It’s not just cliche. There’s truth. Gut churning, denial busting, world rocking truth. You know it: with money, comes power.

You also know that this seems to be most often exploited: get money, exploit power selfishly.

But there’s the flip side: get money, use power for good.

Last week, I returned home from Blogher with much the same reaction as I had last year. It’s not my scene but I dig the camaraderie, the exultation of women of all ilks, and – maybe just a little – the shock & awe of the experience.

Tara Mohr, Megan Auman, and I came armed to present a different way to generate income from the immense work people put into their blogs. Our panel was well-received and I know we got quite a few people thinking. But I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the spectacle of swooning put on by blogger & corporation alike.

BlogHer is sponsored by BIG corporations: McDonald’s, PepsiCo, Proctor & Gamble, and Ford to name a few. There is a lot of money being waved, sparkled, and confetti-ed about. And while I understand the role that big corporations play in our economy (and government, healthcare system, technological evolution, etc…), I couldn’t help but think about the New Economic model I’m helping to build.

Money is power. Potentially, your power.

If the power just flows back & forth between individual and major corporation, we end up forfeiting choice. Corporations can choose to honor our will or not. We don’t have much say. If we claim the power – cash – for our own, we have infinite choice in the good it can do.

Starting a business, sustaining one, growing one isn’t just about earning a living – it’s about claiming power.

You – just like the on-fire women I met at BlogHer – have a vision for this world. Maybe you want to leave it a better, more heart-driven place for your children. Maybe you want to eliminate poverty. Maybe you want to see college students make better decisions. Maybe you want to get healthy food on more tables, end bullying in school, or help girls learn to express themselves through writing.

I like you. I’m down with your goal.

Sisters, brothers, you’re going to need money to get there. Courting corporations, investors, or your Grandma Jean is probably not going to get you there. They each have their part to play – I’m looking at you, Grandma Jean (just kidding… I don’t have a Grandma Jean!) – but it’s your ability to earn your money and earn your power that’s going to give you the charge you need to create real world change.

A few don’ts:

• Don’t compromise on your vision because it looks to big. Find ways to generate the resources to pick apart the puzzle one piece at a time.
• Don’t be intimidated by those who seem to have it more together than you. Trust me, they used to be right where you are.
• Don’t underestimate the power of starting small. We all start somewhere. Starting at the top is no better than starting at the bottom.

Do allow money to motivate you. Recharge yourself.

Not in the more, more, more-is always-better way but in the earn-more-to-do-more way. Feel confident about making the offer, charging what you’re worth, and developing new products by equating those things with furthering your mission.

Putting your mission out into the world – whether through blogging, designing, making, writing, engineering, develping… – is a drain on your batteries. Make sure the effort that you’re putting out is allowing power to flow back in – not just allocating it to outside holdings.

***

Want another account of BlogHer? Take a look at this article by Tara Mohr on Huffington Post: Why Blogher Got Me Angry.

These questions come courtesy of some of my current students! Thanks to Betsy, Elle, Chantelle, and Brandy.

First, forgive my ignorance, but what does hosting or self-hosting mean? Does it mean just having a blog?

In the world of blogging and content management software, there are two main kinds: hosted and self-hosted.

Hosted blogging systems include WordPress.com, Blogger, Typepad, and Tumblr. In a hosted service, you set up an account and the platform does the rest. They provide the software you use to run it, they host your files, and they maintain your site.

Self-hosted platforms include WordPress and Movable Type. With self-hosted systems, you purchase web hosting (it’s like an eternally switched on hard drive for your website and is inexpensive) and then install the software to your web host’s servers. In tandem with your host, you are responsible for maintaining the software, backing up your site, and strengthening security.

Why take on the extra responsibility? To have control. Not to mention domains, subdomains, email addresses, other types of software (forums, shopping carts, etc…), more SEO options, and FTP access.

Why else? With the exception of a few legacy blogs that are still on Typepad (I’m looking at you, Seth Godin), self-hosted WordPress is what professionals use. Do they use it because they became professionals? No, probably not. They knew that it was the best fit for a growing, ever changing business and they started using it when they decided they wanted to create something truly special with their online presence.

Why would I switch from Blogger to WordPress? If I do, will I be starting from scratch?

People switch from Blogger to WordPress for a number of reasons.

One is control of your content. Ultimately, it’s you who decides what company hosts your site, how the database is maintained, how often you back up, what security measures are taken, etc… Sure relinquishing control of this to Google (who owns Blogger) is easy but that doesn’t mean it’s the best way to do it.

Another reason people switch is the ultimate “extensibility” of WordPress. WordPress is open source – meaning a very industrious group of unpaid programmers work on it’s features, creating new & better ways of working with it all the time. Internal features are updated, plugins are created, themes are devised. The WordPress community is huge and helpful.

Switching to WordPress means you have that community at your finger tips.

As for starting from scratch, switching from Blogger to WordPress is not at all starting from scratch. All of your content comes with you – with about two clicks of a mouse!

What steps are permanent when beginning with WordPress, and which components can be altered later?

Really, no steps are permanent. Once the files are installed, they can be moved. Once the name is chosen, it can be changed. Once the theme is picked, it can be switched.

Everything you do with WordPress happens at your whim. Of course, some things are easier than others! But even dramatic changes like theme or name are mere switches.

Should I drive traffic to my blog or to my website first? Why? Oh… and what should I name it?

The trick to answering this question is to stop thinking of a blog as separate from a website. There is no site you visit regularly on the net right now that doesn’t have some sort of time-stamped, consistently updated content (a blog).

Same goes for blogs. There isn’t a blog that you visit every day that doesn’t have deeper content hidden away on pages.

See? It’s all the same. So the question then becomes how best to organize it. That’s going to be different for everyone. Questions you could ask yourself:

• Do I have time to update content consistently?
• What do my customers want out of my website?
• How can I best communicate my expertise?
• What is my sales funnel?

It’s important to realize though, that no matter how you organize it, most people will enter your home on the web through your blog. Blog posts generate the most social links, the best SEO, and the greatest interest among potential customers. So also be sure to ask yourself if it’s clear from your blog what your business sells and who it sells it to.

There also isn’t one right way to name your blog or website but I would suggest it’s much more difficult to maintain two brand names than one. So stick with something simple (like your name or your business name) and concentrate on providing great content that speaks for itself without a clever name.

When you choose a “theme” is that basically a template? Also, can you change your theme later?

A theme is a template is a theme. Your WordPress theme is a skin that sticks to the outside of all your content and all the internal WordPress files to create something that looks good and has certain functionality.

WordPress has a dizzying array of capabilities but most themes only scratch the surface of that functionality. You want a theme that not only looks good but allows you to take advantage of the functions that work best for your business.

Of course, you won’t know all that until you’re well under way with your site – which means it’s important to pick a professionally developed (doesn’t have to be paid) theme.

As you go, you can certainly change your theme as many times as needed. You can switch themes or edit the theme files to create a different look. You content remains constant.

Website Kick Start – my course on creating a custom WordPress website – is now open for early bird pricing. The next session starts April 11. Learn more.

We have a lot of places to hang out online. We can pop in to Twitter for a quick chat. We can get cozy on Facebook with friends & family. We can get personal on online journals & blogs.

But the place we call home is our dot com.

Do you?

A home base is a place online that you own, that is your online ‘home’.
– Darren Rowse, ProBlogger

It’s where we can paint the walls, hang pictures, remodel the kitchen, and invite others over for dinner. We strive to make it represent who we are. We try to make it feel comfortable but also beautiful. We do our best to make it welcoming.

Your website is your home on the web.

What does your site say about you (and your business)?

We spend a lot of time trying to make sure our home says what we want it to say. But we need to spend – at least – equal time creating a home space for the others that visit us there.

Am I welcome here?

Okay, unlike your family home, your website is always open for visitors. But do visitors feel welcome? Do they know they’re in the right place? Do the recognize the surroundings? Do they know where to sit & prop up their feet?

Do they know where the bathroom is?

The first job of your website is to let people know they’re in the right place. Your website may be about you but every nook & cranny needs to serve those that visit.

You can create this feeling by choosing a tagline that reassures your right people. You can name your pages things that your visitors expect. You can choose colors and images that call people in instead of hastening their departure.

Do you own your home?

At home, I’m a renter. But on the web, I’m a home owner.

It’s important to have control over your content, your back end, and your services. Without complete control, you live in your home under the whim of your landlord.

And there aren’t nearly as many rules protecting your interests. When you put your best content, your “buy now” buttons, and your resources on something you don’t own, you’re exposing yourself to danger.

Owning your home means you have a solid, settled place to come home to, no matter what.

You can venture out into the Twitter cafes and Facebook lounges but you come back home at the end of the day, bringing your best friends with you.

Have you decorated?

Each room in your home is decorated to meet a certain purpose. Your bedroom is calm and quiet. Your family room is the center of entertainment. Your kitchen is functional and bright.

Your website has rooms too. Your blog functions as a conversation space. You have pages that act as information centers. You have resources that add function to your home.

You don’t want those who visit to just come into the foyer and turn around to leave. You want to direct them to the rooms they want to visit and provide what they need in each room.

Do you have a mailbox?

Of course, you’ve got email. But how else can others connect with you? How can you guide visitors to places they can connect with you outside your home.

The way we use the web is cyclical. We often find new places to visit via social media, we stop over for a bite to eat, and then we meet back out in the world again.

Visitors to your home appreciate you initiating that future connection: subscribing to a mailing list, connecting on Twitter, liking on Facebook, joining your forum. Extend the invitation and take advantage of the connection.

Take a look at your website home today. Does it say what you want it to say about you and your business? Is it all about you or are you welcoming in those that will visit?

My online course, Website Kick Start, will be opening for registration again soon. Learn how to create a website home you can be proud of. Sign up here to get the first notice of discounts & registration!

{ image by Barbara Walsh }

5 Tips for Better Blog Interviews from tara gentile on Vimeo.

Interviews make for great blog fodder, provided your interviews are great.

But because interviews are an easy way to get other people to create content for your site, it’s easy to be lazy. Instead of taking the time to get creative & craft an interview that serves your readers as well as your subject, you can fall back on the “usual questions.”

The usual questions are boring.

Having Twittered about crafting creative blog interviews, Dyana Valentine – who helps self-starters self-finish – volunteered to share her criteria for a great blog interview in a short video with me. I had a blast talking to Dyana who has a glowing, larger than life personality in addition to being fiercely intelligent.

The video is only 5 minutes long so I encourage you to watch but here is the Cliffs Notes version:

• Creative blog interviews offer something fun.
• Creative blog interviews discover something new.
• Creative blog interviews take advantage of a live component: audio, video, or chat.
• Creative blog interviews have context, answer a larger question.
• Creative blog interviews are brief.

How can you incorporate a creative interview into your blog content?

So, since I purchased a new camera – the reason for too many minutes spent away from my real “work” – I decided I wanted to code a photoblog theme. Now, when you might spend time painting, writing in your journal, scrapbooking, or catching up with your favorite TV show, I was sitting in front of the computer coding for fun.

This photoblog theme took just a couple of hours to finish on the outside – thanks to some help from Justin Tadlock, the developer of the Hybrid Theme Framework, on my social sharing functions. And I’m really happy with the results. It’s clean & minimal – like any good photoblog should be. There is a dynamic element to the sidebar, showing thumbnails for the last 6 posts. The logo is done with CSS and I really dig the narrow sidebar & wide content area.

I’ll be releasing this theme as a free download soon. But before I do, I’ll like to get your perspective. What elements are missing? What do you like? What do you dislike? What do you think would be a good addition to this theme? Check out FOTOS here.

Want some other recommendations for photoblogs? Check these out: Sandra Juto | Galaxie Andrews

Leave me your two cents in the comments – and recommend some photoblog faves of your own!

They don’t know any better. It’s easy to get carried away with a design concept – or lack thereof – and miss out on simple steps to make your site more accessible.

Take a look at your web space. Are you following these principles?

1. What’s your justification?

When it comes to the main content of your blog or website, center justification doesn’t work. It’s hard to read because your eyes need to find the starting point of the next line at a different place every time. When your text is left-justified or fully justified, your eyes go to the same place on the page with each new line.

Center justified also has a habit of looking a bit sloppy. While on your screen, with your settings, it might look pretty good, you have to remember that other computers & browsers will make the text look different.

2. Give me some space!

White space – the empty space in between elements – is an often ignored principle of web design. We have so much to fit into our pages that elements get cramped and confused. I know this from experience because I just can’t seem to get the white space right on Scoutie Girl.

Take a look at your own site. Is there ample space between your content and your sidebar? How about between the items on your sidebar? Is there sufficient space between your images & your text? Are your headers set apart from your text with white space?

Respect each element on your site by giving it the space it deserves.

3. What’s the link?

Since links are the currency of the internet (wait, I thought that was PayPal?), it stands to reason that you should make them look important. Your links need to be readable, prominent, and in keeping with the style of the rest of your site.

If they don’t look different, people won’t know to click on them. If the color is unreadable, people won’t be able to understand what you’re saying. If they’re not prominent, people will ignore them.

4. Size really does matter.

There seems to be a trend on craft & design blogs towards really tiny text. While you may like how the letters look at that size, if people can’t your text, they’re not going to make a habit of visiting your blog. Text should be at least 12px in size – 13 or 14px is even better. 15 or 16px makes your text very readable.

For comparison, the text on this site is 15px in size. The text on Scoutie Girl is 12px.

In an aging population – even an aging internet population – it’s important to make your text big enough to be ready easily. And as a web professional who spends upwards of 12 hours a day on the computer, it’s good for fairly young eyes too.

5. Tell everyone you’re important.

Headers (like the one above) tell people – and search engines – that text is important. They give our eyes a place to stop, rest, and refocus before diving into another piece of information.

Headers are also a great way to carry the design of your site over into the content. Taking the time to style your headers to match your site and look special gives you a more professional look.

They’ll help people read through to the end of articles too. Score.

6. Color me surprised.

Carefully, carefully, consider the colors on your website. You can use all sorts of color theory guidelines to help you pick the colors that will work best for your branding and business; however, you must also consider what kinds of colors work best on the web.

High contrast is important. If your background color is too close to your text color, it’s not easy to read. But you don’t have to go black & white. Check out Dave Navarro‘s site (or really anything designed by Reese) to get a feel for a softer color palette that’s still easily read.

Also, be careful of colors that burn. You know the ones. Used as a highlight here or there, these colors can make your site pop! Used for text or large images, they make your head spin.

The colors you use on your website & in your text not only communicate your brand but are the primary way readers access your information.

As websites replace phone books (does anyone still use those?), it’s up to you to make your site accessible to any number of potential customers who could be visiting you – ready to buy – for the first time. Ensuring that your site is easy on the eyes helps those customers stick around longer, browse more, and complete the sale.

What would you add to this list?

Want to get the whole scope on how to set up a website – from start to finish – using WordPress? My ecourse – Website Kick Start – is launching soon and I want you to be the first to know. Click here to get the scoop.

The phrase “in real life” (IRL) drives me a bit batty. It’s the phrase that social media addicts, bloggers, and otherwise connected folks use to describe the interactions they have outside the internet space.

“In real life” suggest that online life is fake.

“In real life” sets up a barrier between what you do away from the computer (or mobile device) and what you do in front of it.

This is a false dichotomy.

If you’re looking to create influence online and a larger following of engaged “fans,” it’s time to forget about IRL. You only have one life to live – and if you’re building a business, a good part of it will be spent online. Your life is a whole and should be represented that way, as clearly & passionately as possible.

getting really real.

April asked me to write about building a following in social media because I’ve done a fairly good job of it, relatively speaking. I have 4200+ followers on Twitter, almost 1900 fans on Facebook, a growing email list, and a respectable subscribership for both of my blogs. There are a lot of people who choose to connect to me and consume what I have to offer.

Since beginning my online business in January 2009, I have never felt more “real.” Online, I connect with people who truly care about the real me: what I have to offer, what my interests are, who my family is, how much ice I like in my lattes. Online, I have the freedom to be who I really am, without question, without shame. If you don’t like who I really am, you quit following me – no offense, but there will be someone else to take your place.

My life online is just as real as my life offline – if not more so. I don’t hold much back online, I don’t craft strategies for getting more followers, I am who I am. Being real is the key to my success.

So how do you connect with real people in a real way?

• Talk back. Everyone wants a conversation. Initiate one. Answer questions, respond to ideas.
• Ask questions. Just as important as providing answers is asking real questions and expecting real answers.
• Share your mission. Yes, real conversation is great but, at some point, you’ve got to get real about your mission. You wouldn’t have a face to face conversation without telling each other what you’re all about. Attracting people to you requires communicating your message.

Finally, keep you barriers low. The least “real” part of social media is just how easy it is to connect with real (cool) people. Outside the web, I’m a pretty hard person to connect with – I’m so darn shy. Online, we can connect with one keystroke.

If you’re looking to make friends, build a following, and grow your audience, make sure its ridiculously easy to connect with you.

Growing your online network isn’t about tips, tricks, or strategy. It’s about getting real and forgetting the false barriers we put up between our real lives and our online lives. Growing your online network is about being real enough that people want to share you with their friends.

I’m going to address 2 easy ways to backup your website – and specifically, your WordPress driven website – in this post.

the cPanel backup wizard

Wow. This method is so great! Why? Not only does it give you a one-step backup, you can use the backup it generates to create a one-step restoration. Now that’s efficient!

If your web host uses cPanel, you can use these steps to backup your website without a headache. If your web host does not use cPanel, there may be a similar proprietary system, so look for it! As always, I recommend Host Gator for your basic and not-so-basic web hosting needs.

Exclusive coupon code websitekickstart for $9.94 off your package price!

To get started, log into your cPanel dashboard. Once there, look for the Files section of your dashboard. Something like this:

Click BackUp Wizard to begin.

Once you’re in the wizard, select Backup:

And then Full Backup:

Ready for this? On the next screen, enter your email address to be notified when the file is ready. Simply return to this screen (by repeating the above steps) to download the latest backup from the links on the screen.

As you can see, I keep several backups on my server – I delete one everytime I create one – and also keep several backups on my laptop that gets automatically backed up to an external drive. Yes, I’m a little obsessed and rightfully so.

In case you’re wondering, this technique literally backs up everything: your files, your email addresses, your database… anything that cPanel is involved with.

the quick & dirty WordPress back up

There are lots of other ways to back up your site depending on your web host and the importance of certain things within your site. You can come up with numerous combinations of mySQL databases & files & backup plugins… but there is a really simple way to backup your WP with little effort even if it’s not perfect.

First, go into your WordPress dashboard and use the export function under Tools on the left column about 2/3 of the way down your screen.

Follow the instructions on the next screen to get the file to download. It’s an xml file which is basically what feed readers use to see your content without any of the nonsense. This file contains all your content – words, code, comments, trackbacks – but none of your files or database settings for widgets or menus.

Next, use an FTP client – I use Fetch for Mac but there are lots of freeware & shareware apps out there. Basically, an FTP client allows you to see your website for what it is: layers of folders & files living on a computer far off somewhere. Once inside your site, it will look a lot like your computer’s “Finder” or “File Manager.”

When you’re in, navigate to the wp-content folder. It’s one of the top-level directories within your WordPress installation. Download the whole thing. This file contains all of your theme files, uploads (photos & other media), and plugin files. This is the stuff that changes regularly – the rest of your WordPress files stay pretty much the same.

If you have problems or questions with your FTP client or server, a good web host will give you a hand! And, yes, I’ll work on a good tutorial for that in the future as well.

Again, keep in mind that this second method doesn’t do all the dirty work for you in case of a problem. You’ll need to restore widgets, theme settings, and plugin settings manually. But the important stuff is safe & sound, just the way we like it.

So – cPanel backup or WordPress quick & dirty backup – your choose! Just back up your site regularly to avoid headaches in the future.

LIke this information? I’m going to have a few more tutorials on how to do some great techy stuff with your WordPress website coming soon. Want the scoop on those tutorials and the chance to get a sweet discount on the WordPress course I’m running in October? Sign up for my advanced notice list to give your website a kick start (or a right start!) right before the holidays!

Consider the goal of your blog and the content that you want to produce. Then carefully consider who just might be interested in reading that content. Who are they? What are there other interests? How do they fit into your bigger picture?

Once you have an idea of who you’re blogging for, ask yourself these questions:

Where do they hang out?
Whether online or in “real life,” go where your people are. Introduce yourself, help them out, make friends. It’s not about being spammy – and yes, you can be spammy in real life! – it’s about being a resource and a cool person. Visit forums, Twitter chats, Facebook pages, other blogs. Find your people and let them know you’re here to help.

Who do you know already?
Leverage your network – or you family and friends – to build a bridge to your target audience. When you investigate who you know already, you might be shocked just how many people have a lifeline to your target audience. Again, introduce yourself or have your network make the introductions for you. Getting an intermediary is a fine way of building a trust relationship fast!

What do you have in common?
Your target audience should be different than you. They should have needs that you can address or questions that you can answer. But we’re all people and we all have things in common. Figure out where your experience and your audience’s experience overlap. Use shared experience to create a bridge between you. Discuss your common ground and link it to the subject that you’re blogging about. You can blog on a wide variety of topics near to your heart if you keep your goal & audience at the heart of what you do.

What do they need?
Hopefully, what your ideal audience needs is what you want to give. But if not, you can clarify the focus of your writing to match the needs of your audience. Readers will stick around longer, subscribe more often, and be receptive to pitches.

Blogging doesn’t have to feel like a solitary venture. Blogging with your target audience in mind will help you focus your writing, guide your content creation, and help you pitch offers to your audience with more success.

Want more about blogging? I’m prereleasing 52 MORE Weeks of Blogging Your Passion today! This sequel to my first successful ebook is packed with information on blogging with intention so that you can engage your readers, build community, and convert readers to customers & clients. Get it now at discount and get an invite to a live webinar with me where I’ll answer your questions on the spot!

[photo credit: jot.punkt]

How do I do this? I get people to ramble. I ask them direct questions about the thing they’re really passionate about and just let them talk. And talk. And talk.

And all the while, I’ve got a pen in my hand, jotting key phrases, additional questions, and ideas into my gridded Moleskine journal.

This is pretty easy to recreate for yourself if you have a mildly perceptive friend. It probably helps a bit if your friend blogs… but it’s not necessary.

• Get your friend on Skype, the phone, into a coffee shop.
• Have them start talking to you about your passion.
• As you ramble on about what you love, why you love it, why other people should love it too, why you think things need to change, etc…
• Have your friend jot down anything that seems remotely interesting. If you turn an interesting phrase, have them note the wording.
• When you’ve rambled past the point of no return, stop and have your friend read back what caught her ear. If there’s something more to ramble about there, grab another iced latte and keep rambling.
• Turn the notes into a list of titles. They don’t have to be perfect, catchy titles but they should inspire some key points in your mind as soon as you read them.

At that point, rest.

You’ve probably got at least a few week’s worth of blog post ideas ready to go. As soon as you have time, draft an introductory paragraph to each idea to keep it fresh in your mind. I do this right in my blog’s back end and save the posts as drafts. While I’m writing that intro, I often jot down 3 main subheadlines or a list to keep my piece flowing. When inspiration strikes, I pull up the relevant draft and have at it.

Blogger’s block banished.

If you don’t have a friend with an ear & 45 minutes to spare, I’m offering my Blog Brainstorm & Action Plan for $50 to 10 lucky bloggers. Here’s the catch: in exchange for getting $25 off the price of this service, you allow me to use a portion of your session as a post or promotional content. If that sounds good to you, use code GOBLOGGO at check out. Click here to beat your own blogger’s block.