WordPress is the website building tool of choice for many business owners these days. It’s a great option. No software needed on your computer, great functionality and flexibility – and you can update your site content from any computer, netbook or smart phone. It’s no wonder that it’s become so popular.

You’ve probably heard that WordPress is incredibly user friendly – and it is! Still, most first time users find it overwhelming at first. If you ever tried to tackle WordPress on your own and felt like giving up, you’re not at all alone. There’s a lot to take in at first.

I was lucky though. I had several patient friends available to help me over the learning curve. Still, I wouldn’t say that I felt truly comfortable for months after. The more I got to know it, the more I realized that WordPress is both simple and complex all at the same time.

If you only want to use WordPress to publish content, it’s pretty darned simple. The visual editor operates like any basic word processor. You enter content, press publish and you’re finished.

Think of WordPress as being three things at once.

1. It’s a Content Management Script that runs on your web server, letting you enter content as easily as writing an email.
2. Your content is stored in a Database on your web server.
3. Finally, it wears a Theme, a set of template files, that determines how the content is displayed online.

Entering content is easy. The database takes care of itself. Customization, want to alter your design and manipulate the database for special needs, you have to tap a whole other area of knowledge and that’s where many get stuck.

There’s good news and bad news for those who want to learn more about managing their WordPress site. The good news is that there’s a huge resource of documents and a large community of developers and users who are willing to answer your questions. The bad news is that there’s a huge resource of documents and a large community of developers and users…

The trouble for newcomers is usually that they don’t know how to ask the right questions to produce the answers they really need. The documents and forums seem to be written in a foreign language and newbie questions are often answered with links to more foreign explanations that just add to their feelings of overwhelm.

My advice? Don’t give up. Keep asking questions. To get the best answers, provide as much information about your problem as you can. If you’re persistent, you’ll find that things come easier over time.

About the Author:

Kelly McCausey of Mom’s Talk Biz invites you to WordPress Orientation, your all access pass to exclusive WordPress learning. We demonstrate answers to your questions during our live web conference sessions. If you’re goal is to do it yourself WordPress Orientation is your pathway to learning how.

Need help starting your ohio home-based business?
Contact Stephanie at: buckeyeva (at) gmail (dot)com
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Over the last several years blogging has become the foundation for social media campaigns of businesses big and small. Where Facebook and Twitter help keep companies in the limelight, spreading the word about special events, discounts and newsworthy items, blogs are the place where companies build their reputation and make sales.

As popular as blogging has become, I often hear from home-based business owners who are trying to figure out exactly what a blog consists of and how they can use one to benefit their business. Below are three tips that can help maximize the impact of your business blog.

1. It’s All In The Name

Be sure to choose a name for your blog that is both descriptive and easy to remember. Try to stick to either your business name or the name of your star product/service. If none of these are available consider using your name or business tagline.  Also, consider possibly adding in your keywords … such as Publicity Virtual Assistant.

2. Use Keywords Effectively

When you write posts for your business blog be conscious of the words that you choose. Pepper your posts with keywords relating to your business, products, services and brand. These keywords will trigger Search Engine results and help you reach the top of the results for your keywords. Be careful not to overuse keywords, though, because readers will get frustrated  and the Search Engines consider that against the rules.

Also, consider keyword phrases – often called long tail keyword phrases (why, I’m not sure!).  Long tail keywords are simply a sting of words that make up a phrase that represent your keywords. Think, what would people type in Google to find me.  Examples, “how to start a business.”  Think … how can I define my blog more (or this particular post). I wrote this blog post on … (fill in the blank), now what keywords do I need to put in so others can find me?

3. Quality Information (No Fluff!) & Fresh, Regular Content
Another thing to consider when writing business blog posts is to keep your posts informational. The more quality content you offer to readers, the more often they will visit your blog. Also, by posting regularly your readers will get to know the schedule and tend to visit your blog on a regular basis because of it.

You know your audience best.  What do they want to hear?  Need to hear? Solve that problem that you’ve been having and you know others are having too.  Consider adding in reviews, recommendations, etc.  Your blog can be so much more than you talking about your business.  What fun thing can you add?  Contest, giveaways, etc.

There are many ways to use a blog for business use. If used correctly, a blog can be a terrific tool to inform potential customers of your business. Be sure to update your blog regularly so that the content remains fresh and people coming back for more great information.

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Tips from Jill Hart of Christian Work at Home Moms, CWAHM.com and Diana Ennen of VirtualWordPublishing.com. For more tips visit http://SoYouWantToBeaWAHM.com. These tips can be used if you include this short bio.

Blogging

Blogging Ideas & Strategies

Thinking of starting to blog or having trouble keeping up with your current one? With these tips you’ll learn how to:

• Get traffic to your blog
• Get other people to blog for you
• Find more topic ideas
• Promote your products without the hypey pitch
• Gain trust and credibility with your blog
• Avoid blog burnout

Free Blogging Tips