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How to set up a WordPress website – the Basics

Why WordPress?

There are many reasons why you should use WordPress, but let me just say, I have worked with over 100 clients, and most of them have used WordPress.

  1. The WordPress platform is free.
  2. There are literally thousands of different themes, most of them free.
  3. The wide variety of themes make web design easy.
  4. Adding website content is fast and simple.
  5. Updates are easy, in fact, they can be set up to update automatically.
  6. Plugins enable you to do just about anything on your website, including security solutions.
  7. Anytime you need help, all you have to do is use a search engine and you will get all kinds of answers, not only in written format but also, in video format.

Before we get started, let me explain the difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org. When you are using the wordpress.com platform, if you use their your website is absolutely free. You have options to pay for it, however, you do not own it – WordPress does. In fact, WordPress has the right to advertise on your website, and they have the right to shut it down. 

If you are using a hosted WordPress site, in other words, you buy hosting from Godaddy and then uploaded the WordPress content management system (CMS), then you own the content, and WordPress cannot advertise on it, or shut your site down.

That being said, there are several advantages to using the WordPress CMS.

  1. You belong to the WordPress community, and traffic comes to your door just because you are part of that community.
  2. The WordPress dashboard is easy to use, almost like an email. You just add the content and images and publish.
  3. The WordPress CMS is already ‘search engine friendly’ with the categories, tags, and sidebar widgets that highlight the content.
  4. If you are using the hosted version the plugins take ‘search engine friendly’ to another level.
  5. As of today, WordPress is the ‘standard’, so much so that 12% of the top-rated websites use the WordPress CMS.

During this training we will be setting up the foundation of a  WordPress website;

  • Choosing a theme
  • Setting up Title & Tag
  • Add a header image
  • Edit the Settings

Let’s get started…

Click to access Setting-up-a-Wordpress-Site.pdf

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10 Reasons You Should Start Blogging

Blogging can be incredibly valuable to a variety of people and for a variety of reasons. Blogging is not just for businesses! I’ve benefited personally, professionally, and financially from blogging. Writing has actually become one of my favorite hobbies. I recommend blogging to almost everyone I meet. Here are some of the biggest reasons why I think YOU should start blogging immediately.

1. Attract an Audience

Blogging enables you to reach the billions of people that use the Internet. Blogging can help you promote yourself or your business. Blogging works as a method for attracting an audience because it provides something of value to them before asking for anything in return.

What would you rather click on, a page titled “How to Promote Your Blog“, or a page titled “Buy My Consulting Services”? By creating a blog that is of value, you can attract an audience and eventually convert them to customers, partners, friends, or otherwise.

2. Establish Authority

Having a blog and writing about important topics that are relevant to your audience establishes yourself as an authority in the space. It enhances your professional image. A blog is to professionals in the 2000s what a business card was in the 1990s. Blogs are the new business cards.

3. Build Rapport and Engagement

Blogging can convert traffic into leads and leads into customers. Blogging can “warm-up” your cold calls and traffic from other sources. If someone receives your cold call, they may be more receptive if they’ve read your blog and received value from it.

4. Create Opportunities

Blogging can lead to other business/traffic generating opportunities. For example, speaking engagements or press. I’ve had people contact me to speak at conferences who found me through my blog. Blogging enables anyone with something interesting or valuable to say to be identified as an expert.

5. Organize Your Thoughts and Learn

Blogging forces you to teach yourself what you don’t know and to articulate what you do know. When you begin writing a blog post, you are forced to organize your thoughts. If there are any gaps in the topic that you are writing about, you will have to learn about it. Writing out and articulating your thoughts is a great way to internalize something you’ve learned or experienced. Writing helps you become more familiar with the topic you’re writing about.

6. Tell Your Story

Blogging enables you to be your own media company. You can tell your story the way you want to tell it without being dependent on journalists. When you are writing about a topic of your own interest, you can decide how to portray a story, what information to include, and what information to exclude. Blogging allows you to ensure that all information included in the blog is factual.

7. Meet New People

The audience you attract through blogging doesn’t have to just be your “audience.” They can become your friends, colleagues, partners, or lovers. I’ve had many people reach out to me directly after reading my blog. Some of those people have become friends or good business contacts.

8. Stand Out

According to “the 1 percent rule,” only 1 percent of Internet users actively create new content, while the other 99 percent of the participants simply view it. By blogging, you separate yourself from the 99 percent of people that don’t blog. Standing out is essential in an increasingly competitive economy.

9. Validate Expertise

Blogs are the new resumes. Blogging about a topic you would like to be viewed as an expert in, can illustrate to readers, employers, and your network, that you are are skilled and knowledgeable.

10. Make Money

If you have a blog with a lot of readers, there may be opportunities to monetize. In today’s economy, being diversified and having additional sources of income can be tremendously beneficial. If you are working a job that doesn’t pay as much as you’d like, or if you would simply like to earn more money (who doesn’t?), blogging can make for a great side income.

Income generated from blogging can also be “passive,” meaning it can be automated and is not directly correlated to the amount of time you put into it.

Source: huffpost.com ~ By: Mike Fishbein

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