you got 20 minutes. Get your little butt out of here.” And uh it happens all the time.
Plus, I was plus I was the on call team leader and the team leader for the call center.
And I can I can appreciate where you’re coming from about high stress. By the time I left that and I was there for 22 years, I was done. And done and done. And there was no such thing as a uh 30-hour week in my book. My weeks were 60, 70, 80. I used to get calls at home all the time. Um, and I was I was, you know, I enjoyed much and I like the people, but I got to tell you, hospitals are politically uh motivated.
Yeah. Yeah. I’d like to say that I miss corporate, but I don’t.
I don’t. So, I’m nervous. So, and I get that. to get that. So, you got a new project uh influence uh was saying to you before we went there, I really like the project. I like what you’re doing. Talk to me about and like what need is trying to fill.
So, part of that uh backstory I told you about, you know, working with those uh when I started the IT consulting business, I was working with u small shops, you know, mom and pop stores, and I I routinely saw them being taken advantage of. Um I’m not going mention any specific vendors in the IT space or the web hosting space or anything like that, but they were just being sold things that they didn’t need and they didn’t know any better. So, I found this I found a lot of enjoyment going in looking at their bills, streamlining their processes, you know, cancelling some of these contracts they didn’t need. Really, really enjoyed that. And just over the years, I’ve just witnessed a lot of um just bad stuff and people being taken advantage of. So part of the influence WP one aspect of it is the deals. So if I send a client of mine
uh we’re building a project together and I send them you know like look at this solution this is what I’m proposing. It’s in the human nature to say well can I find a deal on this? So then they go down this rabbit hole of I go to this site and this site and this site and there’s actually no deals that they run across there. It’s like fake links, affiliate links, all this type of thing.
And then Then because the IT background I’ve got, it’s like, okay, they’re getting hit with these popups that inject malware on their computers, and now I got to fix their computers because I sent them on this goose chase, apparently. So, this is one of the aspects of this is to try to put a dent in those bad actors out there
and give people and give people a one trusted space to go to and they could be guaranteed the deal they click on is legit. Um, that’s that’s part of it.
No, I I agree with you with the malware and the pop-ups. I mean, even though I’ve been out of that game for like 15 years, I have a couple clients um good friend of mine who runs a jewelry store and I took on all his digital side of his world and because he’s a friend, I agreed to take on the hardware and some days I kicked myself for doing it because you know how that goes.
Yeah.
And and and the classic one is I had my son in here the other day with a laptop and he’s like, “Dad, I got a problems. And I said, “Oh, what?” And it turned out his girlfriend was um navigating around websites and looking for a movie to watch. Well, we all know movie sites that are illicit have all kinds of bad actors attached to them, right? So,
and it was one of these where it was faster to wipe the Windows 11 laptop knowing there was no data on it was all in the cloud than even trying to fix the problem. It was just like, “Give it to me. I’ll have it back to you in four hours and goodbye and see you later.”
And he’s like, “Really?” And it it’s And people don’t understand and it’s the more we talk to people about security and this is a bad time because it’s holidays so there’s a lot of scams running around. I think I honestly think the more naive people get and they just say oh it won’t happen to me. It’s not going to happen to me. I’m not going to get scammed and you know me me who’s a security guy has gone through bank fraud in the last three years and I’m more careful than most people. So there you go. So yeah. And the and the security part is just one aspect. I just dropped a video and a blog post about about uh about this whole topic. And I basically walked people through if you look at it from the standpoint of someone brand new to WordPress. So maybe they they’re comparing Wix to WordPress and they’re like they look at Wix and they’re like, “Okay, this is the price they pay. It is what it is. I understand this for the most part.” But they also hear that WordPress is something they should look at. So then they go to WordPress and then they’re like when they’re doing their cost anal is they’re like, “Okay, I’m going to go see how much this thing called Elementor, for example, costs because that’s the closest thing to Wix potentially. At least that’s what they read.” So then they go out and they human nature again, Elementor discounts, Elementor deals, and they hit these sites that I highlighted and at the end of them, it’s not actually a deal. And they get frustrated and in my mind that they’re now looking at WordPress. They’re associating this with WordPress. Because if you look at these deal websites, because of SEO, they are injecting WordPress all over these websites. It’s on every page listed a thousand times. So, it’s to somebody that doesn’t know the difference, they now associate this mistrust with the WordPress brand, product, product, uh, ecosystem, whatever you want to call it.
So, there’s multiple aspects that make those types of sites horrible. Not just the security, but yeah.
No, I I agree. agree with it. And it’s and now we’re all in this hidden ecosystem too where Wix is coming out and saying, “Oh, you can do a site for X cost.” And Shopify’s coming out and saying, “Oh, for $49, but again, it’s advertising and marketing.” Because what people don’t realize is to do anything with Shopify, the baseline’s not going to get you very far anyway. And god forbid you want to change a payment processor and not use theirs because that’s going to cost you more and so on and so for and the problem is most small business owners um in a lot of cases are too thrusting and I I really find that they they read oh it’s this or they read that and they say oh if it’s said it must be verbatim instead of actually doing some homework and part of it is a lack of understanding but also part of it is a lack of time on their part as well because they have a core business to run.
Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. And the deals like I said this that’s just one aspect of this project. Um if you want to talk about now I don’t know but like one of the major aspects too is just making connections with the vendors you know whether it’s experts podcast people like you hosting vendors you have a plugin you have themes making trusted connections that connects them with the consumer. So it’s all about trust and quality relationships. really the heart of what it is that I’m doing. And over the years running a WordPress agency, I found that, hey, I reach out to a partner or a potential partner and I say, “Hey, I have a client interested in this. Do you want to partner up? I can do videos for you. I can write guides for you uh in exchange for a discount for my community.” And they were like, nine times out of 10, 100% didn’t even flinch. And I knew I was on to something there that people were starving to to get their name out there. And you know, So, I I identified a need there as well. I’m not a marketing company. Like, that’s not what I do. I just I’m one additional voice out there helping people spread the word. Um, it’s kind of how I see my see this business.
Yeah. And and you you said two key words or trust and quality. And I really believe that because the way people work and the way they buy and and you know this, right, there’s people have a multitude of services. So, you know, You can go to dev A, dev B, dev C and choose one. And they probably offer pretty well similar types of ways of doing things. People tend to work with people they trust and they like. And that’s just the reality of it all.
It’s not always a cost thing. Like everybody thinks it’s cost and I I would argue and say no, it’s not. If they like people they work with, then it becomes not a cost thing.
Yeah. Yeah. I’ve I’ve said that. many times before. The cost of not working with somebody may cost you more in the long run because of the broken trust and the path they lead you down is not the right path.
Yep.
Um yeah, that that trust is everything. It it really is.
And sometimes it’s just a personality clash. Like I I know I’ve gone through it with clients where I thought a client was a good mix and then I look at the end of the day and say they they don’t honor rules, they don’t honor contracts. And I’m like, “Oh, Yes.
And we’ve all been there, right? So, it’s you’re you’re laughing at me because the reality is we’ve all been there and and then you’re like, how do how do I just navigate this mess
and then it just be and once that happens to trust the roads and the quality of roads and it just becomes how do I finish this off and get rid of it kind of deal.
Yeah. Yeah. Agreed.
So, so how does influence WP work and how does it solve the trust problem? Um, well, part of it we we talked about already is the the the deals where
when the consumer hits it, they and at the other end, the deal is going to work. And it’s what I ask partners is to guarantee me that you’re giving me at least equal to the best deal that you offer on the web. I’m not asking for special treatment, higher discounts than anyone else. It’s not what I’m doing. I just want to establish the trust this being a one place people can go. to know they’re going to get what’s advertised. Um, so and then part of that is I what’s unique to this business is there’s no affiliation. I don’t use a single affiliate link anywhere in this business. Um, so partners benefit because I’m not double dipping into their pockets. Consumers can trust what I’m saying because I’m not motivated by money. It’s just, you know, here’s here are the facts. Here’s the solution. Here’s this community. Here’s this podcast. Like here’s the facts. I’m you make the decision now, but this is a trusted uh opinion, informed u opinion, that sort of thing.
And you mentioned you’re not doing any affiliates. So, I have to tell you, in my business, I do almost I mean almost none. I don’t write blog posts with affiliate links. I don’t have an advertiser on this podcast. And people shake at me and say, “What?” And I say, “It all becomes around the whole trust factor. I just don’t do it. And I choose not to do it. Partially because I don’t want to be double dipping. Partially because I want to be able to have an opinion and not have to worry about who I give it and what what I say. I have to be honest. If if I don’t like the product, we’ll come out and say I don’t like a product. If I love a product, I’ll come out and say I love a product. And people say, “Oh, you got paid to say that.” I’ll say, “Really? Show me what?” Because you can’t. I just don’t. I don’t do it.
Yeah. Um, in my other agencies I I I do give opinions like that and this one the aim was stay neutral. No,
put the put the put nothing but the facts out there. No affiliate anything and just a positive experience for everyone. No negativity, just you know that sort of thing. Um, and I also wanted to point out that I do have an affiliate program but it is what I it’s credit based. So I am as part of that video and post I just dropped. One of the things I challenge people to do is to flip their affiliate program to credit based because if the people truly believe in what it is that you’re doing, they will have no problem taking whatever they earn and putting it back in the business they’re supporting.
The second the second you flip that affiliate program to to actual monetary value outside of their platform, all of these websites, nefarious websites for deals will go away. They would go away. That’s the only reason they exist. So I call them junk affiliates. So
yeah, they they they are and they’re obviously making money because
yeah,
you know, because they they still exist and there seems to be more and more of them every day and it’s just
and it and it actually, you know, and it’s quite common where you know the disclaimer, you’re reading an article and it’s oh there might be affiliate links in this article. I can guarantee you the men that read that every link that indicates a product is an affiliate link, right? So then you kind kind of wonder and say, how many of these would this owner of this website actually use? And I I have a policy that I never recommend to clients or anybody product that I would never buy myself or use. I just won’t do it. I
it doesn’t matter if it’s technology off my business, if it’s a piece of hardware, if it’s a piece of software. If I’m not going to use it or wouldn’t consider using it. I won’t recommend it. It’s that simple.
Yeah. Yeah. That’s how it is with my agencies. Like I said, with this particular project, it’s just here’s the facts. Um here’s your trusted deal. You guys make the decision from that.
Um but yeah, I always like to say to the part potential partners, imagine having like your top level affiliate. Well, I hope I will be um without having to pay them. Like just imagine that. And I don’t care if Influence WP had, you know, a thousand people copy this. I’m absolutely fine with with if we go if everybody goes to that type of um thing just to get rid of these sites that I absolutely hate.
Yeah, I agree with it. Um yeah,
how is the uh so if you want to go over to Influence WP, host a deal.
How’s the process? Like walk us through that. Is there is there a cost to it to cover your cost?
A awesome question. It’s the most important one as far as the partnership. So, influencewp.com. Uh you can just go to partners in the navigation. It’s going to take you to the partners page and it’s going to list all of the perks there, all the things that I’m going to do. Maybe there’s going to be a team eventually, but right now it’s just me. Um and then you’ll scroll down to the bottom and there’s the our ask section. And the only requirement to get a free lifetime partnership is the deal that we’ve been discussing. Um and then make sure it’s at least equal to the best deal you offer. on the web. Don’t trump it on a daily basis. So, like if you’re going to give IWP 20% off, I don’t want people going to your website and seeing 30% off because there’s no point in doing that. There’s no partnership at that point. Now, like Black Friday and things like that, that’s totally understandable. That’s different, right? Um and that’s it. That’s really the only requirement. You fill out the form. Um give the the link to your product, your name. Um that’s it really. And then there’s a link. Let’s say Ryan, we can’t offer a deal. Like, that’s just not part of our business model. There’s a link that’s uh where they can pay to be a partner. And it’s, how do I put it? For less than a cost of a monthly cup of coffee. It’s like it’s it’s this is not a revenue scheme. This is literally trying to cover some of my time in my operational costs. Um, full transpar. I’m I’m transparency. I’m 1,000% upside down on this. And I, as I told you, for the recording. As long as I enjoy doing this, it’s going to stay like this.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, the um in terms of that um how long does it take once I go through that process to get approved and up on the website? Is that like a 24hour approval process or
I I am really fast. Like my clients come first 100%.
Assuming I have nothing else like on that plate, it’s it’s pretty much working for you immediately to get you on board.
I don’t think I’ve had a single one that took 24 hours.
Are you having uh good luck in getting this? So, we all know in the WordPress community, stuff like this goes over really well because we all get the community, right? Are you having luck getting businesses from outside the community to look at the page to say, “Here, here’s a place I can go and not be bombarded with all this advertising crap and if and fake affiliate crap and get that or is it mostly people in the community going there.
Uh it’s a it’s there’s outside as well. Um I so how one of the things I do is I don’t just go WordPress is the core, right? So that’s the people that I want to go for the WordPress vendors. Um but there are situations where like just today on Twitter X someone said, “Can you recommend a alternative to solution X?”
So I I I look at all of these recommendations and I’m like, “Okay, these aren’t WordPress specific, but here are WordPress people asking for it. So I will reach out to them and I will say, “Hey, I understand you’re not WordPress focused. This is what I’m doing. Do you have any interest?” And there it’s been pretty good. Like there’s been people uh outside of WordPress. They have nothing to do with WordPress um on being coming on board. And so that’s pretty cool.
Good. That’s that’s awesome. So if anybody wants to talk to you about the project, uh how’s the best way? Just uh kind of look you up on X Twitter boost guy or email you.
Yeah. Yeah, they can do that. Um on Twitter it’s uh X it’s Pinedigital dopedigital co. So Pine um they can also just go to influencewp.com and go to the uh partners page and then there’s a uh book a meeting CTA called action at the bottom um if someone wants to book a free meeting with me just to chat about stuff. Uh blue sky I think It’s uh influencwp.com is the handle over there.
Yeah, everybody seems to be migrating to Buskai these days. They say I mean we’ll we’ll see what happens. Um I feel like you got to be in both both places right now just just to see how you like it. Um
agree.
There’s a lot of people in WordPress that have left Twitter X um wholesale and they’re just on Blue Sky. So it’s good to be on both.
You can thank you can thank grandma for that which we will not get through because it would just put me in another place that
right
you know that that in politics it’s funny because I was saying to somebody this morning reminds me of what Twitter was like when Twitter started and I think
Oh really?
Yeah.
Um what’s weird is that there are the followers I get are it’s like a lot of politics and I’m like I have nothing to do with politics so it’s so weird.
And by the way all the all the Bitcoin people are on uh Twitter too on Boo Sky as well. I should
Yeah, they’re they’re there too. So
anyway, Ryan, thanks for coming on and sharing Influence WP. Check it out. It sounds like a really good
way of um vetting some of the some of the noise out there, as I call it. I mean, and I and I think you’re doing a really good job. So, thanks for the service to the community. It’s so much appreciated.
Yeah, I appreciate you having me and uh just trying to make uh a positive influence. Yeah, I’m sure you are. Thank Thanks, Ryan. Have a great day, my friend.
All right. Thank you, sir.