Hey, WordPress Theme Developers! I have a Blue Ocean Strategy for you.
What is a Blue Ocean Strategy?
A Blue Ocean Strategy is a term used to describe a previously unknown market space.
For example, in blue oceans, demand is created rather than fought over. There is ample opportunity for growth that is both profitable and rapid.
In red oceans—that is, in all the industries already existing—companies compete by grabbing a greater share of limited demand, as the market space gets more crowded, prospects for profits and growth decline. Products turn into commodities, and increasing competition turns the water bloody.
WordPress Event Themes are Needed in a Billion Dollar Niche Industry
Now that I have your ear a few minutes let’s talk about an underserved WordPress theme market that exists in a $115 billion dollar a year industry.
First off, let me ask you a few personal questions.
Do you remember the first WordPress theme you created?
How about the first time you published a theme on the WordPress.org repository? Do you remember that first sale of a premium theme, that you created?
Do you remember those feelings? Did it make you feel warm and tingly inside?
If so, I have a new opportunity to present to you.
There’s tremendous opportunity in this billion dollar industry.
The opportunity of a Lifetime!
“What industry is that?”, you ask in bewilderment. “The events industry!”, I answer with a great big smile on my face.
“The events industry?”, you ask aloud. “Yes, the event registration and ticketing industry!”, I exclaim. “There’s an extraordinary need for single and multiple event themes, conference themes, and workshop themes.”, I say, finally.
“Aren’t there a lot theme’s on the market related to events?”, You ask, in a reserved voice. Thinking to yourself, “this guy is nuts!”. At which point, I explain my line of thinking:
There’s only, actually, one major player (that I know of) in the WordPress event theme industry, and that’s Showthemes.
Yes, there’s a wide array of WordPress event theme’s on Themeforest. However, most of us know the reputation of Themeforest is pretty shoddy. So let’s not go there.
Let’s step back and take a look at the event industry for just a minute.
A Winning WordPress Business Idea
In 2011, my business partner, Garth and I entered our WordPress Business Idea, or rather business plan into the 2011 Utah Entrepreneur Challenge and walked away with the grand prize of $40,000.
How did we win $40,000?
Because of a deep dive into the events industry, detailed marketing research on the major players, and a full description of how capturing even a small fraction of that industry could earn us millions in revenue.
In our research, we looked at the previous ten years of available event data and company history of the major players. We found that the event registration and ticketing revenues were just over a billion dollars at the time, in early 2011.
In our business plan, we outlined exactly how we planned to enter the industry, inside and outside of the WordPress community, and go on to capture a 1 to 3% market-share of the billion dollar event registration and ticketing industry in the coming years.
That’s not all.
The event industry is expected to grow another 10% by 2024.
In the background, WordPress is on the forefront of that industry growth, and it’s growing every year.
You can be at the forefront of that growth by building great looking, WordPress Event Themes.
Expand Your WordPress Theme Business Now!
You can grow with the $115b event industry.
You can get that warm, tingly sensation once again!
So please, take this idea and run with it.
Start a WordPress Event Theme development shop or website to promote your event themes.
Some ideas for WordPress event themes are workshop themes, conference themes, and classes and courses themes. More ideas listed below.
Remember this quote:
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
~ Chinese Proverb
Swim in A Blue Ocean
There’s a blue ocean out there, in the event industry, waiting, with a whole new world of opportunities for WordPress Theme Developers.
You never know, your theme shop could catapult into a top spot, in an underserved WordPress Event Theme industry within months, or even weeks.
Conclusion
In an already saturated WordPress theme market, there’s still an ocean of opportunity in WordPress Event Themes. I think that WordPress theme developers have an incredible opportunity to research, design, and create products for an underlying, niche market, where very few players are playing.
As the great shoe company, Nike once said, “JUST DO IT!”
Example Niches for WordPress Event Themes:
If you want to hit even more niches, create and market WordPress themes for these use cases:
- Art Classes – For over 15 years, art classes have been thriving on a global scale, with large multi-level marketing companies and corporations, such as Stampin’ Up now selling rubber stamps worldwide. Many art class organizers and Stampin’ Up Demonstrators refer to companies like Eventbrite and cVent to sell tickets. Many companies are raking in billions from ticket sales. Here are some sites running WordPress:
- https://www.arworkshop.com/ (franchise using Event Espresso 4)
- http://www.artnookaiken.com/art-classes/
- http://artsyrose.com/
- http://miyceramics.com/
- http://seazengallery.com
- Paint & Wine Parties – This niche is very popular, with several thousand websites and a few franchises powered by WordPress and Event Espresso. I imagine this niche going global if it has not already, just like the art classes niche above. These some sites currently using WordPress:
- Sewing & Quilting Retreats – Within some areas of the USA, there are small cities thrive because of the quilting industry, yet these companies are throwing away thousands of dollars a year to the large ticketing platforms.
- Film Festivals – The film festival industry has been growing globally for many years. Custom built ticketing systems power most of these websites but as technology advances, many are moving to WordPress and ditching the old, proprietary systems or expiring service contracts. I expect to see many new film festivals starting up in the coming years.
- Haunted House Ticket Sales – This is a seasonal niche, with many companies now selling tickets in advance and scanning tickets at the door, instead of dealing with box office ticketing, which many of the smaller companies struggle with.
- Car Show Registration – Car shows are yet, another underserved population of potential customers. With thousands of local and national car shows around the world.
- Football and Soccer Training
- Races – All types of sports camps and leagues need are building WordPress websites and offering ticket options to play.
- Sports Arena Tickets and Season Passes
- ACLS & CPR Training
- Firearms and Concealed Weapons Training
- Chamber of Commerce
If those use cases and ideas are not enough, head on over to this list of use cases on Event Espresso. I’ve also put together a list of WordPress event theme use cases to give you even more ideas.
Public Service Announcement: Friendly Reminder to Help Prevent Theme Lock-in
Before I let you go. I have one more thing to pass along regarding theme lock-in.
Instead of building registration and ticketing features into your theme, spend your precious time creating great looking themes.
Strategize with Plugin Developers on the registration and ticketing features, calendars, and contact form requirements. Better yet, reach to the top WordPress event plugin developers, such as Events Manager, Event Espresso, Tickera, or The Events Calendar to get their feedback, as they work with thousands of event managers and developers a year.
Let’s Talk
If you would like help discussing a game plan, have ideas, or would like to chat. Please feel free to contact me privately on my contact page, LinkedIn, or Twitter.
Cheers!
