No doubt- there’s a lot of “blog marketing basics” you can do before you think about getting your blog on-line.
But – once that planning is done it’s time to get busy and get your domain name, a host for your blog, the get your blog on-line for the world to see!
If you’ve never set-up a blog it can be intimidating – but not to worry!
Help is here!
Use the following FREE blog tutorials to help you move your blog from an idea to a living and breathing source of great information, ideas, and tips to help your readers.
Click on the links below to get to your free tutorials.
1. Grab a Great Domain Name For Your Blog – a common cry among new bloggers is “all the good domain names are taken!” Well there definitely are fewer domains available – but there are plenty of good ones left for you to grab. There is a method to doing this though – learn how-to create and register a great domain name in this free tutorial.
2. Choose an Internet Host For Your Blog – all hosts are not created equal! You need to determine what you need and then match your needs with various hosting companies to find the one that is the best fit. This tutorial takes you through the process and helps you choose the best hosting company for your blog.
3. Set-Up WordPress In 6 Simple Steps – Once you have your hosting company setting-up WordPress should be a snap. The best hosting companies have C-Panels (Control Panels) that let you do the installation fast and easy. This tutorial takes you through the process and helps answer all of the questions you might have when setting-up your WordPress installation.
4. Choose and Install a Great WordPress Theme – When you install WordPress you install the basic WordPress theme. This theme is not likely the one you’ll want to use for your blog so the next step is to choose and install a new theme. There are thousands of themes out there – many good – and others not so much. There also are “free” and “premium” themes you can use. This tutorial gives you the process for choosing and installing a great them on your blog.
5. Install WordPress Plug-Ins – WordPress provides great features and flexibility. To get to this flexibility however you can either “code” you own or use Plug-Ins provided by third-party providers. There are “free” Plug-Ins and “premium” Plug-Ins. In-fact, there are over 13,000 Plug-Ins listed on the WordPress Plug-In site as of this writing. Some are great and others should be avoided.This tutorial teaches you all about WordPress Plug-Ins and how-to install them on your blog. We also let you know the best Plug-Ins to start-off with on your blog site.
6. How-To Use WordPress Widgets – You’ll use Widgets to layout and add content to your blog. There are a number of different Widgets included with the default installation, and more if you install plug-ins and themes. You can start playing with Widgets and “experiment” with different looks for your blog or you can use this tutorial to learn how-to create a design map for your blog. This design map will be the basis for using the different Widgets you have at your disposal.
7. Create and Install a Header For Your Blog – Your blog’s header is a critical part of branding. It is one of the first things your readers see when the visit your blog, and it definitely makes an impression. There are several options for creating a header – use simple text, create a header graphic yourself, or have a graphic designer produce a header for you. This tutorial shows you how-to create a header – including a logo – using inexpensive software. We’ve even included instructions on how-to create a blog header using Microsoft PowerPoint. If you want to learn how-to create an attractive header that will enhance your blog take a look at this tutorial.
8. Change Your Blog’s Color Scheme – After you’ve created your blog logo and header you’ll probably need to make some color changes to your blog. You may want to change the color of the text, background, or other design elements. This tutorial shows you how to find the “base color” of your blog then use on-line color tools to create a color palette for your blog. You’ll also learn how-to modify your blog colors using the “hex values” from your color palette. Color helps reinforce your brand and helps enhance your content so it’s important you spend some time getting your blog’s color scheme just right.
9. Optimize Your Title Tags – Here’s where we start getting into SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Your blog’s title tags are important for getting the best possible search engine rankings for your blog. This tutorial shows you what title tags are, how to locate them, and how to optimize them for search engines.
10. Get Your Blog Noticed By Google – Before you really get involved with DEO you should make sure your blog is indexed by Google – and once it is you are tracking your results. The best way to do this is to use Google’s free Webmaster Tools and Analytics site. This tutorial shows you how-to get your blog set-up so you can move to the next steps in Search Engine Optimization.
11. Writing Your First Blog Post – WordPress gives you a great on-line editor for creating content for your blog so your first post should be easy – right? Well, you want to make your first post a great one – the tips in this tutorial will show you how.
12. Keyword Basics For Bloggers – Here’s how to use keywords in your blogging to get your site indexed properly. We cover keyword theory plus include practical tips on finding great keywords and using them in your blog titles and posts.
Remember – better foundations build better blogs!
