Professional WordPress® Plugin Development

Chapter 17. Marketing Your Plugin

WHAT'S IN THIS CHAPTER?

• Choosing a license for your plugin

• Submitting your plugin to the plugin repository

• Promoting your plugins

• Getting involved in the WordPress community

Some of the most popular WordPress plugins aren't necessarily the best-coded or most useful plugins. Sometimes they're simply more popular because the developer has a knack for great marketing. You may have the most solidly coded, optimized, and useful plugin in the world, but without a little marketing or some luck, no one will know your plugin exists. Having others recognize your work and put it to use is the ultimate goal.

Developers aren't known for their marketing skills. They're known for their ability to code useful things for sites, if they're known at all. Because the average user doesn't know the difference between a PHP variable and function, you're not going to wow them with how great your code is. Unfortunately, it's not that easy to promote a plugin. If it were, all great coders would be marketing experts.

As a plugin developer in the WordPress community, you need to play the role of developer and marketer. Don't worry. You don't need a marketing or communications degree to promote your plugin. Sure, it'll take some work, but the goal is to get people to use your plugins. The methods discussed in this chapter are simple things anyone passionate about their work can do.

Whatever your motivation for developing plugins is, whether it be money, popularity, or a desire to share ...