00:03 All right, we’re live again. All right, so we have a glitch. Hopefully people find us back there that are hunting. And
00:09 um I’m going to give me a second here. I want to send this one out on the uh on the bat signal
00:20 for those that might find it.
00:27 Hang on. And we’re going good. Excellent. clock and welcome to the show, folks.
00:39 There we go. Let’s post that up. And now we can get back to the show. All right, folks. Here we go. Are we having fun
00:45 yet? We are having fun. We are live and about to start the show. Always like
00:51 when everything comes a little bit um challenging.
00:57 All right, let’s uh get this show on the road. And off we go. Oh, I need this one
01:02 over here. And now it’s time.
01:07 Ladies and gentlemen, it is time for WordPress plugins A to Zed, not Z. H.
01:16 It’s episode 72 and we are mastering email and SMS automation, boosting
01:22 WordPress ecommerce.
01:27 WordPress. It’s the most popular content management and website solution on the
01:33 internet. And with over 80,000 plugins to choose from, how do you separate the
01:38 junk from the gems? Join us for a weekly unrehearsed conversation about the
01:45 latest and greatest in WordPress plugins. This is WordPress plugins from
01:51 A to Zed. Well, good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, wherever you happen to be hiding out there on the
01:56 globe today. Coming to you direct from the Brewery Overlick in beautiful southern Vancouver Island. I’m John
02:02 Overall. Welcome to episode 72 of WP Plugins A to Zed, where we dive into the
02:07 tools and strategies powering WordPress success. Today we’re thrilled to have Greg Zakowitz, e-commerce adviser to
02:14 Ominous End, joining us to unpack the gamechanging world of email and SMS
02:19 marketing automation. With nearly 20 years of experience, Greg has helped countless brands supercharge their
02:25 digital strategies. and he’s here to share why automation drives 37% of email
02:30 sales from just 2% of sends. Which automations deliver the biggest wins for
02:36 WordPress businesses and how to thrive in the 2025’s valued driven e-commerce
02:41 landscape? Whether you’re running a Woo Commerce store or just starting out, this episode is packed with actionable
02:47 insights to boost your conversions and build customer loyalty. Let’s get plugged in. Welcome to the show, Greg.
02:55 Thanks, John. Super happy to be here and I’m looking forward to this conversation we’re going to have today. Yeah, I’ve been looking forward to it
03:01 too. I’ve been doing some research to try and get everything uh uh working the way it’s supposed to. And well, we’d
03:06 like to start first off, you know, can you share a little bit of your journey starting out in email marketing from
03:12 2025 to becoming an e-commerce uh expert and uh what drew you to e-commerce and
03:18 marketing automations? Yeah, it’s a really good question. and uh a little bit of luck, a little bit of
03:24 happen stance, a little bit of right place at the right time. And I guess they say you make your own luck. So I’ve been doing email for almost 20 years
03:31 now, 19 plus years, which is kind of crazy to think about, but uh and that has all been for the in the e-commerce
03:39 side. So way back when went to school for what most marketers do,
03:45 something other than marketing. Went to school for radio broadcasting. Uh marketing was my my minor and went to
03:52 work worked in radio for a couple years and then decided this is not where I want to spend my full time for
03:59 stability, for pay, for a whole lot of reasons.