Online Business Resources

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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Do you love to cook?

Are you looking for an internet based business idea? Combine the two!

I want to let you know about Just Add Sweat and a great eGuide they’ve released catering to people who are interested in cooking, recipes and making some money on the internet. .

JoAnne Wescott and Nicole Dean are two great business owners who are sick of the hype and just want to offer real information on making money using real business models.

There’s a quote on their website that really does a great job of defining their whole concept:
“Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration.” – Thomas A. Edison

After reviewing their ‘How to Start a Recipe Blog for Fun and Profit’ Guide I highly recommend it. It’s great for someone who’s interested in starting a business based on his or her love of cooking.

Of course, as with any JustAddSweat guide, the only thing you need to add is your own hard work and sweat!

What it covers:
· Definition of a blog.
· How you can make money blogging.
· How to choose your market and set up your blog.
· What to blog about.
· How to get traffic to your blog and make money.

Check it out for yourself, right here: Just Add Sweat Guide

Need help starting your ohio home-based business?
Contact Stephanie at: buckeyeva (at) gmail (dot)com
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How to Start a Review Blog for Fun and Profit

by JoAnne Westcott and Nicole Dean

Over and over again people start a home-based business looking for quick riches and profits. Their expectations fall short because they failed to get the right advice, and they were expecting too much, too soon. It’s important that when starting a business you get real about what you’re doing and have practical goals.

That’s why I love the advice offered over at Just Add Sweat.com through their easy to follow eGuides. One such guide is the ‘How to Start a Review Blog for Fun and Profit’. They don’t promote get rich quick but what they do provide is a clear plan of action. Then all you need to do is add the sweat (or work!).

The guide has everything in it to get someone started on building and promoting a review blog that gets people interested and willing to buy.

The creators of the guides, JoAnne and Nicole, are successful business owners who were sick of the hype and poor-quality business advice out there so they decided to create these guides.

What’s included:
· Ideas for types of review blogs to start.
· Definition of a blog.
· How to set up and use your blog.
· How you can make money blogging.
· How to choose your market.
· What to blog about.
· How to get traffic to your blog and make money.

One thing that’s great about this guide is the step by step instructions, audio and videos that guide you through setting up your first blog. As you’re reading through you can have your first blog set up in a very short period of time by following what’s been laid out for you. There are audio and video portions to go with these blog setup instructions too, so you learn by your preferred method.

One thing I would really like to see is more information on writing a good review. Someone who’s really interested in starting this type of blog but is unsure of how to write a good review would really benefit from a guide on how to make that review sound fantastic.

In the appendix section there is a list that includes everything you need for setting up your business and blog, which is great for people just starting out as well.

People are ALWAYS shopping online so I’m sure you can see the value of providing them with good reviews and information on where to purchase, all while you make a little profit from your recommendations!

Visit JustAddSweat.com to learn more now:

Need help starting your ohio home-based business?
Contact Stephanie at: buckeyeva (at) gmail (dot)com
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Share Your Crafts & Make Money with Your Own Craft Blog

Are you a crafty person who enjoys making other people happy by creating beautiful things? Do you like sharing how you do this with others? Then an online crafting blog might be perfect for you!

Blogs are like online journals and they can be set up easily in minutes via the use of such free applications like Blogger.com or WordPress.org. By choosing an adaptable and colorful template (and this Just Add Sweat guide will show you exactly how to do it), a craft blog can be used to display:

· Pictures. Post plenty of clear pictures of the items you make to show others what you can do. You may want to include “before and after” pictures if you are using common household things or re-purposing other items to make your crafts. Use a high quality camera to capture the true beauty of your crafts.

· Descriptions. Explain to your blog readers what they are looking at, what materials were used and where they can get more information about the crafts. Use names for the materials used, colors, sizes and shapes. This helps your readers duplicate the crafts more easily and give search engines more opportunity to send visitors to your site as people may search for the various words you mention.

· How to. It’s always a wonderful idea to include a “How to” for some of your more popular or intricate crafts. This allows others to learn how they can make their own version of the crafts you have on display, for personal enjoyment or gift-giving. If you have a craft that’s uniquely yours, you can even patent it and sell the instructions at a small cost to the reader.

· Materials Needed. Include a list of what materials were used to make the crafts on your blog. That tells the viewer what went into the crafting of each piece, what they will need to make their own and where they can find the materials to do so. Be sure to give a thorough description of each material, amounts needed and measurements.

· Selling crafts. One of the best ways to see a return on your time investment with crafting is to offer certain items for sale on your blog. Why not offer custom made items to others? Holidays and birthdays are great times for others to purchase your crafts. You can sell them directly on the blog or include a link to outside auction sites like eBay.com or Etsy.com. You can also sell patterns, advertising space on your website and more.

Taking the time to do crafting takes a lot of time, patience and talent, but blogging about it will help you take it to the next level by increasing awareness of what you can do. Be sure to do this by creating a blog and letting the rest of the world know!

Recommended Additional Resource:

To learn the step-by-step details of how to set up your blog and to get advice on creating a craft blog that people love, talk about and come back to over and over again, grab Just Add Sweat Guide to Start a Craft Blog. You’ll also learn how to get traffic to your blog and make money doing something you enjoy.

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.