Great article on Backlinko for those looking to start a blog and researching a topic to cover.

Shannon Willoby, the author, provides a ton of detail for each of these topics:

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
2. Digital Marketing
3. Cybersecurity
4. Meal Prep
5. Wellness
6. Home Remodeling
7. Debt Management
8. Pet Health
9. B2B Sales
10. Weight Loss
11. Skincare
12. Productivity
13. Real Estate Investment
14. Financial Management
15. Self-Care
16. Career Development
17. Green Technology
18. B2C Sales
19. Consumer Tech
20. Health
21. Books
22. Cryptocurrency
23. Remote Work
24. Web Design
25. Passive Income

Read the post here: 25 Best Blog Niche Ideas (Data Study)

SEO is not dead, it seems.

A couple of interesting points:

• ChatGPT is by far the most used AI tool
• It’s used about a third as much as DuckDuckGo

Here’s the link: New Research: Google Search Grew 20%+ in 2024; receives ~373X more searches than ChatGPT

Justin Arnold, Head of Content Marketing at Atarim, covers an important topic for both product businesses and agencies: when and how to raise prices.

Here’s an interesting observation:

When you’re landing a new client, there should always be a negotiation about the prices.

If you don’t experience this, and your clients agree very quickly, it may be a sign that your rates are low – and you need to increase them.

Read the full article here: How To Plan & Execute a Successful Price Increase

Another great article on WinningWP: How YouTube’s Evolution is Reshaping Content Creation and Traditional Publishing

If you’re a publisher or run a blog, like I am, it’s time to re-consider your content strategy and see how video can play a central role.

How folks are consuming content has changed dramatically in the last couple years, and that’s not even considering how AI is disrupting search. I’m seeing this in my Google Analytics and will have to adapt too.

Great piece by WinningWP on what the big changes we’re seeing with Google and AI mean for WordPress website.

The Death of Google Search: A Looming Crisis for WordPress Websites

We’re discounting Pro and Partner Membership pricing for those living in regions where market and economic dynamics are different: South America, Africa, Middle East, Oceania (except ANZ).

• Pro Membership: $49 / year, instead of $99
• Partner Membership: $299 / year, instead of $499

Community Membership remains free, of course.

For more information about what each tier offers, see our Join For Free page

Introduced as: Exploring WordPress through conversations with leading developers and creatives.

The latest episode is an interview with Jessica Lyschik, a developer at Greyd:

Building a Block Theme for 1 Million Users ft. Jessica Lyschik

Subscribe via your favorite Podcast player.

He’s looking for sponsorship too.

Here’s the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCE-YSAYYVd4d6H6pXV_xvPbyg8EzYiUd

WordCamp Asia 2025 organizers have announced the first batch of speakers:

• Katie Keith of Barn2 Plugins (EMEA)
• Nirmal Desai of CreedAlly (APAC)
• Riad Benguella of Automattic (EMEA)
• Jo Minney of House Digital (APAC)
• James Giroux of WordPress VIP (Americas)

I’m going to keep track of where speakers are from as well as where their companies are from too, as I did for WordCamp Asia 2024.

The organizers are aiming to have 60% of local representation, which would be just about twice as much as the previous event (27%). This would be a great result.

It seems like everyone’s giving Bluesky a go, which is great news. Good to have more choice.

If you’re on Bluesky feel free to connect: https://bsky.app/profile/wpbizdev.bsky.social

If you’re not, give it a go!