Pike & Vine Blog

Insights & Strategies for Growing Your Software Business

How to Rank Higher in the WordPress Plugin Repository

Ranking well in the WordPress.org Plugin Repository is crucial for visibility and downloads. The repository’s search algorithm considers relevance and plugin quality signals – similar to SEO, but with its own set of factors. This guide breaks down the key ranking factors and provides step-by-step strategies to optimize your plugin

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How to Build a Marketing Funnel That Works for Your Plugin or App

Building a successful marketing funnel is critical for plugin and app developers who want to drive consistent growth without relying solely on marketplace traffic. Unlike traditional SaaS models, plugins and apps often have unique buyer journeys, and optimizing each stage of the funnel can significantly improve conversions. Here’s a step-by-step

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Ongoing Research and Calibration in SaaS Pricing

Pricing is never a one-time decision. In SaaS, ongoing research and calibration are essential to maintaining revenue growth while keeping customer satisfaction high. The challenge lies in knowing when and how to adjust pricing without causing unnecessary churn. Here’s how companies can refine their pricing strategy through continuous research and

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Price Testing and Iteration: Optimizing for Profitability and Growth

Pricing is both an art and a science. While competitive research and market demand play a crucial role, businesses that actively test and iterate on their pricing strategies gain an advantage. Whether through A/B testing, longitudinal studies, or psychological pricing tactics, refining your pricing approach can maximize revenue while keeping

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Gross Profit: How to Calculate and What to Target for SaaS

For SaaS founders, gross profit isn’t just an accounting metric—it’s one of the clearest signals that your business model actually works. If you don’t have the margin to fund product development, support and growth, you’ll never build a sustainable company. Let’s break down how to calculate gross profit the right

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Should Your SaaS Have a Free Tier? How to Decide

The debate over whether to offer a free tier is one of the most contentious decisions SaaS founders face. On one hand, a free tier can be a powerful growth engine, lowering friction for adoption and fueling viral expansion. On the other, it can become a revenue killer—attracting users who

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How We Built PourPlan

We recently launched PourPlan, a new website that helps wine lovers discover and plan visits to tasting rooms in Woodinville and beyond. I wanted to share a little bit about how we built it, because the tools and technologies available today make it possible to develop something like this much

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