When I first started blogging in 2007, it was for an employer. I was working for a nonprofit and didn’t know the first thing about running a blog. I went to a class to learn the basics of blogging and did my research. I knew a blog was a great way to drive traffic to our website and to get the message of our mission out to the world. I pitched the board of directors, and they gave me their vote of confidence.
Eight years later, I still help maintain that blog.
Prior to starting the blog you are reading now in 2010, I wrote a private blog for family and friends. It was mainly updates of what me and my family were up to. Nothing too earth-shattering or inspiring. Another Jennifer was created when I realized I needed a creative outlet than was entirely my own. It has certainly grown since my first blog post five years ago this month (clearly I’m not good at remembering anniversaries, as I had to look that up!).
I’m not kidding when I say this blog has changed my life dramatically, taking me to amazing places, connecting me to world changers and helping me get published, among other things. I’ve written more than 800 posts and have over 10,000 comments on this blog. It has gone from a thrown together free WordPress.com blog, to a self-hosted WordPress.org blog with a free theme, to two re-designs with a professional web developer and graphic designer. I’ve had different hosting companies and experimented with countless plugins.
I’ve used WordPress from the very beginning of it all. On Wednesday, March 4th and Thursday, March 5th, I will be sharing my knowledge of WordPress and how I maintain my website and blog for my business when I teach a special class with Samuel Strickland of Vesica Design.
Mastering WordPress for Business & Blogging will cover everything you need to know to build and maintain a WordPress website and/or blog. From the wpcoach.co website:
WordPress is powerful platform that can give the smallest of businesses and blogs a powerful marketing punch. An easy to use blogging and website content management system, WordPress powers about 19% of all self-hosted websites. The problem is that many small business owners, entrepreneurs and beginner bloggers don’t know where to start when it comes time to manage an effective WordPress site.
This 2-day interactive class will take you through every step of the process of operating and maintaining a WordPress website and/or blog. Taught by a professional web developer and a copywriter / blogger, Mastering WordPress for Business and Blogging students will learn the technical side of WordPress along with the practical side of creating content that is search engine friendly. Students are required to bring a laptop so that they can work on an actual website in real-time.
We will dive deep into each topic and cover every aspect with hands on (this means you!) training in a live WordPress environment.Day 1:
- WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org
- Your Working Environment – The tools you will need to maintain your Wordpress site
- Your Site Environment – The basic components of a self-hosted WordPress site
- The Basic Site – Designing and branding your site
Day 2:
- The Content – The text and images that make up your site
- Extending Functionality – Taking your site further
- SEO and Analytics – Becoming search engine friendly and tracking site stats
- Monetizing (Advanced) – Making money from your website/blog
