Category Archives: Web Presence

3 Reasons to Build Your WordPress Blog Today

Written on Jan 24, 2010 by Karilee in Entrepreneurship, Web Presence
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Reason 1: Smart People Say So

Michael Martine of Remarkablogger was just interviewed on Patrick Allmond’s blog, StopDoingNothing (and that blog name is great advice!)

He was asked:

What is the best “do it” tip you have for a blogger that is starting today?

Michael replied:

Get your blog on self-hosted WordPress as fast as you can. Start an email list as fast as you can.

This is a man who knows his stuff when it comes to blogging – he’s done it for a decade. He’s also one of the folks behind Headway, the premium WordPress theme I use on this site. I heard about it through him, and I’m very happy with it. Oh, and he writes much better blog headlines than I do.

The advice above is really the best advice anyone considering creating a website or blog could possibly get. If you have a business, or are writing a book, or need a ‘personal image’ site to make sure you show up looking sharp when you get searched on Google, just do it.

Reason 2: A WordPress Blog is Good For Your Business

When you set up WordPress, you get a whole website, not just a blog. Many business sites, like this one, are entirely created with WordPress.

You’ll reach more prospective clients. It’s becoming increasing important to have a web presence, so your clients can find you, and so they find you credible.

You’ll make more money – IF you sell good products or services and keep learning how to communicate that well.

Reason 3: It’s Easier Than You Think

C’mon, everything you need to know to build your WordPress blog is here on this site. Free. It’s going to take you somewhere between 10 minutes and three hours, depending on your level of technical knowledge (plus a few breaks while the hosting catches up to you).

Bonus Reasons:

You’ll impress your friends.

You’ll meet and make new friends. There are some great people out here on the interwebz.

Your new site will start getting noticed by search engines. WordPress is designed well for that. You don’t want to be sitting there a year from now, wishing you’d started sooner. The sooner your site is up, the better.

You don’t have to do it all “right”. It’s okay to make some mistakes. They won’t hurt anything much. You can always delete the site and start over, or change the look, or decide to change your site’s focus. Just get started – the very process of taking action will help you get closer to your goals, even if you’re not quite sure what they are.

If you’re not sure what the site should be about, make it about you. Not a resume, but an introduction that will support you in your business and social life. When someone searches for your name on Google, have them read what you want them to read.

It’s Sunday. You’ve got the time. I’m starting to feel like a Nike ad, but … just do it. Go create your WordPress blog. I’ll help if you get stuck. Just post in the comments.

Have a blog already? Send your friends here!

And yes, Mike K., you inspired this post. Now go write your own!

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Your First Business Website

Written on Dec 14, 2009 by Karilee in Web Presence, WordPress Setup
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If you don’t have a website for your business, you need one. I suppose there’s some faint chance your business can’t benefit from better communications and credibility, but I suspect that if that’s true, this would be a good time to start creating your next business…

Free Lessons On Creating A Website With WordPress

This site is pretty new, and I’m writing and polishing content at a mad pace. So let me tell you a bit about what is coming. I have over twenty years experience in teaching business and technology – not in academia, but in the real world, teaching people in businesses as a corporate trainer. If you want to learn some of this stuff – enough to handle at least 80% of your everyday needs – you can. I’m confident. True story – the only person ever, whom I was unable to make permanent progress teaching technology to, had been partially lobotomized. That’s not you.

So watch the What-Why-How Category  in the next few weeks. Sign up to my mailing list, if you need to learn this stuff, or just want to. You’ll get free, step-by-step instructions that you can follow, that will allow you to create a WordPress blog. The magic there is that a WordPress blog can be your entire website. This one is. So are my other two active sites, Corestone Consulting and Defeat Dragons. I’ll not only show you how to create a website, from scratch, for under twenty dollars, I’ll show you how to set it up properly for effective web marketing.

If You Already Have A Site, Great

Creating your first website is a small part of what you’ll learn here. Learning how to build traffic, create excellent content, and develop relationships with your visitors that will build your business will be covered. I’ll introduce you to some trustworthy people who can help you with your business building, when the growth becomes too much for you to handle alone. I’ll show you free tools that will put hours back in your day that you can spend on creating more business, or on spending time with your family.

Ongoing Kaizen Lessons, Free

Kaizen is about step-by-step ongoing change

One of my retainer clients calls me his Kaizen Master. Kaizen is a Japanese term for continuous improvement, and every week, I work on improving the web presence and reach of his business. That’s going to be our approach here. We’ll get your site up. Then we’ll improve its looks, its content, its web traffic. Every week I’ll teach you a little bit about social media, or helpful business software tools, or SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and other web marketing. These lessons will be free and very oriented to the success of your business, whatever it is. They’re not lessons about how to create a get-rich-quick business online. They’re lessons about how to market any business more effectively, and use free or low cost tools to do so.

If You Need Your First Site NOW

I’m full up with my current client list, and the development of this site. I’m not able to take on more consulting business, because I’m too busy until at least mid January. So go see Johnny B. Truant. He’s got a special on, where he’ll do a basic WordPress Blog install for you for free, but the deadline is January 1. It’s no scam – the one restriction is that you must not already have purchased your web hosting. You’d be buying it anyhow, for the same price. This way Johnny will get a little bit back on commission from GoDaddy for referring you. He’s straight up, he’ll explain it to you. Click here to view more details.

Your Skills Are A Permanent Asset

Everything you learn here will help you develop valuable, salable skills, that will improve your chances of success in business. Nobody will ever be able to take these skills away from you, nor will they be able to remove the confidence you’ll learn as you develop them.

I’m Not Sure This Will Work

I have no doubt that I can effectively teach you these skills. However, I’m not sure many people will learn them if the lessons are free. Folks seem to procrastinate on taking action, and undervalue information even more when it’s free. But hey, we’ll try it for a few months. I can always lock down the site later and turn it into a paid-subscription, membership-only site. Even if that happens, if you subscribe to my email list today, you’ll always have your own copies of the lessons to go back to. Subscribe now – you can always unsubscribe at any time:

Subscribe to Bootstrap Blogger



Image credit: Lenaibojcdruz

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Authority Sells

Written on Dec 13, 2009 by Karilee in Blog Writing, Web Presence
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Write Your Life

A Quick Lesson In Getting More Sex

In the book MindControl Marketing, Mark Joyner tells a story from the movie “Finding Forrester.” In the movie, the young protege asks Sean Connery’s character, “If I write a book, will women have sex with me?” Connery replies, “Women will have sex with you if you write a bad book.”

Authority = Sales

It’s not only women who are impressed by authority, even small amounts of it. Many of you who are the founders of your own business know the cachet that comes with having created a company. Being an entrepreneur still impresses, and is even more impressive when you can say “Here’s my website. I write the the business blog “Bootstrap Blogger Dot Com.”

While this may sound like it’s all about ego, there’s more to it than that. Understanding what is in the mind of your prospect is important. They certainly don’t care specifically about how important you look for its own sake, but they do care about why that matters to them. Building your authority helps convince them their needs will be met.

Why Authority Matters

Your prospects need to feel they can trust you. They’re looking for proof of your credibility, which reassures them that they will get the benefits promised by the transaction. The second factor they’re looking for is social proof. If you (and your website) look credible, if others talk about you, link to you, recommend you and provide testimonials for you, that desire for social proof is met. It matters, because most of us are more comfortable being part of a group and taking the same actions they take. There are lots of sociological reasons why we fear behaving differently from others around us, but the short version is that when others support you, you seem like a safe person to associate with. They won’t end up feeling hurt, foolish or humiliated for having done business with you.

So Build Authority

I believe much of authority building is about leadership – about being willing to choose a direction, to take action, and to give instructions to others along the way. Once you demonstrate that you can do that and create value, you’re in a powerful position to command sales.

Every time you get an opportunity to create evidence of your authority on the internet, or even partner with others in authority, you get an opportunity to influence your prospects. People need to establish a level of comfort and trust before they make a purchase, and your website is a huge opportunity to make that happen.

Then Take Action

Remember the old sales adage “ask for the sale”? It’s not always about getting your prospect to hand over a credit card this instant. It is about knowing what action you want them to take next. In the case of this blog, it’s actions that will improve your businesses. I won’t squander the authority I build by giving bad advice or recommending you read or buy something that isn’t helpful to you. Remember to tell your reader exactly what to do next.

What you need to do next is go subscribe to my email list, so you won’t miss a post. I have 33 posts in draft right now, and every one of them will improve your authority on the web and help your business build your web presence. Sign up now – if I don’t keep my promise, you can always unsubscribe.

Photo credit: L_Dan

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