By James Plouf

Se here is the latest release of WordPress. Don’t let the fast pace of the video scare you. WordPress is extremely powerful even using only the most basic functions. Once you learn a bit about widgets and themes you’ll see that WordPress is like a ‘Swiss Army Knife.’ Since it is open source software, 1000s of people are working on ways to make it better and more powerful.

If you want to get started and up-to-speed in a hurry I highly recommend taking an online video course. If I had taken this course in the beginning it would have saved me 6 months of struggling with WordPress and blogging.

I’ve checked out a bunch of these online courses and by far the best one I found was WordPress Wizard 2.0.
It is the only course I recommend to my students.

Right now they are doing a $30 OFF Deal.

*Click here* if you want to get your head wrapped around WordPress (without getting frustrated)!

I have always said that in most projects taking the first step is the most difficult thing to do. If you are new to blogging then getting started might seem like a daunting task.

Nothing about getting setup with your own blog is that difficult. But, there are many little pieces to the puzzle. And, any one of those little pieces can be enough to freak you out and completely derail you from getting to the finish line.

My advice: Pay for a course.

It will save you time and money (no need to repeat mistakes). It will get you to the finish line (if you want to).  These courses are worth the money if you apply the information. They are designed to take you step-by-step through the entire process.

WordPress Wizard 2.0 is made up of six modules that will take you from how to register a domain name to RSS and email marketing.

All the video tutorials were made with the absolute beginner in mind. You’ll never feel like you’re listening to some rambling tech geek.

Once you finish the first two modules, you will be able to get a new WordPress blog up and running. Then you’ll learn how to get traffic and make
money from your blog.

You get access to all 50+ videos at once. There’s no waiting until next week to get the next video. This way you can skip over the stuff you already know and learn the stuff that you don’t.

WordPress Wizard 2.0 is covered by a 60 day no questions asked money back guarantee. If you’re not 100% satisfy with the product for any reason, let them know within 60 days and they’ll send you your money back.

Click here for a break down of what is included in all 6 Modules

By James Plouf

So the editor of Road King magazine calls the travelwriters.com office and demands that we take her magazine off our Travel Publications Database. Road King is a trucking magazine and her argument is that they are not a travel magazine and they do not want to hear from writers or pr agencies.

First: People that call and demand that I do something usually get no results (as she did). This is the third time that I have had editors call and demand that I expunge their publication from the database.

I take these requests as equal to me calling them and  demanding that they not write features about the city I live in because I don’t want people visiting.

I always play stupid and say: “Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. I will let the writing community know that you are out of business.”

When I went into my ‘What is travel, anyway’ speech she hung up.

The solution for editors that do not want to hear from writers is to make it clear in the description that they ‘DO NOT ACCEPT’ freelance.

What publications have you come across that have flat out said that they do not accept freelance?

James Plouf

http://www.twitter.com/jamesplouf

If you are thinking of setting up your own blog I highly recommend Bluehost.com.

They are the recommended vendor by WordPress and I followed their advice and have been extremely happy with the service so far.

Watch for upcoming videos showing you step-by-step instruction on how to install your blog and get started.

By James Plouf

Blame Gary Vaynerchuk for this one. I love wine and when I started watching his hugely successful blog about wine I thought to myself. Wow, what a great way to get free wine. My idea is simple. I convince wine makers to send me samples of their wine for review (that’s the free wine part). If I like the wine I link to an online source where they can buy the wine. If they have an affiliate program I would of course link it so that I get a part of the action. The point is — anyone can start a video blog on anything. And, the cost and complexity to get started are minimal. As Gary says: “It’s not about the lights or the sound or the set. It’s about the content. Content is king.”

If you’re passionate about any topic and you’re not doing a blog on it then you are leaving money on the table.

So check out the pilot episode of “Wine For Ten” — A Wine blog exclusively for wine under $10. Please comment and let me know what you think. Be brutally honest.