Archive for WordPress Wizard
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Diane
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Ten-year old Kelsey asks, “How can I get published for free?”
Seventeen-year-old Katherine asks, “Exactly what does it take to get published?”
First-time author Kevin sends me his manuscript and wants me to edit it so it can be publishable.
My response to all three people is, “The best thing to do right now is to create a blog and see if anyone is interested in what you have to say and the way you say it.”
Listen carefully, please: Being an author is not what it used to be!
It doesn’t have to necessarily mean having a print book. Not anymore.
Now it means Read More→
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Diane
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This is your invitation to join me Thursday, Jan. 14 when for this week’s Publishing Coach Weekly teleseminar I will talk with Cathy Perkins, aka The Wordpress Wizard, questions about blogging in general and Wordpress in particular.
You also get to ask Cathy or me a question, before and during the teleseminar.
Just go here at noon Central (1pm Eastern, 10am Pacific)for details and to ask a question.
In addition to answering questions, Cathy will give you Read More→
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Diane
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The times they are a-changing, and it’s easier than ever to be an author.
How?
By blogging.
Blogging is nearly as popular as having a phone–only you get to talk to and with a worldwide audience about anything you want!
Have you seen the movie Julie and Julia?
Julie–in real life–became a published author AND has this hit movie out about her BECAUSE she blogged about Julia Child and cultivated a huge, huge, HUGE following on her blog!
So what do you want to blog about!?
And if you don’t have your blog yet, you are in the right place at the right time, because Read More→
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Diane
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I’ve said it often: Having a blog is one of the best ways to get your message out.
However, it can’t be just any blog.
Someone contacted me this past weekend about doing a Virtual Book Tour. His book is about to be published, he has a blog and is doing a lot of things right.
However, his blog is hosted on Wordpress.com, rather than his own site. I learned from my blogging coach, Cathy Perkins a.k.a. the Wordpress Wizard, exactly why you don’t want your blog hosted on that site or blogger.com or any site that isn’t your own.
Simply:
Read More→
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Diane
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If you noticed this blog over the past few days, the header didn’t look right for a while.
That’s because my site was hacked again, and I had to have that fixed and then upgrade to the latest version of WordPress.
I don’t know what I would have done without Cathy Perkins, “the WordPress Wizard,” to help me. One of her weekly teleseminars gave us a “preflight checklist” to go through before upgrading. I followed that, but neglected one significant kind of backup and my header got messed up. Cathy helped me get it back, as you can see.
Cathy does blog audits to show you how to optimize your blog, weekly free teleseminars that are extremely useful (two of my friends thanked me profusely for telling them about this resource), and she’s about to start a new course on “Blogging with WordPress in a Web 2.0 World.”
If you want to get the most out of your blog, I highly recommend you take this course. I’m going to–can’t wait!
Check it out now, because the first 24 people get $100 off, and I just heard, it’s filling up.
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Diane
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One of my subscribers wrote and asked this good question about web sites vs. blogs. I thought I’d share my answer here.
Carol’s question:
“I understand the difference between a website and a blog. Is XSite Pro for a static website or can it be used as a blog? You said you use Word Press for your blog. If I purchase XSite Pro, can I use it as a blog to post and update frequently?”
My answer:
XSite Pro web design software is not something you can use with or as a blog. A blog is a completely different kind of software platform. XSite Pro creates stand-alone web sites that you can make as small or large as you like.
I have just been looking at XSP V2, and I like it better than a blog in many ways.
The features are very powerful and easy to use (great documentation, with screen captures to walk you through each segment). A lot of what XSP does, you can do with WP plug-ins, I think–if you know how to get them and use them. If you tend to be techy, you might prefer WP blogs. My techy friend likes finding all these cool plug-ins. Me–I prefer to click a few buttons and let the program do it for me.
(By the way, their support is great, too. Fast turnaround, and clear instructions. I tested this recently because I just got a new computer, and needed to know how to get my stuff from old computer to new and integrated with V2.)
The ability to easily update content is one of the main attractions of blogs, and that’s why search engines love blogs. However, if you have a “static” web site where you can easily update content, you have the same search engine advantage.
With XSite Pro web design software, it’s extremely easy to update content AND optimize it for search engines at the same time. It’s just like typing something in Word, and then you click the Publish button and it’s on your site. But better–you have complete control over the keywords and page descriptions. With WP (which I like and do use), I have to trust that the search engines are picking up on the right keywords. Or, I use a plug-in (I think it’s called Header2 and there’s also one called SEO pack), but I have to go back and put the keywords in. I posted on both my blog and site last night, and with XSP it was much faster and easier to do. I find that XSP saves a lot of time.
Also, there are ways to add content automatically to your site, through RSS feeds and other ways I’m just learning about, with XSP. You can do that same thing with WP, I understand–again, IF you know the plug-ins and where to go. With XSP, it’s all in one place, there’s a manual to consult, and once you learn it, you get it working on all your sites.
Another thing that I like better about XSP is the control you can have over each page of your site. For instance, if you have an opt-in or squeeze page, you can make one page be that. With a blog, you likely need a whole new url to point to that squeeze page. And it’s another site to maintain, rather than a page over which you have complete control in XSP.
WordPress is good, and I have several WP blogs myself (this is one of them!). It just requires more techy skill and it seems like there are always upgrades and things you have to know. I listen to Cathy Perkins’s Wizard Weekly teleseminars on WP, and don’t know where I’d be without her help. I just learned I have to do all these things to my blogs before I upgrade to the new version so the sites won’t “break.” Yikes! And of course, I should upgrade because otherwise, something terrible might happen (what, I’m not sure. Something about security). So–I like much better for all these reasons.
If you’re not sure about whether XSitePro web design software is for you, why not attend one of the upcoming webinars? No cost, and you’ll get a feel for the features. You can sign up here. http://www.wordstoprofit.com/xspweb.html Dates are July 2,4, 8, so do it now if you’re interested.
I just upgraded to XSP V2 and so am just exploring the new features, but so far I’m liking what I see very much! I was just reading about adding a “site search” for visitors. Very cool. I have one on my blog, but my site actually has more content, and I want people to be able to search it.
(My full review of XSite Pro is here, if you care to learn more about my perspective, having used V1 for some 4 years now.)
