**The theme on this blog has been updated since this post was written…To a WooThemes theme I might add**

With plenty of respect to Jason Schuller who designed the theme upon which this blog is built – and is amazing both as a designer and in the support realm – I will come right out and tell you that I am a WooThemes fan and you should be too. I work in the software industry and have been involved with my share of start up companies so it is not without some experience that I say these guys know what they’re doing. From collaborating with top notch designers (many of whom I’m sure they have never met in person) to outstanding customer support, the company is one that is certainly an example of a Web 2.0 mover and shaker.  Of course it’s not just a feel good story here, I do have some questions on how the brand is being built, so read on.I have first hand experience working with the themes provided by WooThemes and they are incredibly easy to work with out of the box, yet take one look at their showcase and you can see how someone with more talent than I can easily customize them. It’s the customer support when you are trying to tweak one of these themes where WooThemes more than excels. I am not sure if they pay every one who is a “support” representative in the forums, but there is a sense of community and I have posted an answer or two when I have known it. There is really nothing bad I can say about the company (I do not work for these guys) , so I invite you to check them out if your blog need’s an upgrade.

Where To From Here?

So I am not just espousing the greatness of WooThemes, I do actually wonder where to for this company and what kind of revenue they are making. On the revenue side, the themes cost $75 if you want one (plus one with their permanent promotion) and I would suspect that many who purchase these themes are semi to fully professional web designers who find that it is more cost effective for them and their clients to start from one of many many themes. So if your factor in the cost for a developer of $150 per theme (and I’m not including memberships just yet) there is a quick doubling of margins. I’m not sure what kind of revenue the subscriptions generate, you have to plunk down $200 to start, which is not very much if you are planning on selling your services. Another $20 a month and I guess all you really have to do is have 2-3 clients a year and it pays to be a member. So putting these numbers together the obvious question is what does demand equate to. I feel like I am a bit of an uber consumer on this front but I have to imagine this is going very very very we$$ for the team.

I’m extremely impressed with the company’s ability to collaborate with top notch designers from around the globe, but as a marketer I do wonder about whether a brand is being built. There is the WooThemes Twitter account which seems to be a bit personal, and there are all the individual designer’s pages – Adii Rockstar seems to be the biggest of these – yet if WooThemes was gone tomorrow or less drastic decided to change its name, would anybody care? Would much change? I don’t think that the world would crumble if any brand went in a different direction, but I think the indifference to the WooThemes brand is because of the fact that at the heart of it, it still feels like a company of individuals. Maybe I am just being picky, but I think that there could be more being done to build a Zappos like brand. After all, I have to suspect that regardless of the revenue numbers if the team could sell the company on more than just the revenue stream it would be worth sacrificing a little “rock star”
status.


*** First time reader? If you liked this post (or if you hated it) please drop a comment, tweet it or take a moment and grab the rss feed and follow me on Twitter or friendfeed - Thanks! ***

If you enjoyed this post I recommend: